School Notebooks - #4 : Generalities - H. van Doren
Notebook #4 : GENERALITIES
  1. Definition

    The School is the Work-Centre from where irradiates a totalising doctrine, a system of self-knowledge and practices and a group of crafts and disciplines necessary to man for his integral development.

  2. Objective

    Its fundamental objective is therefore, the development and liberation of mankind based in those doctrines, practices, and disciplines.

  3. Individual usefulness

    The usefulness of the School to its participants is given by the doctrine presented as a working tool, and by the ambit it creates, facilitating the task that carried on separately would be seriously disturbed.

    The School emphasises that all task of individual liberation can be accomplished in this life-time, but leaves the door open to the possibility of a future life. The development of that possibility constitutes the Inner Religion.

  4. The organisation of the School

    • The organisation is occasional and depends on the historical moment as well as on the development of its members. On the other hand, it adapts to the circumstances in the best possible way in order to achieve its objectives.

      The School is the Work-Centre and the irradiation point of that Work. It uses or creates organisations directly or indirectly linked to it to use them as diffusers. In this sense, no human activities are indifferent to the School and they are means to serve its goal.

      When saying: "no human activities are indifferent to the School", we are not stating that activities opposed to human development may be used in its favour.

    • The social movements that seek liberation from the material slavery cannot be ignored, since they lay the economic, cultural, and technical base at the disposal of the human kind, becoming thus the progressive factors that facilitate the School's actions. However, and in themselves, these movements cannot be considered as liberators of mankind, unless they open immediately the expectations of mental transformation. Without a material base there is no possibility of mental transformation, but the material base alone is not enough to achieve it.

  5. Origins of the School

    • The School originates in any geographical place and at any historical moment in which these propositions emerge and a doctrine is 'discovered', or reinterpreted accordingly, whilst at the same time a system of practices and disciplines is put on place and transmitted personally. The School may keep a traditional line for a length of time. It may also vanish and reappear later on. However, it is evident that in all epochs and civilisations with a minimum of material development, it is possible to find its traces.

    • On the other hand, there is School no more when the objective that justifies its existence has been lost; or when the doctrine is not adapted to that goal. There are no problems of 'lines' and of School. The School is unique if the aforementioned objective exists and the doctrine and practices are suitable. Tendencies deviating from the objective and the doctrine may call themselves 'schools', but they are far away, from what we have been here expressing.

    • The School is potentially in every human being that discovers the possibility of liberation and guesses the existence of a doctrine and of a system, that facilitates its implementation. In this way, in the religious and even in the magic feelings (apart from the socio-cultural implications or of the escapism that it reflects), traces can be found of the tendency of the School to manifest.

    • Certainly, the School will have a system of erudition and knowledge big or small according to its development and that of its members, but that in itself will not definitely characterise the School. In different epochs and places it may have had great splendour or humility, but in all cases must have exercised its function.

  6. Language

    • The School expresses itself in a specialised mode that could be called 'esoteric', and also in a manner adapted to the understanding of large groups of persons, and that can be designated as 'exoteric'. Although the intention of the School is to reach the entire race (and for this reason it does not seek to deliberately confuse the masses or to distance from it, or to enclose itself, on the contrary), historical reality imposes gradients of language that sometimes becomes simplistic, but that allows to contribute to man's development, no matter how low his cultural level.

    • In certain stages, some very simple moral codes, some pious precepts, some kindness, human solidarity, love to the neighbour and personal betterment have been enough to mobilise entire populations towards development. This language may today make smile those who are historically disappointed, but it is not reasonable to disregard its educational value, since it influenced the economy, sciences, arts, law, and even the hygiene of many civilisations.

    • When the language, ritual and hierarchy displace the objective and the doctrine, one is not anymore in the presence of the School. Its spirit has disappeared only to leave an empty shell. Then the sect is born, or the religion, or the oligarchy that ends up inverting the values, becoming degenerative and regressive factors. There are present fanaticism, persecution, cruelty and the immolation of man before alleged goals superior to himself.

      Where the language is not sincere, humble and kind, one does not listen to the School.

    • It is important to observe the process of the School. It may happen in certain occasions, in its first steps (and conditioned by many circumstances), that it uses a language and a general attitude somehow primitive, but in its process, it becomes more elaborated and articulate. If this happens, it is obvious that its objectives and doctrine are valid because it shows progress over previous stages.

  7. Doctrine

    The doctrine gives totalising answers about the world, man, history, and the meaning of life. On this base, it elaborates working tools that allow self-knowledge, betterment, and the widening of consciousness. The conceptual 'device' used in this occasion is as follows:

    • Universal laws

      • Law of structure: "Nothing is isolated but dynamically related with other beings within conditioning ambits".

      • Law of concomitance: "Every process is determined by relations of simultaneity with processes of the same ambit".

      • Law of cycle: "Everything in the Universe is in evolution and goes from the simplest to the more complex according to rhythmic cycles".

      • Law of superseding of the old by the new: "The synthesis of processes assumes previous differences but eliminate elements qualitatively not acceptable for more complex steps".

    • Method

      The method allows in an orderly manner, to present problems correctly. It proceeds in three stages: the study of the composite elements of a subject; the relation of the subject with other ones of the same ambit; and the process of the subject (where does it come from, where does it go, how does express itself).

    • Origin of the Universe

      Light is the essence of everything that exists. When light 'condenses' it produces energetic and material manifestations.

      In a point of convergence of light an explosion took place and gave birth to the expanding Universe. This expansion is curved and, on accelerating, the bodies will begin to become light again to converge in a point (or several points) in which a new creative explosion will occur.

      Light is eternal: it is the origin and the end of the Universe.

    • Origin of life

      The condensation of light produced vibratory manifestations of energy of different levels and rarefaction of matter: from irradiation to gases, liquids, and solids; from electromagnetic blasts to nebulae, suns, planets, and moons with their diverse elements. The action of the electrical discharges amongst gaseous clouds and liquids went on slowly synthesising rudimentary aminoacids and later on, the first proteins. The temperature and the general environment constituted the adequate "culture" for the production of viruses and cells.

      Throughout the entire evolution, from the creative centre to the living being, the same scheme was repeated: a 'gravity centre' that irradiates, and around which all systems organise.

    • Origin of man

      The nuclei or cellular centre organised the entire cell material around itself and after repeated divisions, it started 'recording' an adaptation code or genetic memory, able to direct and later to specialise functions of nutrition, reproduction, and locomotion.

      From the amoebic forms went on evolution and the superseding of the old by the new until the quaternian period in which anthropomorphic forms emerged. In primates, the separation of fingers and the opposition of the thumb permitted the specialisation of cerebral functions, which complicated the relations within the nervous circuitry, thus producing new qualitative jumps in the animal mind.

      From a common trunk, several anthropomorphic branches developed independently, extinguishing some and perfecting others as in the case of Homo sapiens, relative of the monkey but not its descendent. With Homo sapiens different races appeared and they converged towards a 'gravity centre' of the species, progressively producing a new synthetic man. In such a being, the progressive genetic characteristics from the different races will make their contribution, and the regressive factors will be discarded by simple evolutionary means.

      Certainly, a new evolutionary jump will occur in the biological field, whilst for the first time a living being will be able to control its own evolution. The fact that man has been able to become above all a historical animal (differently from other species), puts him in the situation of not only accumulating previous experiences beyond his reflexes and instincts, but more importantly puts him in the position to being capable to modify his mental and biological structure.

    • The historical process

      The history of humanity is the history of the superseding of the old by the new plus the accumulation of social experience.

      Generational dialectics (law of the superseding of the old by the new at the level of human history), explains that in every historical moment several competitive generations co-exist: one that is in power; another that tries to access to power; another one in the learning stage and the displaced generations of the elderly and children. This latter one will soon reach the learning stage, whilst the one in power will move towards old age and will be replaced by the one previously in direct competition with it.

      Every generation fights in revolutionary manner for the conquest of power when the proportion between goods and members of that temporal class is significantly unbalanced.

      The general historical process starts with isolated groups of gatherers and hunters complementing with other groups and synthesising towards a 'gravity centre', where a civilisation or a culture begins to emerge. This one follows the law of cycle until it disintegrates. The progressive factors pass on to the next civilisation, being observed all along the process, all civilisations converging towards a planetary synthetic civilisation.

      Just as human evolution expresses itself towards a synthetic civilisation and race, individually, in the structure of the human being, locomotion develops from the basic instincts and reflexes, later manifesting emotions, and finally intellect. Certainly, a new qualitative jump should produce the surging of a higher synthesising function.

    • The human structure

      Individually in man, control 'centres' can be observed (somatic-sexual, motor, emotional, intellectual, and superior. Each centre can be studied in its parts and sub-parts.

      The level of consciousness is the general state of the human structure at a given moment, in which a centre (and a specific part) absorbs the largest amount of energy in detriment of the energy consumption of the other centres and parts. The following levels are distinguished: sleep, semisleep, vigil, consciousness-of-self, and objective consciousness.

      On the other hand, each human being has from birth a greater development of one centre over the others, from which result different 'types': somatic-sexual, motor, emotional, and intellectual. They differ from each other by the different speed of reaction before the stimuli and the direction of the energy.

      The natural, born, type plus experiences and habits recorded along life produces the personality of each individual. In daily life, the human being lives in the state of vigil in which digression and reverie populate his conscience. In general, it can be said that reveries are non-rational responses to external stimuli. In addition, they can be viewed as compensations of different layers of personality, which are mobilised by the action of the different centres and in response to external stimuli.

      The fundamental thing, however, is the presence of the reverie nucleus, which is the general and diffused response to particular stimuli that are organised in a structured manner in consciousness.

      Personality varies when the nucleus varies or fades away, and is replaced by another one. Due to this, the reverie nucleus is considered as the personality's 'gravity centre'. To each vital stage corresponds a biological modification and a concomitant transformation of the nucleus, thus: infancy-adolescence-youth-maturity-decline and old age correspond to these joint changes. The mechanical changes in individuals of the same age explain the emergence of temporal classes or generations. Thus seen, each generation moves according to its corresponding reverie nucleus.

      The Work tends to displace the mechanical nucleus by another one able to polarise the entire human structure towards the development of both the individual and the whole species. It is clear then that the School tries to modify the reverie nucleus towards individual and collective evolution, thus pursuing its original objective.

  8. Practice

    Evidently, no practice can mechanically produce man's liberation. Some techniques are considered useful to help to perceive the problem and to later access to other works.

    • Self-knowledge: It is integrated by a number of techniques of Autobiography - biorhythm - personality and prestige circles - secondary reveries, and the tracing of the reverie nucleus.

    • Practices of correction and superseding: To verify the functioning of the centres and their parts: somatic-motor-emotional-intellectual, and superior.

    • Enhancement of consciousness (ADMI work): With this sustained work method it is possible to access the level of consciousness-of-self and to consolidate it. Its steps are: I attend - I divide - I manage, and I incorporate (internalise).

    All these practices allow to grasp the problem within the right framework and to obtain with some permanence consciousness-of-self. From there onwards the work moves into another level.

  9. Development of the School

    It is concomitant to the qualitative development of its members. The development of its members results from their efforts to liberate themselves and the rest of humanity.

    The School, as an organism, develops its science and art. The main scientific interests are devoted to the physical benefit of man: his health and youth. Other works are related to studies on the human mind and its possibilities; still others, with the problems of time, space, energy, and light. In general, different studies are undertaken in a more or less systematic way within specialised teams who exchange information and results with other groups.

    In all cases, the scientific and artistic production of the School depends upon its doctrinary precepts and using the appropriate method. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to assemble the results of such specialisation in a coherent system.

    The objective of the artistic production is to transmit in a synthetic and beautiful manner, intuitive truths in any epoch or latitude to all who participate in the Work of the School and wish to benefit from the experiences of those who preceded them.




SCHOOL NOTEBOOKS
©Translation by H. van Doren

© Translation from the original
Spanish "Cuadernos de Escuela",
first published in Santiago de Chile, 1973
by ©Editorial Transmutación™ # 41.403
All rights reserved for all countries.
©Home Page H. van Doren 1998

The printing of this book was completed on
6 December 1973 in Impresora Camilo Henríquez Ltda.,
General Gana 1415, Santiago de Chile