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Chapter 15: IndividualityTo believe oneself to be one is certainly a joke of very bad taste. Unfortunately, this vain illusion exists within each one of us.
Lamentably, we always think the best of ourselves. It never occurs to us to understand that we do not even possess true individuality. Worst of all is that we give ourselves the false luxury of assuming that we enjoy full consciousness and a will of our own. |
Poor us! How stupid we are! Without doubt, ignorance is the worst misfortune.
Within each of us, there are many thousands of different individuals, distinct characters, “I’s”, or people who quarrel among themselves, who fight one another for supremacy, and who have no order or concordance whatsoever.
If we were conscious, if we were to awaken from all the many dreams and fantasies, how different life would be.
But to add to our misfortune, our negative emotions, self love, and self-esteem fascinate and hypnotize us, never permitting us to remember ourselves, to see ourselves exactly as we are.
We believe ourselves to have a single will when in reality we possess many different wills (each “I” has its own).
The tragi-comedy of all this internal multiplicity is dreadful; the different internal wills clash with each other, live in continuous conflict, and work in different directions.
If we had true individuality, if we were a unity instead of a multiplicity, we would also have continuity of purpose, awakened consciousness, and a personal, individual will.
The best is to change, however, we must begin by being sincere with ourselves. We need to make a psychological inventory of ourselves to know what we have in excess, or
what we lack.
It is possible to obtain individuality, but if we believe that we have it, any such possibility will disappear.
Obviously, we will never struggle to obtain what we believe we have. Fantasy makes us believe that we possess individuality, and there are even schools in the world that teach this.
It is urgent to struggle against fantasy; it makes us appear as if we were this or that, when in reality we are miserable, shameless, and perverse.
We think that we are men but in reality, we are mere intellectual mammals, devoid of individuality.
Mythomaniacs believe themselves to be Gods, Mahatmas, etc., without even the least suspicion that they do not have individual mind and conscious will.
Self-worshippers adore their beloved ego so much that they could never accept the idea of a multiplicity of egos within themselves.
Paranoiacs, with all of the classic pride which characterizes them, will not even read this book.
It is indispensable to fight to the death against the fantasies we have about ourselves, if we do not want to be victims of artificial emotions and false experiences, which, besides placing us in ridiculous situations, stop all possibility of internal development.
The intellectual animal is so hypnotized by his fantasies, that he dreams that he is a lion or an eagle when in truth, he is no more than a vile worm in the mud of the earth.
The mythomaniac can never accept the above statements.
Obviously, regardless of whatever might be said, he feels he is an arch-hierophant without suspecting that the fantasy is merely nothing, nothing but fantasy.
Fantasy is a real force which acts universally on mankind and which keeps the intellectual humanoid in a state of sleep, causing him to believe that he is already a man, that he possesses true individuality, will, awakened consciousness, a mind of his own, etc.
When we think that we are one, we are unable to move from where we are within, we remain stagnant and finally degenerate, we involute.
Each of us finds himself in a particular psychological phase, and we cannot escape it, unless we directly discover all those people, or “I’s” that live within our person.
It is clear that, through inner self-observation, we shall be able to see the people who live in our psyche and which we need to eliminate to achieve radical transformation.
This perception, this self-observation, fundamentally changes all the mistaken concepts we had about ourselves, and as a result, we demonstrate to ourselves the concrete fact that we do not possess true individuality.
As long as we do not observe ourselves, we will live under the illusion that we are one, and consequently, our life will be mistaken.
It is impossible to relate correctly with our fellow man while we have not realized an internal change in the depths of our psyche.
Any internal change demands the previous elimination of the “I’s” that we carry within.
By no means could we eliminate such “I’s” if we did not observe them in our interior.
Those who feel they are one, who think the best of themselves, who cannot accept the doctrine of the many, will also never desire to observe the “I’s”, and consequently, any possibility of change in them is made impossible.
It is impossible to change without elimination, but a person who feels he possesses individuality, even if he accepts the need to eliminate, will in reality, ignore that which must be eliminated.
However, we must not forget that he who believes himself one, deceives himself, believing he knows what must be eliminated, whereas in reality, he does not even know that he does not know; he is a learned ignoramus.
We need to de-egotize ourselves, in order to individualize ourselves, but for anyone who believes he possesses individuality, it is impossible to de-egotize.
Individuality is one hundred percent sacred. Those who have it are rare, but everyone thinks he has it.
How can we eliminate “I’s”, if we believe we have a single “I”.
Certainly, only someone who has never self-observed seriously thinks that he has a single “I”.
Nonetheless, we must be very clear in this teaching, because there exists the psychological danger of confusing authentic individuality with the concept of some type of superior “I” or something of the kind.
Sacred individuality is far beyond any kind of “I”. It is what it is, what it has always been, and what it will always be.
Legitimate individuality is the Being, and the reason of being of the Being is the same Being.
Distinguish between the Being and the “I”. Those who confuse the “I” with the Being have certainly never observed themselves seriously.
As long as the essence, the consciousness, remains trapped within this assemblage of “I’s” that we carry within, radical change will remain more than impossible.
Within each of us, there are many thousands of different individuals, distinct characters, “I’s”, or people who quarrel among themselves, who fight one another for supremacy, and who have no order or concordance whatsoever.
If we were conscious, if we were to awaken from all the many dreams and fantasies, how different life would be.
But to add to our misfortune, our negative emotions, self love, and self-esteem fascinate and hypnotize us, never permitting us to remember ourselves, to see ourselves exactly as we are.
We believe ourselves to have a single will when in reality we possess many different wills (each “I” has its own).
The tragi-comedy of all this internal multiplicity is dreadful; the different internal wills clash with each other, live in continuous conflict, and work in different directions.
If we had true individuality, if we were a unity instead of a multiplicity, we would also have continuity of purpose, awakened consciousness, and a personal, individual will.
The best is to change, however, we must begin by being sincere with ourselves. We need to make a psychological inventory of ourselves to know what we have in excess, or
what we lack.
It is possible to obtain individuality, but if we believe that we have it, any such possibility will disappear.
Obviously, we will never struggle to obtain what we believe we have. Fantasy makes us believe that we possess individuality, and there are even schools in the world that teach this.
It is urgent to struggle against fantasy; it makes us appear as if we were this or that, when in reality we are miserable, shameless, and perverse.
We think that we are men but in reality, we are mere intellectual mammals, devoid of individuality.
Mythomaniacs believe themselves to be Gods, Mahatmas, etc., without even the least suspicion that they do not have individual mind and conscious will.
Self-worshippers adore their beloved ego so much that they could never accept the idea of a multiplicity of egos within themselves.
Paranoiacs, with all of the classic pride which characterizes them, will not even read this book.
It is indispensable to fight to the death against the fantasies we have about ourselves, if we do not want to be victims of artificial emotions and false experiences, which, besides placing us in ridiculous situations, stop all possibility of internal development.
The intellectual animal is so hypnotized by his fantasies, that he dreams that he is a lion or an eagle when in truth, he is no more than a vile worm in the mud of the earth.
The mythomaniac can never accept the above statements.
Obviously, regardless of whatever might be said, he feels he is an arch-hierophant without suspecting that the fantasy is merely nothing, nothing but fantasy.
Fantasy is a real force which acts universally on mankind and which keeps the intellectual humanoid in a state of sleep, causing him to believe that he is already a man, that he possesses true individuality, will, awakened consciousness, a mind of his own, etc.
When we think that we are one, we are unable to move from where we are within, we remain stagnant and finally degenerate, we involute.
Each of us finds himself in a particular psychological phase, and we cannot escape it, unless we directly discover all those people, or “I’s” that live within our person.
It is clear that, through inner self-observation, we shall be able to see the people who live in our psyche and which we need to eliminate to achieve radical transformation.
This perception, this self-observation, fundamentally changes all the mistaken concepts we had about ourselves, and as a result, we demonstrate to ourselves the concrete fact that we do not possess true individuality.
As long as we do not observe ourselves, we will live under the illusion that we are one, and consequently, our life will be mistaken.
It is impossible to relate correctly with our fellow man while we have not realized an internal change in the depths of our psyche.
Any internal change demands the previous elimination of the “I’s” that we carry within.
By no means could we eliminate such “I’s” if we did not observe them in our interior.
Those who feel they are one, who think the best of themselves, who cannot accept the doctrine of the many, will also never desire to observe the “I’s”, and consequently, any possibility of change in them is made impossible.
It is impossible to change without elimination, but a person who feels he possesses individuality, even if he accepts the need to eliminate, will in reality, ignore that which must be eliminated.
However, we must not forget that he who believes himself one, deceives himself, believing he knows what must be eliminated, whereas in reality, he does not even know that he does not know; he is a learned ignoramus.
We need to de-egotize ourselves, in order to individualize ourselves, but for anyone who believes he possesses individuality, it is impossible to de-egotize.
Individuality is one hundred percent sacred. Those who have it are rare, but everyone thinks he has it.
How can we eliminate “I’s”, if we believe we have a single “I”.
Certainly, only someone who has never self-observed seriously thinks that he has a single “I”.
Nonetheless, we must be very clear in this teaching, because there exists the psychological danger of confusing authentic individuality with the concept of some type of superior “I” or something of the kind.
Sacred individuality is far beyond any kind of “I”. It is what it is, what it has always been, and what it will always be.
Legitimate individuality is the Being, and the reason of being of the Being is the same Being.
Distinguish between the Being and the “I”. Those who confuse the “I” with the Being have certainly never observed themselves seriously.
As long as the essence, the consciousness, remains trapped within this assemblage of “I’s” that we carry within, radical change will remain more than impossible.
