STOICISM IN THE ESOTERIC PHILOSOPHY

STOICISM IN THE ESOTERIC PHILOSOPHY......

Stoicism, Platonism and other schools teach that happiness has no relation to pleasure. Instead, they say that happiness derives from having no anxiety, no fear and no ambition in the soul. As to pleasure, it is defined as having the same illusory substance as pain or suffering.Epictetus the Stoic taught:“It is not poverty which produces sorrow, but desire; nor does wealth release from fear, but reason (the power of reasoning). If then you acquire this power of reasoning, you will neither desire wealth nor complain of poverty.” [1]Porphyry, the neoplatonist, wrote that “the true philosopher (…), following nature and not vain opinions, is self-sufficing in all things”.

But he had to admit that - “no fool is satisfied with what he possesses”.[2]Students of philosophy must not expect outer reality to follow the track of their own desires and expectations. Effective learners accept things as they are and do their best, regardless of what mayhappen. They put their confidence on the law of Karma and Retribution. They are not led by appearances. They see all human beings as their brothers and sisters, and for them there is no difference between a prince and a beggar. One of the Raja Yogis who inspired the creation of the theosophical movement wrote, in a letter to a lay disciple:“... In our sight an honest boot-black [is] as good as an honest king, and an immoral sweeper far higher and more excusable than an immoral Emperor...”As to the main idea of Stoicism, which recommends that we should act in a correct way regardless of personal pleasure or pain, the Mahatma wrote in the same letter:“... Remember that the first requisite in even a simple fakir, is that he should have trained himself to remain as indifferent to moral pain as to physical suffering.

Nothing can give US personal pain or pleasure.” [3]There are good reasons for aspirants to the esoteric wisdom to develop a reasonable amount of indifference toward comfortable and uncomfortable conditions of life, and we can see that the work of H. P. Blavatsky in the 19th century was not an exception to this general rule.(...)NOTES:[1] “Enchiridion”, Epictetus, Dover Thrift Editions, USA, 2004, 56 pp., see aphorism XXV, p. 28. As tothe episode of Epictetus’ life when he was still a slave, see “Lucretius, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius”,Great Books of the Western World, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., Chicago-London-Toronto-Tokyo, 1952-1978, 310 pp., p. 101.[2] “Porphyry’s Letter to his Wife Marcella”, translated by Alice Zimmern, Phanes Press, Grand Rapids, USA, 1986, 59 pp., see p. 55.[3] “The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett”, facsimile edition, Theosophical University Press, Pasadena, California, USA, 1992, 493 pp. and plus, see Letter XXIX. These two sentences are respectively on pages 223 and 224.00000From

"Stoicism in the Esoteric Philosophy", by C.C. Aveline.