If
we could bring together to a round-table discussion Jesus, Moses,
Buddha, Zarathustra, and all the great founders of world religions, they
would agree on all essential points. But if we were to bring to the same
round-table one each of their followers, they would disagree on all
points, essential and non-essential. The essence of each religion is
ageless and universal. But the sterile mind seeks the safety of dogmas,
and remains enmeshed in the empty rituals and trappings of ceremony.
Therefore, we shall adhere to the original purity and simplicity of all
the great teachings and avoid the commentaries and
commentaries-of-the-commentaries accumulated through the centuries, when
the original vivid world-conceptions were slowly strangled by dry and
rigid theological rules and regulations.
What
is the essence of our belief?
We
believe in the Brotherhood of Man, the Motherhood of Nature, and the
Fatherhood of God.
How
can such a belief be organized?
It
cannot. We believe that ~'organization is the death of the idea,"
and that the best government is that which governs the least. We reject
equally all forms of dictatorship and anarchy.
What,
then, is our plan of action?
Let
us leave to one side all that which divides us, all our shades of
thought: political,
social, religious and philosophical. Let us unite all the spiritual
forces of Life against the forces of death.
How
can we do this?
Mutual
knowledge of each other leads to mutual understanding. Mutual
understanding leads to mutual cooperation. Mutual cooperation leads to
peace, which is the only path of survival of mankind on this planet.
Do
we believe in the attainment of happiness?
Happiness
is not easy to find. It is difficult to discover within ourselves and
impossible to find elsewhere.
How,
then, can we achieve happiness?
There
are two kinds of pleasures in life. There are false pleasures, for which
we must pay a very high price: the sacrifice of our physical health and
our peace of mind. Without health and peace of mind we are unable to
enjoy any pleasures. The true pleasures are our eternal companions, all
the beautiful sights, sounds and smells of Nature: the mountains, the
forests, the oceans, the magic of the sunrise and the sunset, all the
subtle and enchanting joys of the mind: great books, great music, great
works of art, and the more intangible but equally enduring pleasures of
friendship and love. The wise man's program for creative living is to
gradually replace those false pleasures with our eternal companions, the
noble and harmonious pleasures of life.
How
can we avoid the wrong pleasures?
By
avoiding the act of self-exploitation, which we commit each time we
sacrifice the real values of life (our health, peace of mind, free time)
for things which are harmful (such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, animal
fats, refined sugars and starches, etc.) or superfluous (such as the
20th century craze for material possessions in the form of excessive
luxuries, hoarding of real estate, energy-wasting pursuits and objects,
unnecessary large wardrobes, etc.)
How
can we improve society?
By
improving ourselves. If we avoid self-exploitation by pursuing a simple,
natural, healthy, spiritual life, the collective exploitation on a large
scale will gradually disappear, as the whole depends on the position of
the atoms composing it. And there is no. greater force than that of an
idea whose time has come.
Is
our Essene Way timely in the 20th century?
Due
to the dangers of simultaneously increasing inflation and recession, the
crisis of world economy and the apocalyptic shadow of a possible
thermonuclear holocaust, we sincerely feel that our Essene Renaissance
has timely and precious gifts to offer to this age of disorientation.
If, as the British historian Toynbee, so aptly stated, the Essenes were
the only practical idealists of history, today, more than ever, we are
in need of that which an enlightened practical idealism can give us.
Do
we believe in freedom?
Absolutely,
provided that one person's freedom does not limit the freedom of
another.
What
are our aims and principles?
1.
We hold the view that it is possible for every human being, by judicious
use of the best available methods of health and individual improvement,
to better himself.
2.
We hold the view that the worth of individuals determines the worth of
societies and conditions the effectiveness of public institutions.
3.
We hold the view that every person owes a duty to himself, to the
community, and to the future of the human race, to make his improvement
the essential task of his life.
4.
We hold the view that achievement is in direct proportion to the
efforts of each individual and that this work of improvement produces a
sure gain in happiness.
5.
We hold the view that the surest guide in one's efforts to
improve himself is the study of the laws of nature and in faithful
adherence to what they prescribe.
6.
We hold the view that human thought and human will have
considerable power, and that they should be used conscientiously in the
service of good, that is to say, in the service of the force that leads
nature toward ever higher forms of manifestation.
7.
We firmly believe that progress is irresistible, and that the
triumph of beauty over ugliness, of truth over error, of good over
egotism and hatred, are certain.
8.
We hold the view that expansive love, fraternity and cooperation
are the only effective means of collective progress, and that nothing
true, beautiful or good can be built upon hatred, revenge, party
factionalism or oppression.
9.
We hold the view that universal sympathy exists for every sincere
effort to do good, even when it seems to be in opposition, and that the
ways of realizing a better future are as numerous as are human
temperaments.
10.
We hold the view that by strengthening the good, we progressively
get rid of the evil.
