What did they know, and when did they know it?
“When confronted with a problem involving the use of the reasoning faculties, individuals of strong intellect keep their poise, and seek to reach a solution by obtaining facts bearing upon the question. Those of immature mentality, on the other hand, when similarly confronted, are overwhelmed. While the former may be qualified to solve the riddle of their own destiny, the latter must be led like a flock of sheep and taught in simple language. They depend almost entirely upon the ministrations of the shepherd. The Apostle Paul said that these little ones must be fed with milk, but that meat is the food of strong men. Thoughtlessness is almost synonymous with childishness, while thoughtfulness is symbolic of maturity.
“There are, however, but few mature minds in the world; and thus it was that the philosophic-religious doctrines of the pagans were divided to meet the needs of these two fundamental groups of human intellect--one philosophic, the other incapable of appreciating the deeper mysteries of life. To the discerning few were revealed the esoteric, or spiritual, teachings, while the unqualified many received only the literal, or exoteric, interpretations. In order to make simple the great truths of Nature and the abstract principles of natural law, the vital forces of the universe were personified, becoming the gods and goddesses of the ancient mythologies. While the ignorant multitudes brought their offerings to the altars of Priapus and Pan (deities representing the procreative energies), the wise recognized in these marble statues only symbolic concretions of great abstract truths.”
Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages
We begin today with Hall's opening words in his introduction to his magnum opus, for the benefit of those among you still laboring under the delusion that Sydney Banks and the other mystics throughout history had realized something heretofore unfamiliar to Western civilization. On the contrary, as The Secret Teachings of All Ages explores in relentless and excruciating detail, the spiritual nature of reality and its relationship to the human mind was known and explored by virtually all cultures in the ancient past. Some of you familiar with the subject may recognize echoes of the Eastern faiths, of Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism in the mystics' insistence that truth must be realized through exploration of the mind, but few realize that the esoteric mystery schools were widespread in the West long before they were ultimately abandoned as the application of reason and logic grew to dominate Western culture, largely due to the influence of Aristotle.
Plato's writings suggest at least a familiarity with higher levels of consciousness, perhaps most clearly illustrated in The Allegory of the Cave, found in Book VII of The Republic. For those unfamiliar, in a dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon, Socrates asks Glaucon to envision a cave where men are chained to a bench in such a manner as to prevent them from seeing anything except a wall directly in front of them. The men have been in this predicament since birth. Behind them is a huge fire, of which they are unaware, and between the fire and the men is a low wall and pathway, where the men's captors continually parade various objects, with the result being shadows cast upon the wall. The captors narrate the parade, and their voices echo throughout the cave. As the men are all fixed in position to see nothing besides the wall and the parade of shadows, reality for these men is restricted to only the parade of shadows and the voices echoing off the walls. The men are able to converse, and they have continual discussions regarding the nature of their reality.
One day, one of the men is released from his chains. He's first shown the fire, then the men parading the objects along the pathway, casting the shadows. This would be overwhelming enough, but he's then taken entirely outside of the cave, into bright sunlight. After his eyes adjust, he sees the the sky, mountains, the sea, his own reflection in the water. Now completely overcome by the beauty and color he knows to be true, he's returned to the cave and fastened into his former position again. He attempts to express what he now knows of reality to his fellow prisoners, who of course dismiss him as mad, and vow to kill anyone who would attempt to drag them out of their cave.
Scholars have engaged one another for centuries in tortured intellectual exercises attempting to interpret Plato's allegory. I find it all quite amusing. I'm quite sure Sydney Banks, in hearing this story, would say something along the lines of , “Oh, of course. The shadows and echoes represent the men's thoughts, the wall represents their consciousness, and the fire their personal mind. Yet the world beyond the cave itself is the genuine mind, the actual truth.”
And everyone would look at him and say, “Huh?”
The Secret Teachings of All Ages was another milestone encountered along my quest to discover those others who had realized the genuine nature of reality, and provides countless rabbit holes to explore for those so inclined. It is nearly incomprehensible that Hall published this tome at the ripe age of 27, as it's breadth and depth would suggest decades of exhaustive research. I'm sure I'll be unable to resist exploring some of these rabbit holes eventually, but for now, I want to take a look one of the lesser-known Greeks (outside of academia) that preceded Plato, a Pre-Socratic, and the controversial interpretations thereof arrived at by one Peter Kingsley.