Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
The Egregor of the Dove or the Reign of Peace
Izvor Collection
P R O S V E T A
Translated from the French Original title: L’égrégore de la Colombe ou le règne de la paix
Original edition © 1982, Éditions Prosveta S.A., France, ISBN 2-85566-204-4 © 1983, Éditions Prosveta S.A., France, ISBN 2-85566-229-X © 1987, Éditions Prosveta S.A., France, ISBN 2-85566-403-9 © Copyright Prosveta S.A. 2010. All rights reserved for all countries. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, adapted, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, whether privately or otherwise, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, audio-visual or otherwise, without the prior permission of author and publishers (Law of March 1957 revised). ISBN 978-2-85566-403-3
Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
The Egregor of the Dove or the Reign of Peace
Izvor Collection – No. 208 P R O S V E T A
Readers are asked to note that Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov’s teaching was exclusively oral. This volume includes passages from several different lectures all dealing with the same theme.
TABLES OF CONTENTS
1. Towards a better understanding of peace . ............................................... 9 2. The advantages of unity amongst nations .................................................. 29 3. Aristocracy and democracy .................. 39 4. About money ........................................ 61 5. The distribution of wealth .................... 77 6. Communism and capitalism ................. 87 7. Towards a new understanding of economics . ....................................... 109 8. What every politician should know ...... 127 9. The kingdom of God.............................. 155
Chapter One
Towards a better understanding
of peace
One day I attended a public conference on the subject of peace; several lectures were planned and all the speakers were highly qualified, intelligent, learned, amusing and altogether charming people. Thanks to them I learned that peace was the most desirable and most beneficial condition for humanity, whereas war was the worst possible scourge. I was delighted to hear all this and thought to myself, ‘Ah, now that people have, at last, understood the advantages of peace, mankind will be saved!’ However, I was anxious to hear exactly how these people planned to bring about the peace they were talking about with such conviction. Several speakers put forward some very intelligent plans, one of which was to form an international police force that would make it impossible for the different countries to fight each other. That is certainly an excellent idea, but how could it be put into effect? It reminded me of the fable in which
10
The Egregor of the Dove...
the mice convened a meeting to discuss how to defend themselves against the cat. After a great deal of discussion the senior mouse finally came up with the solution: the answer, he said, was to tie a bell round the cat’s neck so that all the mice would hear it coming and have time to hide. This magnificent solution was greeted with enthusiastic applause but, unfortunately, they never managed to find a mouse bold enough to go and tie the bell round the cat’s neck! And it is exactly like that for this international police force: how could you ever constitute an international body with the integrity and impartiality necessary to fulfil such a function? And how could you ever get all the countries of the world to respect its authority. Another speaker declared that the only hope for peace lay in a form of political federalism and went on to explain all kinds of complicated theories that nobody could quite follow. A third spent his time denouncing the State for abusing its legitimate power and depriving its citizens of their freedom. In the end, after listening to a great many speakers, I was forced to conclude that peace was not going to be established as soon as all that, for no one really understands it or knows what it really is. The Initiatic point of view is the only point of view that can throw light on this question for, in order to establish peace in the world, one must have a profound understanding of human
Towards a better understanding of peace
11
nature. You will probably say, ‘Oh, human nature: we know it only too well!’ But I don’t agree: no one really understands the psychic structure of man with his different subtle bodies and all their different needs and aspirations. And, above all, no one knows the twofold nature of man that I have already explained to you: the lower self and the higher Self, the personality and the individuality. And as long as those who work and hope for peace are ignorant of this science of man, they can do whatever they like but they will never establish peace in the world. Nowadays, a lot of people spend their time accusing others of fomenting war. They think that in this way they are contributing to world peace. Some blame the rich; others say that the fault lies with intellectuals, scientists or politicians. Believers accuse those who are not of their own particular Faith of heresies that are leading men to damnation, whereas non-believers accuse religious believers of fanaticism. Look around you and you will see that everyone thinks that if one could just get rid of something or someone else peace would reign in the world. And it is precisely here that everyone is mistaken. Even if mankind managed to get rid of all their armies and all their weapons, the very next day men would find other means of exterminating each other. Peace is something that exists within us; it is an inner state, an inner attitude,
12
The Egregor of the Dove...
and it cannot be established in the world simply by getting rid of externals. First and foremost we have to get rid of the causes of war within us. Let me give you a very simple example: take a man who has just eaten an enormous meal of sausages, ham and chicken, washed down with plentiful supplies of wine. Replete and satisfied, he says to himself, ‘Ah, now for a quiet spot and a little rest,’ and, finding just the place, he settles down for a nap. Before long he feels a certain queasiness inside so he smokes a cigarette but that does not quite fill the gap: he stretches and yawns and thinks, ‘What I need now is a nice little woman...’ Where can he find one? In his neighbour’s house, of course. There is a wall round it but that is no obstacle; he leaps over the wall and...well, you can imagine the rest of the story for yourselves. But one thing is obvious enough: there is no longer any question of peace! Peace is not a condition that can be attained by external, mechanical means. If you seek peace and, at the same time, continue to live in a murky, turbulent inner climate, you will never find it. Peace is a result, a consequence of something else; it indicates a state of perfect balance and harmony between all of man’s internal and external functions and activities. Consequently, if we want to work for peace we must know the means and methods to use, and this is a science in itself.
Towards a better understanding of peace
13
As long as a man harbours lustful or envious desires, whatever else he may do he will never know inner peace, for by entertaining such desires he introduces the germ of discord into his inner being. Look at the reactions of someone who commits a robbery: he automatically fears that he has been seen and he cannot help imagining what the consequences will be. He is haunted by the idea that the police are watching him and that he is going to be arrested and sent to prison. He can never be absolutely sure that no one saw him, that he did not leave some trace that would lead to him or that he will not, one day, give himself away by some thoughtless gesture. He will never know a moment’s peace again, he loses his appetite, suffers from insomnia and is obsessed by the need for concealment. Or picture the case of someone who has bor rowed some money: he keeps promising to repay it, but as he is incapable of refusing himself anything, he never manages to save up the money so he never does pay it back. Before long his creditor starts to dun him for it and he is at his wit’s end to know how to escape from him. Or take the case of a man who has spoken so harshly and unkindly to a friend that he has turned him into an enemy. Once again, peace has flown out of the window! There is no point in continuing the catalogue of examples; you can find hundreds of them for yourselves. Ah, yes: when it
14
The Egregor of the Dove...
comes to losing their peace, men and women are highly talented! If you have a relentless pack of bloodhounds on your trail because you have made havoc of other people’s lives, stolen their property or broken too many promises, how can you hope to find peace? ‘By keeping out of their way,’ you may say. All right, but what about all those inner ‘creditors’; all that inner anxiety and remorse that never ceases harrying you? How can you escape that? If you think you can just run away, it shows how little you really know or understand about it. Don’t fool yourself: you cannot escape from your own thoughts. At first sight it might not seem particularly difficult to find peace: all you have to do is go up into the mountains where all is peace and solitude. Yes, but the trouble is that even there man is not wholly at peace because he always has his own little ‘transistor’ in his head. Wherever he goes his transistor goes with him; it is never silent, and what a din it makes! As often as not his inner transistor is tuned to infernal stations and the music he hears is a hellish racket! Outwardly he may be at the top of the highest mountain where all is perfect peace and quiet, but inwardly there is a storm raging. So I ask you once again: how can one find peace? Everybody knows that the human body is composed of a number of separate but interdependent organs and although each organ
Towards a better understanding of peace
15
has its own particular function they all have to work in harmony with each other, otherwise the result is disorder or ‒ to put it in musical terms ‒ dissonance. Man can only be healthy and in peace if each of his organs does its work disinterestedly and selflessly, for the good of the whole. But that kind of peace and health is purely physical. When it comes to peace of the soul and spirit, we have to go much higher: all the different elements which go to make up that other whole, our psychic organism, must also vibrate in unison, selflessly, impartially and without friction, just like the organs of the physical body. Peace, therefore, is a higher state of consciousness and, as our state of consciousness depends to a great extent on the health of our physical body, as the least little problem on the physical plane finds an echo on the psychic plane, the physical and psychic organisms must be in harmony with each other before we can know true peace. Peace such as most people understand it is not true peace. Even when the problems and anxieties which trouble you vanish for a few minutes or a few hours, this is still not peace, for it does not last. Once true peace dwells in you nothing can ever dislodge it again. Yes, peace is not a question of feeling at ease, of being calm and carefree for a few minutes; it is something much more profound
16
The Egregor of the Dove...
and much more precious. Peace, as I have already said, is a result. When all the instruments in an orchestra are perfectly tuned to the same pitch, when all the musicians have already practised under their conductor and learned to know, love and obey him, then they can produce extraordinarily harmonious music. And in a human being, peace is this harmony, this perfect accord that reigns amongst all the various elements, forces, functions, thoughts, feelings and acts. This deep, indescribable peace is very difficult to attain; it requires tremendous will-power, patience and love as well as great learning. When a disciple begins to know and grasp the nature and properties of each element, thought, feeling and desire and learns to refuse admittance to anything that might disturb his inner harmony; when he has finally managed to rid his organism of all discordant elements, then, and only then, can he know true peace. If you smoke, if you eat and drink without discrimination, you introduce harmful elements into your organism which, in the long run, will ruin your health and you will never know peace. If you have a toothache or are suffering from colic or palpitations, how can you be at peace? You must first get rid of the putrid matter in your organism which is upsetting everything. And the same law applies on the psychic plane: as long as you
Towards a better understanding of peace
17
are ignorant of the true nature of your feelings, thoughts, desires, passions and instincts, as long as you continue to breathe their fumes and feed on them regardless of whether they are good or bad, you will never know peace. Peace, therefore, is the result of a deep under足 standing and clear-sightedness about the different elements which nourish man on every level of his being. But, as I have just said, knowledge is not enough: a person must also be extremely vigilant and strong-minded if he is to stave off every element liable to do him harm. If the Initiates always insist so much on the importance of purity, it is because they know very well that even the slightest impurity, whether in their physical body or in their thoughts or feelings, robs them immediately of their peace. Peace, as I have just said, is the result of the harmony that reigns amongst all the elements that go to make up a human being: spirit, soul, intellect, heart, will and physical body. And if peace is so rare and difficult to attain it is precisely because these different elements are so rarely in harmony. A man may have wisdom and a lucid mind and, at the same time, harbour base feelings in his heart which drive him to acts of folly. Or he may be animated by the most noble intentions and yet suffer from a paralysis of the will. In such
18
The Egregor of the Dove...
conditions how can he be at peace within himself? Peace is the ultimate acquisition. When, after much suffering and many battles, defeats and victories, a man’s divine nature finally triumphs over all the insurrection and tumult of his lower nature, then he can obtain peace. Before he reaches this stage he may experience moments of great delight but they never last. This is why one often hears people say that they have ‘lost their peace.’ No! Peace, true peace, cannot be lost. Oh, of course, you can go through periods of superficial turmoil, but your peace will still be there, deep down inside, just as, far below the surface of the ocean, on the sea bed, all is quiet, even when waves and foam are tossing on the surface. Once you have succeeded in introducing true peace into your innermost being, the turmoil going on around you no longer has the power to upset you; you feel that you are within the protective walls of a strong fortress. As Psalm 91 says, ‘He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High... will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”’ This ‘secret place of the Most High’ is our higher Self. When you have attained this highest point, this summit of your being, then you will know peace, the divine sensation of peace which it is beyond the power of words to describe. But before you reach this point you are going to have to defeat the tendencies of your lower nature over and over again!
Towards a better understanding of peace
19
Peace, therefore, is born of harmony, of an absolute accord between all the diverse factors and elements that go to make up a human being. But I must add something to that, and tell you that this necessary harmony can exist only when all those elements have been purified. Whenever there is a lack of harmony it means that impurities have slipped in. If you eat something that does not agree with you, you feel irritable and unwell, but if you take a purge and get rid of whatever is causing the problem, you begin to feel better! Impurities destroy peace. If you want to be at peace, therefore, the first thing to do is to purify yourself, to eliminate everything that hinders the smooth functioning of your mind, heart and will. A true Initiate understands that only one thing matters, only one thing is really essential and that is to become pure, as pure as a mountain lake, as pure as a clear blue sky, as pure as crystal, as pure as sunlight. Once an Initiate reaches this level of purity everything else is his for the asking. Obviously, as you now understand, no one obtains purity easily, but at least we can understand it, love it and long for it with every fibre of our being and, finally, do everything in our power to achieve it. When you feel that things are not functioning as they should, either in your physical body or in your heart or mind, you can be sure that it is because you have ‘eaten’ something impure; by...
The distinguished philosopher and spiritual Master, Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (1900 - 1986), was born in Bulgaria. In 1937 he moved to France, where he lived and taught for almost fifty years until his death. One of the most striking aspects of the Master’s teaching is the enormous variety of ways in which he presents the one central theme of man and his growth in perfection. Whatever the question under discus sion, it is invariably dealt with in terms of how man can better conduct his life.
Many people think that they are working for world peace although, in fact, they are not actually doing anything to bring it about. They don’t realize that the first step is to establish the reign of peace and harmony in every cell, every atom, every particle of their physical and psychic being, so that peace emanates from them into the world. They write endless books and convene endless peace conferences; everyone agrees that peace is the one thing they want, and yet they continue to feed the fires of conflict in their own hearts. In these conditions what kind of peace can they hope to bring to the world? When peace reigns in a man’s own thoughts, feelings and actions then, and then only, can he truly contribute to peace in the world. www.prosveta.com e-mail: international@prosveta.com ISBN 978-2-85566-403-3