Preface, 1989 Edition.

The Essene Book of Asha :

From: Editor's Preface to the 1989 Edition

...Art of Asha: Journey to the Cosmic Ocean was the first book of Edmond Bordeaux Székely that I helped to prepare for publication. Carrying out the various tasks assigned to me by the author, I poured my young heart and soul into my contribution to the book, feeling there could be no greater honor than to be part of this magnificent presentation of the Art of Asha. Almost 23 years later, I feel the same thrill of creative energy and an even deeper gratitude for the privilege of bringing this new edition to life.

In the years between 1966 when The Art of Asha was first published, and 1979, when Edmond Bordeaux Székely died, his interpretation of Zarathustrian cosmology and cosmogony underwent a profound transformation. He had always spoken of the Art of Asha as the spiritual ancestor of the Essene Tree of Life, and in his lectures he often emphasized the importance of studying the Art of Asha as a foundation for true understanding of the Essene philosophy. But in his last years, at his Seminars and in his writing, he gave greater and greater importance to the teachings of Zarathustra, not only as the basis of study of other great World Pictures, but as the very keystone, the central point, the most vital and important of all spiritual revelations of history.

He often said that “intelligence is the ability to adapt ourselves adequately to unexpected changes in the environment,” and as the seventies drew to a close he concluded that a thorough knowledge and Active use of the Art of Asha was the most effective method of dealing with those unexpected changes.

“Unexpected changes” was a rather optimistic way of describing the problems of the world, problems which have multiplied dramatically since 1979: the pressing urgency of world famine, starvation, unemployment, substandard living conditions, homelessness, increasing crime and terrorism, violence and wars, intolerance and violation of human rights, the terrible depletion of our natural resources, accumulation of nuclear waste, and even the threat of total environmental destruction.

He felt strongly that what was needed most to solve these urgent problems was a philosophy of life that would challenge us to immediate action; one that would stimulate us to be active points in the universe, declaring ourselves firmly on the side of Light and Good in all things. And the Art of Asha, in all its aspects-including a form of self-analysis that places us directly in the arena of struggle to maintain and preserve Life in the face of all that threatens it-is the most important philosophy we can master.

With this urgency in mind, he revised “The Essene Book of Asha” (as he re-named it in 1976, in order to emphasize the unbroken lineage between all the great World Pictures of history), and it is from his notes that I have edited this present version.

The only real difference between this and earlier editions is the later emphasis on ASHA as the (direct experience of life as the outcome of the battle of opposing forces, rather than simply a fascinating distant ancestor of Chess. Present-day Chess is a pastime, something to be enjoyed apart from the real activities of daily life. But the Art of Asha is Life, and in learning the Art of Asha, we learn how to live in the truest sense of the word: how to absorb ever-increasing energy, harmony and knowledge from the natural and cosmic forces permanently flowing in and around us, and so further our own individual evolution and that of our planet.

In the words of Romain Rolland: “Let us put aside everything which divides us, and concentrate on all the things which unite us. Let us mobilize all the forces of Life against the forces of death.”

- Norma Nilsson Bordeaux Székely

January 1, 1989.