Unum necessarium by
Cornelis van Dalen
Een ding is noodig
The One Necessity = you only need one thing = the one necessary thing
Johannes
Amos Comenius
(1592 – 1670) published in 1668, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, a work
by the title Unum Necessarium. We may take it to express the one
necessity. ‘The one needful thing’, a saying of Christ Jesus recorded
in Luke 10:42 is interpreted by Comenius “in what may be seen as an
attempt to educate man and enable him to distinguish what is needful
from what is not. The one needful thing is man himself, or pansophy,
light, wisdom. The mysticism of the union with God or the universal
wisdom is in Comenius' work forever accompanied by practical
suggestions towards a better world, a world which is no longer a
labyrinth.” [1]
‘Is
it easy or difficult to strive for wisdom? It is both!’
What
is needful and what is not? Universal wisdom sought by man in the
modern world has come to many to result in agnosticism. The basis of
science could be seen as the empty apotheosis, the highest glory in the
pinnacle of material development. Materialism is the result of seeking
the cause and the result from the same point of view. This is the
opposite of the light which sought to shine in the time of Comenius’
Europe, which saw the strife and turmoil of the 30 Years War and
religious persecution. In his time the urge forward was in the Light of
the Renaissance, the Rosicrucians, the alchemists, et al – all for the
revival, the renewal of man into the light of his own need for wisdom
and salvation.
Yet in the centuries which followed the dawn of
a new era of consciousness known as the Renaissance, this gave way to
the systematic removal of its achievements in the so-called Age of
Reason (or “Enlightenment”!). This period of evolution saw the science
of matter bring a systematic separation of the Divine from Life.
Theology was no longer part of the Belles Lettres; natural philosophy
became empirical and dry. This is not to say that the age was needless.
On the contrary, it was a necessity for the development of human
objective consciousness. However, apart from the technical and
mechanical developments, the divine life was dismantled and earth and
life came to be regarded as physical and finite.
‘What
does agnostic mean? What do you think of someone who is agnostic?’ asks
a dear friend
This
has led to the now 21st century where all are somewhat affected to one
degree or other by agnosticism. If we turn to the dictionary we find
that the biologist, Professor Thomas Huxley coined the word agnostic in
1869. ‘One who holds that we know nothing of things beyond
material phenomena – that a First Cause and an unseen world are things
unknown and apparently unknowable.’ This is taken from Chambers
Twentieth Century Dictionary; the Concise Oxford has the same wording,
but Chambers also adds that Huxley took the meaning of the word from
The Acts of the Apostles, 17:23.
Here are the verses 22 - 25 to make verse 23 comprehensible:
22:
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said Ye men of Athens,
I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23:
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with
this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship, him declare I unto you.
24: God made the world and
all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25: Neither is
worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he
giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.
If we look
very carefully at the modern world and the precepts of material
science, we will find that everything within this sphere of material
thinking and working is agnostic. In other words, modern material
science is agnostic – seeing all things as a product of material
phenomena, seeking to understand the material laws behind the
manifestation. The (astro) physicists and the like who toil
to
find the origin of the world come to the notion of a big bang theory
from which all matter arose – and this is built upon the notions of
evolution by Charles Darwin. Thus all the laws of the physical world
are seen as mathematical, chemical or organic/inorganic formulae. An
agnostic is satisfied with the knowledge of these laws – but does not
delve into what is behind those laws.
It is generally thought
that god is unknowable and hence the widespread acceptance of
agnosticism. The Gnostic (from the word gnosis, knowledge) was an
important sect at the time of Christ Jesus. Unfortunately all their
writings were systematically erased; all records destroyed. What is
known of the Gnostics, the gnosis central to the teachings of the
Christ, comes from the writings of those who opposed them.
Perhaps,
then, anyone who claims to be an agnostic is one who lives in the
material world with all the (five) senses. If he were to dream whilst
he slept, these would be classified as products of fanciful imagination
to be analysed by psychologists as to the states of his material
consciousness.
An agnostic does not need to believe or search
for the meaning of living – the reason for living beyond the meaning
and gratification of the senses. If he does search then he finds no
answers through his mental faculties, for things are unknowable.
Herein, of course, we have very much the dilemma of our time with
respect of the church. The Christian churches (Catholic and Protestant
and their branches) have made the central pillar of their existence the
charge that their adherents have faith. It is not about seeking answers
or the inner unfolding of the spirit so that this may bring answers.
Thus, even to this day, the central edifice of the church, supposedly
showing the ways of heaven on earth, says to all her subjects: believe,
have faith.
But it is true that the agnostic, living purely
within the bounds of material consciousness, and doing this with all
might and goodness, is actually living within the bounds of a moral and
ethical life; providing the individual does not question the basis of
social and moral laws –doing what he is told. This is how most people
actually live. To quote from Herbert Spencer ‘People are like
fish in a shoal – mute and absurd.’ Thus if an agnostic were to live
his philosophy truly he can still advance in life.
This needs
further consideration: why does an individual live seemingly contently
and have no desire for spiritual knowledge? This also involves a
consideration of karma in certain cases, but in most it is that people
are simply asleep. The awakening from this slumber can often arise from
tragic circumstances, a jolt as it were, leading to eventual revelation
and initiation.
We need also to consider the meaning of the word
atheist and ask ourselves whether this is not confused with
agnosticism. Atheism is a disbelief in the existence of god.
Atheism, as the complete denial of the divine, is the agnostic in the
extreme – the unknown god is suggestive of such a thing but cannot be
known. This implies that he does not search either?
The
Mysteries as healing
What
is the great sickness of mankind? How can this sickness be healed? To
heal the sick, as it is termed, has for aeons been the purpose of the
Mysteries and the secret doctrines.
Below is a quotation from
a lecture by Rudolf Steiner in which he is relating modern material
consciousness with that of the ancient Greeks. It is hoped you will see
the relevance of it in the context of our discussion. While he uses the
word atheist, not knowing god as the basis of agnosticism is closely
allied. Acknowledging there is a god but then establishing that IT is
unknowable amount to a similarity.
“It was impossible for the
ancient Greek who retained the remnants of ancient Mystery culture to
be an atheist – although it happened in a few abnormal cases, but not
to the degree it occurs today. Atheism has only arisen in more recent
times, at least in its radical form. For the Greek who was really
imbued with dialectics [logic, reasoning] felt the Divine hold sway in
thinking; even in thinking void of content…If we look at this and then
look upon the appearance of atheism, upon the complete denial of the
Divine we shall find the reason for this atheism. …only those human
beings are atheists in whose organism something is organically
disturbed…..atheism is a disease. For, if our organism is completely
healthy, the harmonious functioning of its various members will bring
about that we ourselves sense our origin from the Divine – ex deo
nascimur …. Man may sense the Divine but may have no possibility to
sense the Christ…. Not to find God the Father is a disease; not to find
the Christ a misfortune. For the human being is so connected with the
Christ as to be inwardly dependent upon this connection. To be unable
to take hold of one’s spirituality in order to find the connection of
one’s own spirituality with the spirituality of the world signifies
mental debility; not to acknowledge the Spirit is a deficiency of mind,
a psychic imbecility.” [2]
This quotation has several aspects,
which are important to the future discussion we shall have, and so all
I can charge you with now is to think deeply on the matter herein. The
person in health can sense the Divine, yet may not have the necessary
preparation to have direct cognizance of the spiritual world. This need
not concern them; in due time such manifestations will occur. The
saying that the Master will appear when the student is ready conveys
this.
The one necessity is to find a connection within oneself
to that of the Spirit of the World: the mystical union of self with
universal wisdom, light. The one necessary thing is to come to wisdom
and light by way of one’s efforts to know the Mysteries. To cure the
sick comes as an effect of one’s own initiation. This will come with
the effort to see the material as a manifestation of the spiritual;
that the material is a small aspect of the spiritual.
I hope
that some illumination has been offered on the subject. Please do not
hesitate to reply, argue, philosophise or other. I will delight in your
views.
Love and blessings
Cornelis
© Cornelis van Dalen 2005, revised 2008
Endnotes
1. Unum Necessarium
– introduction from the JR Ritman Library, Bibliotheca Philosophia
Hermetica, Amsterdam. <<
http://www.ritmanlibrary.nl/c/p/h/bel_26.html >>
Detail of portrait of Comenius (Jan Amos Komensky), 1592 – 1670 by
Rembrandt, 1665, The Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy.
2. Rudolf Steiner, The
Mission of The Archangel Michael, The Anthroposophic
Press, New York, USA, 1961. Pp 71-73
|