Dissatisfaction as a Driving Motif

It is evident that the driving force behind any development — and, indeed, behind any movement of mind — is the feeling of dissatisfaction with one’s present condition: the sense that a more harmonious, more comfortable state is possible — that is, a state of greater equilibrium.

On closer examination, it is not difficult to see that the source of this dissatisfaction is the limitedness of existence: mind experiences discomfort whenever it meets constraints — anything that constricts its movement.

We have already said that this sense of limitedness is subjectively felt as unpleasant, and that mind, in response, can either try to “reconcile itself” to it — sometimes even drawing a peculiar masochistic pleasure from suffering — or attempt to change the situation so that the number of limitations, and therefore of suffering, is reduced. This is precisely what forms the basis of development.

To establish a vector of development, Myth introduces the notions of the source and the path of development as a way of overcoming the limitedness of mind.

It is clear that a complete absence of limitations is possible only for an absolutely homogeneous, infinite, boundless substance — one devoid of the properties of both being and non-being. Myth calls such a state the Great Spirit (the Absolute, Brahman). There are different ways to approach this absolute category: it may be understood as “ultimate absolute Reality,” or as a speculative abstraction. In either case, it serves as the basis from which reflections on liberation from limitedness proceed.

Thus the first principle of reality is conceived as a universal category wholly free of limitations — which, in turn, implies the absence of any manifestations and forms whatsoever. It sets the “zero” of the coordinate system relative to which subsequent reasoning is built. Again, it is irrelevant whether we regard the Great Spirit as an “extra-real reality” or as a speculative concept; this does not change the fact that, in its purity, It bears no relation to what we consider reality as a world of forms— and therefore of limitations. This absolute reality is, at the same time, absolutely unreal, since within it any heterogeneity, any limitation, and any movement are absent. Likewise absent within it are any qualities and any limitations — and, moreover, their opposites as well.

To describe the transition from this absolute category to actual reality, the notion of “differentiation” is employed: the transition to “creation,” to “being,” begins with the appearance of the First Duality — God/world, Father/Mother, Transcendent/Immanent aspects, Being/mind, and so forth. One may treat this as something that once “occurred,” or as a category of cognition; in any case, being as we understand it begins with an absolute division. From the standpoint of our theme, this absolute demarcation also proves to be “absolute suffering,” expressed in the language of Myth as the “sacrifice” lying at the foundation of the cosmos: the sacrifice of Purusha, Ymir, Mithra, Osiris, Christ.

The next step is the fragmentation of homogeneous mind into differentiated aspects — individual acts of self-cognition of primordial reality. Only by moving beyond this integral unity can the Great Spirit attain reality, and It attains this reality in what we call the manifest worlds. One may say that as soon as the Great Spirit passes from Its absolute integral unity to self-cognition in the totality of Its aspects, It undergoes an “absolute limitation,” which becomes the absolute source of dissatisfaction; and the entire subsequent process is directed toward the restoration of unity and, consequently, the cessation of suffering from limitedness. And once again, it is of no significance whether we believe Myth describes a real process or whether we are speaking of gnoseology — the fact remains: the more developed mind becomes, the more acutely it feels its limitedness, and, accordingly, limitedness as such.

Although it is obvious that the very feeling of separateness is among the most significant factors inhibiting development, it is striking how most beings cling precisely to this sensation. In the mind of any being, two mutually contradictory impulses coexist: the impulse to preserve one’s separateness and the impulse to overcome one’s limitations. To resolve this contradiction, Myth introduces the notion of “individuality” as a special, unique mode of perception inherent in a given mind; and the uniqueness of this mode by no means implies separateness, since each mind is regarded as a “point of view” — a particular way in which reality looks upon itself.

To avoid the suffering that arises from the sensation of limitedness and separateness, a developing mind can either attempt to ignore the “relativity” of limitedness, contemplating the cosmos from the “original” position of Absolute undivided reality, or attempt to reduce suffering as a composite phenomenon by supporting the development of mind as an actual phenomenon.

Mind can simply declare, “I am God,” “Atman is Brahman,” and close its eyes to the world’s diversity. Yet the question still remains: what is to be done with the primordial “suffering” of divided reality?

In fact, any developed mind confronts this dilemma: what is to be done with the suffering of all beings? One can, with a smile, declare that their suffering is merely an “illusion,” an error, and therefore does not concern me — or one can still attempt to practice active compassion. The more mind senses its inseparability from the world’s fullness, the less separateness remains within it, and the more sharply it perceives the world’s aggregate suffering. If, at the initial stages of development, the motive is to reduce one’s personal dissatisfaction with one’s limitedness, then as development proceeds this aim becomes increasingly global: one’s own development becomes an instrument for changing the world. The being understands that, by reducing its own limitedness and increasing its own realization, it also contributes to the reduction of suffering in the world as such.

The stream of the Magus’ realizations— the growth of his Power and authority — is development when it is accompanied by the harmonization of the space around him, by the diffusion and induction of harmony. However successful a Magus may seem at first glance, however brilliant his realizations may be, the criterion of the efficacy of his Way is precisely his capacity to increase harmony around himself — the capacity to structure and cosmize both spaces: the macrocosm and the psychocosm.

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