SPECIAL EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION
DISCRIMINATIVE INTELLIGENCE AND THE SEVEN STAGES OF
LIFE
This issue of The Laughing Man magazine has been in the
test tube for over eight months. After the issue on
Shamanism, it had become clear that this magazine was in
need of an altogether new format to be of real service to
our readers. What was not immediately obvious, however, was
what this new editorial concept was supposed to be. It took
many months of false starts, cul-de-sacs, solitary
considerations, and marathon consultations before a picture
began to emerge which looked sufficiently attractive to us
to go into production again.
Meanwhile our office was increasingly inundated with
phone calls and letters anxiously, or insistently, inquiring
about The Laughing Man. It was good to see that most of
those who contacted us in this way kept their humor relative
to this matter. One or two inquiries even provided some
temporary amusement for a troubled editorial team. One
subscriber wittily remarked: “Please let me know if the last
issue was late or early.” Another, perhaps more ironical,
reader congratulated The Laughing Man magazine on finally
becoming an annual publication. And there was one
ex-subscriber who wrote cheerfully: “I have the last laugh .
. . I am cancelling.” Fortunately, the majority of our
readers proved more faithful than this-a fact which greatly
encouraged The Laughing Man Institute to shoulder again the
responsibility for publishing such a costly magazine.
We are naturally regretful that this process of
clarification and redesign of the magazine should have taken
so long, and all we can do at this point in time is to
express our heartfelt gratitude to those many readers who
have exercised great forbearance and goodwill throughout
this prolonged period of gestation. We hope and trust that
the new face of this publication will be found sufficient
and appropriate recompense for the faith invested in us.
This issue was originally announced as a special feature
on the holocaust theme which seems to loom large in all our
minds nowadays. Indeed, that particular issue was about to
go to the printer when a hold was called.
It was simply felt that it had become inappropriate to
continue the magazine in the vein of previous issues, mainly
because the many voices aired in them had no real common
base, despite the unity of the subject-matter in each issue.
What was felt lacking was a shared foundation which would
enable the reader to come to a critical appreciation of the
materials presented.
If you care to look at the table of contents or thumb
through the pages of this issue, you will see an entirely
different format or conception. This will be the basis for
all future issues of The Laughing Man. First of all, we have
discontinued the single-theme approach in favor of a wider
spectrum of topics. However, as will be obvious, our
selection of articles and other contributions and their
overall arrangement are by no means arbitrary. All share the
same underlying structure.
This structure is at once simple and profound. It can
also legitimately claim to be quite unique. This sevenfold
framework forms an integral part of the teaching of Master
Da Free John, the spiritual inspiration behind this
magazine.
Watching the editors’ growing dilemma and agony over the
magazine, Master Da at one point intervened and graciously
suggested the seven stage structure as a possible
orientation for future issues. In doing so, he resolved at
one stroke-and in an elegant and masterly fashion-the
impasse which was threatening to turn into a final
checkmate.
So, henceforth The Laughing Man materials will be
organized into seven major sections, corresponding to the
seven stages of life as described in the literature of
Master Da Free John.
The following is Master Da Free John’s summary of the
seven stages.
In the literature of the Way of Radical Understanding,
which is the Way that I Teach, I have described the seven
stages of the development or spiritual evolution of human
life. Briefly, the seven stages of human life may be
summarized as follows:
In the first three stages of life, the gross body-mind
complex is developed and coordinated. First the gross
physical is developed, then the emotional-sexual functions
are developed and coordinated with the gross physical, and,
finally, the mental functions and the function of the will
are developed and coordinated with the emotional-sexual and
gross physical functions. All of this is optimally nurtured
and done in a spirit of love, trust, and surrender in
relation to the Living Divine or All Pervading and
Transcendental Reality.
In the fourth stage of life, this now complex
psycho-physical being is surrendered beyond itself, to and
into the Living Current of Being that pervades it and the
total world. This is done to the point of generally
harmonizing the body-mind in that Life-Current and otherwise
Realizing self-transcending devotional Union with that
Living Reality in occasions of Love Bliss that involve and
simultaneously transcend the body-mind.
In the fifth stage of life this harmonizing trend is
continued, as well as the ecstatic gesture toward Union, but
the plane of self-awareness ascends, to become dominantly
subtle (or psychic) rather than gross (or merely physical),
and the Realization of Union involves experiences of
ascended attention that eventually go beyond physical
references and, at last, even beyond mental references.
In the sixth stage of life, the body-mind is simply
relaxed into the Life-Current, and attention (the root or
base of the mind) is inverted, away from gross and subtle
states and objects of the, body-mind, and toward its own
Root, the ultimate Root of the egoself, which is the
“Witness” Consciousness (when attention is active) and also
simple Consciousness (prior to objects and self definition).
The final result of this is conditional Self-Realization or
the intuition of Radiant Transcendental Being via the
exclusive self-essence (inverted away from all
objects).
In the seventh stage of life there is native or
radical intuitive identification with Radiant Transcendental
Being, the Identity of all beings (or subjects) and the
Condition of all conditions (or objects). This intuitive
identification (or Radical Self Abiding) is directly
Realized, entirely apart from any dissociative act of
inversion. And, while so Abiding, if any conditions arise,
or if any states of body-mind arise, they are simply
recognized in the Radiant Transcendental Being (as
transparent or non-binding modifications of Itself). Such is
Sahaj Samadhi, and. it is inherently free of any apparent
implications, limitations, or binding power of phenomenal
conditions. If no conditions arise to the notice, there is
simply Radiant Transcendental Being. Such is Bhava Samadhi,
about Which nothing sufficient can be said, and there is not
Anyone, Anything, or Anywhere beyond It to be
Realized.1
1. Da Free John. The Bodily Location of Happiness
(Clearlake, Calif: The Dawn Horse Press, 1981, pp. 25-6.
specialist with a charismatic power previously reserved for
priests, men of God, alone.”
For a greater elaboration
of these stages, we refer you to chapters four and seven
of The Enlightenment of the Whole Body, one of the
principal source texts by Da Free John.
This description of the seven stages of individual growth
and maturation, which is further elaborated at the end of
this editorial and throughout this magazine, is meant to
facilitate our understanding of the life-process in terms of
its ultimate spiritual implications. This description of
human development is notably different from the
psychological and psychoanalytical models of human growth
elaborated by scholars and clinicians. Even when the more
adventurous psychologists or psychiatrists speak of
“spiritual awakening” or “spiritual transmutation,” their
conceptual efforts seldom proceed beyond. the realm of self
actualization or self-improvement of the third and fourth
stages of life.
Most important of all, their models are not informed by
the highest expression of human life, the seventh stage
Realization of perfect ego-transcendence (not merely
egolessness). Thus their efforts, worthy and helpful as
these are in themselves, are incomplete and fall short of
their intended goal of integration and wholeness. One must
have scaled a mountain before one can know it, and before
one can appreciate its particular setting from the
vantage-point of its peak.
We hang on the lips of scientists to hear the latest
truth about the universe; we listen intently to our
psychiatrist as he dissects our psyche and tells us
everything we want to know, or possibly even do not wish to
know, about our neurotic microcosm; we are equally attentive
to the expert analysts who serve us the most up-to-date
gospel truths about the state of the world. The public has
invested the specialist with a charismatic power previously
reserved for priests, men of God, alone. Very few people
seem to be unduly bothered by the fact that a specialist is
“one who knows more and more about less and less.” It is
curious and tragic that in our expert-glorifying world, we
turn to specialists whenever a problem needs to be solved,
or whenever guidance is necessary. Yet, when it comes to
spiritual matters, seemingly everybody feels competent to
play the guru.
It is symptomatic of our secular age that we have lost
sight of the living tradition of the spiritual heroes who,
as Arnold Toynbee pointed out in his encyclopedic Study of
History, have always been the prime source of inspiration in
the evolution of human civilization. It is part of the
mythology of modern mankind that such spiritual luminaries
are an extinct race.
Certainly, such spiritual authorities, real transcenders
or Adepts, have always been exceedingly few in number.
Perhaps today they are a still rarer occurrence. But they do
exist. And one of them lives and is active in this very
society. Since his own dramatic awakening to the seventh
stage Realization in 1970, Master Da Free John has been
Teaching his Way of Radical Understanding to a slowly but
steadily growing circle of practitioners, some of whom have
moved into the higher stages of practice. His many books,
consisting of talks and essays, have reached a still wider
audience. An increasing number of people from all walks of
life-from the housewife, laborer, or schoolteacher to
university professor, writer, and even religious leader-are
coming to appreciate, and directly benefit from, his
spiritual presence and work.
Where the existence of such Adepts is not simply denied,
there is the weird expectation, possibly springing from the
fear of personal involvement and commitment, that these
masters of life should perhaps be seen but definitely not
heard. It is considered acceptable to enthuse about the
existence of these great beings either in the remote past or
in some secluded inaccessible spot, but the presence of even
one of them here and now causes consternation. This is a
case of misplaced romanticism, nostalgia, and wooliness.
spiritual life. Such individuals must therefore enter into
the stream of society, to purify the culture and reestablish
the process of God-Realization.”
Master Da Free John is well aware of this widespread
attitude. He observes:
There is a notion that Adepts should be hiding in
caves in the wilderness. This is not true. If the Adepts do
not speak, the only voice that will be heard is that of
ordinary people who are not God-Realized. The Adepts are the
Sources of spiritual life. Such individuals must therefore
enter into the stream of society, to purify the culture and
reestablish the process of God-Realization. If they do not
speak and become influential, there is no hope at all for
humanity.2
2. Da Free John, Scientific Proof of the Existence of God
Will Soon Be Announced by the White House’ (Middletown,
Calif.: The Dawn Horse Press, 1980), p. 382.
Aside from being a convenient way of shelving any true
response to the existence of these spiritual heroes, the
popular stereotype of their purely passive life of
contemplation, is, to be sure, at least partly rooted in
historical precedents of quietism and asceticism. There have
been Adepts who chose to be silent or inexpressive on the
physical level, and who preferred to perform sacramental
service in solitude for the sake of the world. But whenever
the Adept breaks his silence, he is bound to make himself
heard with a lion’s roar. His teaching will be prophetic and
profoundly critical of the ways of the age. He cannot help
but sweep the money changers from the temple and rebuke the
scribes and pharisees. He seeks to transform the world in
which he lives. This is his essential function. He does not
share the complacency of those around him, and in everything
he does and says he affirms the primacy of the Ultimate
Reality, the Divine, the Being-Consciousness-Bliss, the
Whole in which every single being and thing inheres.
Master Da Free John is the first Adept to fulfill this
function by drawing on the total world culture. This has not
been possible in earlier periods, where humanity was self
divided into small cultural enclaves. Today, the
all-pervasiveness of the “Western culture,” with its
super-sophisticated communications technology, has created a
global culture unparalleled in the history of mankind. But
while our “Western culture” has extended itself over the
entire surface of our blue planet, it has also spread its
venom into the last strongholds of a more wholesome way of
life. It has done this with such effectiveness that the
apocalyptic mood, which has been with us ever since the two
world wars and possibly earlier still, is rapidly turning
into a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the words of Master Da
Free John:
These are the worst of times. The Truth and its Way
are inconceivable to the usual man, and all the media of
daily life propagandize for a vulgar, subhuman world. Even
the “peace” men seek is only a kind of uninspired political
ordering of the lower man, and it is not founded on the
spiritual transcendence of experience. It is not merely that
the Truth has not been communicated. Even when it is
communicated, it is not accepted. The Truth is unacceptable
in this time and place.
These are the most sinister times. Every thing and
every one is suspect. And what men suspect above all is
God.3
3. Da Free John, The Enlightenment of the Whole Body
(Middletown, Calif.: The Dawn Horse Press, 1978), p. 153.
directly and forcefully to the spiritual legacy of the past
and to the teachings of illumined
Adepts.”
It is difficult for anyone to orient himself in the
present-day whirligig of thoughts, opinions, preconceptions,
prescriptions for a happy life, creeds, philosophies, and
dogmas. The body-mind of humanity is aching. Who will still
seriously contest that we are in the throes of a worldwide
crisis? What more needs to be demonstrated before it is
finally accepted that the root-cause of this crisis is our
spiritual impoverishment, our century-long severance from
the vivifying spiritual traditions of the world?
Now, The Laughing Man was originally created in response
to the need for a clear voice in the midst of this
cacophony. Our intention has from the start been to point
directly and forcefully to the spiritual legacy of the past
and, in particular, to the teachings of illumined Adepts.
This objective remains unchanged. In point of fact, we
expect that the new format of this magazine will make our
communication more unequivocal and effective. To put it more
strongly, we are committed to help end the prevalent
confusion. Specifically, The Laughing Man has three primary
purposes:
1. To present the clarifying teaching of Master
Da Free John.
As a living Adept who abides from moment to moment in the
disposition of God-Realization, Master Da is uniquely suited
to appraise and place into proper perspective the many
different, and often contradictory, expressions of life in
the various stages of adaptation and growth. This should
prove helpful to anyone seriously trying to make sense out
of all the many contesting views and ways of life. We are
convinced that even those who are committed to a spiritual
path will find his insights into human nature, and all the
numerous forms of subtle conditioning which make a person a
person-whether saint or sinner-of immense usefulness.
Because Master Da Free John has no axe to grind, no dogmatic
viewpoint to defend, no system of philosophy to establish,
no bank account to fill, and no personal interest in making
converts or disciples, he can give his free attention to any
aspect or problem of human culture. And he has done so ever
since his teaching work commenced in 1972. The numerous
books published by our Press reflect both the scope and the
depth of his considerations. His subjects range from diet,
sexuality, politics, and true community, to science, the
great spiritual traditions of the East and West, yogic
esotericism, the higher potentials of the body-mind, and,
most importantly, his wisdom of radical transcendentalism
that includes and transcends all of these, offering to
mankind a direct means to the realization of Truth.
But despite the easefulness which Master Da brings to the
analysis of traditionally difficult and complex themes, he
is not-nor does he pretend to be-a man of science, a
philosopher, or a psychologist. His “expertise” lies in his
Realization of the Transcendental Condition of all there is,
and it is from this Enlightened vantage-point that he can,
with astounding facility, grasp and usher into light the
essence of whatever is brought to his free attention. His
wisdom is not book-knowledge but insight based on his
Realized disposition. His intelligence is not acquired skill
or learning but native, spontaneous understanding.
So, although we shall publish essays by his pen in this
and forthcoming issues of The Laughing Man, we will also
feel free to introduce the reader to Master Da Free John the
“Siddha,” the God-Realizer, the “Crazy Wisdom Adept,” in
whose company the question of spirituality is a very
practical matter. Master Da does not, after all, theorize
about spiritual life, but he lives it in its highest form
and expects those around him to do the same.
In the past we have been more than diffident in
presenting this aspect of Master Da Free John and his
teaching work. Our reluctance has hitherto effectively
prevented us from portraying this important spiritual
personage and his message in an unambiguous light. In future
issues, therefore, we will begin to document some of the
eventful “sacred history” of our Communion.
We are fully aware that in adopting this more forthright
approach we invite the criticisms of those who, oblivious to
the psychophysical nature of the cosmos and of the unknown
psycho-physical potential of a GodRealized Adept, feel safer
in denying or denigrating anything that does not readily fit
into their preconceived ideas of how the world is supposed
to operate.
Short of spiritual Awakening there is no cure for chronic
doubt. Strictly speaking, a skeptic is one who is eternally
seeking because he assumes that perfect knowledge is
unattainable. He chooses to live in a permanent state of
uncertainty. Bertrand Russell opened his well known
Skeptical Essays with a story about Pyrrho-the Greek
arch-skeptic who entertained the view that we could never
know enough to make a wise decision. One day, the story
goes, young Pyrrho found his old philosophy teacher headlong
in a ditch. He contemplated the situation for a while.
Unable to decide on what would be the best course of action,
he simply moved on. Later his teacher praised him for his
consistency or, as Bertrand Russell would have it, his
“heroic scepticism.”4
4. Bertrand Russell, Skeptical Essays (London: George
Allen and Unwin, 1935).
So, rather than try to dislodge inveterate skeptics from
their self-inflicted position of distrust, we intend to
address ourselves to open-minded readers who can appreciate
and understand the fact that “there are more things in
heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your
philosophy.”
worldwide reformation . . . It will include all of mankind
and every aspect of human culture.”
This brings us to the second objective of The Laughing
Man.
2. To counter scientific materialism and religious
provincialism.
Skepticism, the mood of doubt, is as old as rational
thought. Closely associated with it is scientific
materialism, the dogmatic system that reduces all phenomena
to the material dimension. It is the viewpoint of the man
who loathes unsolved riddles, loose ends, paradoxes,
mysteries, and irrationality and who rationalizes his
unconscious recoil from the world-which is never an orderly
affair-into a full-fledged system of close-knit
propositions.
Religious provincialism is the same deficient attitude
transposed into the sphere of religion. It is the dogmatism
of half-truths, sectarianism, cultism, and all the other
“isms” which substitute a part for the Whole.
To champion the wisdom of the Adepts, the Transcenders
who live in and as the Whole, inevitably means to actively
oppose the Scylla and Charybdis of modernity-scientific
materialism and religious provincialism. Both are
expressions of a failure to live the Truth. Both are
reductionistic interpretations of human nature. Both impose
limitations on man’s higher development and ultimate
awakening, which has no ceiling other than the Divine
Reality itself which is his source, mainstay, and ultimate
destiny. Like the monster and the treacherous whirlpool of
Greek mythology, both these neurotic strategies are a peril
to humanity. They must be transcended if mankind is to have
a future. Right at the outset of his work Scientific
Proof of the Existence of God Will Soon Be Announced by the
White House! Master Da Free John makes this programmatic
statement:
The time has come for a new and world wide reformation of
human culture. The impact of this cultural conversion of
mankind will be comparable to that made by Copernicus in the
natural sciences and Luther in the domain of religion. But
this new reformation will be universal. It will include all
of mankind and every aspect of human culture. It will
include all aspects and all traditions of religion, all-the
sciences, the communications media, economics, and politics.
And it will transform the intimate and relational conditions
of all people.
This new reformation will continue the cultural gesture
begun in the time of Copernicus and Luther. That is, it will
extend the cultural and scientific tendency of Man to
acknowledge and also surrender to what is beyond and more
primary than Man, and beyond and more primary than the
earth. This new cultural gesture will base itself on full
recognition of the more radical and modern discoveries in
science and cosmology, such as those proposed by Einstein
and his theories of “relativity.” And it will also base
itself on full recognition of the more radical and modern
realizations in the area of human religion and
spirituality.
Therefore, this new cultural reformation will step beyond
the old and childish mentality, wherein Man is surrounded by
the Parent Deity and the Parental Universe. And this
reformation will also pass beyond the adolescent conceptual
rigidity of scientific materialism, so that mankind may not
only acknowledge the Paradoxical Condition of Nature, but
also participate and surrender within that Paradox. Only in
that case may we continue to grow and evolve as Man, and
ultimately transcend Man and Earth.
There will be no conflict between religion and science in
that new and future culture of Man. Religion will not be
irredeemably distorted by the illusions of “subjectivity,”
and science will not be irredeemably distorted by the
illusions of “objectivity.” Rather, all human beings will
engage in common disciplines of knowledge and of
self-transcendence (or Ecstasy). (pp. 13-14, 16)
shackles of traditionalism-but we are as yet undecided about
how best to use our newfound freedom.”
Our criticism of the dogmas of science and religion is
linked up with the third objective of this magazine:
3. To present and put into critical perspective the
great spiritual traditions of the world.
As we constantly orient ourselves in the world, we are
naturally inclined to simplify the complex relations and
structures that we observe. In simplifying, we also select.
The next step in this process is that we elevate what we
have thus chosen from the welter of impressions into a
personal dogma. We idolize it and turn it into a mini-god.
Behind this tendency is our need to distill from our
experience guidelines for action.
An the past, this has been a comparatively simple affair.
The socio-cultural environment of earlier periods was such
that the mechanisms of selection, the filters which we apply
when we experience the world, were fairly uniform and
strongly reinforced (through social convention and pressure)
within a given society. Today, however, we live in a
so-called pluralistic society in which countless cultural
options are open to anyone who cares to experiment. The
result is that we have become disoriented. We have had to
forego the security of a traditional environment, with its
clear behavioral expectations and an unchallenged (and
generally unchallengeable) world view. We have been
liberated from the shackles of traditionalism-but we are as
yet undecided about how best to use our newfound
freedom.
There is much in the great spiritual traditions of
mankind, both known and relatively unknown, which is
immensely useful, much that is of lasting truth and value.
Yet, whenever we assume a fixed position in relation to
these traditions-indeed, in relation to any form of
conventional knowledge or even extraordinary experience-we
immediately undermine their capacity to transform us
spiritually. We are prone to practice what is agreeable to
us but resist and ignore whatever requires us to change. It
will be one of the functions of The Laughing Man to present
great traditional teachers and teachings faithfully and
appropriately. At the same time, however, we will not shirk
the responsibility of placing traditional-and also
modern-knowledge into a more critical context, which is
supplied by the higher point of view of the great Realizers,
who have worked both within and outside of the traditional
framework of their times.
The seven stage model, which is seen from the Adept’s and
not merely from the theoretician’s point of view, will
provide you with a key to understanding the essential
spiritual significance of any piece of literature, any
tradition, system, or practice. But this must not be turned
into a cheap gimmick or a tacky game. Fundamentally, it
should serve as a radar beam for guiding you in your
critical spiritual appreciation and consideration of any
experience or standpoint. And in this sense we intend to
make use of it in this and future issues of The Laughing
Man. Thus the thrust of The Laughing Man is not merely to
present information, but to instruct, thereby helping to
serve the spiritual consciousness of our readers.
THE SEVEN STAGES OF LIFE
key to understanding the essential spiritual significance of
any piece of literature, any tradition, system, or
practice.”
Although the precise nature of the seven stages of life
will become obvious from the articles and comments in this
issue, it seems appropriate to outline this important schema
at this point. The seven stages of life range from the
somatic level to the highest spiritual Realization. This
model depicts a process of potential Awakening in man. The
emphasis is on the word “potential” because most of us live
well below our capabilities, and it is very rare indeed for
an individual to awaken beyond even the higher evolutionary
potential (the first six stages of life) into the self- and
world transcending Realization of the seventh stage of
life.
Our human body springs from a single cell. Researchers on
human development conceptualize this original cell as being
“totipotent,” that is, as possessing the capacity to become
the fundamental structures which make up the fully developed
body. This primary cell carries a kind of blueprint of the
mature organism into which it can develop. However, in order
to manifest these differentiated structures, the cell must
forego its “totipotency” in favor of specialization and
individuality.
We can usefully apply this biological insight to the
sphere of man’s overall psycho-spiritual evolution. As
newborn babies, we have only a dim awareness which allows us
to relate to our environment just sufficiently for our
survival within a protective, caring human society. World
and ego are as yet a sort of primordial soup. Most of our
neonatal behavior is purely reflexive or instinctive. Our
“life-style” is one of complete dependence. We barely
succeed in finding our mother’s nipples, or in signaling to
her our discomfort and distress.
This rudimentary awareness contains all of the necessary
structures for future conscious and even supraconscious
activity. Yet, because we lack a spiritual culture, few
people actualize their consciousness potential in full. To
realize the seven stages of life beyond the purely
mechanical level of development requires spiritual practice
and individual responsibility for growth, from adaptation to
the functions of the body-mind to the ultimate transcendence
of the body-mind.
The seven stages of life as described by Master Da Free
John serve as a total, holistic program of psycho-spiritual
transformation. Furthermore, it is possible to regard the
different spheres of human activity, particularly all
organized knowledge, as expressions of the focal concerns of
each stage. For example, in this issue we consider in stage
one (vital-physical readaptation) the “spermatic being” or
the mysterious process of human incarnation. In stage two
(emotional-sexual readaptation) we examine the cultural
suppression of the flowering of the emotional-sexual being.
In stage three (the development of the will and lower mental
or thinking mind) we consider the technique of science, its
values and limitations, and the need for science to found
itself in its own ultimate discoveries. Stage four (higher
mental and lower psychic development) leads us into the
culture of devotion which provides the foundation for true
religious and spiritual practice. Stage five (cosmic gnosis
and higher psychic development) offers an unusual account of
mystical experience and its limitations by a remarkable
saint who had achieved the fifth stage of life. The sixth
stage (realization of Consciousness prior to the subjective
ego) section recounts the life and teaching of an Awakened
female renunciate whose life and teaching epitomize the
one-pointed dedication necessary to spiritual growth and
Enlightenment. And in stage seven (whole-bodily
Enlightenment) we confront the liberating message of
self-transcendence as it has been given from ancient times
to the present by inspired Adepts who have Realized the
Truth of all the stages of life.
We intend to present a wide spectrum of materials in
future issues of The Laughing Man, making full use of their
correlation’s to the seven stages of life. In placing our
articles into the seven categories, we do not thereby mean
to pigeonhole the author of a given piece. An individual’s
level of realization may well be different from his teaching
and recommended practice. Papa Ramdas, for example, whose
communications at times reflect the seventh stage point of
view, taught the fourth stage practice of devotional
surrender to the Divine by means of the repetition of the
name “Ram,” as this was the practice whereby he had attained
ultimate realization. Also, throughout these seven
categories you will read the teaching of Adepts such as
Master Da Free John, whose teaching as well as his
Realization are clearly of the seventh stage but who has
commented on all the stages, from the practice of diet, for
instance, to perfect God-Realization, in order to serve the
practice of his students. Realized Adepts appear with the
intention of awakening others-whatever this awakening may
require, at every level or stage of manifestation.
Therefore, with this issue The Laughing Man presents a
uniquely comprehensive view of all of human life informed
and enlivened by the highest Wisdom of Man. We hope that
this and future issues serve your understanding and
appreciation of such Wisdom. And, as always, we invite your
comments and participation.
The Laughing Man – editorial
The Seven Stages of Eternal Life – Laughing Man
Magazine
Table of Contents
See full study of The Seven Stages of Life
