Overcoming Duality
Any manifestation is possible if and only if the primordial Unity manifests as a biner — a duality, between the poles of which a potential difference arises, enabling the actualization of potentials.
Thus, the Power that creates worlds, and all that is within them, is by nature a power of divided Unity, striving to restore its wholeness.
There are two ways of looking at this process, and accordingly two strategies of action: one may regard the division of the primordial Unity as an illusion, an error, and accordingly direct efforts to escape that illusion; or one may see in this division one’s goals and tasks for the actualization of potential reality, and strive to bring about that realization. Thus the dichotomy of the Eastern and Western Ways is born. Both Ways are equivalent, and the whole question is simply which of them a given being has an affinity for.
The Eastern Way is directed toward the restoration of the original Unity, while the Western Way seeks Unity within multiplicity, but both Ways agree that the duality which produced manifestation must again become Unity — Monadic-homogeneous, or Integral.
And although at their terminus these Ways merge, like the Ouroboros biting its tail, the very process of overcoming the limitations of the mind — its actualization — can allow an infinite number of variations.
Unfortunately, at present only the Eastern Way is widely known, and one might get the impression that its ideology and techniques for attaining wholeness are the only possible ones. However, such a view narrows the possibilities for development, since each must develop in the way that is optimal for them, and for that the greatest possible diversity of Ways and approaches is necessary. Therefore, without in any way diminishing the importance of Eastern traditions, we consider the other Way — the Way of achieving Unity within multiplicity.
Thus, the division of the primordial Unity creates the initial biner — the biner of Being and Mind — the object and the subject of cognition, creates a field of possibilities for actualization, is — the mutual penetration of this biner’s poles. Thus the task of the world-process becomes the complete filling of Being with mind, which, in fact, is its actualization.
Since the poles of the biner arise from Unity, they are potentially united; each pole of the biner already contains the opposite pole, yet their actual integration occurs not by annihilation but through mutual complementation, mutual penetration, and mutual illumination.
The individual mind developing along the Way of Integration also passes through the corresponding stages.
The actual Way of development begins with overcoming the First Abyss — with the awareness of the possibility and necessity of development itself. The first biner that must be integrated is the duality of the ideal and the real image of oneself, since the Way begins when the mind plainly discovers that its actual state is infinitely far from what is possible and desirable for it. Moreover, overcoming the First Abyss means precisely integrating the biner, i.e., actualizing it, for one can speak of the Way only then when the sole important task of a being becomes bringing one’s real self into accord with one’s ideal self.
Further development is directed toward achieving this correspondence and includes the actualization of those potentials that are available at the given moment.
During the entire first stage of the Way the mind is in a state of potential integration, potential perfection, which, on the one hand, is a condition for development, but on the other hand creates two dangers.
The first danger consists in mistaking potential perfection for real perfection. How often one can see people confident in their own light and perfection, teaching and smiling haughtily in response to the torments and battles of Magi. Yet the problem is that such once-born beings have not even emerged from an embryonic state; their light is a potential radiance, lacking both depth and real power.
Actualization is the differentiation of the biner, and therefore a step from undifferentiated light, in which everything seems to resonate equally, into darkness, for one can single out separate details, elements, potentials only by clearly delineating their boundaries — only by discovering the differences between them — and thus only by touching the dark.
Only by experiencing falls, the Nights of Apophis, death and rebirth does the Magus acquire the depth and multidimensionality of mind, delineate and differentiate his potentials, discover the players on the field of his battles, and thus creates the precondition for the actual attainment of harmony.
The second danger lies in turning inward. The once-born mind, consumed by the illusion of its perfection, likes to describe its state as “a sun that illuminates everyone indiscriminately,” forgetting that the sun not only shines and warms but also scorches and kills. Another typical utterance of such a mind is the claim of “non-attachment,” “letting go,” usually only a cover for the inability of such a one-dimensional soul to love. However, a mind that has experienced death and rebirth — the mind of the Magus — is not an “indifferent sun” seeing nothing but its own grandeur, but a compassionate mind, the mind of a parent caring for his child, the mind of a god concerned for creation. The Magus is always focused on his development, but he also strives to reduce suffering in the world; for him, there is no “other people’s” suffering; the Magus is a guardian of Light and a pillar of Power.
The Magus’s nonduality is a Pleroma unity, a harmony in a symphony where each is at once both part and whole.
And only upon reaching such a state does the Magus arrive at the Second Abyss, the overcoming of which signifies the actualization of unity within multiplicity — the filling with mind of every accessible element of Being, not by destruction but with the fullest possible manifestation of its individuality. And by crossing this Abyss, the Magus becomes an active agent of the world-process, realizing himself and thereby participating in the realization of the Great Spirit itself.
Good day! Can we highlight the following as a binder: Unity of the Absolute – thesis, snake Nachash – antithesis, Love – synthesis?
Hello!
Perhaps it’s possible if we consider ‘Unity of the Absolute’ to mean the potential unity of the unmanifested, and ‘love’ as the actualized (pleromatic) unity.
In the last paragraph – “without destruction”, what does this mean?
About individuality 🙂
The speech is about the fact that achieving Unity is possible both by destroying individuality, “infusing” separate consciousness back into the world ocean, and by bringing Individuality to the maximum, when it encompasses all existence, becoming both a part and whole.
Can one soul be capable of containing all existence, even if it could unrealistically upgrade?
The soul is not capable. The spirit is. It always contains all existence.
😉
So, is it with destruction or still “without destruction”? It is scary to give up one’s personality (with all character traits) in our world….. where is that threshold?
Probably, the answer is beyond words…… “alone together”….
It depends on which Path you choose. But in any case, personality is subject to destruction, as it = a temporary product of temporary embodiment. What can be either developed or annihilated is individuality.
What is ‘Nights of Apophis’? Is it some kind of ritual, or perhaps a symbolic reinterpretation of internal contradictions?
Night of Apophis is a period of darkness that follows every Enlightenment. For instance, those practicing the Ritual of ‘Knowledge and Dialogue’ or the Abramelin Ritual often ignore the indication that immediately after SAH, the ‘Four Princes of the Underworld’ come, trying to bring consciousness down – and they fall victim to the Ritual meant to aid in development. According to Crowley, this is exactly what happened to Mathers and led to the demise of the ‘Golden Dawn’. A magician must understand that no one will simply let them go, and the higher they rise, the stronger the resistance will be, and they need to be prepared not only for Light but also for the Darkness that tries to engulf them. And overcoming the ‘Night of Apophis’ is often more laborious than preparing for Enlightenment and achieving the actual Breakthrough to the Light.
Can the physical sensation of deep inner cold be a sign of a person experiencing the ‘night of Apophis’? Perhaps this is akin to the feeling of cold during massive blood loss as a sign of a sharp decrease in life force, Light, fundamentally?
The neutralization of binaries as the elimination of opposition between poles – is it a harmonious state where consciousness accommodates both poles but in a non-contradictory, non-oppositional, integral, undivided form? For example, the binary: Emptiness – Form. What is its neutralization? – The Creator, by isolating a block of energies from the overall field of energies, introduces this block into consciousness in the form of an object, then compares it with already known models to determine the degree of harmony of the created form. Comparison is inevitable when perceiving the unknown. What determines the degree of harmony? – Consciousness? Already known models, as previously perceived forms of consciousness – elements of the world picture. Yet, the already known models were once unknown. What then did the Creators compare the created forms to, how did they determine the degree of harmony? – They did not compare – they relied on themselves, on the coherence of their inner resonance, that is, the imprints of their Creators lie on the already known models. A homogeneous potential field (Emptiness), disturbed by a trinitarian dynamic force, passing through the prism of individual consciousness, is formed into an object (Form), perceived not only by the subject – the creator, but also by other consciousnesses – subjects. Thus, the neutralization of the binary Emptiness – Form represents the Creator’s realization that Emptiness and Form are One and the Same? And that it is the individual consciousness, according to the inner resonance (harmony) of its creative ability, that separates the object from the subject – endowing it with discreteness, even though the very act of realizing the creation itself initiates the understanding that the subject and object are simultaneously inseparable, unified. In other words, we humans (for example), perceiving the solidity of forms, find ourselves at the pole of Form – we cannot pass through walls, but if we neutralize the binary Emptiness – Form, we might be able to perceive forms alternatively as emptiness, and thus pass through walls? 🙂
Illusions block the upper chakras; get rid of them, and you will become an avatar….
Through meditation-self-observation, the practitioner ultimately achieves a state of high detachment and freedom. This state is the result of transcending duality, called Vairagya in classical yoga. This Sanskrit word means freedom from both Raga-attachment and Dvesha-conditioning.
Some observations directly in real life lead to actions under the name of inaction. When you see a person flailing from one extreme to another, at the moment when the mistress “despair” appears on their doorstep, and it’s precisely about people awakening from the “slumber of life.” The heart cries to watch. Everyone is fighting—some with something, some with someone—destroying themselves and entering yet another illusion of themselves. Magicians. Everyone literally considers themselves as such, so why has no one answered me yet: What are you fighting for and with whom? Why is there an internal dialogue halt at all, especially since it’s a fundamental idea of growth? Why dismember oneself with oneself? There are those who see, those who are powerful to the bone, those who are detached, and so on. This is how they see the result. Or this or that. I may not know the names of many things, but I do know for sure that you need to have a heart and a strong connection to it. From here, everything is sincere, and the result is such. Everything is within yourself; it is a whole—this is your strength, not in aimless destruction but in the destruction that reveals duality and then reunites it back into one flow, but with components that are completely different. And then, having figured things out with yourself independently and honestly, you can sew like a needle in a sewing machine, weighing everything. Your strength lies within yourself, with your light, your darkness, and your Heart. I just want to embrace everyone.)))
Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, combines ideas of non-duality with respect for duality (compassion) – everyday experiencing duality inhabited by personalities and others (sentient beings), is always given attention, always “now.” This approach in itself is considered a means of dissolving the illusion of duality (i.e. as a path). In Theravada, this respect is cautiously expressed by the principle of “do no harm,” while in Vajrayana it is boldly described as enjoyment (especially in tantra).