Philosophical Contemplations: The Philosopher

The Philosopher

The philosopher is a knight in search of his Holy Grail. All dark fortresses he encounters along the way he assails with his sharp sword of discernment. He looks for any weakness in their defences and brings the walls tumbling down. Any barriers that would hold him and others back, blocking the way to his goal, he topples.

And if a castle of any kind, of the passive, the indulgent or the barbarous, can be brought to ruin he does so; in this he is ruthless. For better that he should expose the faults than allow delusion to continue. He will not allow any to abide within the blind walls of ignorance nor under the roof of false security.

Any opponent he comes across on the path he challenges: if he wins he continues on; if his fight is well met and matched he respects his fellow knight and honours his views; and if his fight is met, matched and overcome in all fairness under the code of chivalry, having expended his greatest efforts he humbly kneels and bows to this supreme knight and opens his heart to a wisdom greater than his own.

He knows that all knights are on the same quest and that all their challenges serve to lead them on. But a time will come when the might and sharpness of his weapons will avail him no more, they will serve then only to weigh him down and prevent him from reaching his goal. A time will come when he must lay down his arms and surrender to Truth.

The True Philosophy

The True Philosophy is nothing new but that which has always been and will continue to be. Whether it is known or unknown, acknowledged or scorned, makes no difference to it, it still holds strong.

The false philosophy, on the other hand, must fall, as an ill-designed tower block must fall, pulling down with it those that swear by it to the end. But watch for the signs - the inconsistencies and faulty links, the growing cracks and unstable foundations. These are the marks of error.

The philosopher of the True Philosophy admits the inadequacy of his words, the contradictions that arise when attempting to define it. Plato wrote, ‘There is no way of putting it in words like other studies,’ and yet still he wrote.

The True Philosophy is beyond words, perfect Truth. Only in its expression is there room for improvement and refinement of details, and this is the task passed on to the student, to bring the imperfect closer to perfection. Expressive and descriptive philosophy can only point the way and praise the ineffable beauty of the True Philosophy ever beyond the grasp of the senses.

Inner Wealth

It really makes no difference whether the philosopher is rich or poor. What matters most is inner wealth and well-being. If he receives a rich windfall but has not inner wealth it will avail him none. Whereas even if he suffers great ruinous material loss and yet has inner wealth, it does him no deep injury.

But inner wealth is not something one acquires. It is always there, waiting to be acknowledged; the hidden store in every being; the forgotten reserves buried under the weight of material possessions; the priceless antique undervalued and overlooked, locked away in an abandoned recess.

Inner wealth is the rich papyrus rediscovered after millennia hidden discreetly in some dark niche. To those who recognise its true worth it is great and beautiful beyond all compare. Those who would only scribble on the back of it, ignorant of what they do, are themselves ‘in the dark’ as to where wealth and happiness truly lie.

Happiness is in the heart. It is not dependent on externals. True, some externals evoke happiness; some others do not; but always happiness is in the heart. Lasting contentment and satisfaction is not to be found in external ephemera; only when its secret hiding place is discovered will the lure of desire be truly quenched. Till then, inner wealth is unwittingly traded for meagre somethings.

Goodness

Follow the sweet track of goodness, goodness for goodness’ sake. Goodness is an expression of your true nature: what is good is right, what is right is true. Truth is the Good.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. Goodness is deemed good simply because it tends towards Truth and the Real. Badness is that which goes against the Real, and to do evil is to wrong one’s own true self and to wear a pretence.

Goodness leads to Truth; badness leads to lies and deceit. But do not be good because you are told to, or commanded to, or because of the ill-fortune that will befall you elsewise. Be good simply because you are. As the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi said, ‘Be as you are.’

Ownership

Does the migrating swift, passing over fields and farms, forests and cities, country borders and the countless fences man puts up between himself and his brothers, look down and see separate lands and lands within lands owned by separate people? No, all he sees is the great expanse out and over the horizon.

How foolish it is to claim ownership of anything, let alone the land. Even the humble pen with which I often write is not mine. If it were to be stolen would it then belong to the thief? Surely not. Only if it is given as a gift, purchased, or maybe won somehow may it then rightly belong to another. But were not the elements which make up the pen taken from the land?

Possession is the hoarder’s delusion. Nothing is or ever can be owned by anyone; ownership does not exist. My writing pen, as I call it, is a portion of the All in my care, an object trusted to me to use wisely. I never gained it, nor will I ever lose it though it slips from my hand.

And the borders and fences that limit our countries and gardens are acceptable only if they protect the lands in our care and allow them to grow towards Beauty. Although eventually all walls must fall. Untruths cannot last, and professed ownership is doomed to be overthrown. Let the wise man cling to nothing uncertain or transient, lest he should fall with it.

The Ego

The ego is an elusive phantom, a thief in the night. Try to catch him by torchlight and he quickly slips away. For he is a thing of shadows and cannot stand in the glare of Truth.

No discrete entities exist; any separation in the Whole being an illusion. Therefore the ego can only be present as a vague misconception. And whereas the aim of the ascetic may be to extinguish the ego, this will not be accomplished - what does not exist cannot die. True annihilation of the ego is the uprooting of the conviction of it ever existing.

But yes, the selfishness of the ego may be seen as opposing the selfless nature of God and all that is godlike, where God stands for the right, the real, and the true Will. For the part is error and the Whole is Truth. The True Self is No-self.

The Philosopher’s Humility

There is nothing the philosopher can know which is not already known, and he cannot expect to express a truth that is not already or has not been previously expressed. The greatest truths are demonstrated everywhere. All the philosopher does is translate them, or point them out.

The philosopher knows that truths are evident all about him. His aim is to perceive them more clearly and to present them to his fellows in a more accessible manner, always seeking greater accuracy and simplicity. Yet it makes no difference to him whether his fellows deride, ignore or acknowledge; truth is with them whatever, and they will only realise it when they are ready. He neither craves admiration nor fears disparagement.

And it matters not to the philosopher whether he remains silent, speaks a truth or tells a joke. Whatever, whenever and wherever, Truth is present and truths are displayed. This is the philosopher’s humility, that although he cannot express the Great Truth, it is nonetheless present in all he does.

The Base Instincts

The man who is dominated by the base instincts is like a man who takes his dog out on a lead, only to be dragged here and there by the wild hound.

The man who is struggling to master the base instincts is like a man who takes his dog out on a lead, but, even though the hound may tug ceaselessly, he keeps him close to the clear path.

But the man who is master of his own has no such problems. He is like a man whose dog walks with him over the field and through the wood, an obedient dog who needs no lead, a strong dog but one who can run and play harmlessly, a friendly companion and a noble guard. He does not subjugate forcefully his base instincts, but leaves them in their proper place. For in man intelligence has risen and must needs be the guide.

The Independent Philosopher

The Independent Philosopher clings to no creed, holds no theory as without fault, adheres to no transient doctrine. Theories are to him only tools pointing towards ineffable Truth: they may prove useful in his everyday life, but must eventually be cast aside when he enters the Infinite. The walking-sticks of life are not for those who have freed their wings.

The Independent Philosopher is a student of life and all that life contains. Therefore he does not limit himself to any particular science or religion, for to do so would prevent him from seeing the whole picture. And Truth is a whole.

His studies encounter and encompass all sciences and all life’s religions, past and present. Although he is open and receptive, he is also discerning and is not taken in by spurious beliefs. Truth is his guide. Truth is his goal. He may rest upon a theory a while, exploring its possibilities, but is never held back from his search. Not until Truth, in all its omnipresent simplicity, is realised will he arrive at his goal.

Meditation

Meditation is the practice of sitting in silence, letting go of thoughts and letting thoughts go. Relaxing the body in a comfortable but firm position allows the mind also to relax, although it may at first, out of habit, take the opportunity to think of the sundry things previously put on hold when the body was too busy to consider them.

Concentration keeps the mind single-minded. When the meditator becomes aware that he is drifting along with idle thoughts he returns his attention softly to himself and continues concentration. There is a fine line to seek where concentration is effortless, where the mind is not lax but alert, and not active but attentive.

Aiming for this, concentrating on a point, sharpens the mind; and when the mind is finely honed it may more easily pierce the object of contemplation, so gaining greater insight. The mind is the philosopher’s sharpened tool which he needs must polish and perfect.

If a philosopher’s mind is full of uncontrollable thoughts he is like a charioteer who has let go the reins, a helpless passenger to whim and circumstance. He must take charge of his life and regain his rightful position as master of his own thoughts. Meditation is the pathway to this, the walking-stick that must one day, like all things and theories, be thrown aside.

Experiencing the Essence

If one has truly experienced autumn, one has experienced the autumn in all things. Therefore, it is not necessary to encounter all possible situations to garner wisdom. If one could fully experience the present situation, here and now, whether cruel or harmonious, one would attain wisdom.

The philosopher, then, should be fully present at all times, like a patient astronomer who watches the night sky waiting for the clouds to pass that he may glimpse the object of his observations. For there are moments when the light of wisdom flickers through the haze and can be discerned more easily.

If one has truly experience the essence of anything, one has experienced the essence of all things, since the essence at the very heart of any thing is existence itself, Being. Thus the philosophers who seek to know the essence of their subjects or sciences, though they may each look in different directions, will all reach the same conclusion, arrive at the same point of understanding. The many sciences are different aspects of one essence which is the search for knowledge, and the essence of knowledge is pure comprehension.

So the philosopher who seeks wisdom should aim to experience the Essence. Knowing the Essence, all aspects are understood.

Union with God

The pilgrim soul and the ascetic holy man seek union with God. But the philosopher, although he may at times walk with the crowd and though he may often sit alone in quiet meditation, knows that union with God is unattainable. He knows that God is Unity itself and there never were any outside God.

In his travels - his wandering, his studies and his searching - he seeks only to end the ignorance which clouds his vision and prevents him from realising the Truth. Clear is the glass whether clean or unclean: divine unity is always, it is just that false notions of separateness delude the mind. When the accumulated grime of ages is wiped away, the glass is seen to have been transparent all along.

By the steady process of elimination, the searching philosopher rids his mind of error and deceit until all that is left is naked Truth. There is only God. God is.

Truth

Philosophers, seek Truth rather than answers to questions. Answers may be right or wrong. Truth is Truth. One may find the right answers and still not know Truth. Seek Truth - knowing Truth, no questions arise and no answers are needed.

Truth is. There is nothing other than Truth. Even when a lie is told, Truth is present. But this Truth is not something you can put your finger on, it is neither revealed nor concealed. It is imperceptibly always. Your finger is always on it.

But, philosophers, as long as we seek Truth it will ever elude us. We may see the leaf-laden branches of the silver birch blowing, but will never catch sight of the wind. We may hear the faded echo of our own voice, but will never find the distant caller.

So seek Truth, philosophers, as far as you can. But know that the Truth you seek cannot be found; if it could it would not be the ever-present, eternal, whole Truth. Where is Truth? Has it not been with you always?

Relative Truth

All things are founded on Truth, and Truth pervades all things. Yet inasmuch as things express this all-pervading Truth they are inevitably faulty, imperfect. Hence no statement can be irrelatively True; Truth cannot be presented without contradiction, it being always present.

So all statements are erroneous as far as real Truth is concerned. But although all statements are unsound, some are closer to Truth than others. In the world of opposites and relatives we have relative truths and falsehoods. ‘Truth pervades all things’ is a relative truth, not absolutely true but an apt enough expression.

Of course, all this that I have said is unavoidably flawed; unavoidably, that is, if I am to pronounce at all. There is no ‘closer to Truth’ if Truth is everywhere present. There can be nothing other than Truth, notwithstanding conceptual whims. Relativity is erroneous, falsehood untrue.

Laughter

No serious discourse can touch laughter. Laugh, laugh, laugh. Situations permitting, of course.

The philosopher should neither laugh too loud nor too quiet, and should laugh when laughter arises comfortably with the least of effort. And although he may find the words and actions of others simply silly or preposterously pompous, above all he must be able to laugh at himself, at his own fickle foibles and fancies.

If one cannot laugh, all one’s seriousness is not worth a jot!

Right and Wrong

It is good and virtuous to do what is right; dishonourable and unjust to perpetrate a wrong. But on some occasions it is good and right to do what would be otherwise wrong, and wrong to do what is otherwise right.

This does not mean that right and wrong are capricious fancies. Quite the opposite, since the bare Ideas right and wrong remain constant. It is only their outer forms and appearances and applications that change relative to the situation.

The high Idea of the Right holds fast throughout. The same cannot be said of the Idea of the wrong, since whereas the Right is the Real and thus self-sufficient, the wrong is assumed to be something other than the Real and therefore dependent. Of course, the wrong is error, the Right is Truth.

Never Give In

Never submit and succumb to the beguiled rule of ignorance. In the fight for freedom and truth, never give in. You cannot. For until you have overcome all ignorance and situated yourself in the Seat of Truth, there will be no rest. You must overcome. You cannot lose.

Any submission to ignorance is only temporary, as truth must eventually prevail. All difficulties must be overcome, they are impediments to progression. And all impediments to progression must fall. The pull of destiny is against them.

But never give in to the errors of enmity and opposition, philosophers, for if you have enemies enmity exists in yourself, and division is contrary to Truth. Never requite wrong with wrong, nor think that you can quash ignorance with error.

Always seek freedom and truth, for yourself and for the whole, whatever difficulties stand in your way. And tackle all obstacles without anger or impatience - these being obstacles themselves - in the knowledge that goodness will prevail and Truth stands eternally without flaw. Never give in and settle for anything less than Truth.

Surrender

Surrender only to Truth, philosophers. And surrender to it you must. For who or what is greater than Truth?

In your fight for freedom and truth you must seek to overcome all ignorance. But be prepared to surrender your arms when Truth beckons. Do not lose sight of the goal and in your fighting forget peace. True peace was never won without the laying down of arms. Likewise Truth will not be realised without the letting go of error.

Truth makes no demands for surrender. Yet all who have ever opposed it in their ignorance will in time see the folly of error and surrender their souls willingly to the just rule of Truth. The Kingdom of Truth is ever open to those who have surrendered their arms of opposition outside the gate. Only those souls who persist in the ways of ignorance will find no entry, for the ignorant soul is his own enemy.

So lay down your errors, your transient notions and worldly beliefs, your thoughts of possession and your longing for freedom. Let fall the man-made walls and the barbed fences that fiercely define who you are and who you are not. Truth has no limits, no distinct doctrine, and Freedom can never be realised without letting go.

Renunciation

‘One who renounces desires actually merges in the world and expands his love to the whole universe,’ said Ramana Maharshi. While one should not abandon the world, mental desires and attachments are a hindrance to the realisation of Truth and the philosopher would do well to renounce them.

The philosopher need not spurn what the strict ascetic might call ‘the mortal shackles of the material world’ and live a penurious and isolated life doting on his soul, but neither should he crave unnecessaries which only distract him from his goal. It is quite acceptable for the philosopher to have some material comfort if this allows him to pursue his art and settle his awareness in Truth more readily.

True renunciation is not of the objects of desire but of desire itself and its henchman, attachment. The philosopher, however, should have learned by now that bodily desires serve only to please the body and that the striving of the soul is for a higher purpose. And in discovering this he is already putting the needs of the soul above those of the body; for the body is not much concerned with the whys and the wherefores of its existence, until in it the pull of the soul begins to stir.

Eventually, though, the striving of the soul, which disciplines and guides the body towards the true good, must achieve its aim of total renunciation and drop the imagined boundaries that have prevented mergence with the world. Whether the body is alive or dead, active in the world or in spiritual retreat, makes no difference to such a one. He is as he is.

The Philosopher and the World

The philosopher should not abandon the world. Whether he lives alone or with a close-knit community, the world is with him. And although he may view the world of the senses as imperfect and impure and may regularly turn his mind inward in search of perfection, his aim must be to embrace the world wholly and without vexation.

Moreover, since the perfection which he seeks is ever untainted and untouchable - as Unity endures seeming separates - and is at the heart of his being, and the world, it should cause him no great concern whatever the circumstances. He should tread the path fate lays for him with steady resolution and cheerful acceptance, all the while attentive to unflinching Truth.

It makes no difference to Truth whether a lie is told or not. Therefore the soul of the philosopher need not shun the mundane, but should see the spark of Beauty and Truth reflected in all things of the world, in all parts of the whole. His own body he should seek to raise up closer to the Light and his own senses sharpen, and he should take his place in the evolution of the material world which is always progressing, always moving on.

In raising his human-self out of ignorance and towards the perfect he is completing his allotted task, fulfilling his assigned contribution to the betterment of the world. What is truly beneficial to the individual is also beneficial to the whole.

Alive

All is alive; it is just that some things appear less alive than others. There is only life. What we term ‘lifeless’ or ‘dead’ is a state at the far end of life’s spectrum that is nevertheless a part of life, partaking, albeit in a diminished degree, of the essence Life.

In the world of opposites life expresses its reflection, death - though only superficially since death is played upon the stage of life and is made of the stuff of life and existence. Even when a form is void of independent animation, the spirit of the world is in it.

Life is the reality and truly has no opposite with which to be contrasted. Nothing exists which is not in life and has not life in it. And though it seems there is a hierarchy ranging from the most alive to the least, this is illusion, since there is no place where life is anywhere lacking. Lifelessness is both in life an illusory affectation and in the mind a false concept. Like non-existence, it is the means of distinguishing what is otherwise an undistinguished reality.

The Philosopher as Translator

The philosopher is a translator, he understands the language of the cosmos and translates her subtle speech into the words of man. The majority of mankind cannot comprehend the parlance she speaks. Some do not believe she speaks at all, they hear only gibberish and meaningless noise.

But the philosopher looks for patterns in that noise, and through patterns he deciphers meaning from what had previously appeared meaningless or baffling. He makes sense of the seemingly senseless. He listens and learns. He makes mistakes sometimes, but that is part of the course.

The role of the philosopher is to teach man what is being taught him already, to convey to man what is already being conveyed but which he does not hear. The philosopher speaks to man in his own language, the language he is more responsive to, communicating the wisdom of the world.

The philosopher is a translator, but he is always eager to turn the mind of man towards the original text from which he reads. Man should not settle for translations, but should learn the language of the cosmos himself, so that he may know firsthand and fully comprehend the essential meaning of the world’s tremulous song.

Interpretations of Religious Writings

There are several ways of interpreting and understanding religious writings. For example, the Old Testament of the Bible tells of how Jonah, having been cast into the sea, was swallowed up by a great fish, wherein he remained three days and three nights before being jettisoned safe upon the shore.

To some who follow a particular faith this is exactly how it was. To others it is pure fantasy and a blatant falsehood. Others might see it as a storyteller’s exaggeration of an actual event. Some may see it simply as an allegorical tale of Jonah’s doom and salvation. And some may read in it a symbolic description of an esoteric event, Jonah’s death and rebirth.

The trick is discerning which of the above five options applies when reading a particular passage in religious texts. Certainly, not one of them applies all of the time. The scriptures, passed down through the years, are, like myths, a mixture of truth, falsehood, exaggeration, allegory and esoteric symbolism. Therefore the student of religious texts, and for that matter mythological accounts, should be aware of these possibilities and treat any interpretation judiciously.

The Real

There is only the Real. Nothing can be outside the Real, since what is not real does not exist. Therefore the Real is all-inclusive.

The Real is Truth. The Real is One. Yet the greatness implied in the term ‘the Real’ can only stand in contradistinction to the fallibility of that which is not real. But ‘the unreal’ does not exist, so as a concept it is erroneous.

Concepts may be right or wrong, accurate or unfounded, but are always faulty. Their error lies in their not being all-inclusive, since a concept stands out in the mind distinct from what it is not. The Real, on the other hand, is a complete whole which allows no other or opposite, but in conceptualising and expressing it we must needs contradistinguish and inevitably contradict it.

The Real, then, cannot be conclusively known, for as long as there exists the notion of a distinct knower the marring blemish of error is still present. The Real can only be ‘perceived’ when all errors are abandoned. This is the goal of the philosopher.

© David A. Hall 1998

davehall@cheerful.com