Esoteric Philosophy Teaches Wisdom, Not
Illusion; And Symbols Must Not Be Taken
Literally
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
Our
Earth and Solar System Are Real Enough, And They Live
And
Move According to the Universal Law of Justice and Equilibrium
Theosophy is not limited to
words. In esoteric philosophy, words are sacred tools and instruments which
help us attain and transmit direct wisdom and understanding.
The
actual meaning of words must therefore be examined.
The
unwise use of the term “Maya”, for instance, is dangerous. It easily misleads.
And danger, if perceived, is a teacher. By understanding it, we get to a wider
and better view of things.
The
Sanskrit word “Maya” literally means “Illusion”, and it applies to the Universe
and to Nature as we know it in our planet.
The
Theosophical Glossary (Theosophy Co. edition) adds:
“In
Hindu philosophy that alone which is changeless and eternal is called reality”.
This
axiom, if rightly understood, does not condemn human beings to a hopeless
situation in which one would think that “since all is illusion, it must be
OK for us to delude ourselves while misleading others”.
Far
from it.
The
Law of Karma is eternal and changeless: therefore it is real. And we can know
the karma law. We can study it, we can sense it, we can see it working in our
lives and in Nature around us. The three laws of Newton
Adepts,
Initiates and Mahatmas are subject to the tides and workings of Karma. But they
fully understand the Absolute Law of Justice that rules the universe, and they
cooperate with it.
Since
we not only know but can gradually verify by ourselves that everything is
governed by the One Law, the idea that the universe and nature could be an
Illusion, in the common sense of the word, makes no sense. The Universe
is not to blame if humans delude themselves. The universe is truth in movement.
And it moves according to Law.
In the
legend of the Buddha, Maya is the name of Gautama’s mother. The
idea of a mother is a symbol for selfless love. Affinity and love move Nature
and its inhabitants, and Love is inseparable from Truth. Nature is only
illusory in its outer aspects or when seen by individuals who cannot perceive
the Law of Equilibrium and Symmetry silently ruling themselves and their
actions, and everything around them.
Let’s
suppose, however, that we leave the idea of Law entirely aside for a moment,
and say that “only the unfathomable Absolute is Reality, all else being
Illusion”.
In
this case we must honestly admit the fact that such a notion is adopted merely
on hearsay by us, since we are not anywhere near the Absolute, in our reasoning
capacities.
Who is
it that has ever visited the Absolute and came back to say that “only the
Absolute is real”? And what evidences does such an individual have?
The
poetical phrase about “Illusion” can be heard on tradition, very modestly, by
us. But in this case we are not thinking of anything that makes sense in a
literal way from the point of view of our own learning. Philosophically,
to say that “we live in Illusion” must be a symbolical expression, a
phrase actually meaning that “we live in an ever-renewing reality”.
Otherwise it is worse than useless and pure nonsense.
Each
cycle of space-time has its own verifiable reality, or levels of
reality. The universe is not uni-linear. It is septenary, to start with,
and each of its seven levels is also septenary, and so on. The universe
includes an infinite number of karmic lines of septenary evolution, each with
its own varied timelines and cycles. There are therefore multiple realities,
all in an eternal dialogue and closely united by Law.
It is
also useful to examine the word “reality”. It comes from the Latin, “res”,
meaning “thing”, so that the word “republic”, for instance, means “the public
thing”.
To say
that “Only the Absolute is Real” is therefore a contradiction in terms,
an absurdity, if meant literally, for it would signify that “Only the Absolute
is a Thing”. It is well-known that the Absolute cannot be a thing, or
object. The Absolute is far beyond any “res”. It transcends any “reality” or
“condition of things”. It cannot be speculated upon. It is an undue speculation
to say that only the Absolute, literally, is true and real. The word “only”
means separation, exclusiveness, and no one can say that the Absolute is
separated or apart from the Universe.
Truth
and Law being universal, they are everywhere, and we can learn to perceive it
by ourselves.
Humans
are surrounded by things, objective and subjective. They are surrounded by
realities. If we leave Sanskrit poetical expressions apart, there is
something much better than to say that our reality is “an illusion”.
It is
more efficient to say that our reality is dynamic;
that it changes; that it
is cyclic, and thereforeimpermanent
in its outer effects. It is quite real, though, within its own evolving
space-times and cycles.
Each
being lives in its own “individualized reality” or condition-of-things, up to a
certain degree. The same being also shares degrees of reality, and realities,
with all other beings and orders of beings. The mosquito and the human being
live in different realities, in different space-times, but they may interact.
In “Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge” (Theosophy Co.) and
in “The Secret Doctrine Commentaries” (I.S.I.S. Foundation),
H.P. Blavatsky talks about the intelligence of the ants. Although ants are
highly intelligent, their space-time reality is quite different from the
space-time of humans. It is no use for Ants to say our human space-time is an
illusion. It is different, instead. It is no use for humans to say the
space-time of an anthill of aggressive habits and skills is “an illusion”,
while having to carefully avoid stepping on it, as they walk. The
space-time of anthills is not an illusion; it is different from ours, and both
can interact in various ways.
Just
as there is an unknown number of anthills in our planet, there is also an
unknown number of universes, along an unknown number of pralayas and
manvantaras, in an unlimited Duration.
While
living in its own dynamic reality or changing
condition of things, each and every being in the universe can make progress
towards theosophy, which could be described as the knowledge of theunlimited
aspects of life. Such knowledge is not attained by dreaming that we live
“in an illusion”. The dream of illusion would only lead us to live as irresponsible
mediums. Progress towards theosophy is made by taking steps from smaller
circles and cycles of known reality towards wider and greater ones, and by
gradually grasping something of that Unlimited Abstract Space which is free
from common cycles, and with which our own Higher Self has been already in
perfect tune and harmony for ages.
Theosophy
can be learned through the right and humble perception of the One Law, and
through cooperation with it, as much as possible, in every aspect of our daily
life. One name for this “strategy” is universal
ethics. Another one is Duty. It
can also be called Wisdom or Self-knowledge. The thing
itself is, however, beyond names. If we are humble enough, patient enough and
audacious enough, we can make progress toward it.
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