Esoteric Wisdom for Modern Living by Manly Hall

Author:Manly Hall [Hall, Manly]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Philosophy
Publisher: Philosophical Research Society, Inc.
Published: 2011-06-14T04:00:00+00:00

“Pythagoras of Crotona” (by J. A. Knapp, from “The Secret Teachings of All Ages”)

PART II

PYTHAGOREAN DISCIPLINES FOR MODERN LIVING

Pythagoras, the great Greek philosopher and scientist, was a man of many and diversified abilities, whose contributions to history, science, philosophy, and religion have been recognized for thousands of years. His school at Crotona was a very strict and well-integrated institution, and was probably the first university. The Pythagorean school system spread throughout Europe and finally reached the Western hemisphere as our university system. The differences between the Pythagorean school and the modern university, however, are worth noting. Primarily, the first and greatest difference lay in the definition of knowledge. To the Pythagoreans, knowledge was a way of life, conditioning the individual to live well; whereas in modern times, education is too often merely an indoctrination with ideas, concepts, and opinions, without sufficient emphasis on the importance of turning out a well-integrated human being capable of administering self-discipline in his own life.

The Pythagoreans emphasized discipline, and many of the things which they taught might therefore seem impractical to us. But let us remember that the purpose of the instruction was not the production of a practical result in terms of wealth or social position, but the attainment of a self-controlled power to administer life. The individual was taught to use his own resources, to become an independent thinker, an independent creative idealist. In this way, he would not only preserve himself, but contribute to the descent of culture, so that he might leave the world a better place than he found it. This concept is perhaps more idealistic and mystical than that of modern education, but perhaps it is no less practical, for we are still somewhat at a loss to know the full implications of the term practical, as this applies to conduct.

The disciplines of the Pythagoreans began with a series of controls which the individual imposed upon himself. They believed only that the person who can govern himself is greater than the one who can capture a city. Considering self-government as the basis of democratic collective security, it followed that a democracy, in order to function politically, economically, and industrially, must be composed of self-governing individuals whose natures and inclinations are such that they can never pervert, profane, or abuse the privileges with which society invests them.

The Pythagorean disciplines, then, were intended primarily to contribute to the creating of character, the building of an adequate internal reserve against the pressures of circumstance. On this ground, these disciplines are of the greatest value and practical importance today. We are living in a time of great individual and collective insecurity. The average person often feels within himself an instinct toward panic, and he participates, at least to a degree, in the prevailing hysteria. He is not secure; he is not happy; he is not safe; and under these conditions, he naturally turns to a larger pattern of enlightenment for guidance and encouragement.

The rules used at Crotona were, of course, devised for a

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