Before the Veil (2)

Only the philosophy of Plato, which most meticulously integrates the complex systems of ancient India, can offer us this intermediate position. Even though two thousand and twenty-five years have passed since Plato's death, the great minds of the world continue to engage with his works. He was, in the fullest sense, a revealer of the world. And this greatest philosopher of the pre-Christian era faithfully reflected within his writings the spiritual ideas and their metaphysical expressions of Vedic philosophers who lived thousands of years before him. It will be found that people such as Vyasa, Jaimini, Kapila, Brihaspati, Smriti, and many others have left an indelible mark on Plato and his school, transcending centuries. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that both Plato and the ancient Indian sages were equally illuminated by the same wisdom. What else could this wisdom be if not divine and eternal, having survived the ravages of time?

Plato taught that justice resides within the soul of the one who possesses it, and is the greatest good for that person. "People have recognized his outstanding arguments according to their own level of intelligence." Nevertheless, his commentators seem hesitant, almost as if in agreement, when it comes to passages where he suggests that his metaphysics are not merely conceptual constructs but stand on solid foundations.

However, Plato could not accept a philosophy that lacked spiritual longing. For him, these two were one and the same. For this ancient Greek sage, there was only one goal to be achieved: true knowledge. Only those who know what truly exists, not just what is visible; what is eternal, not merely temporary; what is permanent, not subject to rise and fall or alternating generation and destruction, are true philosophers, that is, those who learn the truth. He believed that "beyond all finite existence and secondary causes, beyond all laws, ideas, and principles, there exists intellect or mind [νοῦς, nous, spirit]. It is the first principle of all principles, the highest idea upon which all other ideas are based. It is the sovereign and lawgiver of the universe, the ultimate reality from which all things derive their existence and essence. It is the primary, and operative cause of all order, harmony, beauty, excellence, and goodness in the universe. Because of its superiority and preeminence, it is called the Supreme Good, God (ὁ θεός), 'the God who is above all' (ὁ επι πασι θεός)." [7] It is not truth or intellect itself, but "its father." This eternal essence of all things may not be grasped by our bodily senses, but can be apprehended by the mind, unless one deliberately refuses to understand. "To you," Jesus said to his chosen disciples, "it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to them [πολλοὶ, the masses] it has not been given." [8] Therefore, I speak to them in parables, because they see and do not see, they hear and do not hear, and they do not understand.

According to the Neoplatonist Porphyry, Plato's philosophy was taught and specifically demonstrated within a mystery. Many people have doubted this, and even denied it. Robecq, in his Aglaophomus, goes so far as to depict these sacred mysteries as nothing more than empty spectacles designed to capture the imagination. It is as if the Athenians and Greeks had been going to Eleusis every five years for over two millennia, watching a solemn religious farce! The Church Father Augustine of Hippo settled this issue. He stated that the doctrines of the Platonists of Alexandria were the original esoteric teachings of Plato's first disciples, and he portrays Plotinus as a resurrected Plato. Furthermore, he explains the motives by which that great philosopher concealed the inner meaning of his teachings. [9]

Regarding myth, Plato states in the dialogues Gorgias and Phaedo that it is something worthy of seeking, as it conveys great truths. However, commentators acknowledge that they cannot determine "where doctrine ends and myth begins," because they are not sufficiently familiar with the mind of this great philosopher. Plato dispelled popular superstitions about magic and daemons, developing the exaggerated ideas of his time into rational theories and metaphysical concepts. These may not be entirely compatible with the inductive reasoning method established by Aristotle. Nevertheless, for those who recognize the existence of a higher ability called insight or intuition, which provides criteria for verifying truth, they are extremely satisfying.

Plato taught that all doctrines should be based on the existence of a supreme spirit, and that human nous, which is soul or rational soul, is "created by the divine father," and therefore possesses a nature that is akin to, and even identical with, divinity, allowing it to perceive eternal reality. This ability to directly contemplate reality, without any intermediaries, belongs only to God. The longing for this knowledge is what the word philosophy – love of wisdom – truly means. Love of truth is inherently also love of goodness. Therefore, when it surpasses all desires of the soul, purifies the soul and makes it similar to the divine, thus guiding every action of the individual, it elevates humanity towards divinity, brings them into communion with the divine, and restores them to a form that resembles God. "This ascent," Plato writes in Theaetetus, "is toward becoming like God, and this assimilation is to become righteous and holy through wisdom."

The foundation of this assimilation is said to be that the spirit or nous existed before life. In Plato's allegory of the chariot and winged horses, he depicts the soul's essence as a composite entity consisting of two parts: thumos, or the "desiring part," formed from the substance of the phenomenal world, and its essence, which is connected to an eternal realm, called thumoeides. Current earthly life is a fall and a punishment. The soul dwells within the "tomb" we call the body, and until it undergoes training through education, intellectual or spiritual elements are "asleep." Therefore, life is more of a dream than reality. Like the prisoners in Plato's allegory of the cave in The Republic, we turn our backs on the light and only perceive shadows, mistaking them for true reality. Is this not similar to the prominent feature of Buddhist philosophy, maya, which refers to the illusionary sensations of bodily existence? However, if we are not completely immersed in sensory nature, those shadows can evoke within us memories of a higher realm that we once inhabited, and we instinctively and preemptively yearn for a return to it. The role of philosophical training is to liberate the spirit from the bonds of sensation, elevate it to the celestial realm of pure thought, and enable it to perceive eternal truth, goodness, and beauty. "The soul," Plato says in Timaeus, "cannot take on human form unless it has once beheld Truth. This is a recollection of what our souls saw when we traveled with the gods and looked down upon all that now exists, revering the truly real. Therefore, only the philosopher, or the one who seeks higher truth, possesses nous or spirit, which are winged. For he holds in his mind as much as possible those things by contemplating which even the divine is made more divine. By properly using these recollections from a previous life and constantly perfecting oneself within the complete mystery, one becomes truly perfect, that is, one who has entered into the mysteries of higher wisdom."

From here, we can understand the reason why what were considered the most sublime aspects of the mysteries always took place at night. The life of the inner spirit is the death of the outer nature, and the night of the material world signifies the day of the spiritual world. Therefore, Dionysus, the sun of the night, is worshipped more than Helios, the celestial body of the daytime. Within the mysteries, the state before birth of the soul and spirit, the descent of the soul to earthly life and Hades, the suffering of that life, the purification of the soul, and its recovery into divine bliss, i.e., reunification with the spirit, were symbolically represented. Theon of Smyrna skillfully compares philosophical training to the rituals of the mysteries. "Philosophy," he says, "can be called an initiation into true secrets, a genuine teaching of mysteries. This initiation consists of five parts: first, preliminary purification; second, being allowed to participate in the ritual of the mystery; third, revelation through intuition of the mystery; fourth, investiture or ordination; fifth – and this arises from all of the above – is the enjoyment of that happiness which comes from communion with God and intimate intercourse with divine beings." [10] Plato calls epopteia, i.e., seeing for oneself, the grasping through intuition of things, the complete contemplation of absolute truth and ideas. He also considers the tying of a headband and the bestowal of a crown to correspond to being granted by the teacher the authority to guide others into that same contemplation. The fifth stage is the most perfect happiness, which, according to Plato, is for humans to become as close as possible to divinity.

This is Platonism. Ralph Waldo Emerson says, "Everything that has been written and discussed among those who are engaged in thought originates from Plato." Plato absorbed the scholarship of his time. In Greece, he learned from Philolaus to Socrates, then from Pythagoras in Italy, and as much as possible from Egypt and the East. His breadth was so vast that all philosophies of Europe and Asia were contained within his teachings. And to this, he added the cultivation and contemplation, along with the nature and qualities of a poet.

Author's Notes

[7] Cocker, Christianity and Greek Philosophy, Chapter 11, page 377.

[8] Matthew 13:11, 13.

[9] "The accusations leveled against Socrates, including atheism, the introduction of foreign gods, and the corruption of Athenian youth, were sufficient reason for Plato to conceal his own esoteric teachings. The unique terminology, or 'arcana,' used by alchemists undoubtedly served the same purpose. All denominations of Christians, especially Roman Catholics, readily employed dungeons, torture racks, and even execution by fire against those who taught doctrines contrary to the church's established theories, even if it concerned natural sciences. Pope Gregory I forbade the use of Latin in accordance with grammar, deeming it heretical. Socrates' crime was revealing to his disciples esoteric teachings about the gods that were taught within secret societies, a transgression punishable by death. Furthermore, Aristophanes accused Socrates of introducing a new god, Dinos, as Demiurge, or creator, and as the ruler of the cosmos, alongside the sun. The heliocentric theory was also part of these esoteric doctrines. Therefore, when Pythagoras' follower Aristarchus openly taught it, Cleanthes argued that the Greeks should hold him accountable and declare him guilty for blasphemy against the gods." – (from "Plutarch"). However, Socrates never participated in any secret societies. Consequently, he could not have revealed anything that was transmitted within them.

[10] Thomas Taylor, Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries, p. 47. New York: J. W. Bouton, 1875.