The A‐B‑C’s of Knowledge and Being

The A‐B‑C’s of Knowledge and Being

I would like to illustrate the relationship between Knowledge and Being with a little experiment. Let us explore the idea “man does not know himself” from the vantage point of three beings, whose orientations are completely different, that is, beings who are under three different primary influences: Influence A, Influence B, and Influence C.

These imaginary beings live the majority of their lives under A Influence, B Influence, or C Influence. Of course, this is already a bit extreme because people do not exclusively live under one of these influences and there are many other distinctions between beings, such as body type, center of gravity, chief feature, etc. But for the sake of this experiment, I will use the filter of A, B, or C Influence as the variable in our imaginary beings. So, let us take for example how different beings might approach the knowledge that “man does not know himself.”

When Ms. A Influence comes across this new piece of knowledge, it is received through the A Influence filter of concern for the basic needs of existence: food, shelter, security, and ego. She might briefly consider and be amused by the idea of not knowing herself and then likely assess that she, indeed, is content with who she is and is satisfied with her wealth and providing for her family. Furthermore, she is confident in her job and skills and is valued and respected by family and colleagues, which supports her ego and bolsters her sense of success. If any of these basic needs are lacking, she might try to “know herself” from the perspective of how she can use the knowledge to further her material gain. For example, she might pick up a copy of “How to Make Friends and Influence People,” and use these ideas to assist her to live a more comfortable and successful life.

Once Ms. A’s basic needs are balanced and achieved, the idea of not knowing herself simply fades away, ironically as immaterial. P.D. Ouspensky writes that her “possibility of development diminishes with every year of [her] life … This means that man dies while physically remaining still alive, like grain that cannot germinate and produce a plant.”

All men by nature desire knowledge. — Aristotle

Ms. B Influence, disillusioned with the pursuits of A Influence, comes across this new piece of knowledge and receives it through the lens of B Influence. The dissatisfaction with A Influence has already created fertile soil for the idea to germinate. She gathers more information about knowing herself from B Influence sources such as religion, yoga, healing and martial arts, etc., and she is not only attracted to the idea of self-knowledge but recognizes that she does not know herself. P.D. Ouspensky writes that if B influences attract her and make her feel and think, results of the impressions they produce in her collect together.

At this point, Ms. B might become a professional accumulator of B Influences and enjoy the process of searching for more ideas through philosophy, science, and art, which could continue for an entire lifetime. B Influence is compelling partly because its origin has descended from a conscious source, and joining a religion, practicing yoga, the healing and martial arts are fulfilling for many people. On the other hand, if Ms. B’s collection of interests becomes strong enough, this group of ‘I’s as suggested by Ouspensky, forms a magnetic center and may lead Ms. B to seek out a conscious teacher.

Now, the relationship Ms. C Influence has to the idea “man does not know himself” is quite different from Ms. A and Ms. B. Ms. C receives direct conscious influence from a Master, someone who has achieved a permanent understanding of objective truths about man’s possibilities. The Teacher instructs Ms. C on her limitations and potential to reach higher consciousness. In contrast to the two other beings, Ms. C uses her knowledge to germinate and through the help of the Teacher her being grows into a “conscious” plant.

The Teaching passes from Third Eye to Third Eye – from Presence to Presence. — The Teacher

C Influence – Conscious Influence – is what is found in a conscious school. The Teacher uses knowledge and practice to produce and evoke consciousness in students. The Teacher understands the relative importance in the relationship between Knowledge and Being and encourages students to value a higher state more than accumulating an excess of knowledge.

The knowledge we share is very good, but the state is the answer. The knowledge is secondary to presence. — The Teacher

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Triad of Baalshamin (the sky god), Aglibol (the moon god), and Malakbel (the sun god), Palmyra