Excerpts from an interview with Selim
Aïssel... |
|
Selim Aïssel, what do
you mean by the word "knowledge"? |
Ideas are necessary, but a moment comes
when book knowledge is no longer sufficient. |
Truth? |
What saves us is not faith, but the doubt
that leads us to seek. One cannot teach truth to a person, one can
only help him find it. |
Freedom? |
Freedom is not the chaos of slovenliness
and weak intentions, but the result of discipline and humility. |
What do you see as the cause of all the violence in the world? |
Human relationships that are based on
violence and the injuries we inflict upon each other give rise to
exactly the same thing in the world: terrorism and the subjugation
of peoples. Your identification with your race, religion, and country
also leads to this. |
And concerning religions? |
Pseudo-spiritualities for the most part.
Behind their honeyed words, they are in reality the major of cause
of the wars and hate on this earth
The religions have lost contact
with what is real, and most of the forms of spirituality as well.
And without this contact with what is real, we are nothing, our life
has no meaning. It is necessary to be in contact with someone or something
that is real. |
Esotericism? |
Those who know keep silent ; those who
speak about it know nothing. |
Immortality? |
Your time is counted and you choose to
waste it in useless and idle pursuits, with negativity and lies
You are capable of treating your life in this way because you believe
that you are currently immortal. |
Reincarnation? |
It is an evident truth, but the way it
is usually presented is a bunch of nonsense for the masses of ignorant
people. |
What do you understand by the term "education"? |
Loving your children. Do you love your
children by imposing on them the principles of corrupt politicians,
economists greedy for money and power, educators who are the instruments
of systems of conditioning, and guilt-mongering religions? |
The key to success? |
The key to success is not talent, but
perseverance. The world is full of talented people who succeed at
nothing. People always devote themselves to what they love most. If
you love the essential more than everything, you are not going to
devote yourself to anything else. |
Why do you teach? |
I entered in contact with something incredibly
beautiful and with a measureless love. It is impossible not to want
to communicate this to other people. This is love or compassion. |
Can you speak to us about this love? |
I can say nothing about genuine love.
By living in contact with someone who is possessed by this love, you
may begin to perceive it. I cannot speak of this love, but those who
are near me may feel it. |
Why is it necessary to be in contact with a living, awakened
master? |
Without this contact, it is impossible
for you to free yourself from your physical attitudes, emotional reactions,
and thought schemas. A person who has awakened is able to perceive
who you are, and at the same time he has a knowledge of your limits
and is filled with compassion before the human condition. The only
real teaching is a direct teaching, from instructor to pupil. Don't
imagine for a single moment that spiritual evolution is possible for
someone who is not in contact with a living, awakened person. |
Is it necessary to obey him? |
Obeying is for people who understand nothing.
The only authority I can recognise is that of competence. |
How is it possible to evolve? |
Evolution is only possible when a part
of you is unsatisfied with life. It is only possible when you aspire
to serve something that is higher than your thoughts, higher than
your emotions, higher than your body. Your body is not merely your
body; it can be connected to something higher, and if this is not
the case, it is then automatically at the service of something lower. |
What is a spiritual path? |
All paths may lead to liberation
provided you abandon them. A true spiritual path consists first of
all in a psychological preparation, which includes a certain type
of preliminary work of harmonisation, of the mind, emotions, and body.
Understanding is the beginning of the Path; when it is associated
with concrete practical application, it leads to freedom, the precondition
of love. |
The role of thoughts? |
Thoughts are spirits. You don't let any
kind of body into your bed, so don't let any kind of thought into
your head. |
What can you say about "Awakening"? |
Spiritual awakening cannot be the result
of psychological evolution or personal development, it is at a different
level. And it requires a direct contact with a Teaching and a living,
awakened Master. People who are too much in a hurry run so fast that
Awakening cannot catch up with them. |
What do you think of Stephen Stuart's characterisation, " Selim
Aïssel is Aurobindo without the Hindu exoticism, or Steiner
without the Theosophical baggage, and Krishnamurti with the methods
of a truth path of awakening that he lacked and that Gurdjieff possessed"?
|
These statements are his responsibility
alone. But at the same time, he has a perfect knowledge of my Teaching,
and as for myself, I can recognise each of the individuals he cites
as being one of my Masters. |