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Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) · 169 of 225 · tr. Nicholas Bessaraboff and Claude Bragdon

Chapter XXI (part 7)

_______ Where are our "idols?" From what shall we liberate ourselves in order to pass to an understanding of the multi-dimensional world? First of all we must get rid of our assurance that we see and sense that which exists in reality, and that the real world is like the world which we see—i.e., we must rid ourselves of the illusion of the material world. We must understand mentally all the illusoriness of the world perceived by us in space and time, and know that the real world cannot have anything in common with it; to understand that it is impossible to imagine the real world in terms of form; and finally we must perceive the conditionality of the axioms p. 265 of our mathematics and logic, related as they are to the unreal phenomenal world. In mathematics the idea of infinity will help us to do this. The unreality of finite magnitudes in comparison with infinite ones is obvious. In logic let us dwell upon the idea of monism , i.e., the fundamental unity of everything which exists, and consequently recognize the impossibility of constructing any axioms, which involve the idea of opposites—of theses and antitheses—upon which our logic is built. The logic of Aristotle and of Bacon is at bottom dualistic . If we really deeply assimilate the idea of monism, we shall dethrone the "idol" of this logic. The fundamental axioms of our logic reduce themselves to identity and contradiction, just as do the axioms of mathematics. At the bottom of them all lies the admission of our general axiom, namely, that every given something has something opposite to it; therefore every proposition has its anti-proposition, every thesis has its anti-thesis . To the existence of any thing is opposed the non-existence of that thing. To the existence of the world is opposed the non-existence of the world. Object is opposed to subject ; the objective world to the subjective; the I is opposed to the Not-I; to motion—immobility; to variability—constancy; to unity—heterogeneity; to truth—falsehood; to good—evil. And in conclusion, to every A in general is opposed Not-A . The recognition of the reality of these divisions is necessary for the acceptance of the fundamental axioms of the logic of Aristotle and Bacon, i.e., the absolute and incontestable recognition of the duality of the world —of dualism. The recognition of the unreality of these divisions and that of the unity of all opposites is necessary for the comprehension of higher logic . ______ At the very beginning of this book the existence of THE WORLD and of THE PSYCHE was admitted, i.e., the reality of the dual division of everything existent, because all other opposites are derived from this opposition. Duality is the condition of our knowledge of the phenomenal (three-dimensional) world; this is the instrument of our knowledge p. 266 of phenomena. But when we come to the knowledge of the noumenal world (or the world of many dimensions), this duality begins to hinder us, appears as an obstacle to knowledge. Dualism is the chief "idol"; let us free ourselves from it. The two-dimensional being, in order to comprehend the relations of things in three dimensions and our logic, must renounce its "idol"—the absolute singularity of objects which permits it to call them solely by their proper names. We, in order to comprehend the world of many dimensions, must renounce the idol of duality . But the application of monism to practical thought meets the in-surmountable obstacle of our language. Our language is incapable of expressing the unity of opposites , just as it cannot express spatially the relation of cause to effect.
Themes
◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The author urges readers to 'get rid of our assurance' and 'rid ourselves of the illusion' of the material world.

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◆Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

The advocacy of monism implies a fundamental unity without division or composite attributes in the real world.

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◆Infinite Cosmoscosmology

The doctrine of the universe as boundless and without center or circumference, populated by innumerable worlds — Bruno's rejection of the closed Aristotelian sphere; the divine and the cosmos as ontologically infinite.

The text references the 'idea of infinity' and a 'world of many dimensions' beyond finite magnitudes.

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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.

The critique of ordinary 'assurance that we see and sense' aligns with the concept of waking sleep or mechanical perception.

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◆Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

Mathematics and the idea of infinity are cited as tools to help understand the unreality of finite magnitudes.

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◆Self Examinationpraxis

Daily review of thought and action as spiritual practice.

The passage begins with the question 'Where are our "idols?"' prompting internal inquiry.

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◆Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The passage begins by asking where our idols are and from what we must liberate ourselves, implying an internal cognitive work.

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◆Sunyata Emptinesssoteriology

The Buddhist doctrine that all phenomena lack independent self-nature; emptiness as the positive recognition that things arise only in dependence on conditions — distinct from kenoma's mere deficiency.

The passage emphasizes the 'illusoriness of the world perceived' and the 'unreality of finite magnitudes' compared to the infinite.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] The real world is described by negation, stating it cannot be imagined in terms of form or have anything in common with the phenomenal world.

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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 material world and duality are described as illusions and hindrances that must be renounced to access higher reality.

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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 extensively analyzes dualism as the logic of Aristotle and Bacon, defining it as the condition of phenomenal knowledge but an obstacle to noumenal understanding.

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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] Liberation is achieved through understanding and mental assimilation of the illusoriness of the world rather than faith or ritual.

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◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

[auto] The central argument is to renounce the idol of duality and recognize the unity of all opposites to comprehend the multi-dimensional world.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

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

[auto] The text relies on the concept of the unity of opposites and notes that language is incapable of expressing this higher truth.

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◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

[auto] The text describes a movement from the three-dimensional phenomenal world to the comprehension of the multi-dimensional noumenal world.

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◇Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The text explicitly advocates for monism and the fundamental unity of everything which exists as necessary for higher logic.

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Related passages · 11 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1c
“The Good is beyond this distinction, for nothing (on the ultimate plane) is outside It. See Intr., p. 5. and Lifelessness an excess of Life and Its Mindless state is an excess of Wisdom, 252 252 This apparently profitless speculation rea…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of dualistic thinking and the need to transcend it. Passage A emphasizes the need to move beyond dualism in logic and mathematics to understand a multi-dimensional world, while Passage B discusses the transcendence of dualities in spiritual and ethical contexts, particularly in the context of the Good and Evil.
◆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 discuss the limitations of human perception and logic in understanding reality. Passage A emphasizes the need to move beyond dualistic logic to comprehend a multi-dimensional world, while Passage B describes the limitations of human reason and the need for a unified, spiritual intuition to grasp divine wisdom.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 144
“Section 5 5. How can we talk of it? How can it be the Matter of real things? It is talked of, and it serves, precisely, as a Potentiality. And, as being a Potentiality, it is not of the order of the thing it is to become: its existence is n…”
Both passages discuss the nature of reality and the illusory or non-being aspects of the material world. Plotinus describes Matter as Non-Being and Potentiality, while the second passage discusses the illusoriness of the material world and the need to move beyond dualistic logic to understand a higher reality.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 274 (part 1)
“Section 8 8. From this basis we proceed: In the advancing stages of Contemplation rising from that in Nature, to that in the Soul and thence again to that in the Intellectual-Principle itself- the object contemplated becomes progressively…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human perception and logic in understanding reality. Passage A discusses the need to move beyond dualistic logic to comprehend a multi-dimensional world, while Passage B describes the unity of the Intellectual-Principle and the progression from duality to unity in contemplation.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 275 (part 1)
“Section 9 9. Clearly a Being of this nature is not the primal existent; there must exist that which transcends it, that Being [the Absolute], to which all our discussion has been leading. In the first place, Plurality is later than Unity.…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human perception and logic in understanding reality. Passage A discusses the need to move beyond dualistic logic to comprehend a multi-dimensional world, while Passage B describes the unity of the Intellectual-Principle and the limitations of duality in understanding higher realities.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 424
“Section 8 8. This is the explanation of Plato's Triplicity, in the passage where he names as the Primals the Beings gathered about the King of All, and establishes a Secondary containing the Secondaries, and a Third containing the Tertiarie…”
Both passages explore the limitations of human perception and logic in understanding reality. Passage A discusses the need to move beyond dualistic logic to comprehend a multi-dimensional world, while Passage B describes the Intellectual-Principle and the unity of all things in the archetypal world, emphasizing the limitations of the Soul's understanding compared to the Intellectual-Principle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 447 (part 1)
“Section 15 15. Conferring- but how? As itself possessing them or not? How can it convey what it does not possess, and yet if it does possess how is it simplex? And if, again, it does not, how is it the source of the manifold? A single,…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of dualistic thinking and the need to understand a higher, non-dualistic reality. Passage A emphasizes the need to overcome the duality of logic and mathematics, while Passage B explores the emanation of multiplicity from a transcendent unity, both pointing towards a monistic understanding of reality.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 452 (part 2)
“And again, if that secondary is all things, and if above its multiplicity there is a unity not ranking among those things, once more this unity transcends Real Being and therefore transcends the Intellectual-Principle as well. There is thu…”
Both passages explore the limitations of dualistic thinking and the need to transcend it. Passage A discusses the illusion of the material world and the necessity of monism to understand higher reality, while Passage B delves into the nature of the One and the emanation of multiplicity, emphasizing the unity and identity within diversity.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 455
“Section 2 2. Thus we may not look for the Intellectual objects [the Ideas] outside of the Intellectual-Principle, treating them as impressions of reality upon it: we cannot strip it of truth and so make its objects unknowable and non-existe…”
Both passages discuss the nature of reality and the limitations of human perception and logic. Plotinus emphasizes the unity and self-sufficiency of the Intellectual-Principle, while the second passage critiques the dualistic logic of Aristotle and Bacon, advocating for a monistic understanding of reality. Both seek to move beyond conventional understanding to grasp a higher truth.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 462
“Section 9 9. Everything brought into being under some principle not itself is contained either within its maker or, if there is any intermediate, within that: having a prior essential to its being, it needs that prior always, otherwise it w…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human perception and logic in understanding reality. Passage A emphasizes the need to move beyond dualistic logic to comprehend a multi-dimensional world, while Passage B argues for the inherent truth and unity within the Intellectual-Principle, transcending external validation.
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◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 713 (part 1)
“Section 9 9. In this choiring, the soul looks upon the wellspring of Life, wellspring also of Intellect, beginning of Being, fount of Good, root of Soul. It is not that these are poured out from the Supreme lessening it as if it were a th…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and duality, emphasizing the need to move beyond dualistic thinking to understand a higher reality. They both critique the limitations of conventional logic and language in expressing the unity of all things.