YanStep

Առակը պատմում է բանտարկյալների մասին, ովքեր ծնված օրից շղթայված են մութ քարանձավում՝ նայելով դատարկ պատին։ Նրանց ետևում կա կրակ, իսկ կրակի և բանտարկյալների միջև մարդիկ են, ովքեր իրենց ձեռքին տարբեր առարկաներ են պահում, որոնք ստվերներ են գցում պատին։ Բանտարկյալները ստվերներն են համարում միակ իրականությունը, քանի որ նրանք երբեք չեն տեսել իրական առարկաները կամ քարանձավից դուրս գտնվող աշխարհը։

Մի օր, մի բանտարկյալ ազատվում է և բացահայտում կրակը և այն առարկաները, որոնք գցում են ստվերները։ Սկզբում նա ցնցվում է նոր իրականությունից։ Աստիճանաբար նա հասկանում է, որ պատի վրա տեսած ստվերները պարզապես պատրանքներ են, իսկ առարկաներն ու կրակը ավելի իրական են։ Ի վերջո, բանտարկյալը դուրս է գալիս քարանձավից և տեսնում արևի լույսը, որտեղ նա բացահայտում է իրական աշխարհը։ Նա հասկանում է, որ արևը կյանքի և գիտելիքի հիմնական աղբյուրն է, որը Պլատոնի փիլիսոփայության մեջ խորհրդանշում է "Լավի Գաղափարը"։

Վերադառնալով քարանձավ՝ մյուս բանտարկյալներին լուսավորելու նպատակով, նա դժվարանում է տեսնել մթության մեջ և հանդիպում է թշնամության ու անհավատության։ Շղթայված բանտարկյալները, իրենց սահմանափակ ընկալմանը սովոր լինելով, մերժում են նոր իրականությունը և շարունակում են կառչած մնալ ծանոթ ստվերներին։

Սա Պլատոնի պատկերացումն է, որ մարդկանց մեծ մասը ապրում է անգիտության մեջ՝ իրական համարելով զգայական ընկալումները, և որ իրական գիտելիքը հնարավոր է միայն նախ, երբ կարողանաս դուրս գալ քարանձավից։

Alchemy, often misunderstood as a primitive precursor to chemistry, is a profound spiritual discipline.

The alchemical process involves the transmutation of base elements into noble ones, mirroring the inner transformation of the soul.

Alchemists sought the Philosopher's Stone, metaphor for achieving enlightenment and immortality. This sacred art combines science, mysticism, and philosophy, illustrating the unity of matter and spirit.
Alchemy teaches that true wisdom and power come from understanding and harmonizing the forces of nature within oneself...

There are two relationships that are very helpful to know in our studies.
The Creative and Destructive Cycles are ways to understand transformation in Nature..

magic, after all, is all about playing with energy- Energy can be understood the basis of all magic and it too can be understood in terms of Yin and Yang and the Five Phases.

Just as in western traditions of magic one had to master the Four Elements in oneself and in Nature to have any real magical influence (a process symbolised by the Trial of the Elements), so it is so in Taoist magic.
Such knowledge of the transformation of things was discovered by generations of alchemists and magicians and transformation has become a key ability in the Chinese occult.

There are two processes we must understand. The Cycle of Creation and the Cycle of Destruction.
These two processes are essential to not only the calculations of mountain doctors, soothsayers and philosophers but to life and existence itself. The universe is indeed largely illusory if only because the cosmos and everything in it is in a constant state of flux, of coming into being and passing away. Taoists believe as many others do, that this is a temporal reflection in time and space of the Eternal.

Time and space are in turn products of having an observer and the observed. All true philosophies, therefore, recognise the Cycles of Creation and Destruction.... Life and death live in tandem and are brother and sister. Eros and Thanatos, I create and I destroy. S*x and death are thus the Great Mysteries of initiation and sources of raw power in Taoism and other schools of the Mysteries.

Somehow the modern western consciousness has divorced itself from the reality of the mysteries of Creation and Destruction. S*x is a commodity robbed of its creative power and death is a taboo to be feared...

- Jason Read (Practical Chinese Magick)

“It’s beautiful to be alone. To be alone does not mean to be lonely. It means the mind is not influenced and contaminated by society.”

-J. Krishnamurti

Art: Maciej Swieszewski

is a symbol with deep esoteric and occult significance, often associated with various interpretations across different mystical traditions.

In alchemy, the Black Sun represents the or the blackening phase of transformation.

This is the initial stage in the alchemical process where the material is decomposed and purified, symbolizing the destruction of old forms to allow for new creation.

The Black Sun can also symbolize an inner source of enlightenment that is hidden or occulted. It represents the light within darkness, suggesting that true wisdom come: from exploring and integrating the shadow aspects of oneself.

In essence, the Black Sun is a multifaceted symbol rich with esoteric meaning, representing inner transformation, hidden knowledge, and the balance of dualities.

Questioner: Do you believe in God?

Krishnamurti: Either you put this question out of curiosity to find out what I think, OR you want to discover if there is God.

If you are merely curious, naturally there is no answer; but if you want to find out for yourself if there is God, then you must approach this inquiry without prejudice;

you must come to it with a fresh mind, neither believing nor disbelieving. If I said there is, you would accept it as a belief, and you would add that belief to the already existing dead beliefs.
Or, if I said no, it would merely become a convenient support to the unbeliever.

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If a man is truly desirous to know, let him not seek reality, life, God, which will only be an escape from sorrow, from conflict; but let him understand the very cause of sorrow, conflict, and when the mind is liberated from it, he shall know.

WHEN THE MIND IS VULNERABLE, WHEN IT HAS LOST ALL SUPPORT, EXPLANATIONS, WHEN IT IS NAKED, THEN IT SHALL KNOW THE BLISS OF TRUTH.

J. Krishnamurti

Santiago ! Public Talk 7th September, 1935

"The word 'PerSona' (person) comes from the Latin 'per,' meaning through, and 'sona,' meaning sound.

In ancient Greek and Roman theaters, actors would wear masks 🎭, called personas, to amplify their voices and portray different characters.

So, 'persona' literally means 'through sound' or 'through the mask.'
We all wear masks, or personas, in our lives, adapting to different roles and situations.
But beneath these masks lies our true self, the essence that transcends the roles we play.

But just as an actor can remove their mask at the end of the performance, so too can we peel away our personas to reveal the authentic self that lies beneath. It is through this process of SELF-DISCOVERY that we come to understand the true nature of our being, beyond the roles we play and the 🎭s we wear."

~Alan Watts

"As you watch your mind, you discover yourself as the watcher.
When you stand motionless, only watching, you discover your self as the light behind the watcher."

-Nisargadatta

"Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and wonderful operations by a right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things.
Whence magicians are
profound and diligent searchers into Nature; they, because of their skill, know how to anticipate and effect, which to the vulgar shall seem a miracle."

- Lemegeton

5️⃣ is the Hand of the Philosopher.
It is made up of the 4 Elements plus Spirit, which, like the coordination between the human thumb and fingers.

5️⃣ is called the Christos (the idealized man),
and in the is the [Hierophant or Priest],
because it is the Spirit of Man rising from the Tomb of Matter.

Those who have lived through the laws of the 4 and have mastered themselves have become the 5️⃣ -- liberated from the Casket of Matter.

The geometric form of this condition is the 🔼 Pyramid, in which the cornerrises from the 4 corners of the base.
When the 4 Elements have become the pedestal upon which the Spirit stands city upon a hill, and not with stone walls which close it in, then man has reached the spiritual number of the 5️⃣.

Art: 'Hand of the Mysteries' by J. Augustus Knappy
Via:

🗣 - For a man of Western culture, I said, it is naturally difficult to believe and accept the idea that an ignorant fakir, a naive monk, or an ogi retired from the world could be on the path of evolution while a cultivated European, armed with "exact sufficiency" and the latest research methods, he has no chance and is spinning in a circle from which he cannot hope to escape.

🗣 - Yes this is because people believe in progress and culture, said G. But there is no progress, of any kind. Nothing has changed in thousands of years. Only the external shape changes. The essence does not change. The man remains exactly the same. "Cultivated" and "civilized" people live motivated by the same interests as the most ignorant savages. Modern civilization is based on violence, slavery and beautiful phrases. But all the beautiful phrases about civilization and progress are nothing more than words.

~G.I. Gurdjieff in dialogue with P.D. Ouspensky, "Fragments of an Unknown Teaching"