At the Source of Life: Questions and Answers concerning the Ultimate Reality (Aurea Vidya Collection) - Softcover

Raphael - Asram Vidya Order

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1931406014 ISBN 13: 9781931406017

Publisher: Aurea Vidya, 2012

Synopsis

The Source of Life is presented in dialogue form. With an ability akin to Socrates' maieutic art, Raphael forces the inquirer to delve into himself until he finds what he was looking for. R. Human beings wander in the forest of becoming, riddled with doubt, with conflict and a sense of incompleteness, and the true purpose of existence escapes them. What might this purpose be? Q. That of comprehending oneself, I think. R. What do we mean by comprehension? Does comprehending not mean to "take something within oneself", to experience its conceptual contents, to penetrate the essence of the thing? Therefore, if we comprehend our true Essence, we cannot but be that Essence in every place, time and causality. Q. This act of self-comprehension requires time, withdrawal from the world and solitude. I go to work every day and I find myself in this frantic world, how can I reach such a favourable state? R. To comprehend ourselves must we really retire into the jungle or to the top of a mountain? ....

About this title

About the Author

Raphael having attained a synthesis of Knowledge (with which eclecticism or syncretism are not to be confused) aims at 'presenting' the Universal Tradition in its many Eastern and Western expressions. He has spent a substantial number of years writing and publishing books on spiritual experience, and his works include commentaries on the Qabbalah, Hermeticism and Alchemy. He has also commented on and compared the Orphic Tradition with the works of Plato, Parmenides and Plotinus. Furthermore, Raphael is the author of several books on the pathway of non-duality (Advaita), which he has translated from the original Sanskrit, offering commentaries on a number of key Vedantic texts. After more than sixty years of teaching, both oral and written, Raphael has withdrawn into mahasamadhi.

From the Back Cover

"To Mnemosyne this dictate is sacred: for the Mystes on the point of Death: You will go to the sturdy abodes of Hades, To the right, you will see a Well-spring, Next to which a white cypress stands tall. There descend the souls of the dead to take refreshment. Do not approach this Well-spring but go on further, Until you find the cold waters which flow from the Lake of Mnemosyne. In front of this spring you will find Guardians Who, in sure discernment, will ask you For what are you searching in the foggy darkness of Hades. To this you must answer: "I am the son of the Earth and the starry Heavens, I am so burning with thirst that I would perish. Let me now drink from the cold waters of Lake Mnemosyne". And because they are merciful, According to the will of the Lord of the Underworld, They will let you drink from the waters of Mnemosyne, And when you have quenched your thirst You will journey on down the Sacred Way Whence all other Mystai and Bacchoi proceed in glory"

From the Inside Flap

Orphic gold-leaf tablet. Hipponion (Vibo Valentia, Italy) V-IV Century B.C.

To the right, you will see a Well-spring,
Next to which a white cypress stands tall.
There descend the souls of the dead to take refreshment.
Do not approach this Well-spring but go on further,
Until you find the cold waters which flow from the Lake of Mnemosyne.
In front of this spring you will find Guardians
Who, in sure discernment, will ask you
For what are you searching in the foggy darkness of Hades.
To this you must answer:
"I am the son of the Earth and the starry Heavens,
I am so burning with thirst that I would perish.
Let me now drink from the cold waters of Lake Mnemosyne".
And because they are merciful,
According to the will of the Lord of the Underworld,
They will let you drink from the waters of Mnemosyne,
And when you have quenched your thirst
You will journey on down the Sacred Way
Whence all other Mystai and Bacchoi proceed in glory>>.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts/First Chapter

Q = Question,

R = Raphael.

R. What do we mean by comprehension? Please let us try to grasp this concept together, otherwise our dialogue will not be a realizative one, but a simple drawing-room-type conversation. If a person is told that the road he is taking has no outlet, that to reach his destination he must take the opposite direction, and that person states that he has understood and then continues down the same dead-end, it means he has not really comprehended.

To comprehend means to "take a datum within oneself", to experience its conceptual contents, to penetrate the essence of the thing.

Therefore, if we comprehend our true Essence, we cannot but be that Essence in every place, time and causality.

Q. This act of self-comprehending requires time, withdrawal from the world and solitude. I go to work every day and I find myself in this frantic world, how can I reach such a favourable state?

R. To comprehend ourselves must we really retire into the jungle or to the top of a mountain. Whether we are in the city, in the country or elsewhere, wherever we go we take our conflict and our incompleteness with us. We could be in the mountains, surrounded by solitude, and have a restless mind and find anything but silence. The opposite could happen to us in the city. Recollection is a state of mind. Self-comprehension does not depend on a place or time. The ego, alas, always tries to escape the basic problem.

Can we comprehend ourselves when we are weighed down by work? What relationship is there between us and our work? What is work? Who is it that is working? Can we work while being elsewhere with our minds? While we are walking, for example, can we think of some other event?

To discover all of this means to comprehend ourselves, and we can realize this process in any psycho-physical condition whatsoever.

Q. I have always thought that man s ideal must be that of loving his neighbour. Do you think that there can be a higher ideal?

R. It would require far more time to answer this question. However, I will try as far as I can to clarify the problem. First of all I would like to ask you what you mean by love? We must begin from a clear and precise point, otherwise we will never be able to... comprehend each other.

Q. (After some hesitation) to be useful to others, to serve others, not to fight each other. All this for me means love.

Edition details

• Publisher: Aurea Vidya
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1931406014
• ISBN 13: 9781931406017
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 182