Lesson 17: The 4 Roads

PENSUM

• The Fakir’s Way
• The Monk’s Road
• The Yogi’s Path
• The Path of the Balanced Man

What should be taught

1. The views of these 4 roads.

2 - Explain Esoteric Fakirism. 3. Every Gnostic Path is the synthesis of these 4 paths. 4. Explain that the practice undertaken by the student of the Gnostic Path is experienced through the application of the 3 Factors of the Revolution of Consciousness.

PRACTICE CONCENTRATION: THE TEACHER EXPLAINS THE USE OF ASANAS (e.g. LOTUS ASANA) IN ACHIEVING GOOD CONCENTRATION. THE PRACTICE MUST BE LED BY THE TRAINER FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES.

The 7 Types of People

(See “Faith Wisdom Revealed”, chapter 50)

• There are 7 types of people: Man #1: Kinetic-instinctive Man #2: Emotional Man #3: Intellectual Man #4: Balanced Man #5: Has the Solar Astral Body Man #6: Has the Solar Astral Mental Body Man #7: Has the Solar Causal Body

• All people are born as people #1, #2, or #3. To become a #4 person, one must do conscious inner work.

• Types #1, #2 and #3 are called “The Cycle of Confusion of Tongues” or “The Tower of Babel.” This is because each one speaks a different “language” and cannot understand the others. Person #1 has his center of gravity in the motor-instinctive center and is guided primarily by the needs of the physical body. Person #2 has his center of gravity in the emotional center and is mainly guided by what is pleasant or unpleasant to him. Person #3 has his center of gravity in the intellectual center and is guided mainly by what seems logical to him.

• Types #5, #6 and #7 are called “The Conscious Cycle of Solar Humanity” or “The Kingdom of Heaven.”

• Type #4 is not within the Circle of Confusion of Tongues, however, nor is he in the Kingdom of Heaven. People #4 do not identify with a single center. People #4 correctly operate the five centers of the machine.

The 4 Paths

• There are 4 inner Paths: one for each type of person (1,2,3) plus the Fourth Path. The Fakir’s Path The Monk’s Path The Yogi’s Path The Path of the Balanced Man

The Road of the Fakir

(See “The Solar Bodies”, chapter “The Causal Body”)

• It is the Path of Will. Aimed at people #1 (kinetic-instinctive).
• The Fakir tries to subjugate his physical body. He does this through voluntary suffering. For example, he stands for long periods of time in painful positions, eats little, remains exposed to cold or heat, insect bites, etc.
• By overcoming the needs of the physical body, he develops great willpower. However, he cannot crystallize the Body of Conscious Will (Solar Causal Body) in this way because this can only be done through Sexual Alchemy.
• It is a very slow and uncertain Path that does not require understanding.

The Monk’s Road

(See “The Solar Bodies”, chapter “The Astral Body”)

• It is the Path of the Heart. It is aimed at people #2 (emotional).
• The Monk tries to subdue his desires and passions. He does this through prayer, fasting, obedience, rituals, etc.
• By overcoming the lower emotions, the Monk develops the higher emotional center. However, he cannot crystallize the body of higher emotions (Solar Astral Body) in this way because this can only be done through Sexual Alchemy.
• It is a Path somewhat faster than the Path of the Fakir, and it requires much faith and obedience.

The Yogi’s Path

(See “The Solar Bodies”, chapter “The Mental Body”)

• It is the Path of the Mind. It is aimed at people #3 (intellectuals).
• The Yogi tries to subdue his mind and thoughts. He does this through meditation, inner exercises, etc.
• By disciplining his mind, the Yogi develops the higher intellectual center. However, he cannot crystallize the Solar Mental Body in this way because this can only be done through Sexual Alchemy.
• It is faster than the Ways of the Fakir and the Monk.

The Fourth Path

(See “The Perfect Marriage”, chapter “The Two Rites”)

• It is the Path of Balance. It is not aimed at any specific type of person. It is also called “The Path of the Wicked” or “The Way of the TAO”.
• On this Path we work simultaneously on the body, emotions, and mind. By learning to live rightly, we experience the Way of the Fakir. Through prayers, invocations, mantras, Gnostic rituals, etc. we experience the Path of the Monk. Through meditation and inner practices we experience the Yogi’s Path.
• This Road begins differently from the others: The first three Paths require us to abandon society and dedicate ourselves to inner work in a monastery or cave. On the Fourth Way, by contrast, we benefit from association with others to discover and eliminate the “ego.”
• In the Fourth Way we study two sciences in depth: Alchemy and Kabbalah
• By knowing the science of Alchemy in the Fourth Way we can create the Solar Bodies and reach Self-Realization.
• This Path is the fastest because it is based on the development of understanding. In the Fourth Way we should not do anything unless we understand it. Working simultaneously on all centers (intellectual, emotional, mobile) enables us to develop understanding to the fullest.

The Transformation of Impressions

(See “Thesis of Revolutionary Psychology”, chapter “The Mental Stomach”) (See “Lectures of a Great Mystic 3”, lecture “Impressions as Food”) (See “Lectures of a Great Mystic 1”, lecture “The Transformation of Impressions”) (See “Thesis of Revolutionary Psychology”, chapter “The Transformation of Impressions”) (See “Thesis of Revolutionary Psychology”, chapter “The Mental Stomach”)

• Our body is an organic factory with 3 floors which receives and transforms 3 types of food: The food we eat (1st floor: belly). The air we breathe (2nd floor: chest). The impressions we receive (3rd floor: head).

• The more subtle a food is, the more powerful it is. Ordinary food is the densest. o We can live without it for up to 2 or 3 months. Air is a more refined food. o We cannot live without air for more than 3 or 4 minutes. Impressions are the most subtle food and therefore the most important. o We couldn’t live even a second without impressions.

• Each type of food needs an organ to transform and digest it. The organ that transforms ordinary food is the digestive system. The organ that transforms air is the respiratory system. However, Nature has not equipped us with an instrument to transform the impressions we receive.

• We need to create a “mental stomach,” an organ that will “digest” the impressions we receive. Since Nature does not automatically do it for us, we ourselves must make a conscious effort to transform impressions.
• Life is made up of impressions that reach our minds. The world is not something so external as we believe, but a series of impressions that we receive. We never see the things themselves but the impressions we receive from them. People and things are nothing but impressions in our minds. If we did not have sensory organs to receive impressions, the world would not exist for us. Therefore, to transform our lives we must transform the impressions we receive.
• The ‘I’ is the result of impressions that we have not “digested”. When we do not transform an impression we receive, then that impression creates a new ‘me’ or nourishes a ‘me’ we already have.
• Examples of non-conversion of impressions: o For example, a man sees a provocative woman and does not transform these impressions, thus creating within him another ‘ego’ of lust. o For example, if someone does not transform the impressions they receive from various things, such as money, material goods, etc., then they become an ‘ego’ of envy and greed. o For example, if someone offends us and we do not transform these impressions, they will create another ‘ego’ of anger within us. o For example, if someone does not transform the impressions they receive from a delicious meal, another ‘ego’ of gluttony is created within them. o For example, if someone receives comments of admiration or flattery and does not transform these impressions, they will create within them another ‘ego’ of vanity.
• We transform impressions with conscious understanding. This is called: “the First Conscious Shock.” The impressions that are transformed go and nourish our Essence, instead of our ‘I’s’.
• Examples of impression conversion: o For example, how could a man transform the impression of a provocative woman into Chastity?
  • Understanding that since every woman is a manifestation of the Divine Mother, it is not right to look at her lustfully.
  • Understanding that this woman’s physical body, although beautiful now, must lose that beauty over time, until death comes and she decomposes. o For example, how can we transform the impressions we receive from money, material goods, etc. into Generosity and Altruism?
  • Understanding that every person has in life what they deserve according to Divine Law.
  • Understanding that we do not need material goods to be happy and that true happiness stems from our Being.
  • Understanding that all things in the natural world are temporary, that we come into the world and leave the world with nothing, except the values of the heart. o For example, how can we transform the impression someone projects on us into Compassion?
  • Understanding that this person is behaving badly because they are suffering from the ‘ego’ of anger.
  • Understanding that when someone is offended and angry, they become a victim of another, losing their self-control and peace.
  • Understanding that with calmness and love we are much stronger than with anger. o For example, how can we transform the impression of someone flattering us into Humility?
  • Understanding that we are nothing more than a tiny and insignificant creature in a corner of the universe.
  • Understanding that whether others praise us or criticizes us, it neither adds or subtracts from our value.
  • Understanding that what is real within us is Being, and that human personality in itself has no value.

The Submission of Impressions to the Centers

• When impressions are received by the Personality they are not transformed, because the Personality is something mechanical and almost always sends them to the wrong center. The Personality is like a bad secretary who sits at her desk (the brain) and translates the impressions she receives according to her prejudices, opinions and ideas, without understanding them. o For example, a saleswoman serves a customer by smiling very friendly and his personality sends these impressions to the sexual center. Then the customer believes that the saleswoman is in love with him.
• When impressions are received by the Essence they are transformed, because the Essence deposits them in the appropriate center. To do this we must be self-aware so that we receive impressions before they reach the Personality.
• We must transform, not only the impressions we receive at each moment, but also the old impressions we received in the past but did not transform. By looking back, we see the impressions that we have not “digested”, and by meditating on these impressions we understand and transform them. In this way we dissolve the ‘ego’, since the ‘ego’ is impressions that have not been “digested”. This is called: “the Second Conscious Shock.”

Meditation on the Death of the Ego

(See “Psychological Death”, chapter “The Samaelian Teaching on the Death of the Ego”) (See “The Revolution of Dialectics”, chapter “The Didactics of the Dissolution of the Ego BLUE TIME”)

• As we said, in the Fourth Way we benefit from association with others to discover and eliminate the “ego.” In the face of the events of practical life and in our interactions with others, the ‘ego’ cannot be hidden and emerges spontaneously.
• To benefit we must:
  1. To be in a state of self-observation so that we can see the ‘I’.
  2. In the evening (or whenever we can) we should meditate on the ‘I’s’ we observed during the day.
• We will now look at the technique of meditating on the ‘ego’ to understand and dissolve it.

(1) ASANA (Body Posture)

• We can use any posture for our meditation. Eastern postures (e.g. lotus position) are generally incompatible for Western people. In this case we can use a chair, armchair or sofa. We can also lie down on the bed or on the floor, either in the dead man’s pose (with arms and legs close to the body) or the five pointed star pose (with arms and legs open). Our spine should be straight and our feet should be firmly planted on the floor (if we are sitting).
• A prerequisite for moving into relaxation and meditation is that once we have taken the position that is comfortable for us, we should not move the body at all until the end of the practice. If we move the body, we essentially have to start the practice over from scratch.

(2) RELAXATION

• Then we need to relax the three brains: Kinetic (the physical body) Emotional Intellectual
• We use will and conscious imagination united in vibrating harmony. Kinetic: We imagine a blue light (or gold, or yellow) that fills our physical body piece by piece, relaxing the muscles as it progresses from the feet to the head. Emotional: Then, we focus on our solar plexus and take a few deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. With each inhalation, we imagine the solar plexus being charged with blue light, filling it with harmony, peace, serenity, understanding, strength, drive, love, and light. With each exhalation, we imagine all negative emotions, such as sadness, anxiety, fear, depression, etc., leaving us. Mental: Finally, we focus on the third eye and let the thoughts pass, without discussing them, without rejecting them, without taking a position on their activities. We simply observe them, letting them pass, until in a natural way, because we do not give them energy, they will weaken and disappear.
• We can also, if we want, have some external aids: Meditation music or classical music. Perfumes, essential oils or incense. Have a lit candle nearby, because fire represents the Spirit.

(3) RETROSPECTION

• We do a retrospection of the day (as we learned in Lesson 7). Without losing self-awareness, we see all the events of the day that we have experienced through the screen of our mind, but in a retrospective manner, that is, from the present moment backwards. The purpose is to recognize the events of that day in which we identified with some psychological attachment. We choose an event in which the ego we want to work on manifested itself during the day.

(4) ANALYSIS

• We use the mental in a conscious way (without abstracting or making assumptions), and while focused on our work, we make a mental analysis in order to discover and realize some aspects and behaviors of the ego, such as: The conditions in which this ‘I’ is expressed most strongly: o at what times of the day o in which places o with which people How is it expressed through the 5 psychological centers of the human machine: o how and what it thinks through the intellectual center o what are its feelings through the emotional center o how it moves through the motor center, what its movements are, its posture, its facial expressions, what its gaze was like, its hands, its feet, etc. o whether there were expressions of instincts and sexuality through the corresponding centers. What is the origin, the cause of this ego? We can go back to the earlier years of our lives, perhaps to childhood, to try to find how this ego began to manifest in our present existence.

(5) UNDERSTANDING

• We move into a deeper phase in which we no longer work with the mind.
• We will use our Consciousness in order to understand the ego. Understanding the ego means understanding the damage it causes us, to our lives, to our bodies, to our Consciousness, and to our fellow human beings. It is to understand that if we did not have this power within us, we would have some benefits. For instance, our life and our inner path would be easier, happier, without much pain, and we would travel without many suitcases, without much equipment, more lightly and therefore we would be able to move forward faster and more freely.

(6) JUDGEMENT

• Then we must judge, accuse the psychological adjunct with which we are working.
• We place the defect in the statue of the accused and invoke a part of our Being, which is called the Inner KAOM. KAOM is our inner judge, the Karma Police within us. We present before justice all the damage it caused to our conscience, to our bodies, to our lives and to our fellow human beings. We can mentally make a list of all the mistakes we have committed because of this ego, all the times we have sinned because of this ego, all the times we have suffered, that we have made our loved ones, our fellow human beings suffer.
• If the practice has been carried out correctly, at this point we should feel a sincere and strong repentance and a strong longing to no longer have this ‘I’ within us.

(7) ELIMINATION

• We invoke with our heart and in simple words our personal Divine Mother, Devi Kundalini.
• We ask in simple words our Divine Mother to dissolve this ego that we have understood. We can visualize if we want that the Divine Mother directs her spear towards the psychological aggregate that is in the idol of the accused and that she executes it with her spear and burns it, reducing it to cosmic dust. Then, from these ashes the Divine Mother herself collects a beautiful baby, a representation of the Essence that has been liberated, which was bottled in this ego. This baby-Essence will unite with the Essence-Consciousness that is already free at the level of our heart, thus increasing the percentage of our free Consciousness.

STABILIZATION

• The Essence that is released by the death of the ego is somewhat vulnerable and can easily fall back into the clutches of the ego, allowing its resurrection. To prevent this from happening, we must imbue this Essence that has just been released with Will, so that it does not become trapped again. Will permeates the Essence when we decide to never make that mistake again and then maintain this decision with actions. In this way, the liberated Essence, plus the Will, transforms into Consciousness, which the ego can no longer trap again.

  ESSENCE + WILL = CONSCIOUSNESS

Guided Meditation Practice for the Death of the Ego

• In this lesson we do a guided practice on ego death.
  • We can do it before or after explaining the steps.
  • The practice will last approximately 20-25 minutes.
• Finally, we should encourage individuals to meditate on the death of the ego every night.

Second Chamber Information

Only for our own understanding, not to be discussed in the First Chamber.

The Types of Yoga

(See “Bell’s Revolution”, chapter “The Gnostic Foundations”)

• Karma Yoga: the yoga of selfless service.

• Bhakti Yoga: the yoga of religious devotion. Aims at the experience of union with God. A kind of 2nd Way.

• Jnana Yoga: the yoga of contemplation and meditation. Aims at the experience of Reality. It’s a kind of 3rd Way.

• Raja Yoga: the yoga of mind control and the development of occult powers. It aims to achieve higher consciousness. It’s a kind of 3rd Way.

• Hatha Yoga: the yoga of control of the body and vital energy. It aims to control the mind through the control of vital energy. This is done using physical postures and breathing exercises. Once upon a time, these postures were taught as a supplement to Sexual Magic. V.M. Samael says that the Venerable White Brotherhood denounced Hatha Yoga as “black magic,” in the sense that it leads many people to attachment to the physical body. In and of itself, it is not a bad thing while it does improve the health of the body, but we must know that it does not lead to any spiritual progress.

• Kundalini Yoga: the yoga of Kundalini energy. Aims to activate certain “sparks” located in the coccyx, which can trigger inner experiences, enlightenment, etc. This is done through certain physical and breathing exercises, usually more intense than those of Hatha Yoga. Kundalini cannot be awakened and ascended from the spine through these exercises, as this requires a long practice of Sexual Alchemy. Only certain “sparks” can be activated.