THE MOUNTAIN PATH April 1964

February 24, 2007

Cast Not Your Pearls Before Swine

By Sagittarius

What are the pearls and who are the swine?

There can be no clearer statement in any religion that there are esoteric truths to be revealed only to genuine seekers and not to the public. There is a modern tendency to demand that democracy should extend even to knowledge and secrets be thrown open to all; but do all want them? Einstein's relativity theory is open to all, but how many study it? It may be said that there is a difference, in that all could if they wanted, whereas Christ's injunction implies a deliberate restricting of knowledge; actually however, the difference is not great, since ability to understand and earnest desire to follow are the sole qualifications for explanation. Truth is withheld only from those who do not value it and would therefore misunderstand and misuse it if offered. But they may be the majority.

What Christ said was that to offer it to them would be not merely a useless but a dangerous activity - "Lest they turn again and rend you". Swine are not interested in things of beauty but only in roots and swill and what fills their belly. Materialists are not interested in things of the spirit. Moreover they are liable to be offended by the implied suggestion that your aspiration rises higher than theirs, that your understanding outstrips theirs, that any one can prefer a pearl to a root - and turn and rend you.

Then what has happened to the pearls? Have the churches still got them? It is known that there are modes of silent prayer and meditation and various spiritual exercises that are not publicly proclaimed. They may be open to the laity also, but only to such of them as show their fitness by going into retreat or seeking guidance for concentrated spiritual effort.

Indeed, to say that they are still guarded by the churches does not mean that every priest and clergyman is a guardian of them. Some of the swine may be wearing clerical costume also. It seems a rude thing to say, but nowhere near as rude as the things Christ said about the clergy of his day.

There was a powerful tradition of spiritual guidance during the Middle Ages.. Towards the end of that period surprisingly frank records of it or of the doctrine on which it was built were left. Perhaps the writers felt that the direct oral transmission was drying up and needed to be fortified by written accounts to tide over the dark age that was already threatening. The Cloud of Unknowing, an anonymous 14th Century English record, is almost entirely a manual for spiritual practice. Characteristically, it is prefaced by a short note warning off the swine, insisting that it should be read only by those who are genuinely seeking, not by the merely curious. The Theologia Germanica speaks even more openly of the possibility of Divine Union. Meister Eckhart was so outspoken about the Supreme Identity as to be accused of heresy. He denied the charge, insisting that his teaching was the true Catholic doctrine rightly understood, but after his death excommunication was pronounced against him. Jacob Boehme, a Protestant cobbler, expounded the less direct mysteries of symbolism and sacred cosmology. Cervantes had the wit to conceal the pearls in a zany.

Moreover, something of spiritual practice also seems to have survived through the dark ages of rationalism. When pioneers such as Evelyn Underhill sought to bring the mystics back in the present century there was more than antiquarianism in their work; the spiritual lifeblood of Christian tradition still flowed, though pulsing now rather feebly and needing to be invigorated. For a spiritual current can be invigorated, sometimes even through an infusion of new life from outside. It is not a fixed quantum but a living, vibrating force, continually radiating with greater or less intensity, attaining an incandescent heat or cooling down and growing inert, according to the fervour and understanding of those within its orbit. And since every thought, every action, every aspiration, has its repercussions, those who draw sustenance from a spiritual body thereby also increase its potency, while the reverse is also true, that those who devote their lives to its service thereby draw sustenance.

The hidden pearls of esoteric wisdom need not be secret sayings such as the antiquarian or occultist loves to search for. They are far more likely to be profounder interpretations of sayings that everybody knows. The secret is not something that can be communicated but something that must be understood. A still truer description would be that they are wiser and more determined utilisations of interpretations that many people know.

The interpretations can be expounded in books and articles; their utilisation, which is what is of real value, can be taught only by a qualified guide to those who approach him directly.

But is it legitimate to expound even the interpretations openly, or would that come under Christ's ban on making hidden things known? I don't think it would, because this ban seems to be cancelled out by another cryptic saying of Christ's, that at the end all that was hidden shall be made known. This seems to be an age when, as at the end of the Middle Ages (though for different reasons) it is appropriate to disclose what can be disclosed. The real secret is ineffable. On all sides, from the viewpoints of all religions, one sees the hidden truths being expounded, so far as theoretical exposition is possible. Indeed, it may be that so little remains of the practical transmission that its theoretical wrappings no longer need concealment. Or it may be that their display is necessary to help some of those who aspire but do not know where to seek, so that even in our age Christ's word may still be fulfilled, that those who seek shall find. To take only one instance among many: D. T. Suzuki quotes a Ch'an Master as saying, "Ask of your self, inquire into your self, pursue your self, investigate within your self, and never let others tell you what it is, nor let it be explained in words."* Not only don't seek for a theoretical explanation but don't accept one if offered, refuse to listen to one. And yet Dr. Suzuki himself, conforming to the needs of our age, has spent most of his life giving theoretical explanations in books, articles and lectures.

_________________________

* The Essentials of Zen Buddhism, p. 320, Rider & Co., London.

What is far more potent authorisation, however, is the action of Ramana Maharshi himself. The path of Self-enquiry, based on the doctrine of Advaita or Identity, was in ancient times taught only to the few, usually to the recluse who had renounced the world. Indeed, the Chandogya Upanishad shows the Sage Prajapati teaching first that the physical individual being is the Self and only going deeper for that pupil who refuses to accept the superficial teaching. But in our time the Maharshi has proclaimed it openly in speech and writing for all who can understand and follow. He wrote: "I have betrayed Thy secret workings. Be not offended! Show me Thy Grace now openly and save me, Oh Arunachala!"* Requiring no further authorisation, I shall try to display the hidden pearls.

_________________________

* The Marital Garland of Letters to Sri Arunachala v. 98, from The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, Rider & Co., London, and Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.

February 25, 2007

Don't cast your pearls before swine:

When becoming established in a truth, it is best to avoid discussing

it with skeptics who may cause you to have doubts which will impede

your progress.

, "Michael Bindel"

<michael.bindel wrote:

>

> Cast Not Your Pearls Before Swine

>

> By Sagittarius

>

> What are the pearls and who are the swine?

>

> There can be no clearer statement in any religion that there are

esoteric truths to be revealed only to genuine seekers and not to

the public. There is a modern tendency to demand that democracy

should extend even to knowledge and secrets be thrown open to all;

but do all want them? Einstein's relativity theory is open to all,

but how many study it? It may be said that there is a difference, in

that all could if they wanted, whereas Christ's injunction implies a

deliberate restricting of knowledge; actually however, the

difference is not great, since ability to understand and earnest

desire to follow are the sole qualifications for explanation. Truth

is withheld only from those who do not value it and would therefore

misunderstand and misuse it if offered. But they may be the

majority.

>

> What Christ said was that to offer it to them would be not merely

a useless but a dangerous activity - "Lest they turn again and rend

you". Swine are not interested in things of beauty but only in roots

and swill and what fills their belly. Materialists are not

interested in things of the spirit. Moreover they are liable to be

offended by the implied suggestion that your aspiration rises higher

than theirs, that your understanding outstrips theirs, that any one

can prefer a pearl to a root - and turn and rend you.

>

> Then what has happened to the pearls? Have the churches still got

them? It is known that there are modes of silent prayer and

meditation and various spiritual exercises that are not publicly

proclaimed. They may be open to the laity also, but only to such of

them as show their fitness by going into retreat or seeking guidance

for concentrated spiritual effort.

>

> Indeed, to say that they are still guarded by the churches does

not mean that every priest and clergyman is a guardian of them. Some

of the swine may be wearing clerical costume also. It seems a rude

thing to say, but nowhere near as rude as the things Christ said

about the clergy of his day.

>

> There was a powerful tradition of spiritual guidance during the

Middle Ages. Towards the end of that period surprisingly frank

records of it or of the doctrine on which it was built were left.

Perhaps the writers felt that the direct oral transmission was

drying up and needed to be fortified by written accounts to tide

over the dark age that was already threatening. The Cloud of

Unknowing, an anonymous 14th Century English record, is almost

entirely a manual for spiritual practice. Characteristically, it is

prefaced by a short note warning off the swine, insisting that it

should be read only by those who are genuinely seeking, not by the

merely curious. The Theologia Germanica speaks even more openly of

the possibility of Divine Union. Meister Eckhart was so outspoken

about the Supreme Identity as to be accused of heresy. He denied the

charge, insisting that his teaching was the true Catholic doctrine

rightly understood, but after his death excommunication was

pronounced against him. Jacob Boehme, a Protestant cobbler,

expounded the less direct mysteries of symbolism and sacred

cosmology. Cervantes had the wit to conceal the pearls in a zany.

>

> Moreover, something of spiritual practice also seems to have

survived through the dark ages of rationalism. When pioneers such as

Evelyn Underhill sought to bring the mystics back in the present

century there was more than antiquarianism in their work; the

spiritual lifeblood of Christian tradition still flowed, though

pulsing now rather feebly and needing to be invigorated. For a

spiritual current can be invigorated, sometimes even through an

infusion of new life from outside. It is not a fixed quantum but a

living, vibrating force, continually radiating with greater or less

intensity, attaining an incandescent heat or cooling down and

growing inert, according to the fervour and understanding of those

within its orbit. And since every thought, every action, every

aspiration, has its repercussions, those who draw sustenance from a

spiritual body thereby also increase its potency, while the reverse

is also true, that those who devote their lives to its service

thereby draw sustenance.

>

> The hidden pearls of esoteric wisdom need not be secret sayings

such as the antiquarian or occultist loves to search for. They are

far more likely to be profounder interpretations of sayings that

everybody knows. The secret is not something that can be

communicated but something that must be understood. A still truer

description would be that they are wiser and more determined

utilisations of interpretations that many people know.

>

> The interpretations can be expounded in books and articles; their

utilisation, which is what is of real value, can be taught only by a

qualified guide to those who approach him directly.

>

> But is it legitimate to expound even the interpretations openly,

or would that come under Christ's ban on making hidden things known?

I don't think it would, because this ban seems to be cancelled out

by another cryptic saying of Christ's, that at the end all that was

hidden shall be made known. This seems to be an age when, as at the

end of the Middle Ages (though for different reasons) it is

appropriate to disclose what can be disclosed. The real secret is

ineffable. On all sides, from the viewpoints of all religions, one

sees the hidden truths being expounded, so far as theoretical

exposition is possible. Indeed, it may be that so little remains of

the practical transmission that its theoretical wrappings no longer

need concealment. Or it may be that their display is necessary to

help some of those who aspire but do not know where to seek, so that

even in our age Christ's word may still be fulfilled, that those who

seek shall find. To take only one instance among many: D. T. Suzuki

quotes a Ch'an Master as saying, "Ask of your self, inquire into

your self, pursue your self, investigate within your self, and never

let others tell you what it is, nor let it be explained in words."*

Not only don't seek for a theoretical explanation but don't accept

one if offered, refuse to listen to one. And yet Dr. Suzuki himself,

conforming to the needs of our age, has spent most of his life

giving theoretical explanations in books, articles and lectures.

> _________________________

> * The Essentials of Zen Buddhism, p. 320, Rider & Co., London.

>

> What is far more potent authorisation, however, is the action of

Ramana Maharshi himself. The path of Self-enquiry, based on the

doctrine of Advaita or Identity, was in ancient times taught only to

the few, usually to the recluse who had renounced the world. Indeed,

the Chandogya Upanishad shows the Sage Prajapati teaching first that

the physical individual being is the Self and only going deeper for

that pupil who refuses to accept the superficial teaching. But in

our time the Maharshi has proclaimed it openly in speech and writing

for all who can understand and follow. He wrote: "I have betrayed

Thy secret workings. Be not offended! Show me Thy Grace now openly

and save me, Oh Arunachala!"* Requiring no further authorisation, I

shall try to display the hidden pearls.

> _________________________

> * The Marital Garland of Letters to Sri Arunachala v. 98, from The

Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, Rider & Co., London, and Sri

Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.

>

February 25, 2007

Dear Richard

tku of course you are right

michael

-

Richard

Sunday, February 25, 2007 7:10 PM

Re: THE MOUNTAIN PATH April 1964