In Search of the Miraculous OUSPENSKY

P. D. OUSPENSKY

IN SEARCH OF THEMIRACULOUS

FRAGMENTS OF AN UNKNOWN TEACHING

CONTENTS

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CHAPTER I

Return from India. The war and the "search for the miraculous." Old thoughtsThe question of schools. Plans for further travels. The East and Europe. Anotice in a Moscow newspaper. Lectures on India. The meeting with G. A"distinguished man." The first talk, G.'s opinion on schools. G.'s group."Glimpses of Truth." Further meetings and talks. The organization of G.'sMoscow group The question of payment and of means for the work. Thequestion of secrecy and of the obligations accepted by the pupils. A talk about the East. "Philosophy," "theory," and "practice." How was the system found? G's ideas. "Man is a machine" governed by external influences Everything "happens." Nobody "does" anything In order "to do" it is necessary "to be." Aman is responsible for his actions, a machine is not responsible. Is psychology necessary for the study of machines? The promise of "facts." Canwars be stopped? A talk about the planets and the moon as living beings. The"intelligence" of the sun and the earth. "Subjective" and "objective" art.

CHAPTER II

Petersburg in 1915 G. in Petersburg. A talk about groups. Reference to"esoteric" work "Prison" and "Escape from prison." What is necessary for thisescape? Who can help and how? Beginning of meetings in Petersburg. Aquestion on reincarnation and future life. How can immortality be attained? Struggle between "yes" and "no." Crystallization on a right, and on a wrong,foundation. Necessity of sacrifice. Talks with G and observations. A sale of carpets and talks about carpets. What G. said about himself. Question about ancient knowledge and why it is hidden. G's reply. Knowledge is not hidden.The materiality of knowledge and man's refusal of the knowledge given tohim. A question on immortality. The "four bodies of man." Example of theretort filled with metallic powders. The way of the fakir, the way of the monk,and the way of the yogi The "fourth way." Do civilization and culture exist?

CHAPTER III

G.'s

fundamental ideas concerning man. Absence of unity. Multiplicity of I's.Construction of the human machine. Psychic centers. G.'s method of exposition of the ideas of the system. Repetition unavoidable. What theevolution of man means Mechanical progress impossible. European idea of man's evolution. Connectedness of everything in nature. Humanity and themoon. Advantage of individual man over the masses Necessity of knowing the human machine.

Absence of a permanent I in man. Role of small I's. Absence of individuality and will in man. Eastern allegory of the house and its servants. The "deputy steward." Talks about a fakir on nails and Buddhist magic.

CHAPTER IV

General impressions of G.'s system. Looking backwards. One of thefundamental propositions. The line of knowledge and the line of being. Being on different levels Divergence of the line of knowledge from the line of being.What a development of knowledge gives without a corresponding change of being—and a change of being without an increase in knowledge. What "understanding" means. Understanding as the resultant of knowledge and being. The difference between understanding and knowledge. Understanding as a function of three centers. Why people try to find names for things they donot understand. Our language. Why people do not understand one another.The word "man" and its different meanings. The language accepted in thesystem. Seven gradations of the concept "man." The principle of relativity inthe system. Gradations parallel to the gradations of man. The word "world." Variety of its meanings. Examination of the word "world" from the point of view of the principle of relativity. The fundamental law of the universe. The law of three principles or three forces. Necessity of three forces for the appearanceof a phenomenon. The third force. Why we do not see the third force. Threeforces in ancient teachings. The creation of worlds by the will of the Absolute. A chain of worlds or the "ray of creation." The number of laws in each world.

CHAPTER V

A lecture on the "mechanics of the universe." The ray of creation and itsgrowth from the Absolute. A contradiction of scientific views. The moon as theend of the ray of creation. The will of the Absolute. The idea of miracle. Our place in the world. The moon feeds on organic life. The influence of the moonand liberation from the moon. Different "materiality" of different worlds. Theworld as a world of "vibrations." Vibrations slow down proportionately to thedistance from the Absolute. Seven kinds of matter. The four bodies of manand their relation to different worlds. Where the earth is. The three forces and the cosmic properties of matter. Atoms of complex substances. Definition of matter according to the forces manifested through it. "Carbon," "oxygen," "nitrogen," and "hydrogen." The three forces and the four matters. Is manimmortal or not? What does immortality mean? A man having the fourth body.The story of the seminarist and the omnipotence of God. Talks about themoon. The moon as the weight of a clock. Talk about a universal language.Explanation of the Last Supper.

CHAPTER VI

Talk about aims. Can the teaching pursue a definite aim? The aim of existence. Personal aims. To know the future. To exist after death. To bemaster of oneself. To be a Christian. To help humanity. To stop wars. G.'sexplanations. Fate, accident, and will. "Mad machines." Esoteric Christianity.What ought man's aim to be? The causes of inner slavery. With what the way to liberation begins. "Know thyself." Different understandings of this idea. Selfstudy. How