Greatest Western Teachers of Modern Times
~ What Do They Recommend? ~
Richard Rose | Franklin Merrell-Wolff | Douglas Harding
Rose developed a comprehensive system by which seekers could launch their attack against the unknown. The approach is outlined in The Threefold Path.
In the next to last chapter of The Albigen Papers, titled "Discernment," Rose outlined a summary of the path in more detail. This began with his Premises, Conclusions & Techniques:
PREMISES
I. That the majority of the isms that serve as religious and philosophical guidelines for humanity are permeated by inconsistencies, and that in these isms many of the so-called facts are illusions or half-truths, and that most of man's beliefs are the product of fear and wishful thinking rather than an unbiased search for Truth.
II. That the human mind is not infallible in its processes, and that it suffers errors as a result of many factors, such as the conflicting clamor of appetites, intellectual limitation, fatigue, inadequate intuition, inadequate reasoning (or inadequate common sense faculties), difficulties of the dual mind in the solving of abstract or absolute considerations, and the lack of individual control over states of mind.
III. That there is a system of overcoming these errors, and the system is practical, and Truth may be realized.
IV. That the rate of realization is directly proportional to the amount of and quality of energy and attention applied to the quest.
V. That illusions are the great obstacles to Truth, and that the dispelling of these illusions involves the improvement of the inadequate factors mentioned in premise II, and better control over them. This process involves an ever-conscious schooling of the mind, so that it will be an instrument of Truth.
CONCLUSIONS
In reference to the message of premise III and IV, I have come to the following conclusions:
A. That there is a path to Truth. From ignorance to relative knowledge. From relative knowledge to an awareness of the limitation of such knowledge. And finally we pass from that which we recognize as a loosely associated intelligence to a reality of Being.
B. That this Path is not visible even to many who profess to be on a "Path." It is true that there are many paths, and it is also true that most people on those paths are quite convinced that theirs is the only real path. It is not until after they become broad enough to see that their path is at most only equal to many other paths, that they take another step and look about for a path that will lead them still further.
C. That the graduation from the field of many paths to a more selective path among the decreasing choices of paths (as the searcher retreats from incomplete or lesser paths) is a phase of entering the final Path.
D. That the Path does not require years of lesson-taking, and it is not bought with money. By the same token, we should not expect it to be brought to us on a gold server. Money spent should be so used as to hold a particular group together.
E. That if we applied the same amount of energy that is wasted in any of the material pursuits, we would see spiritual results. And as in any material venture, the results of transcendental efforts are also proportional to the efficient interrelation of workers and brothers, whether it be in a study-group, or in some act resulting from mutual convictions.
TECHNIQUES
We go back to premise II and add the following notes. A lot can be said about techniques that are relative to our thinking processes, or that help in understanding ourselves. This is a partial list:
1. Progressive elimination of concepts and concept-building by eliminating those not as consistent within themselves, not as inclusive, and those whose scope does not bridge the range of unexplained phenomena as well as some other system of thinking does.
2. Self-observation.
3. Self-remembering. (Looking at our past.)
4. The respectful doubt.
5. Application of the paradox.
6. Development of the Intuition.
7. Retaining the identity of the Real Observer in various states of mind.
I do not wish to give the impression that I am about to embark upon a course that will employ premises with pursuant conclusions, and thus produce facts from a jumble of words. I only wish to list some observations in an orderly manner. If the reader is looking for syllogistic proof, he can quit reading now. If psychology is in its infancy, transcendentalism, its parent, also has its share of confusion. And the application of logic to transcendentalism will, in most cases, increase that confusion.
He continued with a description of laws, the application or observance of which "will help us understand things not previously understood. They may also save us a few sore spots which are normally incurred by banging our heads against walls that do not move."
LAWS
Law of Proportional Returns: You will get that which you give. Effort is rewarded and helping others inspires help. Helping also develops in us a more acceptable attitude.
Law of the Ladder: The ladder here is used as a symbol to show that there should be a selective giving of goods, energy, or spiritual help. The law says that you should not reach below the rung upon which you stand, except to the first rung below you in order to help people. If you reach down too low your efforts will be wasted, and you will be hurt. Or crucified.
The Law also says that you cannot be helped by anyone too far above you, because you are not prepared to work on the same level at which he is working. There are less people on the higher rungs than on the lower. We will be lucky if we can find one man who can help us, but we should be working with six or more on the rung below.
Law of Love: The proper application of the Law should be in the direction of the friends upon the path, those on our rung and two adjacent rungs. This love can be expressed as friendship of the most unselfish type. For those too many rungs above we can only offer respectful silence. For those who cannot see us too well, being less fortunate,--we can only afford compassion. Anything other than compassion may verge on self-deifying egotism.
Law of the Reversed Vector: In spiritual matters, man must become identified as a vector, or force, if he wishes for results. If this vector is aimed in the wrong direction (relative world scene) his life is wasted. The Law states that you cannot approach the Truth. You must Become (a vector), but you cannot learn the absolute Truth. We find that there is only one way, and that is to first build ourselves a very determined person,--a vector. We must back into the Truth by backing away from untruth.
Law of Paradoxical Immanence for All Things Relative: Everything is relative to the ability for measuring by the eye of the beholder. We discover what appears to be an immanent paradox in all our findings and postulates. This tends to deter most minds from coming to a positive stand on many matters. The paradox, while disquieting, is often for the thinker, the first real hint that there is a transience about the observable, physical world that will always elude his enquiries.
Law of Relativity: We cannot think without association or relationship. We are related to all things.
Law of Faith: The Law has to do with the changing of the apparent status of matter by means of human belief. The size of the miracle depends upon the intensity of the belief of those minds. Healers are found to be most effective in multitudes, and less among people from their home town.
Law of Complexity: This Law may well be called the law of life, since life is found only in very complex structures. Complex structures are highly unstable. Any transcendental movement that has allowed itself to become complex, and to sprout all sorts of ramifications, is in the same jeopardy as protoplasm,--it tends to die.
Law of Equilibrium (Karma): That the individual is accountable for thoughts and deeds born of his thoughts. Most people postpone the operation of Karma to future incarnations. Consequences of our acts come to us if they can in the same birth as when they were committed.
The previous chapter of The Albigen Papers is devoted to "Obstacles to Transcendental Research," while the last chapter lays out the three steps in using the "Maximum Reversal System." These could be summarized as follows:
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Summarization:
The Engineer and the Robot
Upon the dark paper, with seeming white lines, the Engineer created relationships between individual drawings, so that the mind of the robot would be entertained by illusory commensurateness, in a conceptual cosmos.
And the robot being commensurately constructed also vibrated agreeably with the cosmic design. But still the robot only manifested reaction.
And so the Engineer endowed the robot with Visualization so that the robot could feel and conceive as well as react.
And so, the robot saw motion in that which did not move, and began to love things which had no substance, and to develop reactions which it called thoughts – and all of this seemed to function according to rules of commensurateness.
And being so immersed in his thoughts the robot did not realize that according to the rules of commensurateness that commensurateness applies only to relative experience, and that relative experience admits opposites in matters of reaction or direction. so that in choosing the realm of thought, and overlooking the possibility of No-thought, the robot passed by the door of the Absolute wherein thought is only a distraction.
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See The TAT Foundation web site and SearchWithin.org for more information.
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Recommendations: Franklin Merrell-Wolff | Douglas Harding | Richard Rose