Summary of some teachers and some approaches to teaching religion or ideology ==================================== This text is copyright its author, Aristo Tacoma, but redistribution in respectful contexts permitted, on condition that: this text is kept whole, not added to, not deleted from, not edited (despite the fact that the language here is not proofread entirely), and the reference to its original source location, and this note also, are included: avenuege.com/library This text is, as stated in its title, a mere 'summary' and intended as starting-point for further exploration. Most of the general points in it are explored in depth in other works by same author, confer the above link. This writer engages in a number of other activities and the views in this text do not necessarily interact with these activities, some of which are purely commercial =================================== Note: founders of world religions are not included in this summary. Reason: the intensity of emotional myth-weaving around them, combined, esp as regards the most ancient of founders, like Gothama the Buddha, Moses, and Jesus Christ, with the fact of how little concrete is known about them, make it pointless to try to give a quick summary of them Also note: 21st century New Age writers and writers who preach charismatically or fundamentalistically over a religions are not included here because of the lack of novelity of their philosophies; they are rarely anything but a mixture of extremely well-known trends in spirituality of the 19th and 20th century, even if the names invoked may be new ones. The following list mentions mostly individuals but on some points, a certain religious/philosophical approach is listed instead, or hinted at through a group of people * Aristotle, pupil of Plato in ancient Greece, author, though probably with the help of numerous students who compiled his talks, of books including on ethics, logic and metaphysics; teacher of Alexander the Great, belongs to a branch of pantheism in which a rich spirituality--the Greek olympic beings etc--is neither excluded nor actively invoked Contribution: laid much of the foundation for common sense thinking about reality and social interaction and logical thinking Degree of enlightenment: patchwise * Augustine, early Roman Christian author, influential in setting the agenda of interpretation of the modern Christian bible in the Vatican: probably at the same level of Paulus, condemned sexuality, condemned women, probably entirely unlike the teacher he purports to be following, Jesus Contribution: poetic language over religiosity Degree of enlightenment: patchwise * Hildegard van Bingen, belongs, like the medieval Meister Eckhardt, to a branch of monotheism in which pantheism as direct experience of the divine is appreciated, and with a somewhat warmer perspective of sexuality than what is classical in the Roman Christian tradition Contribution: opened up for a greater appreciation of the positive nature of the female in the divine perspective Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, if her writings are adequate summary of her state of mind William Blake, a complex figure whose chief contribution perhaps is the poetic statement that indicates that if somebody for real opens their eyes, they will see that the world is infinite; thus encouraging, implicitly, a trend of spirituality that may be pantheism but is not confined to it * David Bohm, belongs to a branch of pantheism in which there is possibly determinism, possibly a belief in something like karma Contribution: rephrased the most complex piece of foundational physics so as to indicate openness for new interpretation of universal processes, in that way opening doors for coherent worldview thinking of a spiritual type of a kind that does not loose foothold with scientific measurements; also, he provided new light on the challenges and possibilities inherent in the kind of pantheism conveyed by J. Krishnamurti; attempted, with far more questionable concrete results, to encourage the attitude of dialogue in the area of spirituality and society Degree of enlightenment: as of J. Krishnamurti, more or less * Niels Bohr, belongs to a branch of atheism in which elements of pantheism are brought in, chiefly known for systematizing one possible interpretation of quantum physics phenomena, together with Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schroedinger, Wolfgang Pauli and some others Contribution: the emphasis on human consciousness factor in physics Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, limited by atheism even with an element or two of pantheism * Louis de Broglie, belongs to a branch of atheism with a touch of pantheism, chiefly known for his pilot wave interpretation of quantum physics phenomena, which is an alternative to David Bohm's interpretation given coherent form after David Bohm's interpretation was made known to him; and which is an alternative interpretation to the approach of Niels Bohr Contribution: the emphasis of the wavelike nonlocality of the phenomena guiding the particles Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, limited by atheism even if with elements of pantheism in it * Aleister Crowley, belongs to a branch of dualistic pantheism in which a clash between, put a bit simply, what he seemed to consider "a sexless God and a sex-oriented Satan" is considered central Contribution: emphasized pantheistic spirituality and emphasized sex Degree of enlightenment: like Nietzsche, he is set upon releasing sexuality from morality but in so doing avoids considering the possibility that the divine is sexual; in practise, therefore, he becomes an escapist relative to the establishment; his willingness to 'embrace' the dark side makes him also a factor of chaos and in that sense possibly an anti-thesis to coherent growth towards enlightenment Can be grouped together with Nietzsche and with Osho as a person who in many senses can be considered escapist and thus entirely embroiled in his own self-glorifying ego * Charles Darwin, author of such as the Origin of the Species, influential in founding the mechanical strain of thinking in biology that even after the advent of quantum physics is still dominant at the universities Contribution: argued that the development of the species involves more interconnectedness than eg Roman Christian inspired thinking had led many to believe before him; opened up new avenues of empirical research Degree of enlightenment: only as high as can be within the sharp constraints set by a belief in atheism; cfr also Ayn Rand * Dalai Lama, who received Nobel Peace Prize for his pascifist stance on agression against his homeland Tibet, is chiefly known as a pantheist with a believer in karma and to some extent in determinism, of a kind compatible with some branches of buddhism Contribution: emphasized humour, dialogue and a scientific attitude in religious exploration, also in his conversations with David Bohm and Francesco Varela Degree of enlightenment: as limited as anyone tied to the ideology of pantheism must be, ie, patchwise * Albert Einstein, belongs to a branch of atheism with a touch of pantheism, possibly a bit like Spinoza, is chiefly known for his scientific productions which led to a calling into question of some of the patterns of mechanical physics set forth earlier by I.Newton. He has many followers to this day to whom his works are considered prophetic and flawless despite that they are in contradiction with the spirit of quantum physics (which they dispute) Contribution: The approach of taking more dimensions than three seriously; and the emphasis on visualizable processes, which led David Bohm, after spending some weeks with the ageing Einstein, to open up doors for new interpretations of quantum theory Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, limited to atheism with a touch of pantheism * Sigmund Freud, belongs to a branch of atheism, chiefly known for his writings on the human psyche and sexuality Contribution: contributed to the understanding that sexuality in the adult comes from sexuality in the child Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, limited by atheism * Allen Ginsberg, a complex figure whose main contribution lies, like Walt Whitman and William Blake, in encouraging a pantheistic take on the experience of daily life events * Gurdjieff, belongs a branch of human individual centered forms of richly spiritual pantheism; teacher of Ouspensky Contribution: argued towards the liberation of mind so as to set free psyhic powers and freedom Degree of enlightenment: patchwise * Marcello Haugen, belongs to a branch of pantheistically inclined Christan religion Contribution: he seemed to exemplify a way of life in which psychic occurrences are commonplace (as indicated by reports about him incl by Rudolf Steiner), but little is known of the fullness of his worldview apart from a tiny book he wrote Degree of enlightenment: patchwise or better L. Ron Hubbard, scifi writer who founded scientology, belongs to a branch of pantheism with little emphasis on karma Contribution: he focussed on liberation from needless cultural conditioning for the human individual, encouraging eg a style of emotional self-control of a kind found suitable for some actors; attempted to cast ordinary things in a fantastic light Degree of enlightenment: patchwise * Aldous Huxley, belongs to a branch of pantheism Contribution: argued that rational psychology should not deny spirituality; suggested, as William Blake, that a proper understanding of the world reveals it as 'infinite'; his teachings be considered fairly compatible with the teachings of his friend J. Krishnamurti; in some writings, Huxley promoted freer sexuality of all types for all ages Degree of enlightenment: patchwise; one of the side-effects of Huxley's incessant efforts to promote drugs as door-opener was to promote a fairly mechanical view of the brain (in which drugs are seen as turning the brain off to turn perception on) instead of approaching the brain as a too finely tuned organsmic instrument to be subjected to crude human drugs * C.G.Jung, belongs to a branch of pantheism, known for a therapeutic approach as a variation of themes introduced by S.Freud Contribution: Co-created with physicists W.Pauli the "synchronicity" concept--co-incidents with meaning; stimulated to a richer understanding of genders and sexuality Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, constrained by pantheism * Kabbalistic teachers, belongs to a branch of pantheism in which God is considered as somewhat interchangable with the concept of a multi-dimensional universe, perhaps as mapped by the kabbalistic tree, with or without combination with the mappings of the calculations of socalled "astrology" Contribution: suggests new ways of thinking about pantheism Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, though sometimes entwined with a rash belief in a scheme of calculation that may be a power tool for controlling followers of the discipline; the pantheism, though richly visualized, is still as limited as pantheism pr definition must be * J.Krishnamurti: Up until the 1970s: belongs to branch of pantheism in which something like karma is regarded as very real Contribution: poetic language of pantheism; willingness to combine a scientific sense of logic with a form of inuitive insight in dialogue as part of meditation, and as part of an exploration of right action Degree of enlightenment: patch-wise After the 1970s, ie, the book "The Ending of Time" with David Bohm: God-believer, though in a way not expanded upon. * U.G., or U.G.Krishnamurti: Belongs to a branch of pantheism in which karma is not considered that important Contribution: at times, poetic language Degree of enlightenment: patch-wise, at best * Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Sai Baba, teachers of Advaita Vedanta and Raya Yoga and related teachers such as the founders Kriya Yoga, Subud, etc etc: these exemplified various pathways one can take with pantheism; their enlightenment was necessarily patchy if one regards pantheism as merely one aspect of reality Contributions: Eg Maharishi Mahesh Yogi contributed, with his easy-going manner, to the embracing of meditation in hippie culture also through the music-group Beatles; and the push by the Maharishi people for the study of EEG brain waves relative to brain science spurred also serious scientific results published independently of their group, results that are now regarded as part of mainstream EEG brain wave understanding; some of them opened up for some exploration of tantric sexuality * Karl Marx, author of eg Das Kapital, influential esp in the early 20th century, belongs to the ideology of atheism Contribution: argued that compassion should indicate that fair distribution will not always connect to inherited powers in human societies Degree of enlightenment: only as high as can be within the sharp constraints set by a belief in the ideology of atheism, but with some more compassion than Ayn Rand * Meister Eckhardt, in the medieval ages: belongs to a branch of monotheism in which a personal God is believed in, while at the same time also bringing in pantheism Contribution: teaching of possibility of direct experience of the divine in the Cloud of Unknowing Degree of enlightenment: patchwise or better * Arne Naess: belongs to a branch of atheism which has some overlapping features with pantheism, along the lines indicated by Spinoza; co-founder of the 'deep ecology' approach to environmentalism in the 1960s; writer on Gandhi's approach to nonviolence, on logical empiricism and on Spinoza Contribution: he contributed to rational discourse also over spirituality with his emphasis on finding a word usage that fits experienced content without exaggeration, also in humour Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, limited by atheism even if with a touch of pantheism * Nietzsche: belongs to a branch of pantheism in which karma is disregarded. Contribution: will power of human individual emphasized, with some openness for sexuality Degree of enlightenment: very patch-wise, as anger at establishment, esp roman christianity was dominant Can be grouped together with Crowley and with Osho as a person who in many senses can be considered escapist and thus entirely embroiled in his own self-glorifying ego * Osho: belongs to a branch of pantheism in which karma is disregarded. Contribution: argued convincingly for the bridging of meditation and sex Degree of enlightenment: on all other fronts except meditation-sex connection, the language is not up to the level of a great thinker; and his actions, including accumulating dozens of luxury cars and stated goal to accumulate many more, indicate a lack of sensitivity of subtle issues on planet Earth; Osho successfully hypnotised crowds to speak of him as enlightened but failed in being hailed by notable thinkers (compare how the much more refined Socrates was hailed by Plato and the more subtle J. Krishnamurti was hailed by D.Bohm) and his books can be considered superficial, more like drug-driven motivation speeches for the already-converted; he also, reputedly, used such as laughter gas himself and implicitly promoted drug use in his followers Degree of enlightenment: Patchwise; can be grouped together with Nietzsche and with Crowley as a person who in many senses can be considered escapist and thus entirely embroiled in his own self-glorifying ego. In Osho's case, one can consider his manic wall of words possibly an escape from a self-condemnation over his modest looks and his only fairly intellectual brain; nevertheless his contribution on the teaching of sexuality in a meditative/tantric context was enormously valuable and a unique contribution due to the massive challenge it involves to bring it forth * Ouspensky, author of books including on the teachings of Gurdjieff, belongs to a branch of pantheism in which a rich spirituality is considered real Contribution: argued fairly coherently for the importance of understanding that reality has more, including spiritual, dimensions Enlightenment: patchwise * Patanjali, reputedly the author of the brief text Yoga Sutras (which may however have been created by two or more authors) belongs to a branch of pantheism in which a God belief is sometimes invoked Contribution: sets forth levels of meditation and forms of intermingling of human mental activities with universal processes Degree of enlightenment: unknown, too little is known about the person (whose text is one of the six foundational scripts in hinduism) * Plato: probably at the same level as Socrates. * Paulus, author of the many "Letters" in the Christian Bible, belongs to a form of monotheism in which Jesus is seen as in one way or another as identical with God, and human mortal actions are judged by the divine, but in which most forms of sex are condemned, perhaps entirely unlike the teacher he puporst to be following, namely Jesus; through Augustine, Paulus--also known as St. Paul--became absolutely dominant in the interpretation of what God is all about in the Roman Christian religion Contribution: a poetic language, rich in metaphors, he co-created something of that which became the Western languages including something of the essence of English, and gave it a sense of spirituality Degree of enlightenment: patchwise (since he portrayed the teachings of Jesus as compatible with an approach that denies the possibility of the divinity of sexuality, while he admitted he had never physically met Jesus and hence knew at best in a second-hand way what Jesus taught). * Pythagoras, of which very little is known except bits and pieces of sometimes contradictory myths, is likely belonging to a branch of pantheism in which number mysticism was a sigificant part; his main contribution is the assocation between him and a worldview which purports that 'everything is numbers', which in some ways can be said to be coherent with some interpretations of the world of modern physics * Ayn Rand, author of such as the Virtue of Selfishness in the 20th century, belongs to the ideology of atheism Contribution: poetic language setting forth the belief in the human individual Degree of enlightenment: only as high as can be within the sharp constraints set by a belief in the ideology of atheism, but lacking in most forms of compassion * Spinoza, classical Western philosopher, belonging to a branch of pantheism in which determinism is regarded as the chief truth to realize Contribution: showed that rationality can be applied to spiritual matter in a climate stuck in simplistic theological questions Degree of enlightenment: only as much as can be realized within deterministic pantheism * Socrates, the character as known chiefly through Plato's writings, but with some references from the younger Aristoteles and others, belongs to a branch of pantheism in which determinism is believed in; here it is assumed that at least the earliest writings by Plato about Socrates provide reliable clues about the personality of Socrates Contribution: showed a trust in the human dialogue process as something that can uncover, by direct insight, all possible insights Degree of enlightenment: while apparently a charming person with great sensitivities and hailed by a great thinker as Plato, he seemed to set forth a teaching that is only as enlightened as a Godless deterministic pantheism ever can be * Rudolf Steiner, founder of anthrosophy and the Waldorff form of schools, belongs to a branch of pantheism in which a great deal of the content, structures and levels are visualized; Contribution: showed a trust in the artistic unfoldment of the human individual as a pathway into spirituality Degree of enlightenment: as limited as a believer in the ideology of pantheism can be Degree of enlightenment: patchwise * Bertrand Russell, Nobel Laurate in literature for his nonfiction philosophical writings, belongs to a branch of atheism Contribution: Trust that human language processes can bring about all essential insights motivated philosophical enquiry processes in others Degree of enlightenment: patchwise, limited by atheism Lao Tse, in ancient China, reputedly author of Book of Tao (or Dao): seems to belong to a branch of pantheism with a sense of belief in determinism Contribution: poetic language about events in general Degree of enlightenment: too little is known about the person * Walt Whitman, poet, a complex figure whose contribution lies chiefly in conveying a deep trust in spirituality in a general sense, and, like William Blake, in the natural infinitude of the world In this summary, as it appears, no human being comes forth as fully enlightened. There are, of course, three forms of enlightenment: * those who are absolutely enlightened * those who are not absolutely enlightened * and those who are absolutely not enlightened It may be, it is indeed this writer's intuition that it is so, that mortal human beings are either in category 2 or (in the present era of humankind) 3; and that it is a chief feature of Deus-Zeus and his beings-muses to be (exclusively) in category 1 A.T., January 2020 ********************************************** ********************************************** Footnote*** How do you explore these themes yourself? How do you get intuitions as to weather a spiritual approach makes full sense, partial sense, or little sense? What is the role of humility, silence, words, and meditation in exploration of the universe beyond what is measurable? First, let us muse over the word 'humility'. In a context of Nietzsche/Crowley/Osho and people of similar traits, in which will and desire are put skyhigh while any element of weakness is scoffed and scorned at, it makes particular sense: is a strong-willed individual (which is presumably a good thing to be) necessarily lacking in humility at all points? Or, as an alternative viewpoint: is it not so that a strong-willed individual has humility at all important points? And that this humility is, in fact, a proof of the strength of the will of this individual? This is not an abstract question: it is utterly concrete. Let us therefore suggest a way to visualize this in terms of fairy tales and myths, namely the beautiful myth of the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Visualize Aragorn. Does he have strong will? Obviously. Strong enough? Obviously. Furiously strong, in fact? Obviously. All right. Now keep on visualizing Aragorn. Does Aragorn have humility relative to someone wedded to a dark path? No. But does he necessarily kick those who are wedded to a dark path, or those who are weak? No, he enslaved Gollum but did not unnecessarily encrust himself upon Gollum. Does Aragorn have humility relative to Gandalf? Obviously. Does he have humility relative to the elfs? Obviously. And it is part of his strength and his integrity that he switches between arrogance and humility, as well as taking middle-stances, as well as of course varying in a lot of other personality dimensions, in encountering various people and beings in their adventures. Gandalf himself has humility relative to Aragorn, and to the highest of elfs, and to Tom Bombadil, who plays the role of God in Tolkien's novel; and there are even instances where Gandalf shows humility to Frodo, and to Sam. Let us proceed to the question of intuition. If there is no distinction between what is correct and what is incorrect, there is no need for intuition--anywhere, at any time. As soon as you admit that there is a distinction between what is correct and what is incorrect, and, in cases of confusion, a lot of middle-ground between the two, you have opened up for a potential interest in the phenomenon of intuition. Confusion can be cleared up by looking at the implicit assumptions in what is said, rather than rushing ahead with socalled 'narratives'; and going to the core of each assumption, and finding out what is correct to assume in each case. Now, if it is correct that we have, through our sensory organs and through the talking over our experiences through the sensory organs, some correct knowledge but that this knowledge is too limited to decide religious, spiritual questions, we have to explore what other means we have. Some people say: humans don't know much therefore there are some holy books that do tell what's what. But the holy books may be wrong, and not holy; or they may be messed up; or they may be ambigious; or they may have contradictions within themselves. If there is a contradiction, it means that something is more correct than something else. If a person is deeply inconsistent with himself or herself, it means that there is a deep confusion. It is easy to say, "I'm inconsistent; so, I'm inconsistent!" as if it is a light matter. There are fun forms of inconsistencies, as when Einstein was photographed giving a lecture over physics in which his pants clearly were not buttoned up. But there are deep inconsistencies when a spiritual person claims to be beyond everything and is yet deeply attached to meaningless luxury; or when some people claim to love God more than everything, but when all comes to all, they love a particular interpretation of a book more than their direct experience and intuition of God's direct communion with them. Consider this: someone who continually affirms, "I am God, you are God, everyone is God", may try to rid himself/herself of a self-condemnation, eg, the person considers, at core, that he/she is ugly and/or stupid; and by invoking the concept of the most intelligent and lovely and applying it, again and again to own self, there is a kick, a rush of energy; but it is merely an escapist circling around a cemented ego; and even if maniacally uttered in endless repetition, it is apt to fascinate only those wrapped up in a similar contradiction and similarly in need of more honesty, rather than a tranquiliser philosophy. So inconsistencies in living may point to incoherence in mind: another word for incoherence in mind is 'madness'. It is not a light matter. Perhaps we should agree, therefore, that coherence, or wholeness of mind, is a worthy, noble goal, and that part of achivement of this goal is to correct as much incorrect views as possible, by whatever coherent, meaningful means we have for correcting them. It is here intuition comes in. Even a furiously sharp scientific and philosophical thinker like K.R. Popper admitted that in some cases, the study through experience (scientists like to use the word, of Greek origin, 'empirics') is too limited and in a footnote in his WWII two-volume book he states that he believes in human intuition (and its role in proof). Brain wave studies come in here and suggest a way to visualize this: when somebody is saying something that is in contradiction to other views that the same person is having, it shows up as crude little high-frequency 'beta' waves,--a sign of incoherence. To achieve harmony, there is a value, therefore, in stating what is coherent with the views and perceptions that one has. In being quiet, one can hear one's more subtle thoughts, suggesting ways of looking at the world that makes sense, given what previous experiences and intuitions one has. In stating aloud these subtle thoughts, the brain can logically look at it in a clearer way and achieve more clarity about the point, as a possibility. As this process creates harmony, the brain radiates more coherent, higher- amplitude waves in the lower frequency region of around 8 to 14 Hertz. These lower frequencies have larger wavelength, allow for greater coherence, and is compatible with less easy to measure high-energy high-frequencies activities inside the neurons. Somebody who is going around making noises like, "I am God, everything is nothing" can get at most a quasi- harmony. The real harmony depends on getting a relationship within the brain to its own more subtle insights. This allows intuition to come in through the silence of ordinary thinking; it allows the brain to work in integration with the entire nervous system and thus the whole body; and the spiritual approach would be to imagine that the brain is also in communion with subtle energy. ************************************ ************************************