Volume 4, Issue 10, page 6

ignorance, the Dianetic "demon circuit",
the Synergetic protodyne, etc. "Believe
half of what you see and take the rest
with a grain of salt" is a wise maxim.

Then we come to Immanuel Kant, "The
Sage of Konigsburg" . He wrote the "Critique of Pure Reason" about the time of
our Revolution. It was interesting that
he never traveled more than 30 miles from
his home in all his life. His work is
considered "difficult". What I have seen
has suffered terribly in translation,
This brings this survey to a turn in
the road. The whole of the above discussion has been on Western science and logic.
But thousands of years ago, the East had
a theory of Maya. In the non-dualist form
(which I prefer, believing that the Universe is just that -- a unity, one without
a second, and that all things are in relation with one another, for to be is to
be a relation), Maya has the meaning of
measure. T he universe is t he given
"There is a field, and a knower of the
field" -- Bhagavad Gita. It is we who partition that which should not be partitioned, for we are born small and helpless
and apart from that which is partly
friendly and partly hostile. Parents
spank, f i r e burns, and the furniture
trips small feet. We learn of pain, and
the Dianetic "engram" is implanted. We
learn of actions and non-actions. "He who
sees action in non-action and non-action
in action is wise indeed" -- Gita. So we
acquire identifications, impedances, and
all the rest of the circuitry. Gurdjief
pointed out that few persons are entitled
to call themselves "I" because they are
so divided within themselves that a person is more properly a collection than a
group. Not that Gurdjief is very exceptional. A man who dies of overeating , and
knowing he would, cannot be considered as
"wise". Brilliant, yes; intriguing, yes ;
an expert on the art of living, NO!
The Orient knew that, too. Each has
his own path. " The Dharma -- duty, or way --
of another is fraught with peril." -- Gita.
(The Bhagavad Gita is a portion of the
Hindu scripture especially valuable because it tells how to attain spiritual
heights in a series of graded lessons,
starting with duty, attitude to death,
and God -- "Whatever may be the form a devotee seeks to worship with faith -- in
that form alone I make his faith unwavering. But finite is the result gained by
these men of small minds. Those who worship the deities go to the deities; those
who worship Me come to Me ... Veiled by My
Maya, I am not revealed to all. This deluded world knows Me not as the unborn
and the eternal ." )
And many are the deities : the party,
the nations, causes -- what Francis Bacon
called the idols of the theater, peace,
happiness, pleasure, t h e bottle, t h e
horseless carriage -- with tail fins. And
so the Orient developed the doctrine of
R
APROPOS
AND i~i
NON SEQUIT
iII
By MARIZUS von SCHRAD
MAN, ALREADY POSSESSING EVERYTHING,
WEAKENS SELF WITH ILLUSION IN DESIRE
Man's ignorance of himself creates Desire,
and knowledge produces disappointment. For
knowledge shows that Desire indicates deficiency, and experience shows that Desire gratified produces weakness that destroys.

The Ancient masters well said, "For in much
wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth
knowledge increaseth sorrow" (Eccl. 1:18).

A modern master said: "Speaking generally
of occult literature, acquaintance with it is
most disappointing, because all such literature promises too much in comparison with what
it gives" (Ouspensky, P . 193).

The reason is obvious. Desire is artificial
creation that cannot be satisfied. For man
possesses everything in the universe. Everything in the Macrocosm is contained in the
Microcosm. Instead of making the best use of
what he has, man neglects it in his searchings
for more. Gratification of Desire produces
disillusionment. For gratification never brings
the pleasure anticipated. And the pleasure resulting is temporary, whereas the damage done
is permanent .

emptiness -- all things are empty -- Nirvana,
Dharma Kaya, Sunnyata -- all terms for the
Unmanifest. They developed remarkable
systems of meditation, and pictured the
world as a mirror of reality, to be carefully dusted and polished. And finally,
the Masters of Zen took the last great
step. "There is no stand of mirrors
bright" -- and no dust either ! And no
emptyness! For Nirvana is the World! But
the world seen as a whole, Man in his
proper place at one with all that is, for
there is only One -- without a second. But
that is the goal. The Gita and other writings point the way. They do not take it
upon themselves to expect God to reflect
their image.

There are many kinds of knowledge. "It
is children, and not the wise, that speak
of the path of knowledge and the path of
action as distinct. He who is firmly set
on o n e reaches t h e end of both!' For
whatever one does gives knowledge. But the
highest knowledge is that which gives
discrimination. The Gita speaks of two
paths -- the light path and the dark path.
The follower of the light path leaves the
world of suffering, never to return. The
follower of the dark path returns to the
world again and again until he learns his
lesson.

And it is exceedingly perfect justice
that the fool must suffer in the condition he has created for himself, and the
wise reap the benefit of their wisdom.
-mnrt...n, .mx