Beyond the Beginner’s
Spiritual Way of Saint Jesus By The Avataric Great Sage, Adi Da
Samraj (this book was later published as
Pneumaton)
Exoteric and Esoteric: The Public and the
“Secret” Dimensions of Religion The dominant religions of the present-time are,
fundamentally, exoteric traditions that exist in order to
serve social purposes—the purposes that are of interest
to the State and to the human public collective as a whole.
Exoteric religion is intended to inspire human beings to
behave well socially—in other words, to behave in a
manner that supports order and productivity in society. In
one manner or another, exoteric religions have always been
associated with this purpose. In contrast to exoteric religions, esoteric religions (or
paths, or Ways) have not been communicated to the public
masses. That is why they are called
“esoteric”—their teachings were supposed to
be kept secret, and, thus and thereby, reserved for the few
who were truly prepared to understand and rightly practice
them. Sufism, for example, is associated with the tradition of
Islam—yet, many exoterically acculturated Muslims
oppose Sufism because of its esoteric tendencies. Some
“orthodox” Muslims even regard Sufism to be
heretical—yet, Sufism is always there, fully within the
total tradition of Islam. Sufi schools exist in all Islamic
countries, and they often function quite openly, in direct
coincidence with the otherwise exoteric tradition of
Islam. Likewise, in the Christian parts of the world there are
mystics—and, historically, the Christian mystics have
been suppressed and even persecuted by the ecclesiastical
“authorities” to whom they were subject. Some have
even had to keep their writings secret. One such mystic,
Teresa of Avila, is now a Doctor of the Catholic Church.
Yet, in her lifetime, Teresa of Avila was very much
suppressed and controlled by her ecclesiastical
superiors. Indeed, mysticism has always been treated with suspicion
(and always made subordinate) by the exoteric
“authorities”, in all times and in all
traditions—and especially so in the West and in the
Middle East. Gnosticism—which is an ancient form of esoteric
mysticism, and, in some cases, of Spirituality—was
suspect from the exoteric perspective (especially within the
early period of Christian institutionalizing), because even
Christian Gnosticism suggested a universal (and, therefore,
not exclusively “Christian”) Truth. The Gnostic
“Truth That must be Realized” is not merely a
Truth about social behavior. Therefore, it was feared (among
the exoteric Christian “orthodoxy”) that, perhaps,
the mystical experience valued by the Gnostics would lead
people out of the social domain and into ascetical (or,
otherwise, libertine) practices—and make them so
ecstatic (or, otherwise, grossly intoxicated) they would be
unwilling or unable to work! Chronically, and even
inherently, exoteric religion has concerns of this kind
about esotericism in general—and, therefore, exoteric
religion has, historically, always suppressed esotericism of
every kind. In India, there is, historically, a great deal of
esotericism. Traditionally, everyone in India has known that
the intensive paths of esotericism were there, among them,
and available to anyone who was willing to embrace the
difficult requirements of esoteric practice. Another characteristic of the society of India is that it
has, traditionally, taken into account (and, thus, even
justified the fact) that many people are poor. In
traditional India, the fact of poverty was (and is) always
accepted as part of the reality of the world. Coincidently,
because possible poverty was presumed to be an integral and
irreducible characteristic of human life, anyone (even if
living in great wealth) could, as a matter of his or her
commitment to esotericism, intentionally choose to be poor
(and, thus, to renounce all worldly possessions—and
even all worldly relations and worldly modes of
self-identity). Thus, in traditional India, it was (and is)
presumed that the social order would not miss a few thousand
ecstatics who have put on robes and gone begging. Such a
choice, it was thought, is acceptable—as long as it
does not catch on like wildfire, such that everybody becomes
a religious ecstatic! In India, while most people are content with popular
exoteric religion, a special allowance is usually made for
those who become especially serious. Therefore, it is
commonly accepted that some people find that living an
ordinary life is not sufficient, and that they are
discouraged with a life that is devoted merely to being
productive in some conventional sense. However, because of
the characteristic nature of traditional Indian social
contracts (and the idealization of poverty as an obligation
for all who would “professionally” leave the world
and, thus and thereby, embrace an esoteric path), especially
serious individuals are, generally (or in most
conventionally organized esoteric schools) expected to
become interested in an ascetical life (and thus to
renounce, and dissociate from, the communal and familial
social associations and social obligations that people in
India are otherwise strongly expected to uphold). Many traditions, both East and West, have an esoteric
“back door”. In other words, esoteric
possibilities are available to those who are most advanced
or most serious, or who feel they have out-grown the more
rudimentary aspects of religious practice. Such individuals
may simply be prone to a more ecstatic (or mystical)
disposition than the ordinary person—and, therefore,
regardless of the exoteric social teachings and expectations
that are generally associated with their tradition, they
find their way into some circumstance or to some literature
or to some teacher that points them beyond the merely
exoteric form of the tradition. Nevertheless, even in India, where there are many
esoteric traditions, and where esoteric teachings and
schools of practice have been rather openly known for many
centuries, the highest percentage of people have not chosen
to practice such things. The usual individual, East or West,
is more inclined (and, generally, exclusively acculturated)
toward worldly pursuits—although, in the general case,
with some coincident exoteric religious orientation that
involves one or another mode of “temple life” and,
also, the practice associated with the conventional
religious instructions on social morality that are given
within the “orthodox” sphere of “temple
life” under the influence of exoteric religious
“authority”.
and the
Traditions of Mystical Cosmic Ascent via
Spirit-Breath