And Now for Some Real Heretics, Part 8

Continued from Part 7.

In the last part we discussed a sub-set of the hylics or pre-Adamics: the psychopaths, those without any conscience. According to clinical studies, they make up about 4% of the population. If what Boris Mouravieff said is true, that is, that pre-Adamic anthropoids make up 50% of the population, than that leaves another 46%. I don’t mean to get too bogged down on exact numbers; let’s just use these as thought experiments. Laura Knight-Jadczyk has introduced the concept of “Organic Portals” to describe these other hylics. The idea of “portals” here describes a possible function for them: they are able to be used as puppets in order to prevent the 50% with soul potential from advancing.

They are agents, in a sense, of the General Law and the Law of Accident. The General Law refers to the working out of cause and effect for the benefit of all organic life, while the Law of Accident refers to its effect on an individual personality, being buffetted about in a mechanical fashion. While identifying with the ‘I’ of the Personality, Mouravieff’s exterior man’s

…life will be in effect a factitious existence, as he himself will change from moment to moment. Since these changes will occur as a result of external shocks which he can almost never foresee, it will also be impossible for him to predict in advance the exact way he will change internally. Thus he will live subject to events as they occur, always preoccupied by constantly ‘patching up (‘replastering’). He will in fact progress towards the unknown, at the mercy of chance. This state of things, named in the Tradition The Law of Chance or the Law of Accident, is—for man as he is—the principal law under whose authority he leads his illusory existence. (Mouravieff, Gnosis I, p. 6)

What does this mean? For Mouravieff, that means that the seeker who is trying to re-establish connection with his or her soul needs to escape the Law of Accident by increasing their subjection to the Law of Exception.

What then is the meaning of human life in this Cosmos as we know it? Man’s existence has two main purposes:
-- as an element of the universal organism, it serves the aims of the latter;
-- as an isolated individual, he can pursue his own aims.

To better understand why and how these two objectives are bound together, let us take an example:

The position of man in the Universe is analogous to that of a cell in the human body. Each cell is part of an organ which, in its turn, is an element of a group of organs that assures proper accomplishment of some definite function of the organism.

From this point of view, let us examine the lot of a cell in our bodies. It is subject to two categories of laws. To simplify, let us say that it is placed under the rule of two laws.

The first keeps the cell in its place. In esoteric science we call it the General Law. The second leaves a certain liberty of action for the cell, and is called The Law of Exception.

The first law, which is conservative, ensures that the organ of which this cell is a part accomplishes its function with no impediment. To this end, the first condition is that during their lives the cells which compose the organ fulfil the role given them. This law obliges these cells to remain in their own places, to complete their work, and to dedicate their lives to it.

It is evident that if this law did not keep the cells of the body within the limits of each organ, if it did not oblige them to fulfil their function, the latter would not be able to exist. Thus this law is beneficial; by ensuring the existence of the organs, it permits the whole body to endure.

We know, however, that the total removal of certain organs is compatible with survival. In the current state of our knowledge it even seems that removal of some of them lead to no serious functional inconvenience. Even more; the organism tolerates partial resection of some organs without compromising the roles played by the latter in the general economy. This shows that the disappearance of a few cells, an infinitesimal part of an organ, goes unnoticed: its functioning is not impaired. As the essential role of the General Law is to watch over continuity of function, this disappearance passes unnoticed by it. Therefore it places no further obstacles. Symbolically, one can say that cells which escape from this law now enter the domain of the Law of Exception.

…As a cell of humanity, man forms part of organic life on Earth. This life in its ensemble represents a very sensitive organ of our planet, playing and important role in the economy of the solar system. As a cell of this organ, man finds himself under the influence of the General Law, which keeps him in its place. In fact, this law leaves him a certain margin or tolerance. It allows him some free movement within the limits it sets. Within these boundaries, which are very limited objectively although subjectively they appear vast, man can give free rein to his fantasies and his ambitions. Without going too far into the definition of these limits… we can say as an example, that one of those factors is hunger: the servitiude of working to assure our subsistence. The chain: sexual instinct; procreation; and the care of parents for their children, is another factor… Lastly, fear in its many forms consitutes the third group of factors in question. On the whole, the permitted margin for free movement tolerated by the General Law is limited by something best described in a term less scientific than colorful: bourgeois happiness. Careers in every branch of human activity; fortune; family; love; honors, etc.; all are subject to the sine qua non condition of unconditional if only subconscious acceptance of the inevitability of Death.

As long as man accepts the principle of the final annihilation of his Personality without a fight, he can carry on in life without attracting the increasing pressure of the General Law itself.

The case is totally different if he struggles to surpass the limits which it imposes. He then runs against the action upon him of this Law and its derivatives. It acts simultaneously on several planes: physical, mental and moral. Its action on the moral plane is conceived by man, since time immemorial, in the form of a personification: the Devil. (Ibid., p, 68-9)

…It must be realized that in placing himself under the aegis of the Law of Exception, man goes against the General Law, which he is even called upon to overthrow, if only on the individual scale. He must not forget—under penalty of ‘surprise attack’—that salvation depends on victory over the Devil, which as we have said, is the personalized moral aspect of the General Law. (Ibid., p. 69)

According to Mouravieff, pre-Adamics can pursue only what he terms “A influences,” that is, conventional understandings of what are good goals to pursue: desires, status, success, wealth, sex, etc. Mouravieff says that those who have potential connections with higher centers can be also influenced by B and C influences which are what might call spiritual values. B and C influences make no sense to hylics or pre-Adamics. And, not only that, but these hylics or pre-Adamics, or organic portals, can help distract those with soul potential from establishing better contact with their real ‘I’. Many spiritual traditions speak of the distractions, the stumbling blocks coming from A influences and the agents of the General Law: the ‘wide way’ versus the ‘narrow path’, in the Christian tradition, for example (“Wide is the way that leads to perdition”). The hylics not only provide distractions but they can also drain the energy needed for the task from those with soul potential.

What exactly is meant by “soul potential?” According to Mouravieff, the personality has three mental centers: the motor, the emotional and the intellectual center. The term “soul” or ‘higher self” refers to two other centers: the higher emotional center and the higher intellectual center, “independent of the physical body and of the Personality.” (Gnosis I, p. 45)

In ensemble, these two higher centers truly represent our Soul, of which our current language speaks in the third person. Their presence in our innermost heart, and the rarity of the impartial and objective messages that we are able to receive through the medium of these centers, give us our impression of the real ‘I’ as a Judge residing in his courthouse. (Ibid.)

…While the lower centers in the exterior man are not fully developed, the higher centers are perfect and work at full capacity. But as we are, we cannot receive more than a negligibly small part of their communications. The reason for this is that man views himself as nothing but Personality. This illusion has as its immediate effects, pride, egocentricity and egotism. These form a kind of screen, only allowing the most rudimentary messages from the higher centers to pass, although their communication continues non-stop. They knock at the door; but it is for us to hear the voice and open.

If we leave the picturesque language of St. John, we can say that the deficiency of our lower centers is the reason why we do not receive the communications of higher centers. (Ibid.)

The pre-Adamics, then don’t have a soul, in the sense of an individual, immortal soul. Instead, they partake of a collective soul. They can also steal energy from souled beings to create a reflection of a real soul, which is one of the reasons it is so difficult to identify a non-psychopathic hylic.

To be continued...