Why don't we teach esotericism to a greater extent?
Jorge Angel Livraga
Article from the Bastion bulletin No. 81, translation from Spanish carried out at New Acropolis
This question is often heard, especially from our new members. And the fact that we exercise great caution in the classes of the first, preparatory cycle confuses and discourages many.
So, in order. The preparatory stage is meant to give the most general information about what New Acropolis is, and at the same time so that listeners may feel and experience us, and we, in turn, can observe them to determine how deep and serious their interest in certain matters is and whether they are able to climb the steps leading to Wisdom — the cherished goal of every philosopher.
I fully understand that we could attract many more young people by presenting the initial lecture topics in a form more suited to their craving for the mysterious. But the danger that would arise would be far too great. In most cases such a craving is a tangle of spontaneous, unconscious desires, and therefore a direct exposition of the esoteric part without prior acquaintance with the necessary exoteric knowledge could turn many young people into sectarians and fanatics instead of making them true acropolitans-philosophers. Hence at the first stage some kind of filters are simply necessary. Without them beginners would become too detached from the world of everyday life, and for some of them a return to that world without the necessary ideological support and spiritual impulse would be especially painful. History teaches us that one must, without falling into absurd elitism, carry out a kind of spiritual filtration, show the ability to distinguish the true from the false, in order to bring order and harmony into the lives of those who place their hopes on us.
Plato left us a statement that has been very poorly understood and is still misinterpreted by almost everyone who refers to him, including university researchers. Through the mouth of one of the characters in his Dialogues, Socrates, the philosopher pronounced: “The rabble will never become a philosopher.” Because of inaccuracies in translation from ancient Greek and the peculiarities of our cultural and social experience, at first glance this seems an unjustifiably cruel statement, worthy of a tyrant. In fact, the Teacher meant that one must cease being “the rabble” in order to become a philosopher. In other words, Plato asserted that philosophical faculties are implanted in every person from birth, and for them to manifest it is necessary to correct defects of upbringing, to help a person rid themselves of bad habits and inclinations, and to encourage the necessary change in each one — a turning toward virtue and toward everything required by the true Seeker of Truth. So let the notion that anyone who has merely shown interest in New Acropolis will immediately gain the practical possibility of instant contact with the Essence of Things, with the Mystery that is Mysticism in action, remain in the realm of fruitless utopias. Neither posters, nor pamphlets, nor even lectures and readings by themselves will open up such a possibility.
As for the question of why we do not teach esotericism to a greater extent, not only to those who have only recently joined us but also to those who have been members of our Movement for several years, we are guided by considerations similar to those described above. If a vessel is filled with dirt and filth, then before pouring clean drinking water into it one must empty and thoroughly wash it. The human person is the same vessel. No one can, in just a few years, attending once or twice a week, acquire the inner purity sufficient to receive the Wisdom which for millennia, like drops of morning dew, has accumulated in the sacred cup of the White Lotus Flower of Esoteric Knowledge. The pearl in the Lotus Flower, of which you have all heard, cannot be taken with unclean hands, nor can it be seen by a gaze clouded with carnal images and visions. Persistent work and study are like fragrant soap and clean water. Only they can cleanse the hands of the sticky residue of greed and earthly passions, and the eyes of the veil that covers them.
Cleansing is necessary.
One must rid oneself of the animal and become as fully human as possible, turning toward the Divine.
Fatigue and reason must tame the flesh, and active participation in the realization of the Ideal must subdue the passions. The mind must abandon fantasies and unattainable aspirations, becoming more whole. “DESTROY THE DESTROYER OF ALL THAT IS REAL!”
You are too small, you are still a child, and therefore, according to a thousand-year-old custom, we measure out to you drop by drop the potent remedy — Esoteric Knowledge. We wish you only well, and therefore it is better for us that you leave us than perish from taking too large a dose. We do not dare burden our conscience by being the cause of your destruction — physical, mental, and spiritual.
No improvisation. We know perfectly well what you need, when, how, and in what quantities.
New Acropolis will not permit the dilettantism so ordinary and habitual in many centers that call themselves “esoteric,” which turn their members into illusionists, bringing them to such a state of fantasy that they are ready to see ghosts everywhere, even in a bowl of soup. They fancy themselves “Avatars,” they practice internal and external meditative techniques unrelated to Truth and Reality, they “raise” the Kundalini, choosing as a basis for this strange forms of sexual activity and foolishly and clumsily copied symbolic images of Tibetan Mandalas. These lost ones are innocent victims of human stupidity and vanity.
All specialists and connoisseurs of esotericism (not the intellectuals who talk about esotericism, but those who truly engage in it and practice it), from H. P. Blavatsky to Eliphas Levi, point to the necessity of apprehending the Secret gradually, so that the ground on which you step does not seem shaky, knowing exactly where to take the next step. At the same time one must rid oneself of selfish aspirations, laziness, sensual indulgence and gluttony. Comprehending the great Mysteries requires time, work, complete dedication and unselfishness. One must devote oneself entirely to the service of the Ideal, free oneself from all distortions and deformations of the outer world, from prejudices and irrational fears. And the influence of the biological robot of bone and flesh, called the “body,” should not be excessive.
Thus, we do not teach esotericism to a greater extent simply because we cannot and must not do so. The right rhythm is one of the necessary conditions for attaining Harmony, in which what is called “esoteric” and “exoteric” are tied to each other far more closely than commonly thought. Happy are those among us who have Plans, Principles and Goals, who know the necessary Rhythm and their own Possibilities. Who have Teachers and followers. Who serve the Ideal, ancient as the stars... and perhaps existing even before them... An Ideal that will shine even when those stars have gone out.