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 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 After more than sixty years of teaching, both oral and written, Raphael has withdrawn into mahasamadhi.

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