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Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) · 126 of 225 · tr. Nicholas Bessaraboff and Claude Bragdon

Chapter XVI (part 13)

We do not know the world of causes; we are confined in the jail of the phenomenal world simply because we do not know how to discern where one ends and where the other begins. We are in constant touch with the world of causes, we live in it, because our psyche and our incomprehensible function in the world are part of it or a reflection of it. But we do not see or know it because we either deny it—consider that everything existing is phenomenal, and that nothing exists except the phenomenal—or we recognize it, but try to comprehend it in the forms of the three-dimensional phenomenal world; or lastly, we search for it and find it not, because we lose our way amid the deceits and illusions of the reflected phenomenal world which we mistakenly accept for the noumenal world. In this dwells the tragedy of our spiritual questings: we do not know what we are searching for . And the only method by which we can escape this tragedy consists in a preliminary intellectual definition of the properties of that of which we are in search . Without such definitions, going merely by indefinite feelings, we shall not approach the world of causes or else we shall get lost on its borderland . Spinoza understood this, saying that he could not speak of God, not knowing his attributes . When I studied Euclid, I learned first of all that the sum of three angles of a triangle was equal to two right angles, and this property of a triangle was entirely comprehensible to me, although I did not know its many other properties. But so far as spirits and ghosts are concerned, I do not know even one of their attributes, but constantly hear different fantastic tales about them in which it is impossible to discover any truth. ______ We have established certain criteria which permit us to deal with the world of noumena or the "world of spirits." These we shall make use of now. p. 197 First of all we may say that the world of noumena cannot be three-dimensional and that there cannot be anything three-dimensional in it, i.e., commensurable with physical objects, similar to them in outside appearance, having form —there cannot be anything having extension in space and changing in time. And most important, there cannot be anything dead or inanimate. In the world of causes everything must be alive, because it is life itself: the soul of the world. Let us remember also that the world of causes is the world of the marvelous; that what appears simple to us can never be real. The real appears to us as the marvelous. We do not believe in it, we do not recognize it; and therefore we do not feel the mysteries of which life is so full. The simple is only that which is unreal. The real must seem marvelous. The mystery of time penetrates all. It is felt in every stone, which perhaps might have witnessed the glacial period, seen the ichthyosaurus and the mammoth. It is felt in the approaching day, which we do not see, but which possibly sees us, which per-chance is our last day; or on the other hand is the day of some transformation the nature of which we do not ourselves now know. The mystery of thought creates all. As soon as we shall understand that thought is not a "function of motion," but that motion itself is only a function of thought—and shall begin to feel the depth of THIS MYSTERY—We shall perceive that the entire phenomenal world is some gigantic hallucination, which fails to frighten us, and does not drive us to think that we are mad simply because we have become accustomed to it.
Themes
◆Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

The author describes humans as 'confined in the jail of the phenomenal world' and separated from the 'world of causes' due to ignorance.

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◇Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

[auto] The phenomenal world is described as a 'jail' that confines human perception and hinders knowledge of the true world of causes.

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◇Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] The passage establishes a fundamental opposition between the phenomenal world (jail, dead, inanimate) and the world of causes/noumena (alive, marvelous).

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◇Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

[auto] The passage emphasizes that we do not see or know the world of causes because it is concealed behind the illusions of the phenomenal world.

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◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The method to escape spiritual tragedy is defined as intellectual definition and knowledge of attributes rather than faith or ritual.

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◇Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

[auto] The text explicitly states that in the world of causes everything must be alive because it is life itself and the soul of the world.

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◇Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

[auto] The text asserts that thought creates all and motion is a function of thought, aligning with the concept of divine reason as an ordering principle.

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◇Mechanical Humanityanthropology

Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's claim that ordinary human beings live in a state of waking sleep, reacting mechanically without unified will or consciousness, and that the spiritual path begins with recognising this condition.

[auto] The passage describes the human condition as being confined in a 'jail' of ignorance where we do not know what we search for, aligning with Ouspensky's core teaching on waking sleep and mechanical existence.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The passage uses paradoxical statements such as 'the simple is only that which is unreal' to destabilize ordinary understanding.

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Related passages · 7 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1
“Intr., p. 5. 259 Here we get once more the Aristotelian classification of causes. The Good is:— (i) Formal Cause (1) immanent in the world (Order— τάξις ); (2) containing the world (Embracing Power— περιοχή ). (ii) Efficient Cause (Caus…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality beyond the phenomenal world, emphasizing the limitations of human perception and the need to understand the attributes of the noumenal or spiritual world. They both highlight the idea that the true nature of reality is not easily comprehended through ordinary means and requires a deeper, more mystical understanding.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1b
“(2) Wisdom as a whole = Wisdom embodied in the universe as a whole. (3) Wisdom in each individual instance = Wisdom as shown in the structure of some particular plant or animal, or part of a plant or animal. (1) Is an Emanation; (2) and (…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality beyond the phenomenal world, emphasizing the limitations of human perception and the need for a deeper understanding of the underlying causes or divine wisdom. They both highlight the inadequacy of materialistic or three-dimensional frameworks in comprehending the true nature of existence.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1d
“Furthermore, we must ask how it is that we know God when He cannot be perceived by the mind or the senses and is not a particular Being. Perhaps ‘tis true to say that we know not God by His Nature (for this is unknowable and beyond the rea…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the phenomenal and noumenal worlds, emphasizing the limitations of human perception and the need for intellectual and spiritual discernment to understand higher realities. They both highlight the idea that the true nature of reality is beyond ordinary comprehension and requires a different mode of understanding.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 355 (part 1)
“Section 35 35. But we must give some explanation of these powers. The matter requires a more definite handling. How can there be a difference of power between one triangular configuration and another? How can there be the exercise of po…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the phenomenal and noumenal worlds, emphasizing the interconnectedness and living nature of the underlying reality. They both critique the limitations of human perception and understanding, highlighting the need for a deeper, more intellectual approach to comprehending the true nature of existence.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 641 (part 1)
“Section 2 2. Thus we have even here the means of knowing the nature of the Intellectual-Principle, though, seeing it more closely than anything else, we still see it at less than its worth. We know that it exists but its cause we do not s…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the phenomenal and noumenal worlds, emphasizing the limitations of human perception and the need to understand the attributes of the higher reality. They both highlight the idea that the true nature of existence is not immediately apparent and requires deeper intellectual and spiritual inquiry.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 650 (part 1)
“Section 11 11. The very heavens, patently multiple, cannot be thought to disdain any form of life since this universe holds everything. Now how do these things come to be here? Does the higher realm contain all of the lower? All that ha…”
Both passages explore the nature of the intellectual or spiritual realm, emphasizing the limitations of human perception and the need to understand the attributes of what is being sought. They both discuss the idea that the true nature of reality is not immediately apparent and requires a deeper understanding beyond the phenomenal world.
◆platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1s
“But they are not so, for they are incapable of reason or intellect; the only being which can properly have mind is the invisible soul, whereas fire and water, and earth and air, are all of them visible bodies. The lover of intellect and kn…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality beyond the phenomenal world, emphasizing the importance of understanding the world of causes or noumena. They both highlight the limitations of human perception and the need for intellectual definition to comprehend higher realities.