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Roger Schreiver

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  • Birthday 06/08/1972

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  1. Communism vs. Capitalism I - V http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...45165&tstart=15
  2. Principles and Forms V I want to add a few words today to what I have already told you about forms and principles, for it is important that the question should be clear to you. You must not think that I am against all forms - certainly not. Forms are useful and necessary but they must not be expected to last for ever. After a time they need to be changed. As I have said, a form is simply a receptacle, a container. This is easy to understand. Take the example of the clothes we wear: does a man wear the same clothes, the same trousers, shoes, or shirts, from the age of two to the age of ninety? Of course not. He always needs trousers, shoes, and shirts, but at intervals, as his size and shape changes, he grows out of his old clothes and needs new ones. And just as each human individual grows and changes, so the world itself evolves and needs new forms that corresponds to that evolution. Centuries ago mankind was like a new-born baby, but today that baby has begun to grow out of its swaddling clothes; it needs to exercise its arms and legs - and in doing so it claws and bites and kicks out in all directions. The only real question is which forms to retain and which to change. As long as you are on earth you have to preserve and even protect the form of your physical body. You have to keep it healthy, well-groomed and expressive; but for how long? Only until the day you depart for the next world. There always comes a moment when this form has to be cast off like a threadbare garment. Perhaps you are wondering why the ancient Egyptians tried to preserve the physical forms of the pharaohs, and why our museums are still full of their mummies. In reality, the ancient Egyptians knew very well that forms cannot be preserved. They mummified the bodies of their pharaohs for purposes of magic, for they were very advanced in the knowledge and practice of magic. It would take far too long to mention all the different instances in which forms change, but the example of dress is very significant. Only a few years ago the well-dressed man wore a carefully pressed suit, carried a walking stick and wore a hat, gloves, and even spats. And today? Today there are no more walking sticks, no more gloves, and men's trousers are all crumpled. These are the new forms. And women are in even more of a hurry than men to abandon old forms. Every year, several times a year in fact, fashion obliges them to change forms. This is why I must address myself particularly to women, because women are the first - the only ones - to take this question of changing forms seriously. Ah, woman, the marvellous creatures! How they love to change their hats, their shoes, their dresses. Just wait and see how many new forms there will be next year. Nobody ever criticizes the leaders of fashion for bringing in new fashions every few months, and yet when I speak about changing forms everyone is up in arms against me. I ask you, is that fair? Dress designers are applauded when they change forms, but when I suggest that some forms should be changed everyone is against me. How unjust people are! Of course, many of the forms that still exist served a useful purpose in the past, because when they were first developed, human beings could not understand anything more advanced. But they must not be allowed to last for ever. We have to see how nature deals with this question; it is nature that leads animals and men to adopt certain patterns of behaviour and then, after a while, it is again nature that urges them to change their ways and behave differently because times have changed. Take the example of fear: nature has cultivated the reflex of fear in animals for their own protection. Fear is a healthy reaction in an animal because it warns it to flee when it is in danger. But if human beings are to attain a higher degree of evolution they need to rid themselves of fear, and replace it with other, nobler sentiments. There always comes a time, therefore, when nature recognizes the need to change patterns that she herself defined hundreds and thousands of years before. There are many different kinds of fear: the fear of public opinion, the fear of falling ill, the fear of financial ruin, and so on. But we must no longer be ruled by fear. It was necessary for our own self-preservation at an earlier stage of evolution but today it is a serious obstacle to spirituals progress. Fear is a very striking example of something that was necessary or useful in the past and that may no longer be useful today. It is nature herself that has taught me this, fo I continue to study in her school. Unfortunetly, Christians never turn to nature to learn how she envisages things and how long she intends them to last. They think that something that was decreed by human beings in the past must remain valid for all eternity. The trouble is that human beings are not qualified to foresee everything; they do not know what life will be like a few centuries from now. Scientists are always making predictions about the future and telling us what is going to happen, but the only way to be sure is to go and find out from cosmic intelligence; for it is cosmic intelligence that planned things a very long time ago. For centuries, the Church taught that a life of poverty and destitution was a spiritual ideal. It is true that poverty can be a good exercice; it can help you to become stronger. In other words it can be good for a period of training, but cosmic intelligence has not designed us for a life of perpetual deprivation. Our heavenly Father is not poor and destitute, and there is no reason why we should be. So poverty can be a good exercise for a time (in fact, when the sages first taught the practice of poverty it was as an exercise to counteract certain excesses), but it should not be seen as an ideal in life. The Lord wants us to be as rich, as beautyful, and as powerful as he is. If he has created us in his image, it is not so that we might eat rotten, mouldy fruit and live in the midst of filth and disease, wear hair shirts and flagellate ourselves. Human beings can no longer be expected to abide by such rules of life. A life of poverty can no longer be held up as an ideal, and people are less and less ready to believe that it is a good thing. Heaven has a curriculum, an itinerary mapped out for us, but it is a course, a route to be followed, not a permanent abode. The plans of the invisible world are not what human beings imagine. Many saints and prophets acted on orders from heaven and carried out their assigned tasks faithfully and well, but special missions of this kind were only valid for a certain period; they were designed to encourage people to develop certain faculties which they still needed. Once those faculties were acquired, the next phase of the curriculum was waiting for them. As far as poverty is concerned, therefore, there is no reason why it should not be practised for a limited period as an exercise. For my part, almost half my life has been a life of poverty - of destitution, in fact. But does this necessarily have to go on for ever? No. On the other hand there is no necessity for me to go to the opposite extreme, for in doing so I would lose all that I had gained by the practise of poverty. Well, there is a great deal more that could be said about this question, but it will have to wait. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Principles and Forms VI Even if you possess all the gold in the world, you still need light. You also need to know what to take for yourself and how much to take, where to stop. There was once a Turk, a member of the Sufi sect of Whirling Dervishes, who lived in Bulgaria. The Dervishes lead very frugal lives, and when they ask for something people are happy to give it to them immediately, for they are much loved and well known for their integrity. One day, when this Dervish asked a rich man for alms, the man offered him his purse full of money, but the Dervish took just one coin, enough to cover his basic needs for that day. This is what you should do, too. Even if you possess great wealth you should only take very little, the strict minimum, for yourself. And now let me tell you frankly that the reason why so many religious orders and spiritual movements are in error is simply that they fail to understand the Lord's plans for mankind; they cannot see things from this point of view. The tragedy is that human beings always see and judge things with their own limited intellects, and in this way they distort reality and hinder the Lord's plans. The truth is that they are not concerned about what the Lord has in mind for us, but only about precepts which were formulated by human beings centuries ago and which were now obsolete. God manifested himself through Jesus, true, but he had already manifested himself through Moses. If Moses accomplished so much that was extraordinary, it was because god was with him. But by the time Jesus came, the intransigence of the Law of Moses was no longer appropriate to the plans of cosmic intelligence for the development of mankind. Human beings find it so difficult to discard old forms. The different religious still treat those who are not of their flock with hostility and intransigence; they still think of them as pagans, infidels, sinners. Why should these old forms, which are an impediment to the coming of the kingdom of God, not be replaced with new ones? I tell you, it is the Churches that stand in the way of the kingdom of God. Fortunately, young people are getting rid of many of the old forms. They are eager to travel to other countries, to love all human beings, to understand and help everyone. However, new forms have yet to be found for these manifestations, for they often degenerate and slip back into the old forms. If new impulses are forced into old forms, the old forms split open. Jesus said: 'No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed.' And this is exactly what happens with young people: they have a new wine that is foaming and fermenting, but they put it in old wineskins. Young people want to love freely, and this is magnificent, but why do they think that they can only do so by sleeping together and wallowing in sensual pleasure? New and better forms must be found. How can we find these better forms? Well, they will certainly not be found by the blind groping of ignorant human beings. Or rather, they could be found in this way, but the process would take hundreds and thousands of years and involve a great many mishaps on the way. The best way is for an initiate to explain things, for only an initiate knows how mankind is destined to mature and blossom in new, innocent forms. The trouble is that human beings are not willing to accept the opinions of the initiates; they want to find their own solutions, and the results are always disastrous. Even when they do find a solution, they are incapable of putting it into effect because it is always too late; they find it only when they have already wasted their energy in futilities. They are already old, worn out, human wrecks. And if they try to tell other people what they have learned from their painful experience, nobody listens to them: 'How can you imagine that you have anything to teach us? Just look at yourself in the mirror.' Cosmic intelligence has other plans for mankind today. There was a time when disciples had to swear that they would never divulge the secrets revealed to them by their initiator. But then the Marquis of Saint-Yves d'Alveydre, a well-known French spiritual writer, published his book 'The Mission of India' in which he tells of how one of the leaders of Agharta saw in his meditation that the pyramid of light that shone over Agharta was split in two. When he asked cosmic intelligence what this meant he was told that although the mysteries had traditionally been hidden form non-initiates, the time was coming when they would be revealed to all those who were capable of understanding them. Incidentally, the Bible also says that the time will come when all that was hidden will be revealed; and that time is now upon us, so there is no cause to be astonished if you see that many great secrets are revealed in the Universal White Brotherhood. In the past, the truths of initiation were revealed very sparingly and only at the price of terrible trials. This is why those who received them could use them to become extraordinarily powerful. But now that people receive them without having to make any effort of their own, they are incapable of using them to become powerful. They are like those who have a lot of money without having earned it: they waste it; they have no true appreciation of its value. Whereas those who have to earn their living by the sweat of their brow are fully aware of the value of money. How true this is. However, in spite of all this, the great mysteries must gradually be revealed, for that is the will of heaven. Actually, you yourselves already know far more than even the sadhus and yogis in India. Their knowledge is not very extensive, but they use the little they know to acquire great powers; whereas you who know a great deal are not capable of achieving very much. In our time also, initiation will take a different form. In the old days it was given in the temples, and candidates had to endure trials by fire, air, water and earth. Nowadays, it occurs in the course of everyday life: an initiate places his disciples in certain situations, confronts them with certain problems, and observes their reactions without their even being aware that he is doing so. All your trials occur in the ordinary course of life; the four elements are present in your lives. It is in your everyday lives that you have to show that you have overcome fear, concupiscence, egoism, sensuality, and so on. Yes, there are many trials in everyday life, and this is particularly true for those who want to advance towards initiation. They can be sure in advance that their desire will be granted, but they can also be sure that they will be put to the test. When they are least expecting it, in the ordinary course of their lives, they will be tested. The trials of initiation are part of life; every minor event of our lives can be a testing. In fact it is precisely because people underestimate the importance of these little things and expect their trials to take the shape of a major event that they often fail. When you have advance warning that you are going to have to confront great difficulties you are better armed, better prepared; you can plan for what lies ahead. But when you are taken unawares it is much more difficult, so it is up to you to be awake and on your guard. You must constantly remind yourselves that every little event or circumstance can be an initiatic test. And your response will be judged by beings in the world above - and perhaps also in this world if you have a master on earth. If you pass the test you will be awarded a diploma, but not the kind of diploma that you get at a university and that can fade or be torn, burned, or stolen. The diplomas of the invisible world adhere to your face and your whole body; nobody can ever take them away from you. And the spirits of nature, who know how to read these diplomas, will welcome and appreciate you if you have one. Otherwise, wherever you go throughout the whole of space, if they see that you have not earned your diploma they will have no respect for you. They will even persecute you because they will consider you to be a weak, ignorant, useless creature. I could point out thousands of examples of forms in which human beings have become bogged down. Take the case of medicine. It is reduced to nothing but forms: pills, capsules, drops, surgical operations, all these are forms. What has happened to the spirit? There is no life in these things, nothing to trigger or evoke something spiritual, something divine. No it is all forms. This is why people never get any healthier, why they are always weak and sickly. Those who cling stubbornly to the same old forms become fossilized and lifeless because they dam up their inner spring. One often sees people like that, people who always have the same blank, wooden expression. It is dangerous to cling always to the same form. In fact this is one of the reasons why so many marriages break up. The man and wife are sick of seeing always the same gestures and expressions, of hearing the same words every day. They never see anything new or expressive in each other. In the long run they cannot bear it any longer, and they both go off and look for new forms. Many couples have never thought about this, and yet it is often the reason why they separate. If you are always the same, other people will get bored with you and begin to dislike you. Always try to renew yourselves therefore, be alive and expressive and no one will ever want to leave you, because you will always be sparkling with new life, always expressive. But women have never understood this - neither have men for that matter. A woman faithfully does her duty by her husband: she takes care of him, washes his clothes, irons his shirts, cooks his meals - and even keeps him supplied with the little confections he loves - and then one fine day he leaves her for another woman. She cannot understand it at all. What has happened? Everything she did was for him. Yes, but she was always the same and her husband got bored with her. One day a woman came and complained to me that her husband had deserted her. 'And yet,' she moaned, 'I always did everything I could to make him happy. I was always so devoted, so loving.' 'Ah, yes, and what is the other woman like?' 'Oh she's cold. She's a block of ice.' 'Well, there you are; you were always too warm and he has gone off with that other woman because he needs to cool off.' So you see, it is not good always to be too warm, otherwise your partner will have to go and find someone cooler. You must know how to have variety in your life, but variety in the forms, not in the principles. You must always adhere to the same principles, always be animated by the same love, the same light, the same nobility, the same ideal; but you must not always manifest them in the same way. What an extraordinary thing the Universal White Brotherhood is. What extraordinary power it has to vivify and exalt us, to fill us with awe, wonder and enthusiasm. The great clairvoyant Rudolf Steiner saw this. He said, 'When I have gone, someone else will appear whose work will be marked by enthusiasm.' The keynote of Steiner's work was not enthusiasm: it was philosophy, science. I know nothing about either philosophy or science - or anything else for that matter - but I am capable of firing you with enthusiasm. And now, in conclusion, always remember that everything in life is the product, the result of the relation between the two opposite poles: spirit and matter, principles and forms. Human beings are not capable of living only with principles; they need the support of forms. The spirit incarnates in the form of a body in order to manifest on the physical plane. When it returns to the higher regions it no longer needs this form, but here on earth it does need it. We have to remember, however, that the form cannot last long. God has not given eternal life to forms. This is why heaven sends an initiate or a great master every now and then to change forms. Yes, but forms only; never the principles. The principles are unchangeable because they are the spirit, the soul, the virtues; they are love, wisdom, truth, and sacrifice. These principles are immutable, they will be valid for all eternity. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  3. Principles and Forms I The important thing in life is to put the same heart and soul, the same tireless love into everything you do and never to give up, for it is the things that endure that must have priority. If something is to last, however, its particles must continually be renewed, and this means that if you are unwilling to clean out and discard the dusty remnants of your old ways of thinking and feeling, you will never create anything durable. Of course I know that it is going to be difficult for you to appreciate the importance of this truth, because the person who says it is a nobody. You think that only those who are learned or famous can reveal the truth. But that is not so; you should be able to recognize and appreciate a truth whoever may say it, be it a child or a beggar. If something is to endure, it must constantly renew itself. And if the Church is disintegrating today, it is because it fails to renew itself; it continues to cling to old conceptions which are no longer valid and which need to be replaced. Of course I am not talking about the basic principles on which Christianity is built; no one will ever find principles more perfect than those of the Gospels. But why does the Church still burden itself with obsolete practices which no longer serve their purpose? Many people abandon the Christian religion because they think that science contradicts and nullifies the truth of the Gospels. This simply shows they have not understood the first thing about it, for it is just the opposite: the discoveries of science actually corrobate and emphasize the truths of the Gospels. I can show you - in fact I have often done so - that the discoveries of science prove the truth of initiatic science, but this is something that neither scientists nor religious people have ever understood. For me there is no contradiction between science and religion; they go hand in hand. In fact they go hand in hand with art too, for the three are intimately related. From science mankind receives light, from religion warmth, and from art activity. Why have human beings separated these three realms that were created to coexist and work together in nature and in human beings? Initiates have never separated science, religion and art, but today there is a gulf between them, and the result is that religion no longer has a hold on scientists; they reject it out of hand. They reject it, of course, because they do not possess the one true science. Their science focuses only on the physical, material world. They know nothing of the true science on which all religions are based. As for art, it fluctuates uncertainly between the two, in conflict first with one and then with the other. The true religion is initiatic science. In nature, I repeat, religion, science, and art are one. If they are not one today it is because human beings have separated them, and as long as they continue to separate them, they will never understand anything. Science, religion, and art form a unified whole, thanks to which everything can be understood and explained. Science corresponds to a need of the intellect, religion to a need of the heart, and art to a need of the will, which seeks to express something, to create and build. These three needs are closely related, for we begin by thinking something, but we have to feel it before we can make it a concrete reality. As a matter of fact, many initiates of the past have reincarnated today as scientists. Yes, many contemporary scientists were once high priests of the ancient Mysteries. Those who discovered radio and television, for instance, were once initiates in ancient Egypt, and they have simply applied the knowledge they acquired in the distant past to the material world. Our era is connected in many ways to Egyptian civilization, and the science of ancient Egypt will soon be known and will manifest itself in many technical applications. But let us get back to this idea that the Church should change some of its ideas and attitudes. Take just one example: the other day somebody sent me an article about a recent speech by the Pope in which he deplored the activity of the Devil who, he said, was poisoning the work of the Church by sowing doubt in the minds of the faithful. Yes, for centuries the devil has been blamed for everything that was wrong. Even now in the 20th century the faults and errors of human beings are still said to be the work of the devil. It is still the devil who moves human beings to act. Do you hear me talking constantly about the devil? Certainly not. Why is he still so conspicuously present in the discourses of religion leaders? In the Middle Ages the devil was present day and night in people's lives. Everything began and ended with him. Nothing else mattered. Even God took second place to Satan. It was he who was responsible for all miracles and prodigies. It was he who was said to heal the sick and utter prophecies. When a man or woman manifested exceptional gifts or talents they were always said that it was God who was omniscent and all-powerful. No, the all-powerful one was Satan. And the extraordinary thing is that even today, if someone works a miracle or achieves something truly unique, the Church is never very eager to acknowledge it as the work of God or of his angels; it is always suspicious, always ready to see the hand of the devil in everything. But believe me, the more you talk about the devil, the more you nourish and strengthen him and make it possible for him to act. It seems that people need to fear something, so the devil is held up as the great 'bogeyman'. But this is ridiculous, for the only result is that people get so used to him that they no longer fear him (just as birds get accustomed to an old scarecrow and no longer fear it). Now I am not saying that the devil does not exist; he does. But the less we talk about him the better. If you tell people you have done something really astounding they will often exclaim, 'The devil you did!' Why? What has the devil got to do with it? To invoke the name of the devil - and even the fact of being afraid of him - are forms of black magic by which you attract his attention. It is time the Church had a more intelligent grasp of esoteric science and stopped seeing the hand of the devil in everything. As it is, instead of acknowledging that people are abandoning religion because its representatives are unworthy of their calling, it blames the devil, saying that the devil has infiltrated the Church. How often I have explained to you that if you refuse to entertain the elements that attract the devil and keep your doors resolutely closed to him, he is powerless. This law is absolute. But instead of explaining this, the Church allows the faithful to think that he has the power to enter their inner being and that there is nothing they can do to stop him. We are asked to believe that human beings are so shoddily made (the Lord obviously did not do a very good job.) that, however pure and saintly they may be, the devil can always get into them. Well, this is simply not true. It is the knowledge contained in initiatic science that is lacking in the Church. Christianity is in need of major transformations, for it is still living in antiquated traditions that are no longer suited to our day and age. Mankind would be much better off today if religion as the Church understands it were really enough, but since it is little more than a series of empty forms, is there any wonder that most people cannot take it seriously any longer? In any case, people are more and more inclined to think things out for themselves and question what others tell them. In the past they were ready to swallow whatever the Church said because for them the Church was the authority; it was the Church that thought for them, that made decisions for them. But today nobody wants others to do their thinking for them, so they leave the Church. This shows that Christianity will be forced to accept the new forms that are being suggested to it by the invisible world. And the day will come when these new forms will wear out in their turn and will have to be replaced by others. Only principles endure, not forms. Cosmic intelligence has decreed that physical forms should not be permanent. The only function of a form is to keep the contents intact; it is a container, a boundary, a limitation. It is also a prison; and if the contents within a form are not to congreal and become rigid, that form must be broken open and the contents poured into a new, subtler, more flexible, more transparent form. This is why nothing that exists on the physical plane can be eternal. One day everything, even the great pyramids, even the sphinx, will disappear. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Principles and Forms II Time cannot affect principles, but it does affect forms. To say that all things are corroded and destroyed by time is true only in regard to forms, and Christians have not yet understood that the foms in which their religion was given to them centuries ago cannot last for ever; they are going to have to change them. But Christians are stubborn; they are unwilling to change anything. The Teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood offers no new principles, only new forms; that is to say, new methods, methods that allow the content, the spirit, to express and manifest itself more perfectly. The Universal White Brotherhood has no desire to introduce new principles, for principles are eternal; it wishes to renew only the forms, because forms are subject to the wear and tear of time. Remember this one thing therefore: only principles are eternal. When people are happy about something, they say, 'Long may it last!' Lovers for instance always want their love to last for ever, but unfortunetly this is impossible. Why? Because they cast it in fragile, perishable forms. If you want to express your love eternally you are going to have to change its form. Let me give you an example: if you express your love through your lower nature, your personality, even your eyes will reflect the desire to indulge your appetites without a thought for the good of the other person or the effect your actions will have on them. The only thing you want is to satisfy your own hunger and thirst. This is a coarse, cruel, selfish form of love, and the eyes of one who loves in this way become bloodshot and swollen with lust; they express something slimy, impure, and violent. But when human beings express their love through their individuality, their higher nature, beauty, light and transparency shine from their eyes because such love is selfless. It asks for nothing in return: it wants only to give and to help and enlighten others. This is the most beautiful form of love... and yet most women prefer to see the flame of desire in a man's eyes. When they see this, the poor things are pleased because they imagine that such a love is so intense, potent, and expressive that it will last for ever. The one thing that women long for is a love that will endure - and of course they are right to do so. The only trouble is that they are blind; they do not realize that a sensual look speaks of a love that cannot last. The fire they see is a flash in the pan that will die down as suddenly as it flared up. Why do women have so little discernment? It is up to you now to cultivate a broader outlook and, above all, to intensify your desire to evolve. For what is evolution? It is simply a change of form. The natural sciences have always had a keen interest in the question of evolution: some say that it is forms that evolve, while others say that forms are predetermined from all eternity and that beings migrate from one form to another. It is this second theory that is correct; forms do not evolve. All forms - whether of animals, insects, or plants - pre exist in the world of archetypes, and individual creatures assume these forms for a time and then discard them and move on to others, exactly as actors put on a new mask for each new play. So the form in which the spirit is clothed is always different, but forms themselves do not evolve. They were created from all eternity, and the future froms of plants and animals that are still unknown to us already exist as archetypes. New forms have been prepared and are ready and waiting for human beings as well. As our evolution progresses we shall assume these new forms, for we must constantly cast off the old forms and assume new ones that are, purer, more flexible, and more luminous. When we assume a new form we also acquire new and better means of action and manifestation. To remain tied to our old forms would be to limit our progress; we would never get any further. This si what Christians fail to understand. They try to perpetuate the form, but that is not possible. Their attitude is diametrically opposed to the decrees of cosmic intelligence. Cosmic Intelligence has no need to perpetuate forms on the physical plane; they are already eternal. Yes, but they are eternal only in the higher realms, in the world of archetypes. On that level all forms are eternal because they are there to serve cosmic intelligence. It is when men try to perpetuate them on earth, when they cling obstinately to one particular form, that the invisible world is obliged to set them free by taking its sledge-hammers and smashing that form. Human beings are scandalized by what they take to be cruelty on the part of cosmic intelligence, but how could they be free if they were permanently bound to the same form? Are you still not convinced? Very well, but think about what happens to human beings from one incarnation to the next. More often than not they change their sex. If you were a woman in a previous life, it was in order to learn to manifest the qualities of the feminine principle, and now that you are a man you must learn to manifest other qualities. This apparent cruelty on the part of the invisible world, which shatters old forms in order to create new ones, is not yet understood by the Church. But whether it understands or not I guarantee that its old forms will be destroyed. However hard Christians try to save their old forms, the invisible world is going to move on. Human beings always have a tendency to cling to their old ways, and this is precisely what they should not do. What is a materialist? A materialist is someone who clings to material forms. This is why materialists will also be broken, smashed, and wiped out - so that they may be freed. One day an angel, wishing to study the ways of animals and humans at first hand, decided to come down to earth in the form of a pig. He adapted himself so well to his new state that life in a pigsty seemed to him to be all that was most desireable. He stuffed himself with acorns and pigswill, he took a wife and was soon surrounded by innumerable offspring, and his happiness was complete. Nothing could induce him to abandon such bliss. In the meantime his brother angels were getting very worried about him and tried to decide how to get him back to heaven, for he was enjoying his life as a pig so much that he ignored all their messages. Finally, as a last resort, they decided that there was only one solution, and that was to send him to the slaughterhouse. Well, when the angel was released from his animal form and saw the carass being roasted for a banquet, he was astounded that he could have forgotten his own identity so completely and was full of gratitude ot his fellow angels for rescuing him. Unfortunetly a great many human beings are like that angel; they too have become 'pigs', and they too are destined to be butchered. All the philosophies, be shattered; only the principles will remain, and they will assume new forms. The Universal White Brotherhood is a new form of the religion of the Christ. Oh, I know, Christians are going to exclaim in horror and take up arms against us to show that they are faithful to the traditions they have inherited. But this is a battle they will not win, for the invisible world will intervene to show them that they are wrong. A new form is going to appear, and it will last for a certain time before it too makes way for yet another more perfect form. As you see, I am being perfectly fair and honest with you, I have no wish to deceive you by telling you that the forms introduced by our teaching are eternal. There will always be new expressions; expressions that will become more and more perfect and luminous. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Principles and forms III When people tell me that as Catholics they cannot accept the teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood, I say, 'Very well, if you feel more at home in the Church, stay there. But as for us, we are going to move on.' I ask you, what can you learn from all those sermons that explain nothing at all? Who is to blame if people listen to them and then go on doing all the things they should not do? They leave the Church because it has no answers to their questions, no words with which to allay their anguish. Their sermons are very poetic and also highly moral. Yes indeed, very pretty and very pathetic. I entirely approve of what they say, but you cannot learn much from their words because they contain no real understanding of the meaning and goal of human existence, the laws that govern it, or how to behave in harmony with those laws. It is all words, words; no mention of how to put those words into practice. Do you really believe that Christendom has ever put the Gospels into practice? No, the facts speak for themselves. For my part, I am in favour of radical changes; and such changes are coming. You will see them for yourselves. All those who decide to work with eternal, unchanging principles of Christ belong to the Universal White Brotherhood. They are not destroying anything; they are not working against Christ; they are not trying to promote new forms. And those who cling to the old forms show that they have not understood the principles. They rely on forms to save them, and they sleep soundly at night in the security of their protection. Yes, those who rely on forms fall asleep; whereas evolve very rapidly. Is this not a far better, far more benficial ideal? Jesus himself tells us how magnificent it is, for we read and that is exactly what I have been trying to explain. I am constantly urging you to turn toward the spirit that gives life. So, as I say, all those who give the priority to principles belong to the Great Universal White Brotherhood; not to the Brotherhood here on earth, but to that glorious Brotherhood that embraces all the most luminous creatures in the universe. Our role in the world is simply to provide these perfect beings with means and possibilities for action so that the kingdom of God may be established on earth. It is in this sense that the Universal White Brotherhood can be seen as a new form of the religion of Christ, and this is why I say that those who work with the principles of Christ belong to that great Brotherhood. They may not even know of our existence, but that does not matter; they are still members of the Universal White Brotherhood. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Principles and Forms IV Why do human beings cling so stubbornly to forms? The answer is that they are lazy. All their spiritual activity is dead; all that is left to them is to wave the banner of form. Take the case of all those people who wear a cross, for instance: their cross will not save them if they wear it only externally without any participation of the spirit. But if they cling to the principle behind the material cross and try to understand what it means and apply it to their lives, then it can help and protect them. Keep certain forms if you wish, but never lose sight of the spirit behind them, otherwise you too will be lost. Wear a cross if you like, but attach yourself to the spirit, for behind that form is the spirit. For me the cross is a fantastic symbol (a three-dimensional cross is composed of twenty-two planes, corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the Cabbalah with which God created the world). But the Christians of today are really to be pitied; they have no desire to learn. They oppose change in the belief that they are being faithful to human beings, to idiots, to people who are sick. We must be faithful to God, not to men. If you insist on being faithful to men, very well, that is your own business. I have no objection, but you will end up as dust. What was so special about all those people who ruled the Church for so many hundreds of years? What did they stand for? As often as not they were no different from all the other poor wretches on earth. In fact if any of them manifested a higher degree of understanding they were immediatly banished, excommunicated. Look at the historical record and you will see for yourselves: all those who really wanted to reform things were cast out and rejected. Yes, for the sake of forms. But form is not very productive; all it can do is imprison human beings. Form is a perfect prison. If you are a prisoner of form you can never escape. A form should be preserved only as long as necessary, as long as it is indispensable or simply useful. As soon as it becomes obsolete it means that a new phase has begun and we must either replace it or reach a much more profound understanding of it. There are a certain number of rites, such as Baptism, Marriage, the Mass, and Communion, that are founded on eternal laws and a knowledge of magic. This is particularly true of the Mass, which is pure magic. In fact it would be true to say that it is thanks to the Mass that the Church has endured until today. The sad thing is that a great many priests do not realize the profound significance of what they are doing when they celebrate the Mass. If they understood it, the power of the Mass would be even greater. Then there is the custom of lighting candles and votive lights in church. Take the example of the Easter ceremony in Orthodox churches: everyone in church holds a candle and the celebrant begins by lighting his own candle. He passes on the flame to the candle of the priest or deacon standing next to him, who passes it in turn to the person beside him. And so it goes on, each one receiving light from one neighbour and handing it on to another until the whole church is ablaze with light. Symbolically speaking, this means that there must be someone who begins by lighting his candle, that is to say, his intelligence, his mind. Once he holds a lighted candle others will come and light their candles, their intelligence, from his, until all the men and women in the world form a multitude of lighted candles. The symbolism of the votive light is identical to that of the candle except that a candle is a masculine symbol whereas a vigil light is feminine. But this is such a profound and sacred question that I dare not tell you any more than that. Man has a candle and woman has a votive light, but neither of them knows that they have something that needs to be set alight. Christians automatically light candles and votive lights, but I have never seen one who knew anything about the mystery involved in this act, who knew how and why they should be lit. And yet what great transformations they could work in themselves if only they knew. This is why I say that Christians have not yet begun their real work. Even if they go to church, light candles, bless themselves with holy water and receive Communion, they have still not begun, because they have not yet done these things inwardly. They hang a little icon of the Virgin Mary in their homes and imagine that whatever they do the Virgin will always be there to protect them, but this is nothing but superstition. They count on this and believe in that, but belief and faith are two quite different things. Most people who think they have faith actually have nothing but a collection of beliefs. Yes, because they are too attached to forms. They do not realize that even prayers can be no more than forms. There is a story about a monk who was in the habit of paying secret visits to the wine-cellar every evening. It was his péché mignon, his favourite weakness, and he was incapable of giving it up. Every night he would say his prayers and ask God to forgive him and then sleep soundly with a clear conscience - as though by mumbling an act of contrition he could put everything right. One night he was rudely awakened from sleep by someone shaking him and saying: 'Wake up, wake up! You forgot to say your prayers.' And whom did he see beside his bed but the devil himself. All of a sudden he understood that the devil had taken the trouble to come and remind him to say his prayers, because it was the devil who benefited from them, not he. If he continued to say his prayers in the belief that he was automatically forgiven, then he could go on drinking. It was certainly not the Lord who had come to wake him up. The Lord does not hear a drunkard's prayers. So you see, often enough it is the devil who hides behind forms and urges you to go to church, light a candle, say your prayers, or receive Communion. In this way he helps you to become more and more deeply entrenched in these old forms. I have nothing against Communion. The only thing is that I see so many Christians who receive Communion all their lives long, who have already swallowed wagonfuls of hosts and drunk barrels of wine, and who are still as vicious, aggressive, slanderous, and unjust as ever. Whereas if you communicate with the perfect, living host of the sun as it rises every morning and with the wine of life that flows from it, it will not be long before you find that you are obliged to transform yourself. Yes, because the sun is alive. This is what Jesus meant when he said, 'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternyl life.' At the time Jesus said this people were incapable of understanding such advanced ideas; this is why they had to be given bread and wine. But that era belongs to the past; today we must go much further. The fact that a man can be a regular communicant and still continue to beat his wife or slander his neighbour is surely proof that this kind of Communion is not very effective. Communion can help, of course; if you have faith, it can help. However, in spite of your faith, in spite of the strength of your convictions, and in spite of the priest's blessing, the sun is more potent than any number of hosts. The blessing given by a priest is very important, that is true; but the quality of his blessing depends on his own elevation, purity, and faith. I am afraid that many priests are so sick of repeating the same gestures over and over again every day that they mumble the words of consecration without putting their soul or spirit into what they are saying. So the bread and wine are blessed, but with a blessing that is not very potent. Besides, even if a priest puts his whole heart and soul into the blessing I feel like asking: 'If you believe that the words of consecration are so powerful, could you not just as well consecrate some wood shavings or scraps of metal and distribute them to the faithful?' The truth is that in blessing bread a priest is blessing something that has already been blessed by the Creator. The wheat from which the host is made is alive, and this means that it has already been blessed by God. The blessing it contains is life itself. To conclude, let me repeat that it is time to do away with the old forms that you still stand up for and try to defend. You think I am exaggering, but I know that once you see the question more clearly you will not only agree with me, but you too will find these old forms irksome and intolerable and be anxious to free yourselves from them. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  4. "We have seen plans formulated for a Pan-Europe, a Pan-Asia, a Pan-America or a Pan-Africa, with the purpose of establishing peace in the world. This represents great progress, of course, but nothing will truly be resolved in this way. Instead of country attacking country, this could mean continent attacking continent: Asia against Europe, for example. Would this be better? Only 'Pan-Earth' can solve all problems.Pan-Earth, the entire world united in one single family. Yes, the only solution to the problems of humanity is universal brotherhood. May all people reach out to one another and unite. One day, from every direction, we will hear people send up a cry for this fraternity to be realized at last, and this will be the most beautiful day in the history of humankind." Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov The Concept of a Pan-World One of the things I find reassuring today is the fact that one meets more and more people who have achieved a certain degree of wisdom. Yes, even scientists and materialists are beginning to be a little more prudent, a little more reasonable. They no longer presume to lay down the law with such self-assurance or to greet every hypothesis that does not conform exactly to their own view with derision and scepticism. Only a few years ago the world most often on their lips when they were faced with something new was 'Impossible!' But now they are beginning to acknowledge that nature may still have some surprises up her sleeve - even for them - and as they are more cautious. They say, 'Well, it is possible... We do not know... We must wait and see.' At last they are acquiring a little wisdom; at last there is some hope. Yes, and I can go even further and say that only a few years hence they will all adopt our ideas and speak our language. Well, perhaps not all, but many of them will share our ideas, and once they have chewed and digested them thoroughly, they in turn will propagate them. A few years from now we shall see some tremendous changes. The other day I even heard the idea of universal brotherhood - an idea that hardly ever occured to anyone before - being discussed on television. I do not know who was talking because I was late for the beginning of the programme, but someone was saying that with things as they were in the world today, with the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the only solution was universal brotherhood; the only hope for mankind was for all men and women to unite and extend the hand of friendship to each other. I was astounded and above all delighted to hear this, for it proves that the idea is beginning to spread. Yes, one day human beings everywhere will be obliged to make their voices heard to force the issue; there is no other solution. The Universal White Brotherhood ceaselessly emits currents of unity and brotherhood, and one day those whose receivers are already tuned in to these currents are finally going to make up their minds to do something about it. This will be the brightest day in the history of mankind. Think of the tremendous changes that will be possible once the whole world becomes a single family. All those billions that are being wasted on arms and espionage will be used to transform the earth into a Garden of Eden. At the moment such a thing still seems impossible and unrealistic, a Utopia. Yes, but one fine day it will not only be possible, it will happen, and everyone will be astounded. The idea is going to take hold and dig itself in, and little by little everyone will accept it. If human beings refuse to accept it they will be condemning themselves to annihilation - and events will prove this. All around us we hear talk of plans for a Pan-Europe, Pan-Asia, Pan-America, or Pan-Africa. Such schemes represent immense progress, but they are not the ultimate solution. The only solution to all the world's problems is a 'Pan-World', the whole world gathered into one single family. Otherwise, instead of an individual country going to war with another country, we shall have a whole continent declaring war on another continent: Asia at war with Europe, for instance. Will that be any better? Yes, I believe in all these unrealistic achievements. I believe in all that is unattainable and impossible. I have no faith in the rest. I throw myself heart and soul into such impossible achievements because they are the best, the most grandiose, the most solemn and glorious, and you cannot tell me that I am not right to do so. In fact I say to every head of State, 'Do you really want to be great and glorious? If so, be the first to propagate this idea of a Pan-World, and you will be immortal.' I assure you, the realization of universal brotherhood is possible today because human beings have reached a stage of technical evolution that makes it possible. All the modern means of communication, which enable people on opposite sides of the globe to talk to each other, have made unity possible by reducing the distance between countries and continents to an astonishing extent. You will say, 'Yes, but there are still so many things that we cannot agree about. Look at the European Common Market or the division of Germany into East and West (As can be seen from the date, this lecture was given at the height of the Cold War). And there are so many other examples; how can we possibly hope for universal brotherhood?' Of course these little problems exist, and it is precisely the little problems that are always the most difficult to solve. A problem caused by nationalism and chauvinism (by petty individual interests) is always more difficult to solve than one that concerns the world as a whole, because everyone wants the biggest slice of the cake; everyone puts his own interests first. But all human beings throughout the world have a common interest in being free to live in peace and plenty, and if they all put this interest first, the whole situation would change and everything would be possible. If you object to my idea of a Pan-World on the grounds is not valid, for they are not at all the same thing. It is obvious that when the negotiators in Brussels have to calculate the price of wheat, butter, and eggs, they can never agree or understand each other. But in the case of the Pan-World there are no longer any little details to quarrel about. The only thing that matters is the well-being of all human beings, freedom and peace for all, and this is something that all human beings can agree on. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Concept of a Pan-World II The people you meet in life are like shops. You visit them in the expectation of finding a little hope or consolation, a little love or faith. Sometimes you are disappointed because you are greeted with a metaphorical kick on the shins, and this means that the 'shop' in question does not have what you were looking for. This is why our work here in the Brotherhood is to encourage human beings to become 'shops' that are so civilized and spiritually cultured that whenever you visit one of them you can be sure of finding the Godhead. This is the kind of humanity that we are working to create, and once we succeed, no one will want to hide away in his own little corner, because everyone will know that if they visit others they will be able to find what they need and go home happy, their problems solved. Yes, this is the new humanity that we are preparing here in the Brotherhood. The brothers and sisters who are here are all 'shops', and each one offers his or her own particular brand of energies, fluids and qualities. One is working to cultivate purity, and when you are with him you feel yourself becoming pure. Another is full of love, and with her you are influenced by love. With yet another you find yourself becoming wiser or stronger. In this way you are nourished by all the qualities and virtues you need and can continue to grow towards perfection. Nature has designed us in such a way that if we lack something we need we can look for it in others. Why do men look for wives? Because a man lacks certain elements that he can find only in a woman. And the same is true of women: they look for husbands in order to find something that they lack. But marriage is an inadequate solution - very inadequate. The only way to find everything you need is to maintain fraternal relations with a whole collectivity. To be sure, you cannot cease to exist as an individual in order to melt into the collectivity. You will always be an individual, but that individual must learn to vibrate in unison with others and share fully in the life of the collectivity. It is possible to become a collective being while remaining an individual. A man and his wife, for instance, will always be seperate individuals; in spite of the love that unites them they will always be two separate, different beings. When they get on a bus, go to the theatre, or eat in a restaurant, they will always have to pay for two tickets, two seats, two meals. In fact if they tried to object, claiming that they were one, not two, they would never convince anyone else of that unity; they would be more likely to end up in a lunatic asylum. when I talk about being part of a collectivity, therefore, you must understand what I am saying. It is not a question of cutting yourself up in little bits and scattering yourself throughout the collectivity. No, you must always be an individual, with your own name and your own body, but inwardly you can live a collective, cosmic, universal life. It is only in your thoughts that you can become one. I have studied many spiritual movements, and I have seen that they all stick to their antiquated ideas. They do not seem to realize that we need something new today, because life is new, life has changed. The forms and rhythms of life today are so different that the methods of the past can no longer help people to become better. It is because human beings themselves are not the same that the old forms and old explanations offered by the Church no longer satisfy them. Young people especially need something new, something that the Church is incapable of giving them, because it has not real will to change. All the established Churches and doctrines try to nourish people with 'tinned food', spiritual nourishment that was dried or salted or bottled thousands of years ago. But there are no tinned foods on the menu in the Universal White Brotherhood; on the contrary, in this restaurant all the fruit and vegetables are freshly harvested and the bread is just out of the oven. Archaeology is very fashionable today. In fact it sets the tone in every area, and people are being fed on archaeological remains - tinned foods. If someone tells me that he is a painter, a musician, or a philosopher, I know that this means that he is an archaeologist; he is only interested in old ideas. But here in the Brotherhood we breathe and eat the sun; we contemplate living nature; we are in communion with the divine forces of today. What is the point of cutting oneself off from the living reality of today in order to go and look for what has been extinct for ten thousand years? All that is dead and gone. What is it that makes people want to poke about among the rotting remains of the past? Of course, you must not misunderstand me. Archaeology is a legitimate science, and there have been archaeologists who have made some extraordinary discoveries. What I have said about archaeology must be understood symbolically. I can see that this point of view is new and rather surprising to you. Yes, because we are talking about what is new. Everything I tell you is new and will always be new - one day you will find this out for yourselves. Do you know why it is all new? Because I am not an archaeologist; because the water I give you to drink is always fresh, newly drawn from the source. Everybody chases off nowadays to study the ancient Egyptians and Persians, the Druids, Bogomils, or Cathars, and never thinks of studying the realities of today. They are proud to be seen as people of the past. They have no interest in learning about what is new, about the new life springing from the fountainhead about the new message that God is sending humanity today. They cannot see that God is still with us, that the same truths are still with us today; and the reason why they cannot see this is that they are archaeologists. In fact, if an initiate came with even more to offer than the Bogomils, Cathars, and Albigensians, they still would not recognize him, simply because he was alive. Everybody is eager to seek out the dead; the living are of no interest to anyone. People glorify those who are dead and gone and despise the living. They wait until they are dead before building temples in their honour. Yes, this mentality is truly amazing. Of course, when I was young I was an archaelogist like everybody else, but the truths taught by the initiates of the past are accessible to me today because I am open to what is new. And this can be true for all those who open themselves to what is new. The truths that I see all around me will become visible to them too. Why have they never been able to see them before? You will say, 'But this new life that you are talking about, the collective, fraternal life, is still a long way off. It is still too difficult to understand.' Difficult to understand? How can it be difficult to understand? A hundred people all looking at you with such love that you feel so happy you would like to die - is that so difficult to understand? To die and be buried... Yes, but you will have died of love and that is far better than dying of anger or hatred. We still do not know all the divine treasures human beings contain and that they will one day be capable of producing. Do you not think that every pretty girl you see in the street is burning to let others see all the charming and adorable treasures of her heart? She is, but the trouble is that she is not allowed to; she is obliged to hide all these treasures and keep them locked up inside, because she has to obey those idiotic archaeologists, whose narrow archaeological wisdom teaches that she must always distrust everybody and never smile at a stranger. This is why I say that mankind in its true form still does not exist. An evil mankind exists, yes, and that is why, in spite of all his culture and civilization, man is still a troglodyte, a caveman. When the new era comes, human beings will allow all that is good in them to manifest itself without fear of danger or harm, and it will be the kingdom of heaven on earth. The world will be filled with love, joy and song. You will say, 'But that is bound to degenerate into debauchery.' No, just the opposite; debauchery exists today because people do not know the true meaning of love. In a world in which all human beings love each other, men and women will no longer feel the need to pounce on each other simply to gratify their lust. A true understanding of love prevents man from behaving like an animal. Look for true love and you will no longer feel the need for such things. You will feel fulfilled, you will be bathed in splendour. You will never achieve very much all by yourself; you can accomplish much more when you are part of a collectivity. Have you not already experienced this for yourselves? You are feeling dicouraged, tired, or let down, and then you come to the Brotherhood and the sight of all those friendly smiles, all those faces shining with ardour and enthusiasm, soon restores your courage. Whereas you can curl up and bemoan your fate all alone in a corner for years, and nothing will ever change; no one will come and console you. Why are people so stupid that they fail to understand this? They say, 'I do not want anything to do with a collectivity, thank you. I'm perfectly happy by myself.' All right, if you insist, but you will see what is in store for you. So many men and women, even when they are still very young, have their own ideas and plans and systems, and they are absolutely convinced that everything will work out exactly as they planned. But later in life they see things differently. Even distinguished philosophers are forced to change their philosophy and admit that they were mistaken. Of course, some people are quite happy to be alone. But suppose a young man who was once content with his solitude meets a ravishingly beautiful young girl. As soon as he compares this new sensation of well-being to the satisfaction that he experienced in his solitude, he will find that he much prefers his present state. Ah yes, he is much better off with his beloved in his arms than when he was all alone. And to have his beloved in his arms is already the beginning of the collectivity, for it is not long before a whole brood of little ones arrives. Of course there are people who do not want to get married because they are too selfish and do not want to work to support a family; but they do not know that selfishness does not give them the right to remain single and that they will be punished for it. It is sometimes legitimate to remain single, but only if your motivation is divine. Otherwise it is much better to marry and have children, for then you are obliged to do something for others instead of shutting yourself away in selfish isolation. We must make it quite clear to human beings that the collectivity is in their best interest, for the only thing they understand is what concerns their interest. You can reveal all kinds of truths to them, but you can never be sure that they will allow themselves to be convinced. Except in a few rare instances, the fact that something is true does not carry much weight. If you can show people where their interest lies, then the battle is won, they will be convinced for ever after; whereas if you only show them that something is true... Years ago I used to meet people at receptions, and many of them were magnificent, highly educated, cultured people. But let me give you an example of the kind of conversation I would sometimes have with them. I am talking to an elderly man who tells me that he is seeking truth. I immediately look suitably impressed, ecstatic even, for as you well understand, it is a very honourable occupation to seek truth; it is greatly to his credit. Then I ask him, 'And have you not found it yet?' No, alas.' 'But you are still seeking?' 'Yes.' 'Ah, that is wonderful. But is it so difficult to find truth? How old are you, sir?' 'Seventy-five.' 'Seventy-five, and you still have not found truth?' 'No. Well, at this point my expression begins to change and I say, 'My dear sir, let me tell you that you have found truth several times in the course of your life but you have never accepted it. I can also tell you why you have never accepted it.' At that he looks at me with astonishment. 'Yes,' I go on, 'it is very easy to find truth, for it is everywhere. You have certainly met it and seen and heard it, but you have never accepted it because you have had too many others things in mind. You have been looking for your own brand of truth, and when you met the truth and it failed to match what you had in mind, you said, ''No, no I am looking for a different truth, one that will be my servant and allow me to be the master.'' But truth, my dear sir, is not a servant; it is a princess, and it is we who must be at her service. The trouble is that you do not want to serve; you want to be served. I can only conclude, therefore, that you have never really sought truth; you have only sought a servant to gratify would have found it a long time ago, for it is always there. Even now, today, it is there if you want it, but you do not really want it.' Well, I will not tell you how such a conversation ended. So, as I was saying, we have to show human beings where their interest lies. We have to show them that a collective way of life is wealth, that it is a blessing. The face, the eyes, the voice, the thoughts of each individual emanate something and contribute something to the whole. For my part, I have been nourished by this life for years and years; my brothers and sisters give me so much love. You will say, 'Yes, but for you it is different. What about us?' You too. If you know how to behave, you too will receive so much love from all the others that by the time you leave you will be filled to overflowing. What is stopping you? Your wife? Do you think she would not let you love or be loved by someone else? Do you think she would be jealous? No, you do not understand. It is not a question of being loved by another woman but by all the brothers and sisters of Brotherhood. Your wife cannot possibly hold that against you. She could not be jealous, because she too would receive the same love. The trouble is that people just do not know how to live. They think that if they had just a little nich of their own, all their problems would be solved. No, they do not know how to love, you could move freely about the world and be welcomed with open arms in every country as members of the same family; whereas, as things are today, you are a stranger in every country but your own. Foreigners find all doors closed to them. Let me give you the example of an experience I had one winter night during the war. One evening I took a late train from St Lazare statino in Paris, intending to go back to Sèvres. I do not quite know what happened, because I took the train from the same platform as usual, but I soon realized that it was not going the right way. I got out at the first stop only to find that there were no more trains to Sèvres that night. I thought that if I told the man who was selling tickets what had happened, ho would tell me if there was a nearby hotel where I could spend the night, but he refused to listen to me or answer my questions and shut the window in my face. He must have been frightened because of my foreign accent (after all it was wartime, the country was occupied, and nobody felt safe). I went out to the street hoping to find somebody who could tell me where to go, but everything was closed, people had barricaded themselves indoors. What could I do? I walked about for a while wondering where to go. It was no great hardship to spend a night out of doors - I could always meditate. The only trouble was that this particular night was very cold and my overcoat was not very warm. Finally I sat down on a bench and began to pray, asking the invisible world to come to the rescue. Within a few minutes I heard footsteps coming closer, and I could tell from the way they rang out on the cobbles that it was a German patrol. I thought to myself, 'If I start to walk away they will see me and it will look suspicious,' so I got up and walked briskly towards them. When I found that they understood French, I explained what had happened to me, and they must have sensed that I was telling the truth, because they took me to a house that they seemed to know and knocked on the door. When an upstairs window was opened, they explained my problem to whoever was inside, but without a word the person slammed it shut again at once. 'It doesn't matter,' the Germans said; 'Come with us.' They then took me to a mansion where there were a lot of people, mostly German officers, I believe, and gave me a bed. On another bed in the same room was a German, who woke up from time to time in the night and spoke to me, but not knowing German I did not understand a word he said. As for me, I lay there unable to sleep very much, thinking how strange it was for me to be there in the middle of the war, benefiting from the hospitality of the Germans. The next morning I was invited to join them for breakfast, and once again I was astonished to find that nobody questioned me. I had expected at the very least to be asked why I was there having breakfast with them, but not a word; and after breakfast one of them walked to the station with me. Why had they treated me so kindly when not a single Frenchman had even listened to me? If human beings persist in their refusal to understand that their best interest lies in brotherly relations between all peoples, life itself will intervene to teach them a lesson. And life is relentless. Why do people still cling to notions that date back to the Stone Age when their only concern was to survive, when their only task was to find food and protect themselves against the wheather, wild animals and their own kind? Today, civilization, things must change. All the elements necessary for a world-order of universal brotherhood are now in place. The only obstacle is the ill-will of human beings who refuse to let go of their atavistic tendencies. Universal brotherhood is just around the corner, but they will not consent to it. They refuse to participate in this work, because they are always busy with other things. Each individual is absorbed in his own affairs, and the rest does not interest him. How can universal brotherhood ever be achieved in such conditions? And yet, if all human beings gave their consent, it would happen very quickly. Yes, the key to the whole thing is consent. Take the example of what happened with Hitler: do you think Hitler had any really outstanding qualities? No, and not only was he quite unexceptional, but he was sick and deranged into the bargain. The one thing he had in his favour, the things that made him so powerful, was the consent of millions of Germans. He himself was not a powerful man, but for a few years the consent of others made him almost the ruler of the world. If this could be repeated, if this massive consent could be given not to a Hitler but to an initiate, in order to put the idea of a Pan-World into effect, you would soon see the results. Unfortunetly, when it comes to plundering, sacking and burning, there are always plenty of volunteers willing to participate; but for an idea, especially for a divine idea, no one is willing to lift a finger. If you stop on a street corner and start to make a speech against the government of against the rich, you will soon have a crowd round you ready to lend a hand and demolish everything. But try talking about Christ or the Kingdom of God and no one will bother to stop and listen, except perhaps two or three old ladies who have nothing else to do. And if I started a club for all those who had lost their teeth or their hair or their waistline, I would have millions of members; but for this idea of the kingdom of God I have had no success at all. You must not think that I am so naive that I do not know how difficult it is to convince and stimulate people to work for good. I do know it, but should I stop trying just because it is difficult? The greatest difficulty lies in getting human beings to give up certain pastimes, certain pleasures that are a waste of time, and persuade them to commit themselves to this gigantic, useful work. Yes, but the fact that it is difficult is no reason why I should stop trying, stop talking about it. No, I am not so naive - a little, no doubt, but not so much as all that. I know that what I am calling for is almost impossible to achieve, but we must achieve it. When will it be achieved? Before very long: when life's difficulties are even greater; when people see that it has become truly impossible to live together and start seriously looking for solutions. When this day comes they will find the solution in the teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood. There is no other way. And when they find this, the only solution, they will have all the methods they need to start making things better. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov The Concept of a Pan-World III Mankind is like a body in which each country is an organ made up of living, working cells. But the organs of mankind are not animated by the same intelligence, the same disinterestedness (disinterestedness meaning altruism, the absence of bias motivated by personal interest or advantage, is a key word in OMA philosophy) as the organs of our physical bodies, because each country works for its own interests to the detriment of its neighbour. The way in which the human body functions was decreed by a sublime intelligence, whereas the functioning of human society is the work of human intelligence, and this is why things do not work; the body of mankind is ill and in danger of death. This is why we should study the structure of human beings and take it as a model. We must know how nature designed them, how they function, what is good for their health and what makes them ill; and then we must understand that all the same rules apply to mankind as a whole. When your brain and your heart are in good condition, even your feet feel well; you can feel that your feet, and even your toes, rejoice. And then if your feet are cold, your nose starts sneezing; it is your feet that are cold but the nose that sneezes. Do I need to give you any more examples? When one organ is well, all the other organs feel it and rejoice; and when one organ is in distress, all the other organs fell the same distress. Only human beings rejoice when another country is in distress, because human beings are bad cells, bad organs. Why have politicians, economists, and philosophers never taken the human organism as a basis for their studies? The human organism embraces everything: you can study it for thousands of years without coming to the end of the immensity it contains. As I have told you time and again, our physical body is a summary of the entire universe. One of the first things one sees when studying the human body is that when the organs fail to work together disinterestedly for the good of the whole, all kinds of deficiencies and diseases appear. Just as human beings try to grab everything for themselves and give nothing to others, there are cells in our bodies that are unwilling to collaborate and work for others. These are the anarchic, egoistical cells that keep all the food and energy for themselves and produce tumours and cancerous growths. And who teaches a man's cells to behave like that? He does. His cells are simply following the example of their master; it is he who introduces the disorder in his cells by setting them a bad example. Cosmic Intelligence has decreed that all our organs - the stomach, heart, lungs, and so on - must work unselfishly together for the good of the whole being. How can men fail to see that it is thanks to this unselfish attitude, this selfabnegation and spirit of sacrifice, that they are alive and healthy? It is because disinterestedness is thousands of times more beneficial to us than egoism that the initiates attach so much importance to these qualities. We may think that we are gaining something by being selfish, but in fact we are sowing the seeds of disease in ourselves. Human beings are always looking for a chance to take advantage of their neighbour - in fact they pride themselves on this attitude. For my part, I read what the human organism tells me and I foresee that those who behave like this will perish, for they are sowing the seeds of their own destruction. You will say, 'That is all very well, but you cannot survive in this world with a spirit of selfabnegation and sacrifice. You will die.' On the contrary, it is this selfless attitude that plants within you the seed of health, harmony, resurrection and eternal life. The trouble is that human beings have sunk so low that they can no longer see what is staring them in the face. If they were willing to study the laws of nature they would reach the same conclusions. Believe me, these laws exist, and it is high time you knew and respected them. It is also because of these laws that we work without payment. I have been working for an idea for years without payment. Occasionally, if some money falls into my lap I will accept it (usually, but not always), but I have never asked or demanded to be paid. Human beings do not know how to work for nothing; they always want to be paid. This is why they are ill and unhappy, because they have swallowed the germ that disrupts and destroys their cells. You will object, 'But it is not possible to work for nothing; we have our families and our children to look after.' Of course, I understand, but I have solved the problem for myself. Just think of how much a doctor asks for a consultation that takes five minutes. My advice is far more useful than that of any doctor, and yet I never take any money. I would be a multimillionaire by now if I did. You too must learn to work without payment. When all those for whom you have worked so generously see how radiant and luminous you have become because of your idealism and your disinterestedness, they will not leave you in poverty; they will give you more than you would ever have asked for. Not all at once, perhaps, but in time they will come to recognize your good qualities, and even those who begin by exploiting and taking advantage of you will end by regretting it and paying you a dept of gratitude. Knowing how greedy and unjust human beings are, disciples are aware in advance that, however hard they work and however devoted and unselfish they are, none of it will ever be properly appreciated. And this means that they expect no reward from their own kind. They know that their only reward will come from heaven - and the rewards we receive from heaven are far more precious than money. What is money, after all? It cannot give you happiness, peace, or light. But if you work for a divine idea, your name will be recorded in heaven; and unlike human beings, heaven will never let you down. It will send you all its most precious gifts of joy, inspiration, and bliss. Are these not worth a thousand times more than a few coins? People pay others for their services, and then they do not have to love them. They say, 'I have paid them, haven't I? Why should I love them as well?' Sometimes, in fact, they dislike those they pay and want nothing to do with them any more. And those who are paid often sense this. They receive money but they are unhappy, for they receive no love, and nothing is worse than to be deprived of love. If you want to be loved you must learn to do something for nothing; then you will be paid with love. In the future the currency of love will be valued more highly than any other. As you see, human beings never really think; they never learn what they must do to be happy, how to bask continuously in the light of heaven. They say, 'I really could not care less about loving other people. What I am interested in is having enough money to eat and drink as I please, to go wherever I like, and to make love with any woman that takes my fancy.' Well, that is another matter. Those who want a lot of money are neither sensitive nor spiritual. They have many crude needs, and it costs money to provide for them. If they were interested in serving heaven they would have fewer claims on them from all sides and would not need so much money. I am not against money. It is perfectly legitimate for people to be paid for the work they do, I have no objection. But for my part, I work without payment because I know the immense happiness that comes from working day and night without expecting anything in return from human beings. And you can have no notion of what I receive. It is nothing material or visible, but is is worth far more than money, and it can only be bought with disinterestedness. Yes, with disinterestedness you can buy both heaven and earth. All you have to do is give your heart and soul, your thaughts, your will, your health, and your whole life to the heavenly spirits, saying, 'All I have is at your service; my life is yours.' And since nothing is more precious than life, your sacrifice surpasses everything else, and the heavenly spirits are obliged by the law of divine justice to give you a particle of their celestial bliss. But if you are not ready to give anything, you cannot hope to receive anything; they will give you nothing. Here on earth it is possible to cheat and swindle others, but you cannot do that with the sublime entities; if you give nothing, you will receive nothing. If you want to hoard your wheat and refuse to sow it, it will either go mouldly or be eaten by rats. A disciple must learn to give his life to heaven. He must say, 'Here is my life; it is yours for the service of the Kingdom of God, for the light of the world, for the happiness of all humanity.' The sublime spirits on high are so astonished when they hear a human being - one among the four billions that inhabit the earth - saying such a thing, that they come from all directions to look and listen. The event is so rare that they gather together to marvel and rejoice to see an earthling offer them his heart and soul, and promise to serve them with his whole life. Yes, this is all too rare. Everybody keeps everything for themselves. A young girl says, 'I intend to live my own life.' Yes, she will live her own life, but how? With great 'weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Why does she not decide to give her life to the Lord? He would send her intelligent beings to teach her what she should do to gain eternal life; whereas, by wanting to live her life in her own way, she will not have the guidance and enlightenment she needs and will live a life of sensuality and stupidity. By wanting to live her life in her own way she is preparing to do herself an injury that she will never be able to repair. So many young boys and girls talk about living their own lives, and those who hear them expressing this wish think that it is perfectly legitimate. But when an initiate hears these words he knows that those who say them belong to the category of ignorant and unhappy human beings who have no idea of what is in store for them. Dear Lord. How are my brothers and sisters ever going to understand me? Give me the most overwhelming arguments and the most striking images so that at last, for the first time in their lives, they may be convinced. Yes, I pray to heaven to help me make you understand where your happiness and your interest lie. Your interest lies in disinterestedness. Of course, there are always some who give a few minutes of their time without payment, but they keep all the rest for themselves; they still cling to their personal joys and pleasures. Those who have really solved the problem are not very numerous. Many people are ready to make an occasional effort, to sacrifice and renounce something every now and then, but I am obliged to say that there are not many who dedicate themselves totally to the service of light. Human consciousness is still too limited to grasp the splendour of this work. Most people are still trapped in their ancient conceptions, still ruled by the traditional fears and stratagems of the family and of society. However, although I talk like this, I fully realize how difficult it is to dedicate oneself to the Lord. For a disciple to dedicate himself to God from an early age he must have already done a great deal of work in this direction in previous incarnations; otherwise it is impossible. With the best will in the world he could not do it; his whole being vibrates on a different frequency. He would find no joy, no inspiration, nothing that appeals to him in the idea of dedication; on the contrary, it would terrify him. It is not possible for everybody to understand this idea. Some may understand it theoretically, philosophically, but they still cannot put it into practice, because all the tendencies of their being lead them in another direction; they have other needs, other desires, other pleasures. It is extremely difficult for most human beings to achieve this kind of spiritual dedication, therefore; but there are some, a few rare beings, who come into the world with this idea. From a very early age they feel that they are already dedicated. Nobody forces them, it is just that it gives them great joy to dedicate themeselves. And as soon as they do so, they are under the protection of heaven. They receive all the light and guidance they need to see where they are going, and whatever their circumstances, however great their trials and tribulations, they are always protected, always safe. The sufferings they endure are not sent in order to destroy or annihilate them but to strengthen them, to incite them to conquer and prevail, to lead them to the highest peaks. This does not mean that those who dedicate themselves to the Lord from an early age can expect to live in comfort without many hard lessons and trials in life. Far from it. Heaven takes care of them, but it does not let them stagnate in an effortless, uneventful, insignificant life. He who dedicates himself must realize that he will be tested. Not because he has to be punished or destroyed, but because he has to move on and reach other levels where he can develop and blossom, where he can awaken other possibilities within himself that could never be awakened if he were left to a life of tranquility and ease. If you read the biographies of great initiates who dedicated themselves to heaven, you will see what they went throught. Some of them knew that their trials were for their own good and neither kicked against the traces nor allowed themeselves to be defeated. They knew that those trials could transform them into divinities. But there were others who were not so enlightened: their suffering was too much for them, and sometimes they rebelled. They could not understand why heaven continued to treat them so cruelly, even though their whole life was dedicated to God and they were filled with love and selflessness. The one thing that spiritualists (The word 'spiritualist' in the language of OMA means one who looks at things from a spiritual point of view, whose philosophy of life is based on belief in a spiritual reality) stand most in need of, therefore, is knowledge, true knowledge. They think that once they dedicate themselves to God, milk and honey will flow for them; they will walk on rose petals and be welcomed with garlands. Of course it is true that we find promises of this kind in the Bible, and it is also true that they will one day be fulfilled, but only when we have come through all our trials with success. Many spiritualists have no idea why God seems to ill-treat them although they do nothing wrong, and they rebel against this seeming injustice that they cannot understand. Here you are being given the light you need to understand that if these things happen to you it is for your own good. Even the purest, most upright, noble and luminous of beings, even those who are overflowing with love must endure certain trials, and this does not mean that God has abandoned them. Apparently even Jesus experienced this terrible sense of solitude, for when he was on the cross he cried out, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' How could he, who was so exalted, so luminous, utter such words? God never really abandoned him; he was always with him. Yes, but in spite of what Christians believe, Jesus was not God, and in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, 'Father, if it be your will, remove this cup from me, 'because although he knew that his death was decreed, he still wanted to avoid it. And when the Gospel tells us that while he was praying his sweat became 'like great drops of blood,'it reveals the almost unimaginable state of tension he must have been in at the thought of the death that awaited him. I am not saying this in order to belittle Jesus in any way; on the contrary, no one is more aware of his greatness. But Jesus was a man, and at the bottom of every man's heart lurks a trace of fear and anguish in the face of suffering and death. But a heavenly messenger was sent to comfort him and tell him, 'Your prayer has been heard. The Lord knows how great your suffering is, but it has been decreed. There is a reason for your torment. You know this reason, and you know that it will reverberate through the centuries so that all mankind may benefit from your sacrifice.' Then Jesus accepted what was asked of him, saying, 'Lord, not my will but yours be done.' It is not easy, when our trials are upon us, to say, 'Lord, may your will be done. I know that it is for my own good and for the good of humanity.' You have to be very highly evolved to be able to say such a thing. You must make sure that what I am revealing to you today is indelibly imprinted in your minds. If you are not working for good, if you have not dedicated yourself to the Lord, the trials you have to endure will be of a different kind. They will be a punishment for the faults you have committed, and if you do not know how to overcome them, you will descend into hell; you will become a demon. Yes, there are different kinds of trials. When someone works for the glory of God, the purpose of his trials is his ultimate transformation into a divinity. But if he works against the light, against good, the trials he experiences are stumbling blocks and punishments. True, they are also designed to help him and to prevent him from sinking even lower, but they are still a punishment. It is important to understand, therefore, that these two kinds of trial are quite distinct. Many people - even many spiritualists - get them mixed up. They are incapable of seeing the difference because they do not possess the criteria they need. This you must know, therefore: if you persist in an attitude of cupidity, egoism, and animosity, you will be introducing the seeds of disintegration into yourself. This is an absolute law. Analyse yourselves, and if it gives you pleasure to imitate the lowest beings because they seem at first sight to enjoy some success, then by all means do so. But I warn you, you will never know peace. Why not? Because this truth that I have explained to you will never leave you in peace. Never. You will never feel safe, you will always be saying to yourself, 'What is in store for me?' Even if you do not believe what I have been saying, some of it will have filtered in and registered within you. Without your realizing it, all my words are etched into your being. One day in fact, when they rise to the surface and manifest themselves, you will be astonished to see how much of what I have said has been recorded within you. So much the better. Believe me, when I say something, it is never in vain. From now on you will not know have a day of peace. You will say, 'But that is terrible; you are our sworn enemy.' No, I am not your enemy, but I still say that you will never know peace again because of this truth. It will continue to tighten its grip on you, and sooner or later you will be obliged to restore order to your lives and get back on to the right path. Only then will you know peace and tranquility. 'An in the meantime,' you say, 'it is your fault if we know no peace,' No, do not blame me, blame heaven, I am only the servant of heaven. The human organism is a book, and in this book I find all the essential truths. But most educated people never attach any importance to what God has placed in man. All their research is limited to what so-and-so said or wrote, and they take pride in quoting their favourite author, however nonsensical. They never have any opinions of their own. For my part, I never quote anyone. Human beings have never observed what goes on in their own bodies. They have no idea that when they are well it means that their organs are functioning harmonisously. They do not know that the foundation of their health is the law of sacrifice and self-abnegation. Mankind as a whole is also a body, and the different countries are its organs, but instead of working harmoniously together, these organs are devoured by cancer, and the world is doomed to perish because egoism and self-interest are the order of the day. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  5. We have often seen that a man doesn't become nobler and more radiant or more divine when his desires are all satisfied; on the contrary, he becomes more and more of an animal because he has more possibilities for self-degradation. Poverty at least kept a rein on his appetites! But as soon as he succeeds in improving his material circumstances, the road to Hell lies open before him. I am not saying that men must be held down in a state of poverty; not at all. What I am saying is that it is dangerous to give material facilities to those who have never learned self-control and who attach more importance to the material than to the spiritual life, for this only encourages them in habits of sloth, weakness and crime. An Initiate who already knows where the gratification of this or that desire would lead him, what it would arouse in him and the lengths to which it could drive him, refuses to indulge his desires if he sees that they would be an obstacle to his spiritual advancement. Let's take an example from everyday life: an ignorant, spineless young man falls in love and marries a girl who is ravishingly beautiful. At first sight this is magnificent, but as he has never worked to cultivate his powers of comprehension, self-control or nobility of character, all his baser instincts - suspicion, jealousy and cruelty - begin to get the upper hand and he never knows a minute's peace. He is forever watching his wife and anyone who comes near her; he is convinced that she is being unfaithful to him, and one day, in a fit of jealous rage, he murders her and the man he suspects of being her lover, and lands in prison. Socrates was much wiser: he looked for the ugliest and most disagreeable woman in Greece because he knew that he wouldn't have anything to worry about. From time to time, of course, he had to put up with some domestic storms, when she screamed at him or threw a bucket of dirty water on his head, but all that was purely external. Inwardly, he was at peace. But would any of you choose to marry a Xanthippe? Oh no; you'd rather marry a beauty queen and suffer torments all your life. So, once again, I repeat: if you don't understand human nature and are bent on giving people what they ask for, the Lord knows whether it will be for their good or whether you are not preparing coals of fire that will pour down on theirs heads! Why not educate human beings, instead, and teach them to analyse what they are seeking and demanding so as to see whether it is really what is best and most constructive for them? Time and again, things that seemed, at first, to constitute a step forward, an advantage or improvement, have turned out to be extremely damaging...all because everybody relied on first appearances. It is true that material and industrial progress makes a positive contribution to life. It is amazing how many aliances people have in their homes: heating systems, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and dish washers, televisions, telephones, etc. But why, when they have got everything, are human beings more disconted, rebellious and unhealthy than ever? What is even more astonishing is that, in spite of this obvious failure, people still continue to look for happiness in the same direction. They refuse to understand that, if they want to be happy, they must seek somthing quite different. They must seek love, wisdom and truth and be a little less sure that gadgets and comfort will give them all they want. The only things an easy, comfortable life can give you are sloth, selfishness and weakness; and the sad thing is that this is what people want: idleness and pleasure; to do nothing and have everything! And what to advise? I advise you to have both: have all the material facilities you want and, at the same time, keep working, night and day, so as to avoid becoming stiff in mind and body. You will say that I have already talked to you about this. That is true; I have. But has it done any good? Have you made up your minds to act on my advice? No, not yet. You, too, are so preoccupied by material things and by your pleasures that you have no time to open your hearts to the divine world and ask for sublime entities to come and work within you. This is very serious, very regrettable: if you refuse to understand you will have to suffer, and no one will be able to save you. Only you can save yourself by means of light and love. Analyse the use you make of your time and energy, therefore, and ask yourself what occupies the bulk of your attention. You will see that the divine world does not take up much room in your life - although this is the only thing capable of purifying, enlightening and resuscitating you - and that you devote almost all your time and energy to the material world which can only give you a few moments of joy before becoming a burden, a prison, an instrument of destruction. In a previous lecture I told you that human beings were inhabited by two forces, two contradictory tendencies which I represented to you as the two symbols, Erebus and Ionah. In Genesis, Erebus is the crow and Ionah the dove sent out by Noah to see if the waters of the Flood had subsided. These two forces - the forces of inertia and motion, of expansion and contraction, of life and death - are in constant conflict within man, and depending on which force gains the upper hand, man is either active, dynamic and strong, or weak, spineless and irresolute. Ionah manifests itself principally during the periods of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. When it begins to diminish, Erebus begins to manifest itself and man gradually weakens and dies. If men knew the law of love, wisdom and truth, if they kept in close contact with Heaven, they would be able to encourage and sustain Ionah even when its strength begins to be limited by opposing forces. But human beings are so estranged from spiritual realities that, even when its strenght begins to be limited by opposing forces. But human beings are so estranged from spiritual realities that, even from a very early age, they reinforce the influence of Erebus within them. At eighteen or twenty, they're already old and decrepit, their vigour undermined by the inferior thoughts and feelings that they continually entertain. Human beings want to stay young, they are always looking for ways to prolong their life, but they don't know how to set about it: they take pills or get injections of glandular extracts, but these methods are not effective. The most effective methods are spiritual. I have seen this time and again. only the day before yesterday, a very old woman came and listened to my lecture: to start with, her face was sad and without light but, gradually, as she listened, a light began to glow and intensify within her until she was completely transformed. How can anyone fail to recognize that the spiritual life is capable of transforming human beings? I know that you have all seen such things, too. This means that you must try to give more and more encouragement to good thoughts and feelings and good impulses within yourself, because their effects are extremely beneficial not only for your psychic life but also on the physical plane. In other words, if man lives a truly spiritual life in light, love and peace, he can prolong the life of Ionah. Of course, however great your knowledge and goodwill, you cannot expect to be totally transformed in this incarnation: the progress a human being can hope to accomplish in his lifetime is more or less determined before birth. So, although it is possible to improve to a certain extent in this life, any really substantial improvements will take effect only in this life, any really substantial improvements will take effect only in your next incarnation. In your next incarnation, Heaven will take into account all the good intentions and desires you have today and, overlooking what you were in the past, will grant you a magnificent destiny. Your present life reflects your past incarnations. Depending on the life you had led previously, the Twenty-Four Elders decreed the kind of body and the kind of physical and intellectual capacities you should have. Today, thanks to the purer and more harmonious life you are living in the Teaching, and thanks to your prayer and meditations, you can improve a certain number of things, but it is very difficult to remedy everything. You can do everything for the future, but not for the present. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Take the example of someone who is very rich: if he doesn't use his money to do good, if he is content to enjoy the pleasures of mediocre way of life, in his next incarnation he will be penniless tramp and spend his days drinking with his fellow tramps. He will not even know that he was once very rich and is poor today because he didn't use his money to do anything for anyone else. So many human beings come into the world in a truly woeful state and never know why. Neither psychology nor medical science, neither psychoanalysis nor the science of education - nor even religion - has ever shed much light on this question. Only Initiatic Science is capable of shedding any light on the question. It sometimes happens, therefore, that the emanations and radiations of our psychic life manifest their effects even on the physical plane and, if only for a few moments, a man can be truly transfigured. He soon resumes his normal appearance but, if he works consciously to renew and revive these marvellous states, he will be building a body of indescribable splendour for his next incarnation. Before you undertake anything, therefore, whatever it may be, begin by saying to yourself, 'I am looking for light; I' am looking for love and strength. Shall I find them if I do this?' and, thanks to this Initiatic Science, you will immediately be given the answer. Otherwise, you will plunge headlong into activities that will end by killing you. You will be like all those tycoons who want to be king of the oil or steel or any other industry: many of them fall ill or end by committing suicide. The weight of their responsibilities and the excessive amount of work they do in the attempt to satisfy their greed and their obsessive need to swallow up the whole world end by destroying them. Their nervous system cannot support the strain: they get insomnia, ruin their health and lose all their zest for life. Before setting out to possess the world, you must study every angle of the situation and see what the consequences will be. I know very well that no one will accept or understand or be guided by what I say in this area, either. People know what they know! They cling to their pet ambitious and lusts, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Who will agree with me? All the paupers of this world; all those who are poor and idle. Yes, they will be on my side, but will they have understood what I am saying? Just try giving them some material advantages, try improving their lot and you will soon see whether they have understood or not! They will go to even greater lenghts of folly and wickedness than the others. If poor people are always cursing the rich, it is because they want to be rich too, and as they are not, all they can do is rail against those who are. But give them some money and you will see. Do I speak disparagingly of the rich? Never. I speak out against their lack of understanding, that's true; but I love the rich. I love the rich. I love them so much, in fact, that if they gave me all their millions for the embellishment of the Brotherhood, I would hug them with all my heart! Well, however that may be... never trust people who are always denigrating someone: it means that they would like to have what he has or to do what he does. Yes, my analysis is terrible. Never lay yourselves open to my analysis. There is still much to say about this question of economy! When a society is too preoccupied by its economic interests, it leads to an imbalance in the life of the community and all kinds of difficulties which, with a little wisdom, might have been foreseen. Suppose a country wants to export as much as possible because it is extremely profitable to do so: one thing leads to another and, before long, they are selling arms and fighter planes to countries whose constant wars endanger the peace and safety of the entire planet. The people in some of these countries can barely read and write and yet they are allowed to buy the most sophisticated weaponry! Of course, that is one way to earn a lot of money, but the price to be paid in other ways will be exorbitant. In God's name, how can people be so blind? This is just one example of how economics can spell ruin for many countries. Yes, my dear brothers and sisters, I fully agree that nothing is more important than the economy. But there is one thing that human beings have failed to understand, and that is that if they want to solve the problem they must study it in the world above and not below, for what is below is only a reflection of what is above. Nature alone really understands economics; only she knows how things must be organized so that not a single atom is lost. Every speck of dust, every scrap of refuse is utilised. Look what happens to all the rubbish and detritus that is thrown away by human beings: the earth absorbs it and sends it down to its underground factories to be recycled and transformed into food for the vegetation on the surface. Nothing is wasted; nothing is discarded. But human beings, who are so out of touch with the intelligence of the earth, are constantly by the disposal of radioactive and other toxic wastes which cannot be destroyed! They have to be stored away underground but they constitute a terrible threat to mankind. What understanding of economics can anyone have if he inwardly vandalizes everything, if he squanders and dissipates everything because of his passions and desires and his disordered thoughts and feelings? You will tell me that you don't see any connection. But of course there is a connection; these are not two separate, disconnected realms. And this is why those who are responsible for the economy of a country must not decide the issues on the physical plane before they have learned the essentials: how man is designed and put together; how he is linked to the universe; how the universe is hierarchically organized, and how all human organization must adhere to a divine model, a Heavenly idea. They won't find any of these things in books about economics, but once they understand them, all that they do and all the decisions they make will be perfect. Human beings are so designed that they always count on the support of someone or something. A woman counts on her husband, a man counts on his wife, children count on their partents. Also, everybody counts on money, circumstances, the weather, and so on. In itself, this is not bad, but what is bad is that people have got into the habit of always counting on something external. Are you ill? There are plenty of doctors and pharmatists. Are you ignorant? You can always ask a professor - or a clairvoyant - to tell you the future. Have you damaged your car? There are plenty of repair shops. Are you bored? There are cinemas, bars, night clubs for your entertainment, etc., etc. Life is so well organized to provide human beings with whatever they need that they have become very negligent: they know that they can always find something or somebody to get them out of a fix. They can go skiing and risk their lives on the slopes: if they break a leg they can always go to hospital and get a plaster cast. If they are working at the top of a ladder, why bother to make sure that it can't slip: if they fall off, someone will pick them up and take care of them. Why be careful not to stain their clothes? There are so many cleaning fluids on the market these days! And, if they go for a walk in the forest and throw away a lighted cigarette, why get all upset if it starts a forest fire? The firemen will come and put it out! Because of this attitude, people's power of attention and their perspicacity, dexterity, wisdom and intelligence are constantly diminishing. They see no reason to cultivate these qualities when society offers so many ways of remedying their mistakes. Technicians and researchers are all working to help humanity, but the fact of the matter is that they are not helping, for people are losing their personal initiative and becoming steadily lazier and less capable of doing things for themselves. They probably know more than they used to, but they are also much more careless and lackadaisical. I am not saying that we should put a stop to material progress; what I am saying is that we should also continue to work inwardly so as to grow in attentiveness, prudence and selfcontrol. Because, if you break or dent something, for instance, even through there are ways of repairing the damage, it will always bear the mark; it will never be perfect again. How much better it would be not to break it in the first place! Then, too, we have to remember that there is always a possibility of events occuring that would deprive us of all our comforts and facilities. Look at what happened with world supplies of oil, for instance: only a few years ago it was produced and consumed and wasted without restraint because people thought that it would always be there for the asking. And now? Progress is wonderful; it makes life so much easier! Believe me, I am not against progress; on the contrary. In fact, I could mention several things that nobody has any suspicion of today and that science will discover in the future. But, for the time being, the most important thing for you is to know and accept the truths that are capable of transforming you and to improve your inner life before improving your external circumstances. Initiatic Science tells us that, however great the benefits that come from outside ourselves, they will never fulfil us, for fulfilment can only be found in one's own efforts, in efforts of the will, the intelligence and the imagination. In any case, you all know this: you all know that you find real satisfaction only in what you achieve for yourselves; you can never get the same joy and happiness from externals that are acquired without effort, even money. Yes, everyone knows this and yet everyone continues to look outside themselves for what they need. This is why their problems are never solved. However much you possess, however much other people give you, you must never abandon your own inner work; keep working until the very last minute. No, I'm not against progress, but material progress is not true progress. Material progress is certainly to be encouraged but you must never rely on it. See it as something magnificent, as something that opens up immense possibilities, but don't work. What work? The only true work: spiritual work. So, as I say, it is fantastic to have so many tools and products to remedy our accidents and mistakes; nowadays, everything can be patched up, glued together, cleaned or mended. But the trouble is that nobody attaches any importance to the other aspect, to the care and attention that would lead to less breakages. No, nobody bothers about that; why should they? As I have said, the pharmacies, hospitals, garages, laundries and dry cleaners are there to remedy all the accidents and mistakes committed by human beings. Mankind continues to make progress in external things, therefore, but the situation on the inner level is deplorable. And then people talk about the economy! True economy is to use things with care and reason; anything else is wasteful. Do young people know anything about economy? They squander all their strength and energy in mad schemes and the pursuit of sensations, and that is anything but economical. I am, perhaps, the only person in the world who understands economics correctly. People discuss the economy and study economic science and I know nothing of all that; but I do know that economy is not what people think it is. Do you want to practise true economics? Do you want to be very rich, to acquire a fortune in order to help others? In that case you must become more attentive, enlightened and reasonable; you must learn selfmastery. This is the only true economics. But no one expects to find economics in these things, and the most extravagant and ruinous spending is caused by economists because they have never studied true economics. People are in the process of ruining themselves spiritually, morally, intellectually and even materially, because no one understands the true nature of economics. Let me give you an example: suppose you are talking to your boss or a business associate and, through carelessness, you say something that makes him very angry. All because of a lack of attention you are dismissed or your associate breaks off relations, and you find yourself with all kinds of legal and financial problems. You say that you can sort things out again; that may be true but, even then, it will involve a lot of trouble and expense. So, one day, you are going to have to understand that you must be very careful and very reasonable so as not to complicate things, at least within yourself. There will always be disorder and conflict on the external level and there's not much you can do about it. It is not so easy to restore order in the world. But you can make sure that harmony, order, peace and light prevail in all that you yourself do. If you work in this way for years, you will see the results: all your problems will sort themselves out, even on the material plane, because everyone will like and respect you and be eager to render you service and help you. Yes, all your economic problems can be solved if you apply a little wisdom. If you really want to live a magnificent life you must make up your mind today and begin at once to be more attentive. Of course, it would be better for some of you if you had started sooner because it is when you are still young that what you do and say must be marvellous and harmonious and beneficial. That is true economics! Human beings have invented all kinds of conveniences to give themselves the favourable conditions they need in order to cultivate their faculties and talents, but there is one point that they have consistently overlooked, and that is the question of attention. There are several different kinds of attention. The kind that is most familiar to us is the deep and sustained mental application we need in order to do our work properly, listen to a lecture or read a book. But there is another kind of attention, which we can call self-observation, consciousness or analysis, and which consists in being aware, at every moment of the day - and even of the night - of what is going on within oneself, of the influences and impulses that move one. It is this kind of attention that is still not sufficiently developed. It is easy to pay attention to one's physical gestures; anyone who works in a factory or a laboratory learns to do so, otherwise he might well lose a hand or a leg. But the kind of inner attention and vigilance advocated by the Initiates is almost unknown, and this lack is often at the origin of much suffering and many accidents and mishaps: people are unaware of what is going on within them. The Gospels tell us, 'Be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.' Don't worry! You will meet neither lion nor Devil on the physical plane; the danger is lying in wait for you in your inner life. That is where all kinds of lusts, desires, ambitions and passions prowl about and, if you are neither enlightened nor vigilant, they will devour you. Why do parents never think of fostering vigilance in their children? They should start to do so even when they are very young, for this lack of self-observation and analysis, this inattention to what goes on in one's inner sanctum is at the root of a great deal of suffering. This is why I tell you that the beginning of true economics is somewhere where you have never thought to look for it: in attention. It is staggering to see the number of means and products that exist to mend or renovate things that have been damaged, broken or stained - and not only inanimate objects, but human beings as well. It's amazing: one half of the world population works at repairing the damage done by the other half. Well, this is something that economists should give more thoughts to, the fact that people rely too much on external means and tell themselves, 'Why bother to take care when there are so many technicians and workers capable of mending whatever I break, including myself?' The more conveniences people have the less they develop the faculty of attention, and this is what destroys an economy: too much has to be spent on repairs. Of course, I know very well that this is not the economists' point of view. Not only have they never envisaged the problem in this way, but their philosophy is diametrically opposed. They say that we must produce more and more goods and, in order to keep stocks rolling, people must buy as much as possible. They urge people to consume, therefore, and not only to consume but to waste. The more goods they buy the better it will be. If they are careless and wreck their car or break a major appliance in their home, so much the better: they will have to buy new ones. If they live irresponsibly and ruin their health, that, too, is all to the good: they will be contributing to a thriving pharmaceutical industry. Naturally, in this way, the commercial and financial affairs of certain individuals and countries will prosper but, for mankind as a whole, for its physical and psychological health and well-being, this conception of economics is ruinous, catastrophic. True economics, therefore, will not be found where most people look for it. True economics consists, in fact, in not wasting, in not wasting the forces, qualities and energies that Heaven hs given us. True economics begins with wisdom, moderation and attention. There are swarms of economists in the world today; impossible to get away from them! But mankind will never find happiness by following their philosophy because they see nothing but the material aspect of life an its problems. First and foremost, economics must begin on a higher level, the level of intelligence, in the thoughts, words and looks of human beings, in the way they live an behave. For it is not enough to avoid falling and injuring oneself or breaking something; you must also avoid transgressing the laws of the invisible world. It often happens that, without in the least realizing it, a person triggers certain mechanics, disturbs certain entities or breaks certain laws on the psychic plane and, when this happens, he has to suffer the consequences and pay the penalty. One sometimes meets people who are always very attentative on the physical plane and yet they fall ill. This is because, through their thoughts, feelings or desires, they have triggered a reaction from hostile forces. And now they are in bed and are going to have to spend a lot of time and money to be cured. There are a lot of people who are considered to be first-rate economists. They may be first-rate in the theory of economics, yes; but just look at how they live! Look at all the excesses they indulge in, at all the waste in their lives. From the point of view of Initiatic Science, economics begins with the way we live. This is what I want to emphasize, therefore, the necessity for this inner attention, this constant awareness that allows you to see what is going on within yourself at every moment of the day or night and to recognize the currents and influence that pass through you. Personally, I have practised this wakefulness for so long that I know exactly what is going on within me at any given moment. I have trained myself to become fully conscious and, as I can recognize the origin and nature of every idea, thought or feeling, I am in a position to take the necessary precautions. You must learn to be attentive. I have often asked someone, 'What are you thinking about?' and heard the reply, 'I don't know'. He doen's know because he has never looked into himself, and that means that any currents, any filth, any mental images, however frightful, are free to come and go at leisure and he won't even notice. How can he hope to create a glorious future for himself in these conditions? It is possible to use your thoughts to create the future, but not if you are so utterly inattentative and unconscious. This is why children should begin their education by learning to be attentative. In every family, school and university, young people must be taught to be attentative. As for you, the very first quality that you must acquire, now that you are in the Brotherhood, is the quality of attention. Why do you think I have tried to get you into the habit of eating in silence, without making noise with your knives and forks (seven hundred people eating together and not a sound to be heard!)? In order to help you to cultivate this faculty of vigilance; in order to teach you to control every single gesture, to use your knife and fork and cut up your food without making a sound. If you want to acquire self-mastery, begin by practising at meals. If you can learn to move all the objects on the table without knocking them against each other, you will find that this harmony will be reflected in everything you do during the rest of the day. Yes, simply because you practised while you were eating! Then, not only will you make the effort not to make a noise, but you will begin to focus your attention on your food. From the first mouthful you will be filled with wonder: what strength, what energy and vitality God has put into that mouthful of food! If you can learn to eat in this state of attention and harmony, you will be capable of undertaking all kinds of activities, all day long, without getting tired. Once again, this evening, we find ourselves in the presence of one of life's greatest mysteries: fire. Why do I say that it is one of the greatest mysteries? Fire shows us that, without sacrifice, life cannot go on. When you light a fire, all the black, twisted branches start to burn and are transformed into energy, light and heat. This is why you must make up your minds to light a fire within yourselves, so as to burn up all your refuse and transform it into light and warmth. As long as you think of sacrifice as a deprivation, an impoverishment, it means that you haven't understood the first thing about it. True sacrifice is a transformation of old, worn out, impure elements into light and heat, that is to say, into love and wisdom. For heat is simply divine love and light is divine wisdom. This evening you must ask the Angel of Fire to come and burn up all the rubbish and all the old, ugly things accumulated within you, and transform them into love and wisdom. He is perfectly capable of doing it. Of all the four elements, fire is the most powerful. To be sure, earth, water and air are also powerful, but less so than fire: nothing can stand up to fire. And the divine fire, the sacred fire of God will soon burn up all the enemies of the Kingdom of God, all the enemies of light, the enemies of the Universal White Brotherhood. This has already been drecreed and, sooner or later, you will witness it: they will all be consumed by fire, exterminated, wiped out, because the Kingdom of God must be established on earth. Actually, as we are told by Holy Scripture, the battle will not be between men but between spirits: the good spirits will wage war against the evil spirits. The enemies we have to fight are not men but the influences and entities that dwell in men and combat light. The instant a man is released form the hold he changes. It is not rival armies of human beings, therefore, that will combat each other, but influences, forces and currents. This is the war of the future and, as foretold in the Apocalypse, the Dragon, the collective symbol of all the disorders and hatreds of mankind, will be defeated. As you watch this fire and see how beautyful and powerful it is, ask it to come and burn in your hearts and souls. It is not dangerous. It will not destroy you; on the contrary, it will vivify you. I have already talked to you about the different sorts of fire: subterranean fire, physical fire, the fire of Hell, etc. Also the fire of the stars and the sun's fire, the truest, purest and most vivifying fire of all; that which we try to attract and invite into us every morning at sunrise. The aura is also a fire, a fire which, if it is sufficiently powerful and bright, protects a person from evil spirits. Not all human beings have an aura capable of protecting them; it is often too weak and dull and, in this case, all kinds of noxious beings and elements can slip through it. The aura of the great Initiates, on the other hand, can be several miles wide and has the power to console, sooth encourage, enlighten and heal. And now, let's concentrate on the fire and send it a great deal of love and a great deal of respect and veneration. The fire is alive. It knows us; it knows who we are and the degree of evolution we have reached. If you knew how to consult it, it could enlighten you about many things. Before beginning their ceremonies, Magi and Initiates light candles or lamps. This tradition comes from a very ancient science which taught that fire was indispensable to realization. A remnant of the same tradition continues in the practice of lighting candles in church. This is why I asked you to write down your requests and give them to the Angel of Fire. All those little pieces of paper have been burned but your prayers have been transcribed and recorded on high by the servants of the Angel of Fire. If you are capable of working in accordance with the wishes expressed in your prayers, they will be granted for, when fire has a hand in anything, the results are always outstanding. When you are assailed by certain inner difficulties, it you have a sensation of sadness or distress, for instance, or if you are discouraged or sorely tempted, write down a prayer for strength and peace of mind, light a candle and ask the Angel of Fire to consume your distress in his fire, and he will do so. When you don't know about this sacred Science, you have to drag yourselves through life, unable to break out of the vicious circle of distress and tears. fire is there to help us but, apart from the Initiates, who ever thinks of using it in their spiritual life? Now that it is time for you to go home you must take care to hold on to the warmth, the sacred fire, that you have received here. People are rarely conscious of these things: when you go home after spending several weeks here, you don't think about protecting all this warmth and light, this fire, which is basic to all true spiritual evolution and fulfilment. From now on, remember to preserve this heat, to keep it alive for a long time in your heart and soul. This is true economy: to preserve the heart's warmth, to economize it so that it not only stays within you for a long time, for the rest of your life, but so that it grows and is amplified. You know how to economize money, material objects or time, but you don't know how to economize the one thing that is vital, this warmth. No, I'm afraid you are still a long way off! Within a few days you will have dissipated all this warmth and will be shivering with cold again. If you know how to look at fire, if you know what thoughts and what love you should have as you look at it, it will reveal the greatest mysteries to you: how to preserve the warmth and light you have received. Let's stay here for a few more minutes and meditate on true economics.
  6. Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science VIII Everything is hierarchical. Even in the constellations of the Zodiac: some stars correspond to the head of Aquarious and others to the feet; in Aries, some correspond to the horns and some to the hoofs. Or, take a river: from its source to its mouth a river is hierarchical. Even in a tree, from its roots to its flowers, everything is hierarchically organized. You will ask, 'But how do we know where things belong? It is a very complicated science.' Let me illustrate it for you: what is the first thing you must do if you want to transform a desert into a fertile plain? Find water. Bring in water and allow it to flow, and everything else, plants, animals and men, will find their place. The flowing water is the stream of life. Allow water to flow, allow life and love to flow and don't worry about what kind of trees will grow where or what birds will come and sing in their branches. Some may say, 'Yes, but I want to know in advance exactly where that clump of grass will grow and on which branch the bird will perch to sing its song'. For goodness sake! If you wait to find out all these details before making up your mind to open the sluice gates, the centuries will go by and there will still be no flowers growing and no birds singing. Let the water flow, therefore; the water of life, the living water of love, and you will see how the hierarchical order begins to take root in you and everything slips into place; everything will start singing and blossoming and it will be the Kingdom of God. From now on, therefore, work at this notion of the hierarchy that reaches all the way to the throne of God and try to see how you can achieve it within yourselves. You will have to pray and implore and struggle but, at least, the Spirit of God that you have been begging and praying for will begin to dwell in you and transform everything within you. When He comes, even if it is only for a second, everything will start to vibrate joyously, in harmony. But this cannot happen in the absence of your head. Without the head, there can be no hierarchy; only if the head is where it should be can it be achieved. It is possible for you to transform everything within you, all the impulses, currents and forces within you, but only by putting the head where it belongs, by putting the Lord at the summit of that hierarchy. The idea of hierarchy is deeply rooted in human nature; even animals recognize it: they choose the strongest, most intelligent or most handsome of their number to be their leader and then obey him completely. Even animals know that worth must be recognized and respected. It is only human beings who have lost their sense of worth; they are too proud. Humility, you see, is a recognition of a hierarchical order. A person is humble when he recognizes superiority in another. Of course, if I insist so much on this notion of hierarchy, it is because I always have in mind the inner hierarchy. A person can be at the top in external things and at the bottom inwardly. You can be at the top in society simply because you are rich or learned, but to be at the top in the eyes of the divine world you have to see this: you cannot make the spirits and forces that dwells in you obey you if you are not superior to them. They immediatly know exactly who and what you are and, if you are no better than they are, nothing you can do will make them obey you. Even if you try to give them orders in the name of Jesus, they will scoff at you:'We know who Jesus is, but they will give you a good trashing. When one knows about this hierarchical order one is obliged to work honestly instead of being full of recriminations. To be angry and indignant about not getting what you want will get you nowhere if you never work on yourself in order to earn it. The hiearchy that exists in the spiritual domain will not be moved by anger and revolt. In human society, you may be able to get to the top by striking out at others and making a lot of commotion: you can see this in revolutions, wars and insurrections. But that kind of behavior won't get you anywhere with the spiritual world; the only way is hard, persevering, tireless work. In this way, yes; it is possible to rise to a level where you can command your own inner forces as well as the forces of nature and, one day, you can be a divinity. In the physical world, to be sure, human beings push and shove and pull other people down in order to take their place because they do not know the laws of hierarchy; on this level there is neither humility nor hard work nor understanding, only violence and darkness but this is not conducive to the evolution of those concerned. This is a law: human beings my receive only what they deserve and must receive all that they deserve. This is a universal law, a law promulated by the Twenty-Four Elders. The forces of nature know exactly what you do, what you are capable of and what you deserve and they organize things so that, sooner or later, you receive exactly what you deserve. But most human beings know nothing about this law; they don't believe in the existence of just, clairvoyant beings of a higher intelligence who honour the law, so they resort to evil, violent, treacherous means to get what they want and, eventually, of course, the forces of nature have to reach them a hard lesson. Ininitiates know this. That is why they never waver from their path; they know that the difficulties and misfortunes they meet on the way are only temporary, that these difficulties are useful, sometimes even necessary and that, in the long run, they will be rewarded as they deserve. No one can take the place of another. God has given every single creature a particular vibration and a particular place in the universe. On the physical plane, of course, someone who is unscrupulous and dishonest can eject a rival and take his place but, on the spiritual plane, that it is impossible. The place thath God gives to each one is exactly the place he deserves. In this respect, justice is always absolute; there can be no unfairness. No creature can ever take the place of another, therefore, but each one must grow and develop so as to reach the perfection that God has envisaged for him and, when he reaches the fulfilment intended by God, he will be unique and irreplaceable for all eternity. No other creature in the whole universe will be the same. Even if others are more important, each one is king in his own domain, because it was God who gave him that domain. Through his life, each creature secretes a particular quintessence which belongs to no one else. Other individuals may be greater but their quintessence is of another nature, so so one can replace or substitute for another. Every single creature is irreplaceable. The best people often appear to be treated unjustly by life but, if they really are 'better' and if they are undeterred by their difficulties, Heaven and earth have sworn to give them their due. This has always been so for everyone, and it will always continue to be so. What have we got to worry about, then? There is no need to worry about is whether these forces are intelligent or whether they have gone to sleep and forgotten about us. The only thing we need worry about is whether we are doing our work as we should, for these entities are perfectly capable of doing theirs and, when the time comes, they will give us the kingship that is our due. Picture a young prince who, from his earliest years, has been entrusted to a family of peasants to be brought up in a simple, rigorous way of life. He doesn't know that he is heir to the throne and he goes to work every day dressed in rags and with just enough food to keep body and soul together. One day, after years of hard work, his apprenticeship is over and a procession of courtiers comes to fetch him away in a gorgeous coach, He can't understand what is happening; he thinks it is all a mistake; he doesn't realize that he had only been sent there so that he would learn to work hard, get up early and live soberly (Because, of course, you know how young princes behave if they are brought up in luxury: they grow up to be lazy, capricious and cruel!). When the prince gets to the palace and the courtiers want to know what he would like for lunch, he asks for some bread and cheese, an onion and some water. Naturally, they are in despair at this because the royal chef had already prepared a banquet of lobsters and turkey with the best wines. And suppose I were to tell you that you are all princes and princesses, sons and daughters of God, that God has entrusted you to a family of peasants - symbolically speaking - and that, one day, He will send an official delegation to fetch you. Yes, but on condition that you have worked well; otherwise your apprenticeship could last for centuries. So there you are, there is nothing for it but to change the head and comply with that new head, and then everything else will change, too. We see this so often, even in everyday life. If a new President is elected, for instance, he immediately forms a new government with new ministers and a whole new administration. Why does he do this? Why doesn't he leave the same men in charge? Because he knows that it is impossible: the law of affinity, of magnetic attraction makes it necessary to inaugurate a new hierarchy, a new order. If the new leader is a gangster, he will give all the important posts to his own men, and a period of disorder and gangsterism will ensue. This is a universal rule: as soon as someone new takes command, he dismisses the old staff and gives their jobs to his own cronies, his own family and friends. How can you object that it is useless to change the head, that things will always be the same? Not at all, once the head is changed, everything else changes; every post is taken over by someone who is in agreement with the head. If the new head is a crook, therefore, all the other crooks will come out of hiding and give him their support and, if he is a saint, all the other saints will rally round him and fit into his administration as though they were old friends. You can see, now, why the very best thing for a disciple to do, is to place the best and most magnificent Head of all - that great White Head whose beard and hair are described in detail in the Cabbalah - at the summit of his being. If a disciple succeed in giving the Lord the very highest place within him, Angels and Archangels will also come and dwell in him to keep the Lord company. The Almighty cannot bear to be in the company of demons, so they are immediately dismissed and His Heavenly hosts come and sing round Him. It is impossible that it should be otherwise! The only true transformation, the only true alchemy, the only true magic is this: to change one's head. And, in order to change his head, a disciple must, at the very least, be ready to say, 'I don't wish to be in command. I want to be a servant; I want to work and to obey. I want the Lord to come and dwell in me.' And then he must work as hard as he can for this to come about. In the end, when He sees that conditions are right, the Lord will come and, when He comes, all the spirits of light will come with Him and fill all the available space. You see how simple it is? You only have to change the head and all the rest changes, too; It cannot be otherwise. How could the Lord, once He had decided to dwell somewhere, find Himself all alone or in the company of demons? Unthinkable! Wherever He goes He is accompanied by a retine of extraordinarily beautyful entities. If you take the trouble to understand the meaning and value of the hierarchy, you will be capable of fantastic realizations. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science IX I have already spoken to you, many years ago, about the underground kingdom of Agartha and the fantastic civilization that has flourished there for thousands of years. This hidden kingdom in in communication with the surface of the earth; there are openings in many different countries in the world: at the Poles, in South America, Mongolia and Tibet, and even in France, in the Pyrenees. From time immemorial, especially in the countries of the north, there have been legends that tell of a land beyond the icy wastes of the Pole in which it is always springtime. And, according to a tradition known to Initiatic Science, the aurora borealis is produced by very highly evolved beings who dwell in that kingdom with the light from the centre of the earth. There have been people who were aware of the existence of Agartha. There was even a film, LOST HORIZONS, which was about Shangri-La, the land of perpetual youth. In every country teh tradition has existed and, whether in Greece, India, Egypt or elsewhere, this mysterious subterranean kingdom has given rise to belief in a land of eternal youth and happiness which has been known, sometimes, as Agartha and sometimes as the Land of the Holy Grail, Thule or the Garden of the Hesperides. Today, more is being said and written about Agartha but, not so many years ago, it was virtually unknown. A Russian writer, Ossendowski, published a book called Beasts, Men and Gods in which he recounts what he learned about Agartha in the monasteries of Tibet. But it was the Marquis Saint-Yves d'Alveydre who made the most striking revelations in his book, The Mission of India in Europe. Saint-Yves d'Alveydre was writer, a scholar and an Initiate; he was capable of out-of-body travel and, in his book, he tells of how he visited and saw Agartha for himself. He gives many extraordinary details about this subterranean kingdom, about how it is lit by a kind of internal sun, about the trees and flowers growing there and about the animals and men who live there, just as on earth. He describes the libraries and archives which stretch for miles and which contain the whole history of the human race. Yes, there are some amazing books there, books written by great Initiates and containing great secrets. These books were taken away from human beings but they are still there, in Agartha, and only those who are sufficiently evolved have the right to go and read them. Everything that has happened in the world since its beginning is recorded and preserved in these archives. All that has disappeared from the face of the earth and that we believe to be lost to us for ever, is there, in those archives. If you wonder what some historical figure was like, this is where you will find the answer. And you, too, are there, in miniature. For there is a copy of every one of us and it is kept there so that we can be studied. Every single thing that happens here is reflected in miniature in Agartha, in fact, at this very moment, the Agarthans know that I am talking about them. Some people, who have done some research in this connection, think that the first Gypsies (or Romanies) were banished from Agartha and that it is from there that they draw their special knowledge of the Tarot, for example, which they hand on from generation to generation. It is also believed that the Aghartans first came from Atlantis and Lemuria. Before the continent began to submerge - some researchers put this at fifteen thousand years ago - they are said to have fled in their extraordinary machines and taken refuge in the bowels of the earth, where they built cities and settled down. To be sure, there are all kinds of extravagant theories about Agharta, but I am not interested in knowing whether they are true or false. What does interest me is the underlying philosophy, the priniciples on which this kingdom is founded and how to propagate this philosophy amongst human beings to understand that if they continue to follow their false philosophies, they will soon come to a bad end. The kingdom of Agharta is organized and ruled with immense wisdom and its millions of inhabitants live in prosperity, peace and happiness, free from disease and old age. Saint-Yves d'Alveydre describes this organization in detail. At the top, he says, is a trinity of beings: the Brahâtma, the Mahâtma and the Mahanga (whom Ossendowski calls the Brahytma, the Mahytma and the Mahynga). Authority belongs to the Brahâtma, power belongs to the Mahâtma and the Mahanga is in charge of organization. And, as the government of Agharta is patterned on that of the universe, below this supreme trinity is a group of twelve persons that reflect the twelve signs of the Zodiac; under them is a group of twenty-two, reflecting the twenty-two principles of the Logos with which God created the world and, finally, there is a group of three hundred and sixty-five, reflecting the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, etc. I have reflected and meditated for years and years about Agartha and worked constantly to make contact with this invisible kingdom and, although you may not believe this, the time has come to tell you that I am bringing you the same pattern of organization that prevails there and which is known as synarchy. It is high time that human beings realized that they have never yet found the best type of government and that only a synarchy, a government of Initiates, can solve all their political, social and economic problems. I am offering you the same culture as that which exists in Agartha. I have never been in a position to reveal it fully because I know that if I divulged it, it would seem so remote, so unthinkable, that I would be in danger of being locked up. I assure you, if I were to say all that I know I would soon find myself in an asylum. This is why I dare not reveal certain things to you. But it is all here, in my head and, little by little, I am leading you into this world of Initiatic truths. In any case, if you are honest, you cannot help but admit that everything I have revealed to you so far has been true. I leave you free, therefore, to do as you wish. But one thing is absolutely true, and that is that I am bringing you an entirely new culture. The Teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood has the mission to introduce the philosophy of Agharta into the world. There is a tradition that after Râma had established the Golden Age on earth, he went to live in Agharta. Many other great spirits such as Buddha, St John, even the famous alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, also went to Agharta when they left this world. But one thing that people don't know is that there are Aghartans who have reincarnated on earth in our day in order to bring us their science, their organization and their form of government: government by Initiates. I can tell you about how the Aghartans live, how they are born and how they understand love. They know how precious sexual energy is, for instance, so , instead of squandering it, they use it to rise to greater heights of perfection and become divinities. As a matter of fact, the true doctrine of Tantra-yoga, which is so widely known in Tibet and India, comes from Agartha. Very few Westerners understand - still less practise - this form of yoga correctly. Many of those who have tried it, in fact, have only succeeded in making themselves ill and destroying their emotional balance. Be careful, therefore: I don't advise you to embark on experiences in this area. Study well, prepare yourselves, purify yourselves and, when you are ready, the extraordinary science that these beings possess will be revealed to you. The Science of the Aghartans also includes the most advanced discoveries of physics. They are capable of seeing and controlling all that happens on earth. In fact, if they wanted to, they could unleash the power of the four elements and wipe out the whole of humanity. Fortunetly, they are too peace-loving and much too highly evolved to do so. It is also very likely that flying saucers, whose existence is no longer in doubt, come not from other planets but from the centre of the earth via the North or Sout Pole. Many observers in the Arctic and Antarctic regions have seen flying saucers coming or going in the direction of the Poles. In any case, the Aghartans have some extraordinary means of transport and it is particularly interesting to note that it was in 1945, after the atomic bomb that wiped out Hiroshima, that they began to manifest themselves more frequently. They come to keep an eye on us; they are concerned because they know that human beings are quite capable, in their folly, of wiping out humanity and, of course, if this happened it would also affect them. It is possible that, within the next few years, they decide to show themselves and give human beings some messages, some warnings. And it is also quite possible that they will take some of you back with them so that you can see the splendour of their land for yourselves before coming back to earth. So far, none of those who have visited Agharta have ever come back. But the Aghartans are very, very kind and generous: you need have absolutely no fear of them. They have overcome all human weakness. To be sure, quite a number of pilots have tried to pursue their flying saucers but they are surrounded by a magnetic field that makes them invulnerable: if they are pursued by a plane, they can throw out rays that make its engines cut out. They always work with light. Their source of power is light, and it is with this that they neutralize all hostile forces. They apply the Initiatic rule that it is light that must be our protection against harmful elements. Before very long, human beings will begin to discover many of their secrets. I have been telling you this for years: the only thing you must study is light, for light is all-powerful. Science has recently discovered the power of the laser, but there are many more discoveries to be made. One day, all the revelations I have made to you will be recognized and published at large. So far, they have not been taken seriously because they have not been confirmed by orthodox science. Instead of sensing their authenticity inwardly, instead of touching them, as it were, with their soul and spirit, human beings are so over-intellectual that they prefer to wait for the verdict of science before believing even the greatest truths. But, I repeat: sooner or later, all that I reveal to you in my lectures will be scientifically proved. This is already beginning, in fact, with experiments that are being made in Russia; the other countries are behind Russia in this but they, too, will come to accept the reality of the aura, clairvoyance and the power of thought. Technicians have perfected instruments that can now measure some so-called 'para-psychic' phenomena and this means that people will be obliged to accept the results recorded by them. Human beings don't trust the instruments placed in them by the Creator: they ignore them completely, preferring to wait for the verdict of an external instrument, whereas it should be just the other way round. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science X As I have said, I am interested in Agharta from a philosophical point of view, because of the pattern of organization, government and collective life it presents. We, too, should work for the collectivity with the same disinterestedness and the same tireless love as the Aghartans so as to form a single family on earth, so that there shall be no more boundaries, no more war, no more poverty. When this is achieved, the interests of individuals will be protected. In a prosperous, healthy collectivity, each individual member also thrives, whereas, if only a handful of individuals prosper within a collectivity riddled by poverty and dissension, they will always be at risk, for their prosperity is not built on anything firm and lasting. This is why, when we see that every individual is interested only in his own well-being and cares nothing for that of others, we can be sure, in advance, that it is an unstable situation. If human beings would only make the effort to forget about themselves a little more and devote themselves to the good of the collectivity, the interests of every individual would be protected. For the good of the individual is in the good of the whole. This is why I keep telling you that you don't know where your own best interests lies; your behaviour proves this and, sooner or later, it will be your downfall. The life of the collectivity surrounds, dominates and rules us. We can never be free and independent of it. This means that you must stop trying to find a comfortable little niche for yourself because it can never be anything more than a stop-gap. Unfortunetly, human beings are still a long way from this expanded consciousness. They are like insects: as soon as something goes wrong they scuttle off into their little hiding places thinking that they will be safe there. Well, that is fine, it is something that we have inherited from the insects, but surely we are capable of changing just a little. To be sure, human beings have already made progress where the collectivity is concerned, but not enough: they continue to massacre each other. Their consciousness has expanded slightly, that is true, but the situation has not really changed much. In the past, one man would be killed where, today, millions are killed at one stroke. That is progress for you! Ah, yes; human beings have made great progress. They have built much bigger towns, for instance, but their inner nature is unchanged: each person remains isolated in his own little hole. They are still 'troglodytes' just as they have always been: isolated, divided and hostile. The solutions men need must be sought on a higher level, in the spirit, in light. As long as they keep trying to solve their problems without that light, even the most far-reaching political and social transformations will never be truly effective for they will always contain the germ of a personal interest which runs contrary to the collective interest and which will end by contaminating all the rest. Men must consult that eternal wisdom that the Aghartans consult and that I myself always consult, and it will show them what to do. As it is, even the Church doesn't consult this higher wisdom; it has substituted its own interests for the interests of the Lord. This is why the prophecies of Fatima are so terrible for the Church. But people no longer believe in anything; self-interest and money have priority over everything else. I know very well that, because of this, the system that I bring you has no chance of being either understood or applied. In fact, if certain authorities realized that our Teaching was based on the synarchy, they would be quite capable of trying to close us down. They hate the synarchy! The Age of Aquarius is coming closer and bringing with it its Teaching of the collectivity. The synarchic order will be established and will probe itself. Every system has to prove itself and, when it turns out to be ineffective, is replaced by another and then another, and so on. This is how men grope their way forward until, eventually, they find the right solutions. In reality, instead of continuing with an endless succession of painful and very costly experiments, it would be possible for men immediatly to adopt a system that has been in existence for thousands of years. Unfortuneatly, at the moment, everyone wants to experiment and discover the great truths for himself. True, this is one way of doing it. Eventually, everyone will reach his goal this way, but it will take a very long time - hundreds if not thousands of years. The Creator has given all human beings the same ability to arrive at the truth, but the time that this takes is not the same for all. Those who accept to be instructed and guided by a Master save themselves a great deal of time, expense and suffering, whereas those who refuse this rapid and effective means will arrive at the same truths but thousands of years later. They prefer to tread a lone path; they want to be free and refuse to submit to or follow anyone else and, although they will eventually reach their goal, it will take them a very long time. This attitude is particularly prevalent amongst intellectuals. Every now and then, one finds an exception to the general rule, but they are rare. I myself am one of those exceptions. Fortunately for me, Providence saved me by depriving me of all kinds of intellectual faculties that others have received in abundance. This is why I have been so ready to accept the wisdom of others who were more advanced, whereas those who have great intellectual gifts believe themselves to be capable of doing things by themselves. It seems to me that Providence has not been quite so kind to them: they refuse every authority and rely exclusively on their own resources, with the result that it will be thousands of years before they discover the truth. In a few years from now some very important discoveries will be made. The only question is whether there will be enough human beings capable of understanding and feeling them and putting them into effect in their lives. It says in the Bible that everything will be revealed at the end of time. And this time is near. Of course, when it says 'the end of time', we must not imagine that it means the end of the world. The end of the world has already been announced time and again - even the date has been specified - and people have been struck with terror and prepared to die. And then the fateful day arrived and passed... and the world went on as usual. Occasionally some minor upheaval occured, but the world continued to go round. Mankind will never completely disappear. Human beings are tough, don't worry! They can survive anything. But there is no doubt that there will soon be all kinds of upheavals and changes and that it will be the end of an era. In his book, Beasts, Men and Gods, Ossendowski tells of how, one evening, he was with a caravan of camels, crossing a great plain in Mongolia when, all of a sudden, everything fell silent (Saint-Yves d'Alveydre mentions the same phenomenon): men and beasts stood still, even the birds did not fly. His guide explained that this awed silence fell over the sanctuary in his subterranean palace in Agharta to pray. Very few human beings have ever seen the King of the World but, every now and then, he has appeared on the occasion of a religious holiday and his appearance is always accompanied by great prodigies. He has also made certain prophecies, some of which have already been realized and others of which are still to come. Yes, the King of the World does exist and he is waiting for the right moment to manifest himself. Also, as I have already told you, some beings from Agharta have incarnated in the world today in order to carry out the plans of the invisible World. Many of them are working, even now, for a world government. Try to understand what I am telling you: above is the New Jerusalem, the Ierouschalaïm Hadascha of which St John speaks, and below is Agharta whilst we, human beings, are between the two. When the New Jerusalem descends and Agharta rises from below, the Kingdom of God will be established amongst men. Agharta, like the New Jerusalem, denotes the inner life. It was to Agharta that the alchemists referred when they used the word VITRIOLUM, each letter of which is the initial letter of a word in the Latin sentence: 'Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem Veram Medicinam', which means, 'Visit the bowels of the earth; rectifying you will find the hidden stone, the true medicine.' Agharta is also this inner earth into which we must penetrate, for man is made in the inner image of the universe and all that exists outside him exists, also, inside him. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  7. Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science I I said that evolution was accompanied by a simplification of forms and an amplification of the intensity of life, whereas involution was accompanied by a multiplication of forms and a diminution in the intensity of life, a loss of expressiveness, subtlety and refinement. This is why, when man debases himself, he sinks more deeply into diversity and becomes a world teeming with savage, snarling beasts - snakes, crocodiles, tigers and jackals. This is because man's inner life is simply the reflection of his outer life; when he moves further from the Source, he reproduces within himself the conditions of the jungle and is torn by inner conflict and strife. The only way he can put an end to this unhappy situation is to turn back to unity. This unity must also be established amongst the countries of the world. Study your history books and you will see that, not so very long ago, many of the existing countries were split up into seperate, warring States. Eventually, these small States realized that it would be to their advantage to unite and, in doing so, they have become world powers. But this is only one stage in the process; it is not enough. Each of these powers feels threatened by - and is a threat to - its neighbours, and the final outcome of the war they are preparing can only be their mutual destruction. Human beings must realize that the time has come to achieve a much broader, more all-embracing unity: every country in the world must unite, and that unification will produce in the body of the world exactly what it produces in our own bodies: health, strength and well-being. Mankind has not yet reached a satisfactiory state of health; it is ill, suffering from cancer, because of the all-pervading philosophy of separativeness. Each individual wants to work only for his own country or his own family. But this tendency can only create an everlasting series of complications and wars because, in such divisive conditions, there will always be some whose interests are overlooked. It is time, now, to simplify things, to convince all the countries of the world that, if they agree to unite, they will be much better off: everyone will share in the new abundance and be free to travel, get to know other people and rejoice together. In the past, of course, these notions of separativeness were perfectly normal; they had a role to play for man was not capable of broadening the scope of his consciousness to any great extent. Even the great Initiates such as Moses, for example, encouraged their people in the idea that they had to combat foreign nations; in fact, Moses himself participated in such wars. At that period in fact it was impossible to get human beings to understand brotherly love and the need for a universal family. They were too much like animals; the thing was unthinkable. But the situation is no longer the same and, thanks to the speed of communications, the world has suddenly grown so small that the time has come for human beings to understand that they must do away with the barriers between countries and unite so that the whole world may be one immense family. Human beings are still fighting, but what are they defending? They are defending a state of affairs which is destined to disappear and, one day, they will realize how stupid they were to work so hard to preserve it. In the meantime, however, they cling to their old political and religious conceptions. Christians, for example, continue to take pride in belonging to the true religion, in being the true children lf God; they consider that all others are pagans, infidels, unbelievers. But this is grotesque, ridiculous, absolutely monstrous! True children of God cannot be so narrow-minded. As long as this is their attitude, they are on a very low level - and it is not I who put them on that level, it is they themselves. Every creature decides his own level and his own orientation by entertaining thoughts, feelings and acts which put him in contact with specific substances, regions and forces in the universe. Every day, at each instant of the day, we ally ourselves with good or with evil, with the light or with darkness. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science II It is visible that a tremendous work is going on, today, and it will be carried on with increasing intensity, if not by adults, then by the young. For it is the young who will find it impossible to endorse the obsolete conceptions that are the cause of all wars and who will force adults to see things from a broader perspective. Young people are coming to the fore; they are going to turn the world upside down in Russia as well as in America; they will bring about a tremendous revolution. Political leaders too often imagine that the destiny of a country is in their hands. They may be able to comfort themselves with this illusion for a time, but not for long. All those who have believed that everything depended on them, have come to a bad end. Tyrants always come to a bad end; they cut off a few heads but, in the end, others come along and then it is their turn to lose their heads. In reality, the destiny of mankind is not ruled by human beings, however mighty, but by very exalted Entities who watch over the world and control the course of events. Think of all those mighty empires that once subjugated the world: they have all disappeared and been replaced by others. Yes, there are other intelligences, other forces working towards a goal that is unknown to us. Human beings should be much humbler, therefore, otherwise they are bound, sooner or later, to bite the dust. None of the innumerable secret societies that once believed they were going to rule the world has ever succeeded, and most of them have ceased to exist. Whereas the great Initiates, those who serve God's design, although they have often been scorned and massacred, have kept their ideal intact. For God's design is always the salvation, liberation and happiness of mankind. My dear brothers and sisters, the Universal White Brotherhood exists to remind human beings that they are children of the same Father and the same Mother. Why should they slaughter each other? Why should they work against each other? It is monstrous, insane! You are obliged to agree with this conclusion: once you accept this truth you cannot continue to be seperate and to detest each other, it's illogical. You must either live according to this truth or you should reject it - it would be more honest. Perhaps, if people had neither the same father nor the same mother, it would be permissible to massacre each other, but to behave like the Christians, who profess to believe that we are all children of the same Father and Mother, and who continue, in spite of that, to massacre Christians and non-Christians alike. Such a thing simply should not be. It is a terrible contradiction! Human beings seek happiness, success and wealth for themselves and are always ready to spring to the defence of these things, believing that, if they don't, they will lose them. Only thirty years ago, the Frenchman who dared to suggest that his people should seek reconciliation with the Germans would have been shot. And now that the idea is accepted, neither the French nor the Germans are in danger of being shot for making friends, visiting each other - and even bringing a few little France-Germans into the world! Why shouldn't it be the same with all the other nations? The fact that the French and Germans are friends has not really changed things very much; they still have other enemies who are just waiting for the chance to devour them. If we are really to be out of danger, therefore, the unity we need must be much broader in scope. Otherwise, neither arms nor diplomacy will be capable of saving poor, suffering humanity. But the day will come when the dangers that threaten men will be so great that they will be forced to be friends. Yes, even the United States and Vietnam, even Israel and the Arab countries. The only way for human beings to solve their problems is to live a brotherly life, and this is the life that I am offering them, a life which will give them an expanded consciousness and greater intelligence, happiness and joy. But the poor things cannot see this. The Brotherhood opens vast horizons to them; it offers them a family and immense wealth, but they refuse to leave their own little burrow, their egoism and darkness, their lower nature. They say, 'I don't need a Brotherhood; I don't need to learn any of that; all I want is to live my life freely and independently.' In reality, what they are defending in this way is their sloth and egoism, a wanton, undisciplined way of life, because that is what suits them. The trouble is that human beings have no real touchstone by which to guide themselves; they are still babies. If they were adult - spiritually adult - they would recognize that it is their predilection for comfort and facility, their desire to 'enjoy' life that is the source of all misfortunes. But, as they have never analysed themselves, they still prefer this attitude, because it dispenses them from making an effort or trying to improve. Well, I must warn them that, as long as they have this attitude, they will never make any progress because they are behaving like children. Children always prefer something agreeable, pleasant, sweet; their intelligence is not sufficiently developed for them to understand that the sweet things of life won't help them to evolve. Sometimes, in order to develop and become strong and intelligent, we have to accept something bitter, some quinine. Some people have even sought martyrdom deliberately, because they knew that human beings evolved more rapidly in difficult conditions. To be sure, I am not going to ask you to go to such lenghts, but I do ask you to understand that you must break with this philosophy of separativeness that so many people adopt in order to be, as they think, free and independent. You will never be free that way; on the contrary, you will be slaves, slaves to your own whims and weakness. True development can only take place in a collectivity. When you are always alone there is nothing to make you control yourself or help others. You can sleep all day, go unwashed and live in squalor and disorder. Some people prefer to live in sordid conditions; they fell comfortable that way, but in a collectivity it would be frightful! You have to be clean and presentable so as not to be offensive to others; you have to be friendly, patient and tolerant. Some people tell me that they need to be alone because they have so much work to do. Come on now! Don't think you can fool me so easily: I can see the reflection of that 'work' in their faces, and it is nothing but laziness, pleasure, the life of the astral plane or of even lower, subterranean regions in which they spend their time raising the dust and stirring up the mud and the tadpoles. But one fine day they are going to wake up to the fact that they are completely enslaved, that they have been working for their enemies, for entities of darkness they don't even know. It is these entities that order them about: 'Get me this or that to eat. No, I don't like that; go and get me the other thing, etc.' And they are forever running about, trying to satisfy what they take to be their own desires. Yes, and this state of affairs will continue until they finally realize that they have compromised their future and their own happiness by feeding and pandering to their worst enemies. You must be aware that every human being is inhabited by two types of entity, and if they don't know which ones to nourish, they end by being completely dominated by the entities of darkness. In order to milk them to the last drop, to get the last scrap of meat off them, these entities tell them, 'You're free! You can do what you please', and the poor fools are convinced that they have been 'liberated' as they would say. They don't realize that, on the contrary, they thave been enslaved. Man can be free, but not by surrendering to all his desires. As long as people understand freedom in the manner of children, they will never know liberty, only slavery. Do as you please, therefore, but, sooner or later, you will be obliged to arrive at the same truths that I am giving you today. And the sooner you get there the better! You have already had so many costly experiences, is there any point in going on in the same way? Couldn't you find a better kind of experience? I am continually astonished by people's mentality: they say, 'But its important to sample all kinds of experiences'. I agree. Absolutely. But why do you experiment only with dark, negative things? You must at least be honest about it, and if you insist on sampling everything, then you must also sample luminous, spiritual things. If you really feel that you must try everything, why limit yourself to only one aspect? Man, unfortunetly, always concentrates on one side of things - usually the worst side - and neglects the other. When a philosopher - a self-styled philosopher - declares that there is nothing in life for man but emptiness and despair, that God does not exist or that, if He does, man has no way of communicating with Him, the masses rush to follow him. And yet, even if there is an element of truth in that point of view, wouldn't it be equally true to say the exact opposite? Why do human beings confine themselves to one aspect - and always the worst? There are always two sides to everything and you must look at both. A human being has two natures, one that is celestial and the other that is infernal, and you must study both of them. Yes, but you must give first place to his celestial nature. Now, have you really understood what I have been saying? Have you understood that the Universal White Brotherhood is a truly terrible place, as unpleasantm, indigestible and tough as can be? If you have understood this, then you will come here to practise and get into training, to develop to the full every aspect of your being - will, heart, intellect, soul and spirit - and, one day, you will become true sons and daughters of God. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science III God is above all considerations of race or nationality. He has not created human beings to be Jews, Arabs, Christians or Buddhists: He has created them; that's all. It is they who, because of the conditions in which they evolved, were obliged to form clans, families, societies and nations. One day these distinctions which lead to so much hostility will disappear and men will feel themselves to be citizens of the world. Isn't this the healthiest and most desirable thing we could possibly wish for? Where is the political leader who would contradict me? I can demonstrate to you, mathematically, scientifically and historically, that certain points of view are obsolete. Now that we are living in an age in which man has reached the moon, isn't it about time we decided to change certain things? One fine day we shall meet the inhabitants of the moon. You will tell me that science has discovered that there are no inhabitants on the moon. But there are! In fact, they are more scientifically and technologically advanced than man. Why did the astronauts find no sign of them? Because, knowing in advance that they were going to have visitors, they hid away in their underground homes. Yes, because, if human beings are capable of reaching the moon, they are also perfectly capable, sooner or later, of doing to its inhabitants what the Spanish did to the Aztecs and Mayas. They still do it, wherever they go; there's not much difference, in fact, between cannibals and so-called civilized people. If they don't actually eat their fellow men, they devour them in other ways. Ah, I know that you like cannibals...shall I tell you a story about them? One day a delegation of cannibals turned up at the United Nations, saying, 'We demand a hearing; we have some complaints to make. We have learned from the newspapers and television (as you see, cannibals are very civilized and up-to-date) that you help people who are starving. You send them supplies of wheat, rice and coffee, etc. but you have sent us only a dozen missionaries. That's not enough; we ate the last of them a long time ago and now we're hungry. Why can't you apply a little Christian generosity to our case, too!' How logical! You will say, of course, 'But human beings learned not to eat each other a long time ago!' Oh, you know, there are many cases to prove that the twentieth century is not really so far removed from cannibalism. Put human beings in certain situations and you will see how highly evolved they are. Besides, to eat someone is no worse than all the other things people do. No one has yet studied all the various forms of cannibalism such as the different ways in which men and women 'eat' each other. Let people do as they please; let them swindle and destroy, if they want to, but they must never forget that it is not they who control the situation. There are other entities, above us, who watch over mankind and guide it in its evolution. Some men and women have devoted sixty, seventy, even eighty years to studying the will of their superior - the boss, the general or the minister - but these are purely human wills and they have wasted their time. I have devoted my whole life to studying the will of God and now I know it. And you, too, can know it. And now, my dear brothers and sisters, remember all this and think about what I said in the beginning about simplicity and complication. By moving away from simplicity and unity and towards diversity, men's spirits sank into the realm of the roots, and roots live in the darkness and cold of the subterranean world. It is time, now, to climb back up into warmth and ligth, into the realm of the flowers. And in flowers, too, they will find quantities of different forms, colours and scents. When you move away from the sun, everything is cold and dark and life diminishes. When you get closer to the sun, there is more light, more warmth and more life. In the same way, those who move away from God have no more warmth, no love, no light, no wisdom and no life: they become crystallized. This is why they are incapable of understanding or feeling, incapable, even, of doing anything. Or, if they do succeed in doing something, it si always destructive. But those who, like the Initiates, have turned back towards the Deity, are again blessed with light, warmth and life and they accomplish marvels, even to the point of raising the dead. It is so simple; even children can understand. So why can't the philosophers? If they understood they would not stray so far from the Source. Do you imagine that what people read in books nowadays helps them to get closer to the Source? No, there is too much that is negative in books, too many elements that are destructive of faith, love and morals, that demolish all sense of the sacred and the divine. You must read other boooks or, rather, you must read the only book that is really worthwile: the book of nature. And you must get ever closer to the spiritual sun so as to be warmed, illuminated and vivified. Unfortunetly, human beings do just the opposite: they do all they can to get further away and nothing to get closer. And then you hear them say, 'I don't understand what's happening; I don't know where I stand any more'. Certainly, to say this does not speak well for anyone and yet I have heard it or read it in the letters of quantities of people. I have always answered these people kindly so as not to offend them but, if I had given them my true diagnosis, I would have said, 'I'm not surprised that you don't understand what's happening to you. In fact, you will understand less and less, because you are going in the wrong direction!' Then there are those who complain that they can't bear other people; they just don't love others. And my diagnosis of what ails them is no better: it is as though they handed me their identity card on which I read, 'I'm and idiot, an imbecile, a monster!' The printing on the card actually reads, 'Doctor So-and-so, Professor Such-and-such, Minister of this-or-that' but what I see is quite different: it says, 'Imbecile'. Why? Because they are incapable of loving others. Can you imagine! And whom do they love? Themselves, of course, and even then they do it very badly. Then, again, there are those who say, 'I don't seem to be able to make an effort any more; I'm weak, paralysed'. What has brought them to such a state of weakness? The fact that they have surrendered to the inferior beings who inhabit them and who have bound them hand and foot so that, now, they are helpless. This, too, is a terrible thing to have on one's identity card. There, this is how I understand things and, if you wish, you can come to understand them in the same way. If you do, it will be all the better for you, for no one will ever be able to mislead you again; no one! I shall give you the yardsticks, the criteria you need and you will be able to look at someone and say, 'My friend, you can't fool me any longer; it's too late. I see through you!' But begin by using these yardsticks and criteria for yourself, first of all. There is no hurry about applying them to others; we can see about that later. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science IV I know that when people who keep abreast of what is going on in the world listen to my lectures they find that the things I talk about have no connection with current events. They say, 'What on earth is he talking about? If he knew what was going on in Spain or Portugal or the Lebanon - even in France - he wouldn't waste his time talking about such insignificant things.' Well, this remark only shows how little they understand, for what I am giving you is, on the contrary, the foundation of all the rest. What I give you are the methods, means and keys you need to solve all of life's problems. What good would it do if I talked to you about world events? There are already so many people who do that, but they never have any solutions to offer. All they do is reel off statistics and make statements and reports which are no use to anyone. Besides, the Lord alone knows if they are accurate! So, for my part, I leave all those questions to others and concern myself with essentials, with things that will be valid for all eternity. Human beings have a physical body, a will, a heart, an intellect, a soul and a spirit, and the great question is to see how he must work with these elements which will always be part of him. Yes, for the rest of eternity, whatever else may occur in the world, every human being is going to be faced with the same problems: how to think, feel, act, love and create. The subject I choose to talk about, therefore, is the one most important subject there is: human beings. Other people don't see the importance of this; they waste their time and energy on things that will soon be forgotten. I am always amazed to see how human beings have this tendency to be fascinated by trivialities. A new government, for instance, gets them all worked up, but how long is that government going to last? A few months later it will be changed and they will have to switch their attention to the next one! As for political parties, they come and go and change their names, and if you don't know their names or who their leaders are, everybody looks down on you! No one minds if you know nothing about the divine world, that is unimportant, but not to know the names of party leaders, not to know what their latest squabbles are about, what they said to each other on television, etc., that is disgraceful! How petty and pathetic it all is! What can any of that contribute to the real future of human beings, that is to say, to their peace, light and immortality? You will say, 'But people are interested in politics because they want to help the country'. I know, but that is not the way to help it; no one has ever helped humanity in that way. They are deluding themselves if they think that all these political discussions and dissensions are capable of helping humanity, because they are not. They have never produced anything but discontent, anger, strikes and revolutions. What has ever been improved by politics? Hospitals are overflowing, criminal cases flood the courts and we shall soon need one policeman for every inhabitant. I shall show you, one day, through the power of our Teaching, that there are other means that we can use to solve all these problems. You will find thousands of people in the world who think that politics takes priority over everything else. But, although they think of nothing else, day and night, what solutions have they ever found? None, except to belong to a party. Ah, that is important; it is a great feather in your cap to belong to a political party! But does that party hold the solutions to the world's problems? Does it have the right philosophy, the right outlook? Nobody asks themselves that. Once they are members of a party, tehy feel strong and secure and self-complacent. Yes, but their complacency may not last long; if their party is beaten at the polls they are going to be completely deflated. Their glory was nothing but a soap bubble! Do you agree with me? No, I don't think you do! Well, have it your own way, but let me tell you that as long as the synarchy is not established, it is no good counting on any of the myriad forms of anarchy. Believe me, all the different tendencies manifesting themselves today are, to a greater or a lesser degree, tendencies towards anarchy. Of course, I know that the French will not approve of me if I say this; if only they could realize how far they are from the truth! The fact is that they like having something to do even if it serves no useful purpose. At least they keep busy; they're not idle; they're doing something to kill time. True, it is good to be active, but they could, at least choose the best kind of activity. If you start talking about politics in public, in the street or in the train, for instance, you will find that everybody, young and old alike, is ready to voice brilliant political ideas. But, Heavens above, their lives are so restricted and so bound up in their personality, what ideas can they possibly have? And if you listen to the leaders of the political parties, you will hear each of them in turn accusing the others of working for the ruin of the nation and the grief of its citizen, whereas he, of course, is selflessly devoted to his country! Is all this sincere? Are they really talking about the interests of the country and their fellow citizens or are they seeking their own interest, hoping to be elected for their own sakes? Once they are elected, of course, the truth will out! And, unfortunetly, that truth will simply be 'more of the same'. It is because people cannot agree about what constitutes 'the good of the country' that there are so many political parties: new parties crop up every day. We need to seek an overall view, a view of the unique, ultimate goal; this is something that has never been found or even envisaged. Instead of fixing our sights on a unique and final goal, each individual focuses on one particular aspect and is ready to do battle in defence of a partial, temporary ideal which will soon be replaced by something else. For great upheavals are on the way and human beings will be obliged to understand that their vision of reality was distorted. The invisible World, of course, knows this; that is why these upheavals will be permitted: for the good of mankind. I am not saying that everybody is completely wrong; no, each one sees things correctly from his own point of view. But they are all mistaken in respect to the whole. An egoist, who pays no attention to other people's interests, arranges things in such a way as to satisfy his own appetites and desires. Inevitably, others rebuke him for this but he cannot understand their criticism because, from his own point of view, what he is doing is perfectly reasonable, logical and legitimate. And this is exactly what happens with political parties. What they say is all perfectly true and logical from their point of view, but when seen from a universal point of view, from the point of view of the whole, it is not quite so true! When a child wants to do something he is convinced that it is only normal and right and he gets a nasty shock when his parents forbid it or punish him for doing it. From his point of view, with the degree of understanding that is his, what he wants seems to be logical and legitimate, so he is furious with anyone who stands in his way and refuses to let him do what he wants; he thinks that they are both wicked and stupid. And this is exactly what happens in the world. Everybody tries to impose his will on others: 'To my mind it's like this' and 'to my mind it's like that'. Yes, but 'your mind' is terribly limited! What we need is to broaden the scope of our minds and become capable of seeing things not only from our own personal point of view and according to our own needs and wishes, but from other people's point of view too, and of using their point of view to modify or complete our own. Only when we do this shall we discover the truth and realize that everybody is both right and wrong: that is to say that they are all right from their own point of view, but not from the point of view of the cosmic collectivity. As long as man is not sufficiently broad-minded, impersonal and highly evolved, he can only see things from his own point of view and his 'personal truth' will be only a fragment of the whole truth. Political parties are neccessarily in error, therefore, for they all see things only from their own point of view. When they begin to see reality as it truly is they will be less proud of their original ideology. For my part, I try to see things not only from my own point of view but from the point of view of those who are more advanced, and this explains why my view of things is true. Those who make no effort to cultivate this higher point of view are bound to get things wrong and, sooner or later, life itself will prove it to them. I am not opposed to politics, but I understand it differently. If power is in the hands of someone who knows nothing about the structure of man or his links with all the different powers of the cosmos, how can you expect him to do anything really good for his country? If he has not done so for himself, how can he do so for a whole nation? How can a fool instruct others? How can a weakling bear other people's burdens? How can someone who is impure purify others? It's impossible! And it is also impossible for politicians to bring happiness to their people if they have never been instructed in an Initiatic school, for only in such a school can they learn that, before anyone can be a true political leader, he must have a profound knowledge of man and nature and a profound respect for divine law. Also, he must be free from all ambition, all personal passions. Everyone talks about serving his country but that is often nothing but words; they are mainly interested in their pocketbooks, their prestige and their power, and are ready to fight their way to the top with hoof and claw and nail. The rare few who are more enlightened but who are not prepared to fight tooth and nail to get to the top are ignored. As I say, I am not against politics, but for me the only valid form of politics is that of the Initiates who have studied human nature and know all its strenghts and weaknesses, who know what it needs and what spiritual, emotional, moral and economic conditions are most conducive to its fulfilment. As long as this knowledge is lacking, politics can only lead to conflict. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science V Even Karl Marx, who is so revered and appreciated, who has so many faithful followers - even he will lose all prestige before long, and all his acolytes with him! Yes, because the problems of humanity cannot all be resolved by class warfare and the colective ownership of the means of production, etc. I am not saying that Marx was not a genius; he was. You can't deny it. But he did not live a divine life and that he was not an Initiate. I realize, of course, that we need people who are qualified in every aspect of social and economic life, but most important of all, we need the leadership of Initiates who may know nothing about these specific problems but who understand the essentials. Does this astonish you? Take my case, for instance. No one on earth is as ignorant as I am about political organization, economics of finance. I know nothing about any of that! But one thing I do know, only one: how to keep the water flowing! That's all. And water can be relied on to find its own channels and to make it possible for a whole culture to spring up and develop: plants, animals and men. The important thing is to keep the water coming and not to bother about the rest. And that is what I do: my work is to keep the water flowing and then you - like the plants, birds, trees and animals that form a community at the site of a spring - each one of you can find your own niche. It is not up to me to find a place for you; that is not my job. In fact, that is why I have absolutely no talent for organization. My only care is to ensure that there is plenty of water, for where there is water, the rest takes care of itself. And water is love: love and life! As long as economists and politicians forget about the need for water and think that all they have to do to improve the situation is set up a good organization, create new institutions and new structures or new administrative posts, the process of death and disintegration will continue. Whatever is done on the purely external, organizational level will be ineffectual if nothing is done to ensure the flow of water. This is why it is essential that there should be someone at the top who is rich in light, knowledge and love, for then every branch and every department will know how to contribute to the success of the whole. You can see this phenomen so clearly in your own life. Perhaps you don't know exactly how to set about whatever it is you have to do, but you love it, you love your work, and in this case you will succeed and do it very well, because love always finds a way. But if you don't love it, you will never be any good at it, however hard you try. Some women, for instance, read all kinds of cookbooks and use all the best ingredients, but the meals they turn out are inedible. Why? Because they hate cooking! And then there are others who never read a cookbook and who manage, no one quite knows how, to turn out delicious meals with the most ordinary ingredients. The answer is simple: they love doing it. It's a question of love. Of course, I am not a child: I know that the organization involved in running a country is extremely complex. Yes, but if everything is to run smoothly ther must be light, there must be love, there must be water. When the flow of water is assured everyone receives the inspiration he needs to find his own special role. Look what happens when a group of people meet to discuss a joint project. If the members of the group love each other it will be much easier for them to understand each other, and by the end of the meeting, everything will have been settled and their plans will meet with success. But if they come to the meeting without love, in order to contradict, criticize and oppose the ideas of others, they will never find any solutions. This is what happens in many committees, simply because there is no love between the members. And here, in the Brotherhood, if some of you have never managed to settle certain problems satisfactorily, it is because you simply haven't understood the Teaching; I want to make this quite clear to you. For, when you are really inspired by love, it often takes just five minutes to resolve problems which, without love, will stay unresolved for years. Why are human beings still so blind? And to think that they have such a high opinion of themselves! Believe me, if you are incapable of solving you problems, you have no cause to be so pleased with yourselves. If you are capable of solving them, alright; but, if not, you would do better to find a quiet spot in which to reflect on what it is in you that makes it impossible: your lack of love. The trouble is that people don't believe in the power of love. They only believe in the power of the intellect, in the power of a critical mind. For my part I have no faith in the effectiveness of such things; in fact, they are dangerous. Bring a little more love to the situation and your problems will be solved immediately and everyone will go their separate ways, happy and astonished that it was all so simple. You must have seen two people discussing something: have you noticed how they both talk at the same time? No wonder they end by coming to blows! Yes, because they don't listen to each other. They are both so full of themselves that they are incapable of listening to anyone else, they get more and more irritated and impatient and lose their self-control to such an extent that they actually start to fight. Really, people have on psychology or pedagogical sense! If they had any intelligence at all they would know in advance what the outcome was liable to be and avoid reaching that point. An intelligent man begins by manifesting love and good-will and listens to what someone is saying to him; in this way he calls out the best in the other person and their problems can be resolved. But, to get back to the question of politics: I assure you that, as long as political leaders are ignorant of Initiatic Science, they are bound to make mistakes. Of course, as the public has no yardstick by which to judge, they are full of admiration. They say, 'Did you hear how So-and-so put the other fellow down? Wasn't it splendid? He really blasted him; it was magnificent!' And all the ignorant fools are thrilled. Yes, but an Initiate who saw that would not be thrilled at all. With the blind, anything goes; they will swallow anything, but an Initiate will not be taken in. Whom do adolescents choose as heroes? Those who are violent and destructive, those who are quickest on the draw! And the masses are exactly like adolescents. You must not expect much from politics, therefore, until political leaders have studied Initiatic Science; there will be more and more difficulties, conflicts and misunderstandings and they will be unable to find solutions. They think that they don't need the light of this science. Well, they will see whether they need it or not; there are some surprises in store for them that will force them to be more mature in their attitudes and then they will understand that this science is not to be scoffed at. Yes, I have to tell you the truth even if some people don't like to hear it. As long as the truth about mankind, the universe and the Creator is unknown, any solutions that may be found will be only partial, makeshift and temporary; they cannot be perfect, they will always involve certain inconveniences. If Râma instituted a Golden Age during which mankind enjoyed centuries of peace and prosperity, it was because he had been instructed in Initiatic Science by a mysterious being who guided and advised him. Eventually, the light of that Science was lost and, once again, anarchy and violence took over and has reigned, now, for many thousands of years. Today, it is neither moral qualities nor intelligence that has the upper hand, but force. Everybody wants power because everybody is persuaded that power, the use of force, is the surest way to achieve success. But let me tell you that it is the very worst way. Power must never be first; it must always be last. A synarchic form of government puts love, wisdom and truth in first place, and power and economic interests are seen as secondary in importance. But, in today's world, this order is reversed: power and economics are given priority, and this is why the situation is going from bad to worse and, whatever people may think, it will not right itself because this order is contrary ot the laws of the cosmos, to the universal order. The only type of organization that reflects the structure of the univers is a synarchy. All other systems of government are expressions of anarchy and this is why the world is in such disarray. Men will never succeed in establishing peace and order in society if they continue to act in contradiction to the divine laws, in contradiction to the principles that govern the structure of the universe. It is impossible! I want to uproot these false notions from your minds. The master Peter Deunov said to me one day, 'You are the great demolisher'. And what do I demolish? Your old, antiquated notions. And if there are still some who hope to succeed without the light and through the use of violence, let me demolish that hope once and for all: if they continue to cling to it, it will be their downfall. In fact, you will see this; everyone, beginning with themselves, will see it. This is a lecture that could revolutionize men's consciousness. Yes, because light is the most powerful revolutionary force that exists. No force is more revolutionary than the light. Many highly evolved beings have avoided speaking about these things because they knew how narrow-minded and limited human beings were and how dangerous it would be to reveal truths that were so far beyond their grasp, so they refused to enlighten the masses. But the time has come, now, for the whole of mankind to know these truths. So, let's concentrate on the heart of the matter. If a man refuses the Teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood, which reveals the existence of a higher but absolutely real world, he can never be a good head of State, because he will always be subject to impulses and ambitions dictated by self-interests, vanity, a desire for revenge, etc., and, in these conditions he can never make his people happy. To be sure, anybody can pull the wool over people's eyes and prevent them from detecting their true motives with well chosen words and gestures, noble phrases and speeches about the safety of the fatherland, the happiness of its citizens, true justice, etc., etc. But the reality? Well, the reality is not for public consumption: as you can well imagine, if they showed themselves as they really were and made no secret of their lust, their will for power and so on, no one would accept their leadership. They know that. That is why they bluff and lie and pretend to be what they are not. In the past, men such as Genghis Khan, Attila and Tamerlane could get what they wanted even tough they showed themselves exactly as they were. But, in those days, the mentality was not the same and the more unjust, cruel and pitiless a leader showed himself to be, the better his chance of success. Whereas, nowadays, you cannot do that; you have to show that your goals are acceptable, reasonable, generous even, otherwise you will be defeated. That is why people take great care to conceal their fangs behind a show of good manners so as to attract their victims and then... 'all the better to eat you with, my dear!' Yes, because their victims are without intuition, without intelligence, without knowledge. With a little perseverance, you can win over almost anyone, even by dishonest means, as long as you don't show yourself as you really are. If you want to find people who are absolutely disinterested, you must turn to the great Initiates who have proved themselves, who have purified themselves and endured great suffering, but who have conquered and emerged victorious. No one else is worthy of your trust. You can trust a man only if his higher nature has triumphed over his lower nature, not otherwise. Otherwise, whatever he may tell you, be on your guard! I don't ask you to trust and believe me or to follow me. All I ask is that you come and live with me for a while and see for yourself. If, when you have spent months or years with me and seen how I live, you conclude that you can trust me, then you are free to follow me. But I have never told anyone to follow me from the very first day. If you accept the Universal White Brotherhood, you need look no further; this is where you will find happiness. Surrounded by so many brothers and sisters, bombarded by so many loving looks and friendly smiles, how could you be anything but happy? But, if you prefer to be alone in your own little hole and to cling to your philosophy of universal isolation, you will never be happy. People think they will find happiness by isolating themselves, but happiness is impossible in isolation. Happiness is to be part of a collectivity; only when you are part of this universal brotherhood, of this immensity, can happiness slip into you... and it will never slip away from you again. All those poor wretches who continue to believe that they will find happiness by isolating themselves from others, by being selfish and personal... the only thing in store for them is death and disintegration. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science VI Does anyone ever think to scratch the surface and try to discover the secret ambitions that motivate those who wave flags and make high-flown speeches? No, they dash off to listen to them and are swept off their feet and follow them with enthusiasm. If only they could see what wolves, what wild boars are behind that smooth facade! But they see none of that; they have no judgement, no intuitive sense. It is a case of the blind leading the blind, and you know what the Gospel says: 'If the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.' Unfortunetly, it is only years later that people realize that their blindness has led to catastrophe. Look at Hitler and Stalin and a host of others: they were monsters, murderers - and yet people acclaimed them and flocked to them! I too am working for a political goal, but for one that is not inspired by my personality. It is sad that there are still so few people ready to understand these ideas. Try talking to them about a policy inspired by the individuality, a policy of generosity, disinterestedness and light: no one would take you seriously. But talk to them about destruction and arson, and thousands of people will enthusiastically agree. This is why - forgive me for saying this - but this is why human beings still need to suffer. No other explanation is possible: they will need to suffer and, one day, through suffering, they will find the way. You think that I am being cruel in saying this but, I assure you, although it gives me great pain to say it, it is true: human beings still need to suffer before they are ready to understand. If you need proof of this, just look at how they behave when a messenger from Heaven comes to instruct and help them: do they listen to him? Not a bit of it! Not only do they refuse to listen to him, but they imprison or crucify him or send him to the stake. But when a monster who is bound to bring them suffering comes along, they welcome him with open arms, acclaim him as their saviour and give him all the powers he needs to destroy them. Isn't it obvious that human beings need to suffer? They go looking for suffering. But let's get back to this question of the personality and the individuality. The annals of Initiatic Science tell us that many human civilizations have already been wiped out and that the culture and technical skills of some of these civilizations - the Atlanteans, for instance - were far more advanced than ours. If they disappeared it was because of this perpetual tendency of the personality that drives people to try to dominate and subjugate others by force. Unfortunetly, this tendency is becoming more and more evident in the modern world and this bodes ill for the future of humanity. Wherever you look you see nations or political factions intent on dominating and crushing others, and increasingly lethal arms are being manufactured in ever greater quantities. If there is one type of industry which is never short of work it is the arms industry. Every country manufactures arms for themselves and for sale to others and, today, Africa is stocked with arms bought from other countries who, apparently, have never paused to consider that it will be they who suffer the consequences. This is what the human personality leads to. And this is why human beings must be instructed in the Teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood and shown how to use the tendencies of their personality in the service of their individuality. Yes, if mankind is to be saved, this light needs to be propagated throughout the world. Otherwise you may be sure that Cosmic Intelligence, who dwells in eternity, is not likely to be unduly concerned about the disappearance of one more human race. So many others have already disappeared that if this one goes the same way through its own fault it will not trouble Cosmic Intelligence at all; It will simply use the few surviving individuals to start all over again. It is up to us not to destroy ourselves. If we persist in doing everything we can to bring destruction upon ourselves, Cosmic Intelligence will be quite undisturbed; It will let us go our own way without interference. Humanity has reached a very high degree of development, that is obvious, and it owes this development to the powers of the intellect. Of itself the intellect is neutral, neither inherently good nor evil, but when the personality controls it - and this is usually the case - it becomes a very effective tool for the accomplishment of its most villainous schemes. Thanks to the extraordinary development of men's intellectual faculties, the personality is more and more successful in manifesting its most evil tendencies: the will to monopolize everything for itself and wipe out whoever and whatever stands in its way. When I listen to some of the speeches by the leaders of political parties or trades unions, I can hardly help laughing. Whatever they do, it won't do any good. Why not? Because they themselves are not an example for anyone to follow, they are motivated simply by their own ambitions, their own prefudices; they are ruled by their personality. You will say that they are very intelligent people and very good speakers. Yes, I know; but that is not enough. They know all about politics, history and economics, but they are subjugated by their personality. When their individuality takes command, yes; then they will accomplish something useful. But do they even suspect that they have an individuality, a higher nature, and that it must be allowed to take control? The present state of things will go on for years and years: there will be republics, democracies, wars, devastation and revolution. There are even some who are preparing for a third world war. But when human beings are almost at their last gasp, when they are so exhausted and worn out that they begin to long for a new order, then, perhaps, the great Masters and Initiates will come and assume the leadership and, in the presence of such splendour and justice, everyone will be ready to submit and obey. For mankind loves justice and order; if it has always been incapable of establishing a just, ordered society it is because, instead of choosing a ruler of a higher order, it has always chosen someone from the rank and file. If you choose your leader from the common or garden ant population he will never be anything but an ant. Human beings have never understood that they should choose a being of another species. They always choose leaders from their own ranks and those leaders are, of course, capable of making speeches, arguing and biting, but nothing more, because they know nothing about Initiatic Science. In fact, not only do they know nothing about this Science, but they do everything possible to preserve and deepen their ignorance. Everything could be magnificent and marvellous, but you have to understand the reality of things. It is true that, in the past, when there were kings, the population was the victim of much injustice and cruelty and endured great tribulations. But is the situation any better today? Can you prove that it is better? In some cases, I admit, it certainly seems to be better. But behind this apparent progress it si actually worse, for human beings don't realize what they are missing. They are free to rub along in life, to eat and drink and amuse themselves, but this freedom is not really progress; it is still a form of servitude. Young people, especially, want to be free but only in order to do all the wild things that come into their heads. They fail to see that this makes them the slaves of their baser inclinations and that they will be obliged to keep feeding them. They are outwardly free, yes; but they are inwardly bound. This is how human beings understand freedom. But that is not enough, it is not enough to win external freedom by means of war and revolution. It is inner freedom that has to be won, freedom from one's own weaknesses, one's own greed, one's own vices. I have often compared this situation to that of a ship with its captain and its stokers. The stokers, who work below decks, are not in command; they are not able to see where the ship is going or to keep it on course; they haven't been given the necessary faculties. But they are fully able to keep the ship moving; everything depends on them. In the same way, a country depends on the masses for, if they were not there to do the work, everybody would starve to death, including the aristocracy. But it is no good expecting the common people to be clairvoyant and omniscient; that is impossible. Their job is to sow and reap, without them, the result would be famine. But without the aristocracy, without the captain at the helm, the result would also be disastrous. In creating men's bodies, Cosmic Intelligence has designed them in such a way that they are living examples of the pattern that should be followed in all social organization. As a matter of fact, human beings have succeeded in groping their way towards a pattern that bears some resemblance to this ideal, but it is still very far from perfect. There are always those who rule and those who are ruled but they are not always where they should be. The element that is lacking is a true respect for the right order of things in man himself and in society. I don't combat my inner populace; on the contrary, I take good care of them and keep them clean and tidy. Yes, my people are well looked after but they know that there is an aristocracy above them and that they have to obey it. No revolutionary songs about chopping off the heads of aristocrats for them! Quite the contrary, they respect and obey them. Actually, I am in favour neither of an aristocracy nor of a democracy, but of an order that exists throughout the universe and is reflected in our own bodies. Why didn't Cosmic Intelligence put our belly on our shoulders and our head between our legs? It put the head above and the belly below and now people want the belly to be on top and the head anywhere except in its rightful place. No, you must understand that a universal order exists which is not exactly the same as that which human beings would like to establish. The crime of human beings is to want their own order, their own system, their own point of view to take precedence over that of Cosmic Intelligence. Their personality is so avid to have the upper hand and impose its will that it is ready to topple the Lord Himself from His throne. It is man's personality that is the cause of all misfortunes; it has already led to the destruction of several civilizations. The question is very serious, my dear brothers and sisters. You must study this question of the personality and the individuality. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science VII The book of Genesis tells us that one night, while Jacob was asleep with his head on a stone, he had a vision of a ladder pitched between earth and heaven, and going up and down the ladder was a host of Angels. This is how Jacob received the revelation of the celestial hierarchy that links earth to Heaven. The earth is linked to Heaven and an uninterrupted flow of exchange takes place between them which is rarely mentioned, even by Initiatic Science. For example, when Moses wrote, 'In the beginnning God created the heavens and the earth', he did not mention any exchange or intercourse between them. One might conclude from this that heaven and earth were quite separate. In fact, this is what human beings have often thought: that heaven and earth were two distinct, even alien, realities. The truth is, on the contrary, that they are in constant communication, without this communication nothing would make sense. Heaven and earth, or if you prefer, sun and earth. Between the two there is an ongoing exchange and it is this that produces life. At the moment, we cannot see very much of this exchange. All we see are the sun's rays that reach us, on earth, we see nothing of what rises from earth to the sun. Only clairvoyants are able to see the multitude of beings who descend from higher regions to do their work with the plants and stones of earth and who, once their work is done, rise again to the heavens. Actually, there is a quite a lot of extraordinarily beautiful and poetic literature on this subject and, one day, the whole of mankind will be capable of seeing these creatures who come and go between earth and the sun - and even more distant regions. When this day comes we shall enjoy perfumes and quintessences as yet unknown and hear the music that resounds throughout space, for everything in the universe sings. Everything in the universe is music. But let's get back to this idea of hierarchy, for it is extremely useful for our inner life. If we know that everything - from the stones of the earth to God Himself - is linked hierarchically, and if we keep this structure constantly in mind, we are bound to act accordingly and do what is right, for we see that everything fits in to that order, that organization, that system. Hierarchy is a state of perfect harmony in which each element is in place. This applies in every domain and, if most human beings are so unhappy, it is because they do not respect this hierarchy. Their belly is where their head or their heart should be and vice versa. There is no order. Suppose you go to a village and look for the school. Even if you don't know where it is, you won't need to ask your way: you can go straight towards the shouts and screams you hear coming from the children and there will be the school. But then, all of a sudden, the noise ceases and silence reigns. What has happened? The school master has arrived, that's all, and all the little ragamuffins that had been climbing on the desks and benches and making so much noise, are sitting in their places looking like little plaster saints. Isn't this a manifestation of hierarchy? Hierarchy means everything and everyone in his place. And, as I say, this is true in every domain: in our bodies (in which water must not get into the lungs, for instance, nor air into the stomach), in towns and cities, in government departments, in the army, in an orchestra, etc. Every human being has a place that is his by right. Unfortunetly, this right is not respected in present-day society in which the worthiest and most intelligent people are unknown, whilst those who are violent, corrupt and unscrupulous are in command. Even in men's inner lives this hierarchy is rarely respected: the entities and forces that should be in command are absent and others have usurped their posts. I assure you, this is so. Look at anyone you like. who rules him? Do you imagine that he is king of his own realm? Not a bit of it; he is languishing in a prison cell where he receives barely enough bread and water to keep him alive, while others - dark, chaotic, unknown forces - rule in his stead. Naturally, he suffers from their tyranny and is constantly ill-treated, but he is obliged to obey them. Actually, he is not sufficiently conscious to understand that he is no longer the captain; although his ship is drifting out of control he believes that he is still at the helm. Until man once again accepts this notion of a heavenly hierarchy, he will continue to drift towards anarchy. This is what is so serious: external anarchy does not matter so much, but inner anarchy is very serious. It is because of this inner anarchy that hospitals, mental homes and prisons are always full of patients and criminals. Listen well to what I am saying. you can travel throughout the world, you can explore all the regions of space, you can enrol in all the schools of Heaven, and everywhere and always you will find this notion of hierarchy with God in command at the summit and all His creatures standing ready to carry out His commands. And, when you achieve this hierachy in your own inner life, everything within you will sing. Your very cells will sing and you will feel yourself cradled, born up by an extraordinary state of harmony and music. But this harmony will not be restored until everyone and everything is where they should be and, to achieve this, we have to begin at the beginning and put the heart and the intellect back where they belong. Most human beings are ruled by their emotions and passions, their intellect can do no more than say 'Amen' and hasten to obey. But this is anarchy! And people don't even know it; in fact, if you tell them that they are living in anarchy, they take it as an insult. But I repeat: as long as the heart and intellect are not in their respective places, it is the reign of anarchy. Have you ever wondered why Cosmic Intelligence placed our heads above our hearts? As I have already told you, it is exactly the situation of the ship in which the captain is up on the bridge and the engines below decks. Our engines drive us forward but it is the captain who decides what course to steer. Our engines are our heart, our feelings; it is they that move the ship, but they don't know what direction to take unless they are enlightened by someone else, and that someone is the captain, our head, which is on a higher level and can see where it is going. If you reverse their positions and put the engines up on the bridge and the captain down in the bowels of the ship, that will be the end of it, for the ordinary seamen have not been trained to do the captain's work. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science VIII Everything is hierarchical. Even in the constellations of the Zodiac: some stars correspond to the head of Aquarious and others to the feet; in Aries, some correspond to the horns and some to the hoofs. Or, take a river: from its source to its mouth a river is hierarchical. Even in a tree, from its roots to its flowers, everything is hierarchically organized. You will ask, 'But how do we know where things belong? It is a very complicated science.' Let me illustrate it for you: what is the first thing you must do if you want to t
  8. Dear Friends of Society My political Ideology is the following: I am an Universal Synarchist. Politics in the Light of Initiatic Science: http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...=45034&tstart=0 The Concept of a Pan-World: http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...44939&tstart=45 Can America survive? http://www.foundation.bw/canam4x.htm New World Order/Synarchy - The Secret History http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...44847&tstart=90 True Economics: http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...44831&tstart=90 Economethics: http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...44815&tstart=90 Sustainable Planetary Management http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...4813&tstart=105 Principles and Forms: http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread...=45112&tstart=0 Best wishes from Switzerland lwwb Roger Schreiber
  9. « Human beings are using technological progress to benefit their greed, with the risk of destroying the very basis of their existence on earth. This is why technological progress is not truly progress. Of course it is really quite something to be able to send craft into space and to other planets. But at the end of the day, what is the purpose of all this? To exploit the resources and cause the same damage as here on earth? To fight in space? To go and cause havoc all over the universe? There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to explore the cosmos, but not before having found the right attitude to adopt here on earth. Human beings respect nothing. They think they are the masters of the universe. They are prepared to upset everything to satisfy their curiosity and their cupidity. Well, they have to be aware that one day they will have to pay dearly for this lack of respect and this violence. » « People are led to believe that their happiness depends on scientific and technical progress and also on comfort. In whatever domain, they are continually bombarded with publicity; every effort is made to prevent them from making contact with other regions, other entities (the only ones that could bring them the light, love and peace they need). The spiritual world has been so rejected, scorned and held up to ridicule that very few beings feel the urge to search in this world for the necessary elements of their survival. Most people are dying of suffocation and intoxication. For their own good, they must search more and more for a contact with this subtle world so that their soul and spirit can breathe and find nourishment. When we meditate we do not touch anything material; it seems like "emptiness". But actually it is in this "emptiness" that the soul and spirit blossom and find fulfillment. » « Technological progress has given humankind great possibilities. This is a good thing, but all these new facilities and opportunities lead them to expect everything from outside and to become heedless, thoughtless, and fickle. We can neglect our health: there are doctors, surgeons, dentists, chemists, etc. We can waste paper, ruin appliances, break objects, soil and tear our clothes, throw away food: there is plenty more of everything in the shops. This is how care and attention, vigilance, and discernment gradually wane. Why develop these qualities when there are so many people and products available to repair the damage we have done? Scientists, researchers, technicians are all there to help people with their inventions. In reality, however, they help the manufacturers get richer, and make the people increasingly weak and dependent. I am not saying we should put a halt to technological progress, but we must also continue to work in the inner domain in order to cultivate care and attention, prudence, and selfcontrol. » « How often do you meet people who, without being forced by circumstances, decide to work? It is an innate tendency of human beings to avoid effort and to unload their tasks onto others, be they human beings, animals, or machines. Today, of course, with our technical progress, they especially look to machines to do their work. As a result, some of their faculties become dulled, their will in particular. Those who want to become equal to every situation must make a habit of striving. Even if these days we can acquire many things without effort, we must resist succumbing to this climate of ease. Otherwise, what will be the result? We will be outwardly fulfilled, and that is all. Inwardly, we will have nothing; we will be lost. It is their efforts which keep human beings on their feet and full of life. » « It does not take much to provide for one's material life, and yet human beings are so busy creating new needs for themselves that they no longer have any time to devote to their spiritual lives. As a result, their material comfort gradually improves, but their psychic and moral states deteriorate. Everywhere we see mental problems and criminal behaviour. Materially, we in the West have never been so well off, but in the deepest sense, this ease does not enhance peoples' serenity. After the first moments of satisfaction, a new washing machine, a new car, or a new house will not respond to the needs of their heart and soul. There is no doubt that people are conscious of this decline in society, because they spend their time in meetings talking about changing their lives. But all the changes they discuss concern only the material realm. Who considers holding meetings to help people live the divine life? That is why, even if business gets better and better, human beings are beginning to collapse. Is it reasonable to sacrifice people to business? » « Everywhere in the world people complain that technical progress generates pollution: toxic products pollute everything (the earth, the water, the air) and plants, fish, birds and human beings are threatened more and more every day. Remedies are hard to find, and even if they were found, they would touch only the exterior side of things, the physical plane, and that is insufficient. For toxic products, exhaust gases, and smoke are everywhere in the psychic world as well, and they are asphyxiating mankind. Nowadays there are many sick people, but it is not only due to the pollution of air, water and food. No! If the psychic atmosphere were not so polluted, human beings would be able to neutralize all external poisons. Evil lives first within us. When human beings live in harmony, the forces they possess inside react and reject impurities, even those present in the physical world, and in this way the body manages to defend itself. We are vulnerable first on the psychic plane, and gradually this weakness spreads to the physical body. » « Knowledge is growing in all fields and we meet an ever-increasing number of educated and cultivated people. This poses the question, however, as to why, despite all this progress, humankind is not improving. On the contrary even, the number of delinquents, criminals and mentally ill is growing. The answer is in fact very simple, because despite being educated, people continue to live in the same disorderly, dishonest and senseless way as the uneducated, or worse even because their learning has given them a greater capability to do so. The knowledge they accumulate remains theoretical since they do not think that they could draw lessons from it to improve their inner life. This is why the only faculty that human beings truly lack is that of using their knowledge to transform themselves, to spiritualize, enlighten their inner being. Educated people abound, all there is a shortage of is people who have decided to work on themselves. » « Establish an ideal of perfection in your head. But make sure the sole aim of this desire to perfect yourself is not merely for your own evolution; it must also be useful, beneficial for the world as a whole. This is how things should progress from now on. Up until now all spiritual teachings have more or less led human beings along the path of individual salvation: knowledge, powers, revelations, spiritual people acquired these benefits solely for their own good. This is why they remained isolated, hidden in some cave or monastery in order to be left undisturbed by the goings-on of the outside world. This philosophy has since become outmoded. The new philosophy teaches the quest for personal perfection, but without cutting yourself off from others. Quite to the contrary in fact: you should accept inconvenience, make sacrifices, suffer even, but be useful. To perfect yourself in order to be useful to the collectivity, this is true perfection. » « In the physical realm, human beings have made gigantic achievements: we cannot help but see how scientific and technical progress has transformed life. But this is not enough, and humanity is now called upon to realise achievements that are still more important, more vital for them, by means of the faculties of the spirit. Through meditation and prayer, they must learn to make a relationship with the world of the spirit, so that the light, love, and power of the spirit descends upon the earth, within them, and upon those beings around them. Scientific and technical progress has limits, and even presents dangers. If all these discoveries are not made to serve a higher vision of things, humanity will be overwhelmed and crushed by them. Scientific and technical achievements are not sufficient to transform life. It is by means of the spirit that life will be truly transformed, because peace, freedom, and brotherhood are realisations of the spirit.. » Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  10. The time has passed when human beings were advised to live a solitary life in order to evolve and earn their salvation. We are now entering the era of brotherhood. Human beings must no longer erect barriers among themselves, but must walk together, side by side, to form a universal brotherhood on earth, in which all beings will form one vast family. When this is realised, frontiers will fall, and instead of wasting enormous sums of money protecting themselves from others, all nations will live in abundance and peace. These are the ideas that inspire the teaching of the Universal White Brotherhood. They explain why our ideal is to develop ourselves on all levels, so that we may become examples. Our ideal is for all of humanity to advance together, united by this love that God has envisioned for all human beings. Our ideal is to live harmoniously within the collective life, because it is here that all blessings are to be found. » « Outwardly we will always remain separate individuals, with one physical body, one name and one identity. Inwardly, however, we must unite and form one collective being so that we may learn to live cosmic life, universal life. Two people may love each other so much that they feel they are one. They have two separate bodies, nevertheless, and there is no way to make them amalgamate. Even when they kiss, however deep their love, they remain two separate beings. And when they catch a bus or go to the theatre, they will always need two tickets and two seats. Only in their mind can they be one. In this very same way all human beings can be one, and this feeling of oneness is not subject to physical proximity. Thousands of kilometres may separate us, but we can still feel together, united. Let us therefore endeavour to introduce this idea of unity into our thoughts, our emotions and our actions, and we will then form one single family on earth whilst still remaining separate individuals. » Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  11. « Each human family is a cell in the vast body of society and if we look at how the cells of a healthy body function we find that they all work together in harmony for the good of the whole. It is clear, therefore, that if the majority of contemporary societies are sick, it is because the families that constitute them are not in harmony with each other. Each family has its own ambitions and interests and if these conflict with the ambitions and interests of others the result is confrontation and disorder. Each family must work for the health and well-being of the universal body, therefore, by becoming conscious of the fact that it belongs to a larger family. And not just to one, but to a succession of larger families, each of which belongs to an even vaster family and, in the final analysis, to the global family. Yes, this awareness must exist on the level of the family, for nations are made up of families and no nation can contribute harmoniously to the concert of nations if it is the mouthpiece of too many divergent and discordant demands. This is why you should not be afraid to reject any ideas about how children should be brought up if those ideas are detrimental to the harmony of society at large. It is their families that teach children to seek their own success and well-being first, even if it means riding roughshod over others. It is their families that leach them to think of anyone who does not belong to their nationality, race or religion as an inferior or even an enemy. Is there any wonder that children who are brought up in such a mentality grow up to be selfish, narrowminded and intolerant? Families will not be protected by turning in on themselves in a spirit of selfishness. After all, we are all members of a collectivity, and however much we may want to avoid being involved, if the peace and order of the collectivity are disrupted, our property and even our lives will be in danger. The fate of families is necessarily linked to that of the collectivity, and if we want to ensure the safety of individuals, we have to work for the betterment of the collectivity. The only way to ensure the protection of your family, therefore, is to work for universal brotherhood, to work to convince the leaders of every country that there must be a world authority responsible for the welfare of all. You will say: "That's an impossibility. There will always be countries whose governments refuse a higher authority." Yes, I know all your objections and at the moment, of course, what you say is true. But I am working for the future. In the future this unity will exist; events will lead human beings to see things this way, for they will come to understand that, in fact, it is not a question of being subject to other human beings or of handing over their freedom to an external authority but of working for the triumph of a common ideal: the peace and prosperity of the whole world, and it is clear that this ideal must necessarily be based on the idea of universal brotherhood. » Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  12. No political system has ever proved to be wholly effective. Neither a monarchy nor an oligarchy, a democracy nor a republic has ever found definitive solution. And this is simply because the system of government is not everything. If individuals are not conscious of their duty as citizens, if they don't understand that they must live in harmony with each other, a country will always be in chaos whatever the political regime. There will always be excesses, disorders and tribulations. Symbolically, democracy represents government by the stomach. Can the desires, appetites and instincts of the masses be relied on to have an accurate appreciation of what is good and what is bad? No. They have been given the freedom to make known their demands but have they ever been known to use that freedom to demand for the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness? No. Have they ever demanded light or love? No. again. The only thing the stomach and belly demand is more to eat and the freedom to vandalize everything and make everything dirty. The masses haven't got an exalted ideal because an exalted ideal requires a head and there is no head. Also, of course, the head must be enlightened, luminous and disinterested for, if the individual at the top has exactly the same instincts as the clamouring masses below, he will be worthless. Initiates work for the kingdom of god and His Righteousness and the kingdom of god is a monarchy. This means that all the countries of the world should be organized on the pattern of the universe whose king is God. Now, I am not saying that, in our day, a monarchy would be preferable to a republic; no, I am speaking on the level of principles. I have no objection to government by the populace as long as the populace is enlightened. If it is not enlightened it should not govern. Similarly, if the head is unenlightened, ignorant and cruel, it should not govern, either. As a matter of fact, it is ofgen the head, not the stomach, that does the most damage. You must understand, therefore, that am speaking symbolically and that, in the realm of symbols, everything is perfectly clear and mathematically exact. If you try to understand the world of symbols – which is the world of principles – you will never go wrong. but human beings get everything mixed up; this is why the world is still the Tower of Babel and people cannot understand each other. I want to talk to you about the distribution of wealth, and I know that it is a question that troubles most human beings. It should help you to understand the rightful order of things if we look at the human body. Why the human body? Because Cosmic Intelligence has conceived creation in such a way as to leave clues and pointers throughout nature so that men might find these clues and, by reflecting and meditating on them, be capable of reconstructing all that this sublime Intelligence thought and desired and planned. In this way, when we study plants, crystals, the stars, rivers and mountains, the sun and the planets and, above all, man an the pattern on which he is built, we can discover the intentions of Cosmic Intelligence and the splendour and subtlety of Its design. One of the things we seen when we study a human being is that every part of him demands something: the stomach demands food; the ears demand sound; the eyes demand light, colours, the sun; the mouth and nose, yes, and the sexual organs, too, they all clamour for something. Our whole body, therefore, is constantly asking for something and this is perfectly natural, marvellous. The only thing is that there has to be a head to guide, control and organize all this, otherwise the results would be catastrophic, for a man would eat and drink too much or too little, he would neither hear nor see the dangers that threaten him. It is right and normal for the body to make its demands, therefore, but the head must judge which demands must be satisfied and which should be denied and exactly when, where and now how much to give. There is never any shortage of demands; they are always there, but what about the head? Where is the head that is supposed to distribute to each member what it needs in accordance with divine rules and in divine proportions? I don't wish to criticize either monarchy or democracy; they both have their good and bad aspects. What interests me is the spiritual dimension of this question; this is why I say that for the members to clamour for what they want is normal and magnificent but that there must be a head capable of examining their demands and deciding whether they should be met or not. Whether it be inwardly, for an individual, or outwardly, for society as a whole, an enlightened head is needed to guide the members and correct any deviations. And the members must believe in that head and follow its lead. The pattern on which the human organism was created by nature is our most reliable frame of reference. It reveals the roots of the distribution of wealth as we see it today and of all the contestations, jealousies and revolutions in the modern world. Actually, however far back you go in human history, you will find that this problem has always existed. Someone who was stronger or more skilful than his fellows would be a more successful hunter, for instance, and become richer by bringing back more game. The unequal distribution of wealth is considered unjust but, in fact, it is perfectly just. Nature abhors equality, uniformity, parity. Since the Revolution of 1789, France's motto has been 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity' but, in reality equality doesn't exist in the universe. It is inequality that reigns. On no level of creation is there equality. You will protest, 'But we have made equality a law!' Yes, but a law is something theoretical and abstract; a text to hang on the wall. The fact is that equality exists nowhere; nature asks for diversity and diversity engenders inequality. Look at minerals, plants and animals: what variety! And human beings? Although you will occasionally find a person who looks exactly like someone else, there are always some differences, for instance, in the colour of the skin or hair and, in any case, in their hands, since they can always be distinguished by their finger prints. The result of this diversity is that the faculties, tastes and aspirations of individuals are different and, consequently, that each one has different intellectual, emotional and physical capabilities. Some will accomplish noble deeds and win all the prizes in competitions or in the struggle for life, while others will always trail along behind because they haven't got the same capabilities. It is because of this difference in capabilities. therefore, that some human beings have more than others. Is this normal? Absolutely! Should we be indignant about it? Absolutely not! But people never think things through; they allow themselves to be led on by others and start shouting and protesting like everybody else. But the important thing for us, at the moment, is to study and understand the question and be very clear about it. If, on examination, we find that there is something to protest and fight about, very well; but first let's get it all quite clear. However much people possess, it is normal and just. You will object, 'But they have got all that by exploiting and assassinating others', Yes, that's true: man has a centuries-old tendency that drives him to gratify all his appetites. As time wore on, he saw that it was necessary to have a code of ethics – not that he had any real desire to be ethical, but it was to his advantage to have some rules for, if theft and murder were forbidden, he would be safer – but this moral code is still very far from perfect. Men still try to steal from others, to take what doesn't belong to them, if not on the physical plane (because on the physical plane one is always in danger of being found out and put in prison) on other, invisible, planes: people steal each other's thoughts and sentiments. The same old instincts are still manifesting themselves – more and more vigorously, in fact – but on other, subtler levels. Everyone knows this today: you are all aware of the existence of industrial espionage, for example, by which companies try to obtain the secret plans or formulae of their business competitors. This is simply one manifestation of those age-old instincts of acquisitivness and domination. It is impossible to get rid of these instincts and, if you do not know how to transform and sublimate them, you may prevent them from manifesting themselves on the physical plane, but they will only seek an outlet on the mental and astral planes. In this case, the crimes are the same but the form is different because it is invisible. As long as Initiation is not there to give a spiritual orientation to these forces, they will keep trying to manifest themselves. What can you expect? Ambition, sensuality and anger are formidable forces which must find an outlet. The urge to compete and to possess more and more is absolutely normal. At what point does it become abnormal? Our own bodies tell us this so clearly that no philosopher could object. If I gave you only my own opinion, everyone else could say, 'No, no; that's not it at all! In my opinion it is thus and so...' and the argument would be endless. I'm not giving you a personal opinion, therefore; I'm giving you the opinion of Nature herself - and this is something that you are obliged to accept – and you will see how she has solved the problem through us. The question is this: 'Is it legitimate to amass wealth?' And the answer is: 'Of course it is!' What does the stomach do when you give it some food? It immediately takes possession of all that it needs and sends the rest on elsewhere; it doesn't keep what it doesn't need. In fact, even what it does take is not used only for itself; it processes it and distributes it to the rest of the body. The stomach only keeps what it needs for a few hours; after a few hours it feels the need for more food so it eats again. And this is what keeps a man healthy and enables him to talk and move about and work and sing, etc. But suppose that the stomach were to say, ' From now onI'm going what I have to those idiots? What do they matter? There could be a famine any day now; you never know what the future holds, and I have a big family to look after.' So it starts keeping everything for itself and, in no time at all, it is very ill, simply because it has broken the law of impersonal unselfishness and brotherhood. And then you have a tumour or a cancer or whatever else you like to call it. And the same thing applies to the lungs, the head and any other organ. Human beings are all cells of a single body. In fact, the number of cells in our own bodies is far greater than the number of human beings on earth; the brain alone contains billions of cells. And if all these billions of cells in our bodies manage to live happily together as a family, how is it that human beings are too stupid to achieve the same harmony and unity and have never managed to do away with the barriers that seperate them? If only they could achieve this universal brotherhood, there would be such prosperity that neither countries nor individuals would ever feel the need to hoard their wealth and defend it against others; there would always be enough of everything for everyone. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  13. As we go through life we come across people who are rich, handsome, intelligent, powerful and successful in every way. And then we see others who are so poor and defenceless that their life is an endless series of failures. What is the reason for such differences in their circumstances? Many people are outraged by what they think of as the injustice of fate. If you ask a scientist to explain these inequalities he will say that it is a question of chance. And if you ask a priest or a pastor he will tell you that it is the will of God. Some might talk about predestination and grace, but that only adds to the injustice! In any case, to say that "it is the will of God" is almost the same thing as saying that "it is a question of chance". If we analyse the priest's answer we are forced to conclude that God gives everything to some and nothing to others. We don't know why; that's just the way it is. But that's not all: it seems that He gets very angry when those to whom He has given nothing good, either in themselves or in their circumstances, turn out to be vicious and stupid and commit crimes. He even punishes them! Since God is almighty He could have made all His creatures magnificent, but He didn't. So not only is it His fault if men commit crimes but He then punishes them for their crimes. No wonder so many people have a horror of religion! The truth is that there is a very good reason for all the apparent injustices of life, and that is the law of reincarnation. The Church has never realized that, by denying this law, it was portraying the Lord as a monster of cruelty. The explanation is simple: at the beginning God gave us everything. But He also gave us freedom, and we have used that freedom to indulge in some very costly experiences. Of course, the Lord sees all this but as He is generous and patient He lets us work things out for ourselves. He says, "My poor children are going to suffer and run into trouble, but that doesn't matter: all my love and wealth is there, waiting for them. They have plenty of reincarnations ahead of them in which to learn wisdom." In other words, God lets us exercise our freedom, and all the bad things that happen to us happen through our own fault: we have deserved them. And we have also deserved all the good things that happen to us: they are the results of our efforts in previous incarnations. Why does the Church put all the blame on God for what happens to us? Perhaps you will object, "The Church doesn't blame God; it has simply suppressed the belief in reincarnation." Yes, but if you think about it, you will see that it amounts to the same thing. And it is very serious, because the knowledge about this law of reincarnation is one of the cornerstones of morality. As long as people are unaware of the law of cause and effect which carries over from one incarnation to the next, no amount of preaching or sermonizing will do any good. They won't change. And not only will they refuse to change but, seeing themselves as the victims of social injustice, they will rebel against their fate and become more and more jealous and full of hate for those who seem to be more privileged, with the result that their situation will be even more complicated. But someone who knows that all the difficulties and hardships of this life are the result of his past transgressions will not only accept them as just but will also make up his mind to work for good so as to enjoy better conditions in his future incarnations. Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  14. « Some people are so convinced that God's good name is under attack that they are always taking up arms in His defence. As though the Lord were a weakling who needed to be defended! Well, this is what they seem to think: they go in fear and trembling that His reputation might be besmirched and are ready to defend it at all costs, so they issue their anathemas and persecute and burn and massacre. Why do they never ask the Lord what He thinks about it? They ought to begin by asking His permission: - "Look at all these unbelievers, heretics and blasphemers, Lord; may we punish them? May we burn them at the stake or cut off their heads?" But they don't pray or ask the Lord what He thinks about it. They don't want to ask because they are not sincere. The Lord is Love and they have no desire to hear His answer: - "No, leave them alone. It's none of your business! If they are really wicked they will come to a bad end without any help from you." In spite of their claim to take up arms in defence of the Lord, they don't really care a jot for what He thinks about it. Do you really believe that these people are defending the Lord? Not a bit of it! They are simply defending their own affairs, their own prestige, influence and authority. What hypocrisy! If they really wanted to defend the Lord they should do as He does and manifest patience and love. » Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
  15. « It is when one has no more love that laws and rules are needed; and even at this moment, laws and rules do not serve in much. As long as there is no love, there will be religions which will never be able to bring the human beings towards God. But when love will come, there will be no more religion. Religion will become internal and will show itself under shape of kindness, brilliance, sacrifice, sweetness and light. It is when love left the humanity that religion has come to compensate for it. But when love will come, religion will fade because it will have entered again the heart of the man. » Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
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