Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Jainism

Jainism is an ancient religion from India that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul toward divine consciousness and liberation.

Here are some key aspects of Jainism:

Non-Violence (Ahimsa): Jainism is perhaps best known for its doctrine of non-violence, which applies not only to human beings but to all other forms of life. This principle has deeply influenced Indian culture and ethics, contributing to the widespread vegetarianism in India.

Jiva and Ajiva: Jain philosophy teaches that the universe is made up of two eternal categories: jiva (living beings) and ajiva (non-living objects). Every living being has a soul (jiva), which is potentially divine. Through right action, knowledge, and effort, the soul can attain liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth and death.

Karma: In Jainism, karma is not only the action but the material particles that affect the soul based on those actions. These karma particles stick to the soul, affecting its ability to attain liberation. By living a life of purity and simplicity, a Jain can burn off the karma particles and achieve moksha.

Asceticism: Jainism encourages spiritual development through asceticism, like fasting and renunciation of material possessions. Monks and nuns take five great vows: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (not stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment).

Tirthankaras: Jainism has 24 spiritual teachers known as Tirthankaras, the last of whom was Mahavira (599–527 BCE). These Tirthankaras are revered for having achieved moksha and for guiding others on the path to liberation.

Sallekhana: This is a religious ritual of voluntary death by fasting. Practitioners view it as a way to purge old karmas and prevent the creation of new ones. This practice has been controversial and is not common.

Jain Scriptures: The scriptures of Jainism are called Agamas. The oldest of these texts are believed to have been lost, and the surviving versions were recorded by Jain monks in written form around 1,500 years ago.

It's important to note that Jainism is a diverse religion with two major sects: Digambara and Svetambara, each with its own interpretation of the scriptures and religious practices. However, the core principles of non-violence, karma, and the path to liberation are universally accepted across these sects.

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A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH OF REALITY

Preamble

JIVA

Ajiva

Pudgala

The Cosmic Fields

Human

The life

The Spiritual Discipline: Ascetic Renunciation (Pratyakyana)

The Discipline in the Physical Field: "Stillness" (Keyyocharga)

The Discipline in the Dynamic Field: "Calm" (Samagika)

Discipline in the Mental Field: Thoughtful Discipline (Anouprexa)

Discipline in the Karmic Field: The True Self

The World

At the SOURCE: Liberation (Kevala)

In conclusion

Preface

To be able to properly understand a Teaching (in this case the Jain Teaching) we must first have properly understood its "language", its "terms", the meaning, the mental content of the words it uses to describe the reality. Some serious scholars, religious scholars or researchers correctly transfer the meaning of "terms" in their description to another language as well. Most of those who deal with the subject, because they do not have a proper understanding of the religious-philosophical language of the Teaching and its "terms", translate the terms incorrectly. Thus, confusion is created and errors and misunderstandings arise in their narration. Also, because they do not understand the Teaching correctly and rely on their incomplete information, they "distort" the Teaching and attribute to it things that are not true or are completely different.

The Terms: There are Six Ontological Essences (Dravyas): JIVA and Five A-Jivas, namely, Pudgala, Adharm , Dharma, Akasa, Kala. There are other terms like Loka, Karma, etc. What do all these terms really mean? Let's try to put things in their place because there are many mistakes and misunderstandings and this leads to wrong descriptions.

JIVA

JIVA is Limitless Conscious Presence. There is. Is here. We cannot understand or describe anything else because there are no properties, perception, or any substance to detect. It is the ABSOLUTE SUBJECT. It is neither Substance, nor Energy, nor Activity, nor Perception. JIVA is characterized as "Setana", ("Consciousness"), i.e., that which "Sees", has "Vision", and "Understanding" (Darshana and Jnana), nothing more. Is there one JIVA or many? Actually, the question has no real meaning, it is only linguistic, verbal. As we define JIVA, it has an absolute character where the one or the many have no meaning, there are no properties that allow us to distinguish such a thing. On the other hand, when we "view" reality from the "point of view" of the "Embodied Jiva" there seem to be infinite Jivas, as many as there are conscious beings. So, what is true? Which view is correct? In the correct understanding of the Teaching both apply, it depends on where we look. In reality JIVA is One and many at the same time. Unintelligible to earthly Western logic. Just don't get carried away with superficial descriptions of the Teaching.

Ajiva

Atjiva means "non-conscious substance". And here are included not only some substance or varieties of substance, but also abstract or metaphysical conditions of existence, states, activities, etc. We will explain all this along the way.

Pudgala

The pre-eminent Essence is Pudgala. In the correct description of the term, we would say that it is the "Cosmic Essence", that from which all things are born, subjective activities and objective phenomena and events and things. When we use the term Pudgala in the sense of "Matter" we mean Metaphysical Matter, that which takes form, from the most abstract (suksma) to the most gross and concrete (stula). There are various "varieties" of the Cosmic Essence, the "Matter" from the most "subtle", to the most "gross". There is Karmic Substance or Matter, Mental Substance or Matter, Energy Substance or Matter and Material Substance or Matter.

But what is Pundgala really, beyond its abstract definition as a Substance? Essence is a word; it means nothing more than a mental concept. Pudgala is actually Space (Akasha), in its abstract sense, an Immensity (Framework) Without Limits, and not "Space" in the Local sense (Loka). This Infinity is "full". Not of some abstract substance but of an infinite number of units of substance having a dual aspect of energy-form. They are the "paramanou" (the smallest indivisible energy elements or units of energy). The paramanus is a vibrating and moving charged energy point. The higher the energy the more the form tends to disappear and the lower the energy the more compact the form. This is how the various "varieties" of Cosmic substance or Matter arise. Karmic Substance or Matter consists of high energy "paramanu" without form, while in contrast Material Substance or Matter consists of low energy "paramanu" of compact form.

From the "varieties" of Cosmic Substance or Matter thus arise the Fields of Existence or Worlds, the Karmic Field (Karma), the Mental Field (Manas), the Energy Field (Tejas) and the Material Field.

But how are the various phenomena created within the Cosmic Essence, in the various Fields of Cosmic Creation? Aggregations, clusters of paramanus are created from the different compounds. These are the “varganas” (the cosmic substance or matter which is detectable). All activities and all forms depend on or are “varganas”. We will explain it below.

The Cosmic Fields

But the real question is this: What is Reality? Who and How Perceives Reality? What does JIVA (or Jiva in the Manifested Worlds) have to do with Ajiva-Pudgala? And How Does the Creation of the Worlds Unfold? How are subjective and objective phenomena created?

JIVA (Jiva) is the Absolute Basis of Knowledge (in its abstract sense), Existence and Life. Let's explain this.

JIVA (Jiva) as ABSOLUTE SUBJECT (SIDDA), as "Consciousness" (Setana), "Seeing" (Darsana). When it "sees" Reality, in a Direct Apprehension of the Totality of Reality, it apprehends All That Is or can be. That Which Is Itself, the Ajiva-Pudgala, all Phenomena.

JIVA (Jiva) "Sees" (Darsana-Setana). What He "Sees" is Pudgala , the Cosmic Essence. The Cosmic Essence, as we have described it because it is Ajiva, non-conscious, does not activate itself, but remains in a State of Potentiality. JIVA (jiva) also "Moves" (Karma -Setana) the Pudgala, Cosmic Essence, causing, compounds, aggregations, phenomena. At the Beginning in the subtlest Karmic Field and then in the Lower Fields. JIVA (Jiva) also "uses" these phenomena (Karmaphala-Setana).

The "Vision" of the Cosmic Essence and its variations, is a Continuous Activity and becomes a function. This Operation, as a Perceptual Process has by its nature the character of Subjective Perception. Thus the Universal Subject (Arihad ) Emerges. What is perceived is the Totality of the Cosmic Essence in its Finest version, the Karmic Essence or Matter consisting of karmic " varganas ". What is perceived has the character of the objective. This is how the Objective World emerges. Thus "Vision" creates the Subject and what is perceived is the Objective.

The Creation Process is Gradual. At the beginning, Adharma prevails. The term Andharma is translated as “Stillness”, but this needs clarification. Immobility is not simply a lack of activity, something non-existent or empty. The Potential for Activity is there but no Activity manifests. Thus "Stillness" has more the meaning of "Rest". In this State the "Sight" and the " Outstanding ", the Cosmic Essence, are not "distinguished" because there is no movement in the Cosmic Essence. When "Sight" is "distanced" from Cosmic Essence, Cosmic Essence appears as Space (Akasa), Here the Universal Subject is separated from Objective Space. In the further investigation of the Subject-Space relationship, the Subject realizes that it fills the Space, it is Omnipresent. In this Process which takes place in the Frames of Adharma (Rest) there is only a Differentiation in the Subject-Object Relation and not a real objective movement, a differentiation of subjective activity, or creation of objective phenomena. It is the Universal Subject that Faces the Objective differently. All this Unfolds in the Subtle Karmic Field.

The Universal Subject who has separated from the Cosmic Essence, the Cosmic Space of Manifestation, and Fills the whole Space of Cosmic Essence Perceives the Space of Cosmic Essence as the Great Karmic Body (Maha Karma Sharira).

When the Universal Subject, the Universal Perceptual Center, Permeating the Entire Space of Cosmic Essence (the Maha Karma Sarira ), is "confined" to a "spot" (pradesa) the individual subject, the individual perceptual center, the self, emerges, the pure ego (and not the "personality" belonging to a lower Plane). This "individual perceptual center" consists of karma vargana (i.e. "synthesis" of karmic paramanou) and is at the same time the individual perceptual center and an individual karmic body (karma sarira) within the Cosmic Essence. Imagine (to be understood) a vast lake where at some point (and countless points) the water freezes and creates various crystals. The crystal, while having the nature of water, now behaves like something "different" in the infinite lake where at the same time it is a "distinct" body in the environment.

This individual karmic entity (and at the same time karmic body) is the individual existential core and exists until it is "dissolved" again in the Cosmic Environment. This existential core is "responsible" for the manifestation of individual beings in the Lower Fields. And as long as the karmic core exists, beings will wander in the Lower Realms from life to life (samsara).

The individual existential core, the karmic subject (body) in its "natural" state is pure spontaneous, unobstructed and unbounded perception (Paramatma). It is Non-Dual Consciousness that as Awareness Embraces the Totality of the Environment. This is the State of free beings (or liberated beings).

When this individual karmic subject accumulates and crystallizes perceptions (impressions) it actually creates a mental content (manas). Thus, the manas "emerges" as a mental perceptual center and the entity manifests itself in the Manasic Field and functions as a manas body (manas sarira) within the Manasic Environment.

When the individual manasic subject gathers and strengthens perceptions it actually "charges" these perceptions and turns them into "desire", desires. This is how the tejas "emerges", the energy subject and the entity manifests itself in the Lower Energy Field (Tejas), as an energy body (tejas sarira) within the Energy Environment.

Finally, the Entity that is JIVA (Jiva) and constantly "adds" new perceptual possibilities (Global Karmic Subject-Body, Individual Karmic Subject-Body, Manas-manasic body, Tejas-tejas body) is "embedded" in a material body. All the Higher Perceptive Abilities manifest within the material body, as "functions" (the Depth of Existence, the Universal Subject, the Individual Subject or Pure Ego, the Manas or "Personality", Dynamism or psychic energy), in the corresponding material centers (brain center, cortex, nervous system, body). This is the "man".

Human

The "man", depending on what he "focuses" his attention on, creates the corresponding awareness, perception of reality. Everyone "sees", perceives and acts from his own level, which reveals his "position" in the ontological scale and ontological evolution. The ordinary man functions on the level of manas (where three sub-levels are distinguished, objective intelligence, conceptual thought, belief) and on the lower levels, on the level of desires-emotions and on the physical-material level.

The life

JIVA is the All from which all proceeds, to which all rests and to which all returns. It is a Sense of Presence with an Abyssal Depth, Without Attributes, without possibility of perception or possibility of description.

By its "definition" JIVA is One, but every entity is supported by JIVA. Thus, there seem to be infinite Jivas within Creation. This is illusion, for when the Jiva is freed from the cosmic matter, it Emerges in its Wholeness, its Oneness and its Uniqueness.

Karmic aggregations are the existential core of beings and are responsible for the manifestation of beings in the Lower Planes. Karmic agglomerations do not dissolve unless the lower manifestations are first expelled.

The individual karmic core, the individual karmic subject-body, is the "existential core" of the being when it manifests in the Lower Fields (the Manasic-Mental, the Dynamic-Tejas and the Material). It functions as a "fixed existential memory" and experiences-memories (in the mental) are accumulated (as far as it is connected to its lower carriers) and tendencies are formed (in the potential) and activities are oriented (in the material) in it. Thus, when the individual karmic core manifests in the Lower Fields, "karma" of the corresponding order is created (manas karma, tejas karma, physical karma).

When the Being is incorporated (man) beyond the ontological composition that it has and its physical function, it "is" in a specific cultural environment, in a "society" that already has formed perceptions, behaviors and ways of life. Thus, man through his "socialization" learns to "acclimatize" to the "surrounding atmosphere", to "genderize" and uncritically adopt social perceptions. This is “Social Maya”, 'the “social delusion”. How are people raised? How are they oriented in life? How do they "spend" their lives? For thousands of years societies have dragged on without being able to solve basic anthropological and social problems. The civilization of men remains even today a "civilization of barbarism."

Thus all "intelligent people" are forced to carve out their "own" path in life and necessarily come into conflict with their cultural environment or be forced to withdraw from "society". All spiritual movements are basically "criticism of culture" and the opening of new spiritual horizons for man.

The Spiritual Discipline: Ascetic Renunciation (Pratyakyana)

In general, Spiritual Discipline based on Ethical Conduct shows the Spiritual Orientation of Man for the Attainment of the Ultimate Existential Purpose which is the Experiencing of True Nature, Integral Reality. On the contrary, the unorganized life, the moral freedom, shows the lack of Spiritual Orientation that leads to a life with the taste of existential failure and the final impasse.

Consider what the Teaching of Mahavira ( Vardhamana , the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism ), Jain Dharma and leading. Mahavira taught that the path to spiritual liberation is through the observance of the three jewels (triratna), right vision (samyak darsana), right knowledge or understanding (samyak jnana) and right conduct (samyak charitra). At the heart of right conduct are the five great vows 'Ethics', the observance of the vows of ahimsa (non-violence), satya(truth),asteya (abstention from theft), brahmacarya (purity) and aparigraha (abstention from attachment) is simply the condition for spiritual liberation. In fact, when you enter the "Path" of Jainism, you are called to completely reform your life.

The main purpose of "Spiritual Discipline" is precisely the dissolution of Karma at all levels, from the outermost to the innermost (which is the individual karmic existential core).

The Discipline in the Physical Field: "Stillness" (Keyyocharga )

This means that in the physical realm you must purify your life (and only then is it truly "religious") by experiencing "Stillness" not only on a physical level (with "yoga" exercises) but also on the level of physical and social activities. Obviously, Walking the Path to Liberation is much more important to the Jain than the life that ordinary people live. And this is the only way to "dissolve" "natural karma".

The Discipline in the Dynamic Field: "Calm" Samagika)

Then, if you wish to be declared a "Victor" of life (Jina) you will have to overcome passions, calm desires and eliminate "attachments" to reach the "windless" port of "Inner Silence". Only in this way does "dynamic karma" stop being created. And that's the only way you can progress on the Road.

Discipline in the Mental Field: Thoughtful Discipline ( Anouprexa )

JIVA (Jiva) although "separate" from Cosmic Matter, "Sees" (Perceives and Understands) Cosmic Matter, in various Fields, "Moves" and "Uses" what it perceives, its very "carrier" in each Field of Event, but also the "Environment" and the "things" of the Environment. In the Material Realm, on the Mental Level ("Sees", "Moves" and "Uses" the Mind), Means (i.e. internalizes and conceptualizes external perception), Intellects (i.e. organizes and synthesizes concepts into reasonings and "inferences, "perceptions") and "Glorifies" (that is, he has opinions and perceptions about things).

Just as people are brought up and "socialized", they are "formed" and uncritically adopt the social perception of the world and things. From the society itself they are oriented towards the external life and "programmed" with the social beliefs they are completely absorbed in the social life, trying to achieve their individual goals within the social contexts, within the limits usually defined by others and the possibilities granted to them by others. And so, they are consumed in the social war for power, wealth, life and experiences.

So, how can one "See", "Understand" and move towards Truth and Liberation? Certainly, the "Management of the Mind" is the most important work of the Follower of the Jain Path. The "mistake" that society deliberately pushes us into is to uncritically adopt what parents, teachers, social agencies and agents teach us, in their own ignorance and irresponsibility. Therefore, the Right Vision and Understanding of things leads in itself to the "demystification" of things and to their "transcendence".

Careful Observation of all social beliefs, prejudices and "perceptions" reveals their superficial and "false" character. All the cultural rubbish that people present as culture, knowledge, ethics and way of life should be rejected without hesitation. They lead nowhere and this can be seen from the level of barbarism humanity is at.

So, one should "think" about things on his own. But by what criteria? The only safe criterion is truth, objectivity, personal experience and verification. But what is real? Truth, in fact, transcends the mental plane, the intellect, it cannot be grasped by thought. The way the world appears in thought is a chaos driven by many and often invisible factors. Life goes on. But can we see what's really going on? In fact, there is no "order" in the world beyond the "order" the human mind can or wants to see. Whatever perception we try to form about the world, life, action and our purpose will always be a "constructed" reality (Anekand) in which we can dream as much as we want but it will not lead us to any way out. Thought has no outlets. And it must be abandoned. This abandonment is not the product of discipline or exercise but of Right Vision and Understanding.

The only Right View of the world and things is the Simple, Effortless and Unadulterated Perception, which we do not process but let it flow and guide us completely naturally, without internal pressures and external conflicts. It is the Path of the Peaceful Warrior, which completely naturally removes lies, useless activities and futile conflicts. The only Way is simply to move forward in life towards your purpose. In the Light of Understanding the Purpose of Liberation is now clearly seen.

Even here, however, when man arrives as long as he remains "oriented" towards the world and retains any "bond" with the world and things he is still active on the level of the mind and "creates" mental karma. Real liberation from the world is "conquered" by inner detachment, by understanding the secondary and phenomenal character of the world. Only then can the "inner shift" towards the Self occur. Only then do we realize that Reality is the Self and not the content of perception. This leads to a more inner and higher view of the world and not to an "exit" or "disconnection" from the world. It leads to Non-Dual Consciousness, to an Awareness that Embraces all in Oneness without "separations" or "conflicts" It leads to the Peaceful World, beyond thought, regardless of what is done in the world where conflict continues. No more mental karma is created here.

Discipline in the Karmic Field: The True Self

The Atomic- Karmic Entity in its True State is "Transparent", with crystal clarity, no mental content etc. It is Non-Dual Consciousness and its Awareness is All Embracing. When mental content "accumulates" the Karmic Entity thickens, clouds, "gets heavy" and falls into the lower Lokas .

Therefore, the condensation of the Karmic Body leads to the "material world". Purification, purification, makes the Entity "Transparent" and frees it in its True State, frees it from all limitation, determination.

The Being, the human being, with Ascetic Renunciation (with True Understanding and Liberation from the shackles of external activities) Returns to the True Self, the Pure Individual Existential Core, i.e. the Vision-Perception-Understanding of Local Presence. In this State the JIVA (Jiva) has only one limitation, the Presence at a “Point” (pradesa), which creates precisely the individual perception.
In reality Consciousness has no other qualities and is in no way different from Non-Local Universal Consciousness. It is realized that "local limitation" is purely a matter of "Will". Consciousness in this State is in an average, intermediate State of Balance. It may Retain its Non-Dinary Locality, it may be oriented towards mental content (with all that entails), or it may give up its “locality” and “Diffus”', “Expand” into the Boundless Worldwide.

The World

"Diffusion" into the Universal brings Consciousness into a State truly Inconceivable by ordinary human consciousness. This one can only "Experience" but not "describe". After all, it doesn't "make sense" because everyone has to "Get There" themselves. After all, this is his Cosmic Destination. Here the Universal Cosmic Body is "Seen", Without Limits, Limitations. Surely here is an "Inner Process of Unification of Universal Subject and Universal Object" which Leads to the Absolute Unity of Universal Essence. It is the Ultimate Vision of Universal Cosmic Essence, the "Final Frontier." After This there is no "Create".

At the SOURCE: Liberation (Kevala)

According to the Teaching of the Tithankaras (Tithankara means "Savior", " Conveyor to the Opposite Shore" of Reality) True Liberation Comes when the JIVA ceases to be Jiva, that is, when the "Vision" of the Cosmic Essence ceases. What does JIVA Withdrawal really mean to SELF? One must Come Here to "Feel" it, to become a Kevalin, a Liberated One. Here the perception or discussion of the One or the Many is meaningless. In ABSOLUTE SILENCE nothing is "heard".

In conclusion

One may wonder what is the point of studying or referring to an Ancient Religion that dates back 2500 years like Jainism. In fact, beyond the religious, historical and philosophical interest we must understand that the Great Traditions are beyond time. Anyone who has been initiated into the Esoteric Tradition has understood that Truth is Eternal, non-local, non-linguistic, it is the Innermost Experience of True Existence. This has nothing to do with religions, places, history. The Teaching of the Jains, the Tithamkaras, the Mahavira, is still alive and will be as long as man exists.

Jainism is a thoroughly "phenomenological" approach to Reality that gets to the very essence of the phenomenon of Existence. It can always be used to Experience TRUTH.

In the Inner Circles (and not only in the Rosicrucians or other Inner Groups) it is necessary to "speak" all human ("religious") "languages". This leads not simply to the mutual understanding of traditions but mainly to the "Clarification" of the Eternal Truth.

In the end it doesn't matter which Inner Path we follow. The Way is One, the Living of our TRUE NATURE. Obviously, this concerns the very few intelligent people on the planet and not the great crowd. Most people want, are forced, or forced to remain at the level of " homo." simian.' Just "look" around you at what world you live in!

Monday, 22 December, 2025

Chapter 18. Impurity

The Island Within: A Meditation on Purity and Transcendence

In the vast ocean of existence, where waves of birth and death crash endlessly upon the shores of consciousness, there comes a moment when the seeker stands at the threshold of profound recognition. Like autumn leaves that have forgotten their greenness, the soul finds itself trembling before the great messengers of transformation, those silent heralds who remind us that all journeys toward embodiment must eventually turn homeward toward the infinite.

The ancients spoke of standing at the door of departure, that liminal space where the known world grows thin and transparent, revealing glimpses of what lies beyond. Here, in this pregnant pause between breaths, the traveler discovers a truth both terrifying and liberating: the provisions gathered for worldly journeys—wealth, reputation, the accumulated debris of desires—hold no currency in the realm that beckons. One cannot purchase passage with gold that tarnishes, nor can one carry forward the heavy baggage of unexamined living.

The Sacred Architecture of Self-Becoming

What, then, is the seeker to do when confronted with this poverty of preparation? The mystics whisper of an island, not fixed in any outer geography but rising from the depths of consciousness itself. This is no ordinary landmass, no mere refuge from the storm, but rather a sovereign territory of awareness—a place where the soul recognizes its own capacity for independence from the turbulent seas of craving and aversion that surround it.

To build this island is to engage in the most sacred of labors. It requires the steady, devoted application of wisdom, that luminous faculty which sees through appearances into the heart of things. The work is arduous, demanding the full presence of the artisan-soul, who must chisel away at the rock of ignorance with patient persistence. There is no hurrying this architecture of awakening; each stone of understanding must be carefully placed, each foundation of virtue solidly established.

When the accumulated sediments of impurity—those dark residues of unmindful action and clouded perception—are finally swept away by the wind of discernment, something miraculous emerges. The being, now free from the gravitational pull of guilt and confusion, discovers itself capable of ascending into realms previously unimagined. These are the heavenly worlds of the elect, not places located in some distant cosmic geography, but rather dimensions of consciousness available to those who have purified their vision.

The Alchemy of Purification

Consider the sacred craft of the metalworker, who stands before the forge with silver ore in hand. The master smith does not expect perfection to emerge in a single, dramatic gesture. Rather, with infinite patience and careful attention, the artisan heats the metal, watching as impurities rise to the surface. One by one, these dross elements are blown away—not all at once in some violent purging, but gradually, rhythmically, like breath itself. Little by little, from time to time, the work continues until what remains is pure, luminous, reflective of light.

So too must the seeker approach the purification of consciousness. The spiritual alchemy is not accomplished through dramatic renunciations or sudden conversions alone, but through the steady, incremental removal of that which obscures the soul's natural radiance. Each moment of mindfulness, each choice to act with integrity rather than impulse, each instance of seeing clearly rather than through the distorting lens of desire—these are the gentle breaths that blow away impurity.

Yet here lies a profound paradox that only the mystics truly understand: the very instrument meant to purify can become the source of corruption. Like iron, which spawns rust from its own substance and is thereby destroyed, so too can the seeker's own actions become the agent of downfall. The transgressor weaves a net from the threads of unmindful deeds, and this net becomes both prison and path—leading not toward liberation but deeper into the labyrinth of suffering.

The Subtlety of Corruption

In the realm of spiritual understanding, corruption wears many masks. There are the obvious taints—the neglect that allows prayer to become mere repetition empty of presence, the sloth that permits the body's vitality to decay, the thoughtlessness that renders the watchful mind dull and inattentive. These are the coarse impurities that even the beginner can recognize.

But there are subtler corruptions that escape notice, weaving themselves into the very fabric of daily existence. The seeker must cultivate a vision penetrating enough to perceive how even virtuous actions can be tainted when performed without wisdom, how beneficence itself can be corrupted by the greed for recognition or return. All ways, whether conventionally labeled good or evil, can become pathways to bondage when walked without awareness.

Among all possible taints, however, there exists one that towers above the rest like a mountain obscuring the sun: ignorance—that fundamental not-knowing which mistakes the transient for the eternal, the constructed for the real, the conditioned for the absolute. This is the greatest darkness, the primary obscuration from which all other confusions flow. To throw off this taint is not merely to acquire information but to undergo a transformation of understanding so complete that one's very mode of perceiving reality is revolutionized.

The Two Paths of Living

The contemplative tradition recognizes two fundamental modes of human existence, two paths that diverge in the garden of choice. One path is deceptively easy, requiring no courage, no self-examination, no confrontation with uncomfortable truths. This is the way of the shameless, those who live like crows—opportunistic, loud, taking what glitters without discerning its true value. Such individuals may appear bold, even heroic in their transgressions, but theirs is a wretched freedom, purchased at the cost of integrity and inner peace.

Life along this path may seem smooth initially, for it flows with the current of impulse and the tide of collective unconsciousness. Yet this ease is illusory, a temporary comfort that disguises the slow erosion of the soul's capacity for joy, meaning, and authentic connection.

The second path presents a stark contrast. Here, life reveals its difficulty to the modest seeker who continually seeks purity in thought, word, and deed. This individual moves through the world with disinterest in the clamoring demands of ego, maintaining an inner quietude that remains spotless even amid the chaos of existence. Intelligence here is not mere cleverness but a penetrating wisdom that recognizes the interdependence of all things and acts accordingly.

Why is this path so difficult? Because it requires constant vigilance, moment-by-moment awareness, the courage to swim against the current of collective conditioning. It demands the willingness to be unpopular, to stand alone if necessary, to choose truth over comfort repeatedly.

The Architecture of Self-Destruction

The mystical teachings identify specific behaviors that function like pickaxes, allowing the individual to excavate their own destruction even while living. To destroy life—whether through violence toward others or the slow suicide of unmindful living—is to sever oneself from the web of interconnection that sustains all beings. To speak untruth is to poison the well of communication from which all relationship drinks. To take what is not freely given is to violate the sacred boundaries that allow trust and cooperation to flourish.

Sexual transgression, the violation of committed relationships, represents a particularly insidious form of boundary dissolution, one that damages not only the immediate parties but sends ripples through families and communities. And the surrender to intoxication—that deliberate clouding of consciousness—represents perhaps the most direct assault on the very faculty needed for liberation.

Each of these actions serves to dig up one's own root, to undermine the foundation of wellbeing and spiritual progress. They are not violations of arbitrary rules imposed by external authority but rather organic consequences of misunderstanding the nature of reality itself.

The Poison of Comparison

In the contemplative life, a subtle poison often goes unnoticed: the tendency to measure one's path against another's, to fret about the provisions others receive while neglecting one's own inner work. This comparative consciousness finds no rest, for it is forever oscillating between envy and pride, never settling into the peace of acceptance.

The world, in its conventional operation, distributes its favors according to faith or pleasure—sometimes seemingly at random, often apparently unjust. But the seeker who has uprooted the very capacity for resentful comparison discovers a rest that persists both in daylight activity and nighttime repose. This is not the rest of inaction but the peace of one who has ceased the exhausting labor of constantly positioning oneself relative to others.

The Fire, the Shark, the Snare, the Torrent

The mystical tradition employs elemental imagery to convey the dangers that beset the path. There is no fire comparable to passion—that burning which consumes from within, never satisfied, always demanding more fuel. Like fire, passion transforms everything it touches, reducing complex realities to ash and char.

There is no predator as dangerous as hatred—that shark circling in the depths of consciousness, waiting to tear apart any possibility of peace or connection. Hatred sees enemies everywhere, finding perpetual justification for its aggression.

There is no trap as effective as folly—that snare woven from illusion and short-sightedness, which catches the unwary mind and holds it captive to repeated patterns of suffering. And there is no force as overwhelming as greed—that torrent which sweeps away discernment, carrying the grasping mind toward endless accumulation without satisfaction.

These four represent the primary obstacles to liberation, and the seeker must recognize them not as abstract concepts but as living forces active in consciousness.

The Mirror and the Shadow

A peculiar asymmetry characterizes human perception: the faults of others appear with crystalline clarity, while one's own faults remain conveniently obscured. Like a farmer winnowing grain, tossing chaff into the wind, the unaware individual readily identifies and broadcasts the shortcomings of neighbors, colleagues, strangers. Yet this same person conceals personal faults as skillfully as a cheat hides weighted dice from an opponent.

This dynamic is not mere hypocrisy but rather a structural feature of ego-consciousness, which must maintain its own coherence by projecting shadow material outward. The one who makes a habit of fault-finding and takes offense easily discovers that paradoxically, their own passions multiply. For in the very act of judging another, one strengthens the judgmental stance itself, moving further from the destruction of passion that is the goal of the path.

The Pathless Path

The authentic spiritual journey cannot be accomplished through mere external performances. There is no magical pathway through the air, no shortcuts that bypass the necessary inner work. A person does not become a true renunciate simply by adopting the robes and rituals of renunciation. The world—conventional, surface-level consciousness—delights endlessly in such vanities, mistaking appearance for substance.

But those who have truly awakened, those rare beings who have seen through the veil of appearances, stand free from such delusions. They recognize that no creatures possess eternal, unchanging essence; all beings arise and pass away in the vast dance of dependent origination. Yet the awakened themselves, having realized the deathless dimension, remain unshaken by this flux. They have found the island.

The Call to the Eternal Present

This, then, is the contemplative invitation: to build within oneself an island of awareness that remains stable amid the ocean of change. Not through denial of impermanence, but through recognition that within the very heart of change lies an unchanging capacity to witness, to know, to be present.

The work begins now, in this very moment. There is no provision needed except presence, no baggage to carry except awareness, no credential required except sincerity. The door of departure that once seemed to lead to annihilation is revealed instead as a threshold to transformation—a passageway not to non-existence but to a more authentic mode of being.

When impurities are blown away like dust from a mirror's surface, what remains is not emptiness but clarity—the soul's natural radiance, which has always been present but obscured. This radiance recognizes itself as both limited form and limitless awareness, both the wave and the ocean, both the island and the sea.

In this recognition lies the peace that transcends understanding, the freedom that requires no external validation, the love that needs no object. This is the mystical reality toward which all genuine spiritual practice points—not some distant future attainment but a present possibility, available in each breath, each moment of clear seeing, each choice to align with wisdom rather than confusion.

The path is walked one step at a time, yet each step contains the entirety of the journey. The island is built slowly, yet in each moment of authentic practice, it is already complete. This paradox cannot be resolved through logic but only through the direct experience of those who dare to make themselves sovereign in the midst of dissolution, wise in the face of ignorance, awake in the dream of existence.

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Το Νησί Εντός: Ένας Διαλογισμός στην Καθαρότητα και την Υπέρβαση

Στον απέραντο ωκεανό της ύπαρξης, όπου τα κύματα της γέννησης και του θανάτου σκάζουν ασταμάτητα στις ακτές της συνείδησης, έρχεται μια στιγμή όπου ο αναζητητής στέκεται στο κατώφλι μιας βαθιάς αναγνώρισης. Σαν τα φθινοπωρινά φύλλα που έχουν ξεχάσει το πράσινό τους, η ψυχή βρίσκεται να τρέμει μπροστά στους μεγάλους αγγελιοφόρους της μεταμόρφωσης, αυτούς τους σιωπηλούς κήρυκες που μας υπενθυμίζουν ότι όλα τα ταξίδια προς την ενσάρκωση πρέπει τελικά να στραφούν προς το σπίτι, προς το άπειρο.

Οι αρχαίοι μιλούσαν για το να στέκεται κανείς στην πόρτα της αναχώρησης, εκείνο τον οριακό χώρο όπου ο γνωστός κόσμος γίνεται λεπτός και διαφανής, αποκαλύπτοντας ματιές από ό,τι βρίσκεται πέρα. Εδώ, σε αυτή την έγκυο παύση ανάμεσα στις αναπνοές, ο ταξιδιώτης ανακαλύπτει μια αλήθεια ταυτόχρονα τρομακτική και απελευθερωτική: τα εφόδια που συγκεντρώθηκαν για τα κοσμικά ταξίδια — πλούτος, φήμη, τα συσσωρευμένα συντρίμμια των επιθυμιών — δεν έχουν καμία αξία στο βασίλειο που καλεί. Δεν μπορεί κανείς να αγοράσει πέρασμα με χρυσό που αμαυρώνεται, ούτε να κουβαλήσει μπροστά το βαρύ φορτίο μιας ανεξέταστης ζωής.

Η Ιερή Αρχιτεκτονική της Αυτο-Γένεσης

Τι, λοιπόν, πρέπει να κάνει ο αναζητητής όταν αντιμετωπίζει αυτή την φτώχεια προετοιμασίας; Οι μυστικοί ψιθυρίζουν για ένα νησί, όχι σταθερό σε καμία εξωτερική γεωγραφία αλλά αναδυόμενο από τα βάθη της ίδιας της συνείδησης. Αυτό δεν είναι ένα συνηθισμένο κομμάτι γης, ούτε απλή καταφυγή από την καταιγίδα, αλλά μάλλον ένα κυρίαρχο έδαφος επίγνωσης — ένα μέρος όπου η ψυχή αναγνωρίζει την ίδια της την ικανότητα για ανεξαρτησία από τις ταραγμένες θάλασσες της λαχτάρας και της απέχθειας που την περιβάλλουν.

Το να χτίσει κανείς αυτό το νησί σημαίνει να εμπλακεί στην πιο ιερή από τις εργασίες. Απαιτεί την σταθερή, αφοσιωμένη εφαρμογή της σοφίας, εκείνης της φωτεινής ικανότητας που βλέπει πέρα από τις εμφανίσεις στην καρδιά των πραγμάτων. Η εργασία είναι κοπιαστική, απαιτώντας την πλήρη παρουσία της ψυχής-τεχνίτη, που πρέπει να σμιλεύει τον βράχο της άγνοιας με υπομονετική επιμονή. Δεν υπάρχει βιάση σε αυτή την αρχιτεκτονική της αφύπνισης· κάθε πέτρα κατανόησης πρέπει να τοποθετηθεί προσεκτικά, κάθε θεμέλιο αρετής να εδραιωθεί σταθερά.

Όταν τα συσσωρευμένα ιζήματα της ακαθαρσίας — εκείνα τα σκοτεινά κατάλοιπα της απρόσεκτης δράσης και της θολωμένης αντίληψης — σαρωθούν τελικά από τον άνεμο της διάκρισης, κάτι θαυμαστό αναδύεται. Το ον, πλέον ελεύθερο από την βαρυτική έλξη της ενοχής και της σύγχυσης, ανακαλύπτει τον εαυτό του ικανό να ανυψωθεί σε βασίλεια προηγουμένως αδιανόητα. Αυτά είναι οι ουράνιοι κόσμοι των εκλεκτών, όχι μέρη τοποθετημένα σε κάποια μακρινή κοσμική γεωγραφία, αλλά μάλλον διαστάσεις συνείδησης διαθέσιμες σε όσους έχουν καθαρίσει την όρασή τους.

Η Αλχημεία της Καθαρότητας

Σκεφτείτε την ιερή τέχνη του μεταλλουργού, που στέκεται μπροστά στη φωτιά με αργυρομετάλλευμα στο χέρι. Ο δάσκαλος σιδηρουργός δεν περιμένει η τελειότητα να αναδυθεί σε μια μοναδική, δραματική χειρονομία. Αντίθετα, με άπειρη υπομονή και προσεκτική προσοχή, ο τεχνίτης θερμαίνει το μέταλλο, παρακολουθώντας τις ακαθαρσίες να ανεβαίνουν στην επιφάνεια. Μία προς μία, αυτά τα απόβλητα στοιχεία φυσούνται μακριά — όχι όλα μαζί σε κάποια βίαιη κάθαρση, αλλά σταδιακά, ρυθμικά, σαν την ίδια την αναπνοή. Σιγά σιγά, από καιρό σε καιρό, η εργασία συνεχίζεται μέχρι να μείνει καθαρό, φωτεινό, ανακλαστικό του φωτός.

Έτσι ακριβώς πρέπει και ο αναζητητής να προσεγγίσει την κάθαρση της συνείδησης. Η πνευματική αλχημεία δεν επιτυγχάνεται μόνο μέσω δραματικών αποκηρύξεων ή ξαφνικών μεταστροφών, αλλά μέσω της σταθερής, σταδιακής αφαίρεσης εκείνου που σκιάζει την φυσική ακτινοβολία της ψυχής. Κάθε στιγμή ενσυνειδητότητας, κάθε επιλογή να δράσει κανείς με ακεραιότητα αντί για παρόρμηση, κάθε περίσταση να βλέπει καθαρά αντί μέσα από τον παραμορφωτικό φακό της επιθυμίας — αυτές είναι οι ήπιες αναπνοές που φυσούν μακριά την ακαθαρσία.

Ωστόσο εδώ κρύβεται ένα βαθύ παράδοξο που μόνο οι μυστικοί κατανοούν αληθινά: το ίδιο το εργαλείο που προορίζεται να καθαρίσει μπορεί να γίνει πηγή διαφθοράς. Σαν τον σίδηρο, που γεννά σκουριά από την ίδια του την ουσία και έτσι καταστρέφεται, έτσι και οι πράξεις του ίδιου του αναζητητή μπορούν να γίνουν ο παράγοντας της πτώσης. Ο παραβάτης υφαίνει ένα δίχτυ από τις κλωστές των απρόσεκτων πράξεων, και αυτό το δίχτυ γίνεται ταυτόχρονα φυλακή και μονοπάτι — οδηγώντας όχι προς την απελευθέρωση αλλά βαθύτερα στον λαβύρινθο του πόνου.

Η Λεπτότητα της Διαφθοράς

Στο βασίλειο της πνευματικής κατανόησης, η διαφθορά φοράει πολλές μάσκες. Υπάρχουν οι προφανείς μολύνσεις — η παραμέληση που επιτρέπει την προσευχή να γίνει απλή επανάληψη άδεια παρουσίας, η νωθρότητα που επιτρέπει την ζωτικότητα του σώματος να φθίνει, η απροσεξία που καθιστά το άγρυπνο νου θαμπό και απρόσεκτο. Αυτές είναι οι χονδροειδείς ακαθαρσίες που ακόμα και ο αρχάριος μπορεί να αναγνωρίσει.

Αλλά υπάρχουν πιο λεπτές διαφθορές που διαφεύγουν της προσοχής, υφαίνοντας τον εαυτό τους στο ίδιο το ύφασμα της καθημερινής ύπαρξης. Ο αναζητητής πρέπει να καλλιεργήσει μια όραση αρκετά διεισδυτική για να αντιληφθεί πώς ακόμα και ενάρετες πράξεις μπορούν να μολυνθούν όταν εκτελούνται χωρίς σοφία, πώς η ίδια η ευεργεσία μπορεί να διαφθαρεί από την πλεονεξία για αναγνώριση ή ανταπόδοση. Όλοι οι δρόμοι, είτε συμβατικά χαρακτηρισμένοι καλοί είτε κακοί, μπορούν να γίνουν μονοπάτια δεσμεύσης όταν βαδίζονται χωρίς επίγνωση.

Ανάμεσα σε όλες τις πιθανές μολύνσεις, ωστόσο, υπάρχει μία που υψώνεται πάνω από τις υπόλοιπες σαν βουνό που σκιάζει τον ήλιο: η άγνοια — εκείνη η θεμελιώδης μη-γνώση που μπερδεύει το παροδικό με το αιώνιο, το κατασκευασμένο με το πραγματικό, το εξαρτημένο με το απόλυτο. Αυτό είναι το μεγαλύτερο σκοτάδι, η πρωταρχική απόκρυψη από την οποία ρέουν όλες οι άλλες συγχύσεις. Το να αποτινάξει κανείς αυτή τη μόλυνση δεν είναι απλώς να αποκτήσει πληροφορίες αλλά να υποστεί μια μεταμόρφωση κατανόησης τόσο πλήρη που ο ίδιος ο τρόπος αντίληψης της πραγματικότητας επαναστατικοποιείται.

Οι Δύο Δρόμοι της Ζωής

Η διαλογιστική παράδοση αναγνωρίζει δύο θεμελιώδεις τρόπους ανθρώπινης ύπαρξης, δύο δρόμους που αποκλίνουν στον κήπο της επιλογής. Ο ένας δρόμος είναι απατηλά εύκολος, δεν απαιτεί θάρρος, αυτοεξέταση, αντιμετώπιση άβολων αληθειών. Αυτός είναι ο δρόμος των αναιδών, εκείνων που ζουν σαν κοράκια — καιροσκόποι, θορυβώδεις, παίρνοντας ό,τι γυαλίζει χωρίς να διακρίνουν την αληθινή του αξία. Τέτοια άτομα μπορεί να φαίνονται τολμηρά, ακόμα και ηρωικά στις παραβάσεις τους, αλλά η δική τους είναι μια άθλια ελευθερία, αγορασμένη με το τίμημα της ακεραιότητας και της εσωτερικής ειρήνης.

Η ζωή σε αυτόν τον δρόμο μπορεί να φαίνεται ομαλή αρχικά, γιατί ρέει με το ρεύμα της παρόρμησης και το κύμα της συλλογικής ασυνειδησίας. Ωστόσο αυτή η ευκολία είναι ψευδαισθητική, μια προσωρινή παρηγοριά που συγκαλύπτει την αργή διάβρωση της ικανότητας της ψυχής για χαρά, νόημα και αυθεντική σύνδεση.

Ο δεύτερος δρόμος παρουσιάζει μια έντονη αντίθεση. Εδώ, η ζωή αποκαλύπτει τη δυσκολία της στον σεμνό αναζητητή που συνεχώς επιδιώκει καθαρότητα στη σκέψη, τον λόγο και την πράξη. Αυτό το άτομο κινείται στον κόσμο με αδιαφορία για τις θορυβώδεις απαιτήσεις του εγώ, διατηρώντας μια εσωτερική ησυχία που παραμένει άσπιλη ακόμα και μέσα στο χάος της ύπαρξης. Η νοημοσύνη εδώ δεν είναι απλή εξυπνάδα αλλά μια διεισδυτική σοφία που αναγνωρίζει την αλληλεξάρτηση όλων των πραγμάτων και δρα αναλόγως.

Γιατί είναι αυτός ο δρόμος τόσο δύσκολος; Επειδή απαιτεί συνεχή επαγρύπνηση, επίγνωση στιγμή προς στιγμή, το θάρρος να κολυμπά κανείς κόντρα στο ρεύμα της συλλογικής προσαρμογής. Απαιτεί την προθυμία να είναι κανείς αντιδημοφιλής, να στέκεται μόνος αν χρειάζεται, να επιλέγει την αλήθεια αντί για την άνεση επανειλημμένα.

Η Αρχιτεκτονική της Αυτο-Καταστροφής

Οι μυστικές διδασκαλίες προσδιορίζουν συγκεκριμένες συμπεριφορές που λειτουργούν σαν αξίνες, επιτρέποντας στο άτομο να σκάψει την ίδια του την καταστροφή ενώ ακόμα ζει. Το να καταστρέφει κανείς τη ζωή — είτε μέσω βίας προς τους άλλους είτε μέσω της αργής αυτοκτονίας της απρόσεκτης ζωής — είναι να αποκόπτει τον εαυτό του από τον ιστό αλληλεξάρτησης που συντηρεί όλα τα όντα. Το να λέει ψέματα είναι να δηλητηριάζει το πηγάδι της επικοινωνίας από το οποίο πίνουν όλες οι σχέσεις. Το να παίρνει ό,τι δεν δίνεται ελεύθερα είναι να παραβιάζει τα ιερά όρια που επιτρέπουν την εμπιστοσύνη και τη συνεργασία να ανθίσουν.

Η σεξουαλική παράβαση, η παραβίαση δεσμευμένων σχέσεων, αντιπροσωπεύει μια ιδιαίτερα ύπουλη μορφή διάλυσης ορίων, που βλάπτει όχι μόνο τα άμεσα εμπλεκόμενα μέρη αλλά στέλνει κύματα μέσα σε οικογένειες και κοινότητες. Και η παράδοση στην μέθη — εκείνη η σκόπιμη θόλωση της συνείδησης — αντιπροσωπεύει ίσως την πιο άμεση επίθεση στην ίδια την ικανότητα που χρειάζεται για την απελευθέρωση.

Κάθε μία από αυτές τις πράξεις χρησιμεύει στο να ξεριζώνει κανείς την ίδια του τη ρίζα, να υπονομεύει το θεμέλιο της ευεξίας και της πνευματικής προόδου. Δεν είναι παραβιάσεις αυθαίρετων κανόνων που επιβάλλονται από εξωτερική αυθεντία αλλά μάλλον οργανικές συνέπειες της παρεξήγησης της φύσης της πραγματικότητας της ίδιας.

Το Δηλητήριο της Σύγκρισης

Στη διαλογιστική ζωή, ένα λεπτό δηλητήριο συχνά περνά απαρατήρητο: η τάση να μετρά κανείς τον δρόμο του σε σχέση με τον άλλου, να ανησυχεί για τα εφόδια που λαμβάνουν οι άλλοι ενώ παραμελεί την ίδια του την εσωτερική εργασία. Αυτή η συγκριτική συνείδηση δεν βρίσκει ανάπαυση, γιατί ταλαντώνεται ασταμάτητα ανάμεσα σε φθόνο και υπερηφάνεια, ποτέ δεν εγκαθίσταται στην ειρήνη της αποδοχής.

Ο κόσμος, στην συμβατική του λειτουργία, διανέμει τις χάρες του σύμφωνα με πίστη ή ευχαρίστηση — μερικές φορές φαινομενικά τυχαία, συχνά φαινομενικά άδικα. Αλλά ο αναζητητής που έχει ξεριζώσει την ίδια την ικανότητα για αγανακτισμένη σύγκριση ανακαλύπτει μια ανάπαυση που επιμένει τόσο στην ημερήσια δραστηριότητα όσο και στην νυχτερινή ξεκούραση. Αυτή δεν είναι η ανάπαυση της αδράνειας αλλά η ειρήνη εκείνου που έχει σταματήσει την εξαντλητική εργασία του να τοποθετεί συνεχώς τον εαυτό του σε σχέση με τους άλλους.

Η Φωτιά, ο Καρχαρίας, η Παγίδα, ο Χείμαρρος

Η μυστική παράδοση χρησιμοποιεί στοιχειακές εικόνες για να μεταδώσει τους κινδύνους που παραμονεύουν στο μονοπάτι. Δεν υπάρχει φωτιά συγκρίσιμη με το πάθος — εκείνη η καύση που καταναλώνει από μέσα, ποτέ ικανοποιημένη, πάντα απαιτώντας περισσότερο καύσιμο. Σαν τη φωτιά, το πάθος μεταμορφώνει ό,τι αγγίζει, μειώνοντας σύνθετες πραγματικότητες σε στάχτη και κάρβουνο.

Δεν υπάρχει αρπακτικό τόσο επικίνδυνο όσο το μίσος — εκείνος ο καρχαρίας που κυκλοφορεί στα βάθη της συνείδησης, περιμένοντας να διαμελίσει κάθε δυνατότητα ειρήνης ή σύνδεσης. Το μίσος βλέπει εχθρούς παντού, βρίσκοντας αέναη δικαιολογία για την επιθετικότητά του.

Δεν υπάρχει παγίδα τόσο αποτελεσματική όσο η ανοησία — εκείνο το δίχτυ υφαντό από ψευδαίσθηση και μυωπία, που πιάνει το απρόσεκτο νου και το κρατά αιχμάλωτο σε επαναλαμβανόμενα μοτίβα πόνου. Και δεν υπάρχει δύναμη τόσο συντριπτική όσο η πλεονεξία — εκείνος ο χείμαρρος που σαρώνει την διάκριση, παρασύροντας τον αρπακτικό νου προς ατελείωτη συσσώρευση χωρίς ικανοποίηση.

Αυτά τα τέσσερα αντιπροσωπεύουν τα πρωταρχικά εμπόδια στην απελευθέρωση, και ο αναζητητής πρέπει να τα αναγνωρίσει όχι ως αφηρημένες έννοιες αλλά ως ζωντανές δυνάμεις ενεργές στη συνείδηση.

Ο Καθρέφτης και η Σκιά

Μια ιδιόμορφη ασυμμετρία χαρακτηρίζει την ανθρώπινη αντίληψη: τα ελαττώματα των άλλων εμφανίζονται με κρυστάλλινη σαφήνεια, ενώ τα δικά μας ελαττώματα παραμένουν βολικά κρυμμένα. Σαν τον αγρότη που λιχνίζει το σιτάρι, πετώντας τα άχυρα στον άνεμο, το μη συνειδητό άτομο εύκολα προσδιορίζει και διαλαλεί τα ελαττώματα γειτόνων, συναδέλφων, ξένων. Ωστόσο το ίδιο αυτό άτομο κρύβει τα προσωπικά ελαττώματα με την ίδια επιδεξιότητα που ένας απατεώνας κρύβει ζαβωμένα ζάρια από τον αντίπαλο.

Αυτή η δυναμική δεν είναι απλή υποκρισία αλλά μάλλον ένα δομικό χαρακτηριστικό της συνείδησης του εγώ, που πρέπει να διατηρήσει την ίδια της την συνοχή προβάλλοντας το υλικό σκιάς προς τα έξω. Εκείνος που κάνει συνήθεια την εύρεση ελαττωμάτων και προσβάλλεται εύκολα ανακαλύπτει ότι παραδόξως, τα δικά του πάθη πολλαπλασιάζονται. Γιατί στην ίδια την πράξη της κρίσης ενός άλλου, ενισχύει κανείς την ίδια την κριτική στάση, απομακρυνόμενος περαιτέρω από την καταστροφή του πάθους που είναι ο στόχος του δρόμου.

Το Μονοπάτι Χωρίς Μονοπάτι

Το αυθεντικό πνευματικό ταξίδι δεν μπορεί να επιτευχθεί μέσω απλών εξωτερικών επιδόσεων. Δεν υπάρχει μαγικό μονοπάτι στον αέρα, καμία συντόμευση που παρακάμπτει την απαραίτητη εσωτερική εργασία. Ένα άτομο δεν γίνεται αληθινός αποκηρυκτής απλώς υιοθετώντας τα ράσα και τις τελετουργίες της αποκήρυξης. Ο κόσμος — η συμβατική, επιφανειακή συνείδηση — ευχαριστιέται ατελείωτα με τέτοιες ματαιοδοξίες, μπερδεύοντας την εμφάνιση με την ουσία.

Αλλά εκείνοι που έχουν αληθινά αφυπνιστεί, εκείνα τα σπάνια όντα που έχουν δει πέρα από το πέπλο των εμφανίσεων, στέκονται ελεύθεροι από τέτοιες ψευδαισθήσεις. Αναγνωρίζουν ότι κανένα πλάσμα δεν κατέχει αιώνια, αμετάβλητη ουσία· όλα τα όντα αναδύονται και παρέρχονται στον απέραντο χορό της εξαρτημένης γένεσης. Ωστόσο οι αφυπνισμένοι οι ίδιοι, έχοντας συνειδητοποιήσει την αθάνατη διάσταση, παραμένουν ακλόνητοι από αυτή τη ροή. Έχουν βρει το νησί.

Η Κλήση προς το Αιώνιο Παρόν

Αυτή, λοιπόν, είναι η διαλογιστική πρόσκληση: να χτίσει κανείς μέσα στον εαυτό του ένα νησί επίγνωσης που παραμένει σταθερό μέσα στον ωκεανό της αλλαγής. Όχι μέσω άρνησης της ατέλειας, αλλά μέσω αναγνώρισης ότι μέσα στην ίδια την καρδιά της αλλαγής κρύβεται μια αμετάβλητη ικανότητα να μαρτυρεί, να γνωρίζει, να είναι παρούσα.

Η εργασία αρχίζει τώρα, σε αυτή ακριβώς τη στιγμή. Δεν χρειάζεται κανένα εφόδιο εκτός από παρουσία, κανένα φορτίο να κουβαλήσει εκτός από επίγνωση, κανένα διαπιστευτήριο εκτός από ειλικρίνεια. Η πόρτα της αναχώρησης που κάποτε φαινόταν να οδηγεί σε αφανισμό αποκαλύπτεται αντ' αυτού ως κατώφλι μεταμόρφωσης — ένα πέρασμα όχι προς την μη-ύπαρξη αλλά προς έναν πιο αυθεντικό τρόπο ύπαρξης.

Όταν οι ακαθαρσίες φυσούνται μακριά σαν σκόνη από την επιφάνεια ενός καθρέφτη, αυτό που μένει δεν είναι κενό αλλά σαφήνεια — η φυσική ακτινοβολία της ψυχής, που ήταν πάντα παρούσα αλλά σκιασμένη. Αυτή η ακτινοβολία αναγνωρίζει τον εαυτό της ως ταυτόχρονα περιορισμένη μορφή και απεριόριστη επίγνωση, ως το κύμα και τον ωκεανό, ως το νησί και τη θάλασσα.

Σε αυτή την αναγνώριση κρύβεται η ειρήνη που υπερβαίνει την κατανόηση, η ελευθερία που δεν απαιτεί εξωτερική επικύρωση, η αγάπη που δεν χρειάζεται αντικείμενο. Αυτή είναι η μυστική πραγματικότητα προς την οποία στοχεύει κάθε γνήσια πνευματική πρακτική — όχι κάποια μακρινή μελλοντική απόκτηση αλλά μια παρούσα δυνατότητα, διαθέσιμη σε κάθε αναπνοή, κάθε στιγμή καθαρής όρασης, κάθε επιλογή να ευθυγραμμιστεί με τη σοφία αντί για τη σύγχυση.

Το μονοπάτι βαδίζεται βήμα βήμα, ωστόσο κάθε βήμα περιέχει το σύνολο του ταξιδιού. Το νησί χτίζεται αργά, ωστόσο σε κάθε στιγμή αυθεντικής πρακτικής, είναι ήδη πλήρες. Αυτό το παράδοξο δεν μπορεί να λυθεί μέσω λογικής αλλά μόνο μέσω της άμεσης εμπειρίας εκείνων που τολμούν να γίνουν κυρίαρχοι μέσα στη διάλυση, σοφοί απέναντι στην άγνοια, αφυπνισμένοι στο όνειρο της ύπαρξης.

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Therefore, it is expressly prohibited to reproduce, republish, copy, store, sell, transmit, distribute, publish, perform, "download", translate, modify in any way, in part or in summary, without the express prior written consent of the Foundation. It is known that in case the Foundation consents, the applicant is obliged to explicitly refer via links (hyperlinks) to the relevant content of the Foundation's website. This obligation of the applicant exists even if it is not explicitly stated in the written consent of the Foundation.
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Δικαιώματα πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας

Το σύνολο του περιεχομένου του Δικτυακού μας τόπου, συμπεριλαμβανομένων, ενδεικτικά αλλά όχι περιοριστικά, των κειμένων, ειδήσεων, γραφικών, φωτογραφιών, σχεδιαγραμμάτων, απεικονίσεων, παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών και γενικά κάθε είδους αρχείων, αποτελεί αντικείμενο πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας (copyright) και διέπεται από τις εθνικές και διεθνείς διατάξεις περί Πνευματικής Ιδιοκτησίας, με εξαίρεση τα ρητώς αναγνωρισμένα δικαιώματα τρίτων.

Συνεπώς, απαγορεύεται ρητά η αναπαραγωγή, αναδημοσίευση, αντιγραφή, αποθήκευση, πώληση, μετάδοση, διανομή, έκδοση, εκτέλεση, «λήψη» (download), μετάφραση, τροποποίηση με οποιονδήποτε τρόπο, τμηματικά η περιληπτικά χωρίς τη ρητή προηγούμενη έγγραφη συναίνεση του Ιδρύματος. Γίνεται γνωστό ότι σε περίπτωση κατά την οποία το Ίδρυμα συναινέσει, ο αιτών υποχρεούται για την ρητή παραπομπή μέσω συνδέσμων (hyperlinks) στο σχετικό περιεχόμενο του Δικτυακού τόπου του Ιδρύματος. Η υποχρέωση αυτή του αιτούντος υφίσταται ακόμα και αν δεν αναγραφεί ρητά στην έγγραφη συναίνεση του Ιδρύματος.

Κατ’ εξαίρεση, επιτρέπεται η μεμονωμένη αποθήκευση και αντιγραφή τμημάτων του περιεχομένου σε απλό προσωπικό υπολογιστή για αυστηρά προσωπική χρήση (ιδιωτική μελέτη ή έρευνα, εκπαιδευτικούς σκοπούς), χωρίς πρόθεση εμπορικής ή άλλης εκμετάλλευσης και πάντα υπό την προϋπόθεση της αναγραφής της πηγής προέλευσής του, χωρίς αυτό να σημαίνει καθ’ οιονδήποτε τρόπο παραχώρηση δικαιωμάτων πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας.

Επίσης, επιτρέπεται η αναδημοσίευση υλικού για λόγους προβολής των γεγονότων και δραστηριοτήτων του Ιδρύματος, με την προϋπόθεση ότι θα αναφέρεται η πηγή και δεν θα θίγονται δικαιώματα πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας, δεν θα τροποποιούνται, αλλοιώνονται ή διαγράφονται εμπορικά σήματα.

Ό,τι άλλο περιλαμβάνεται στις ηλεκτρονικές σελίδες του Δικτυακού μας τόπου και αποτελεί κατοχυρωμένα σήματα και προϊόντα πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας τρίτων ανάγεται στη δική τους σφαίρα ευθύνης και ουδόλως έχει να κάνει με τον Δικτυακό τόπο του Ιδρύματος.

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