How to get started in the esoteric world: basic works and fundamentals of esotericism

Getting started in the esoteric world requires a guide that can help you discern what is the fundamental and reliable information, because today there is a great deal of esoteric literature.

For the initiated, it is difficult to know what to study to know the esoteric bases, but it is also necessary to avoid the teachings of the charlatans that have proliferated with the rise of the New Age .

If you feel prepared to start in the esoteric world, today we help you to know the main authors and their teachings, as well as the basic fundamentals of esotericism.

First works of study for the initiated in the esoteric world

What authors should you study when you start in the esoteric world? We recommend that you start your study by reading:

1. The Kybalion

The Kybalion is a book that compiles the teachings of hermeticism and its authors are "The Three Initiates", although the basis of hermeticism is attributed to Hermes Trismegisto "the chosen one of the Gods."

Hermes created the fundamental foundations of esoteric teachings that are known today and it is said that his teachings sow the great seed-truth that was sown and germinated in the various schools of esoteric knowledge.

2. The Secret Doctrine, by HP Blavatsky

The followers of theosophy consider Blavatsky's "Secret Doctrine" the masterpiece of Western occultism .

This author suggests that there is a "secret doctrine" that is common to all the teachings of the esoteric world and narrates the creation of the cosmos based on a spiritual theory of evolution with 7 root races and 7 ages.

The Secret Doctrine is divided into two volumes : Cosmogenesis, where he interprets the history of brahmanic creation, and Anthropogenesis, where he narrates the creation of man and his evolution to this day in a 7-human process that ends with ascension of humans and planet Earth.

3. The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, by Max Heindel

Max Heindel, occultist, esotericist and founder of the Rosicrucian Fraternity, initially influenced by the teachings of Helena Blavatsky and Rudolf Steiner, presents a new vision of the problems of the Universe and of Man from a spiritual and scientific point of view, what he called "Teachings of Western Wisdom", the basis of Rosicrucian Philosophy.

In his work, Heindel shares the wisdom of the doctrines of the esoteric world of the East in a large compendium of esoteric studies updated to modernity. These teachings seek that the initiate achieve a pure mind, a noble heart and a healthy body, transmitting the teachings through a much simpler and clearer language for the West than in the texts Oriental occultists.

4. Bhagavad-g t

The Bhagavad-g t is one of the most important religious books in the world and contains a summary of Hindu doctrines. This work contains the conversation between Krisna and Arjuna on the battlefield, prior to the battle of Kurukshetra.

Krisna reveals in him his identity as the mism simo God and guides Arjuna before his moral dilemma, explaining his duties as a warrior and prince through examples and analogues of y guicas and ved icas doctrines.

5. Morals and Dogma of the Scottish Rite, by Albert Pike

This is the base work for those who wish to begin in the knowledge of the esoteric world of the center of the Freemasonry. This text contains a complete exposition of the mysteries of the cabala and the mystery religions, key knowledge to understand the rites and symbols of the current Freemasonry.

The work, known as Morals and Dogma was published by the Supreme Council and compiled by Albert Pike and contains 32 essays that provide a philosophical basis for Freemasonry . While this work discusses the details of the Masonic ritual, it does not reveal its secrets.

Principles of the esoteric world

The principles of truth according to the Kybali n are 7 : Principle of Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect and the Principle of Generation. Among them, the most important for esoteric study is the Correspondence Principle .

Principle of Correspondence

The Correspondence Principle, the most important principle in the study of the esoteric world, says:

“ As is Above is Below, As is Inside is Outside ”

This principle is one of the 7 Laws of the Universe and means that we are a reflection of the environment, that is, that our nature reflects the nature of the Cosmos.

This Law applies to life considering that we are the reflection of universal energy and that the material world is a reflection of the spiritual world. By observing the Cosmos we observe ourselves and vice versa, by observing ourselves, we better understand the Universe.

God's vision in the esoteric world

Esotericism has a pantheistic vision of God, that is, it considers everything to be God. There is no separation between the Creator and Creation as seen in religions, but the entire Universe is God.

But esotericism is not the teachings of rituals that are practiced in a hidden way, but it is about the search for a spiritual awakening . The study of Ancient Wisdom is a path of search for truth, the foundation of all religious creeds, which also studies esotericism, in a search for the esoteric background of truths that contain all religions.

The essential factor to travel that path is common sense, because it is not enough to have purity, devotion and good intentions if understanding and wisdom are not applied in all acts of life, since starting in esotericism implies a style of life based on the principles of different schools, which may or may not be religious.

Esoteric Objectives

The objective of esoteric knowledge is to know the Inner Reality, so you can glimpse the effects and not the causes of the facts, such as the mind, soul and consciousness.

Behind the perceived phenomena there is an intention, that is an invisible reality that is the object of study of esotericism. That knowledge leads to an awakening of consciousness, which leads to live according to the precepts of truth.

Esoteric language and secret societies

Esoteric language is a metaphorical language called "arcane" that was used since ancient times as a way to avoid the repression of religious fundamentalism.

This way of transmitting knowledge is also what allows the two cerebral hemispheres to be used, which leads each individual to extract the truth from within.

Esoteric language has led only some people to access this information and therefore it has been forbidden for laymen in some circles, known as Secret Societies (Freemasonry, Rosicrucian, Gnosticism). These are organizations that generally disclose biased information to their new members to protect the highest secrets, accessible only to members who have reached the highest levels.

Main Western esoteric currents

Esoteric currents can be of eastern or western origin. The eastern esoteric currents are Kabbalah, Taoism, Sufism, Tanantra, Vajrayāna and Yoga .

Western esoteric currents are based on the school of Pythagoras and Plato, as well as Hermes, Buddha and Jesus Christ.

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a philosophical institution of an initiatory nature that is based on a feeling of fraternity. Its objective is the search for truth and the study of human behavior, science and arts, as well as the promotion of moral, personal and social human development.

Freemasonry studies have two currents, which are disseminated through symbols and allegories taken from the builders of medieval cathedrals. One of them is regular masonry, which is based on traditional rules and the other is called liberal or adogmatic masonry. However, both claim to be regular and adogmatic.

The Rosicrucians

The Rosicrucian Order, released in the seventeenth century, is a legendary secret order that uses different symbols of roses and crosses, depending on the fraternity in question.

"Rosicrucian" is also called in Freemasonry the seventh and last degree of the French Rite, the eighteenth grade in the Old and Accepted Scottish Rite and also the members of the Masonic fraternities that have reached the rank of "Rosicrucian Knight."

The first references to this order come from "Fama Fraternitatis", an esoteric work of anonymous author published in Germany, where he narrates the foundation of the order in 1378 by Christian Rosenkreuz, a mystic German who made an initiatory journey through various countries, in which he met great masters of the occult sciences.

The Hermeticism

Hermeticism is a philosophical tradition that is based on the texts of Hermes Trismegisto, a pagan prophet considered wise by various religious and non-religious writers.

Tradition says that Hermes is a descendant of Prisca Theologia, a doctrine that believes that there is a simple and true theology present in all religions, which was granted by God to man.

The hermetic tradition has not only acquired diverse influences throughout history, with the Catholic religion, the Christian cabal, the Lutheran schism, the philosophers and magicians of the Renaissance and the Baroque, but it was also an inspiration to various esoteric and occult currents .

Theosophy

Theosophy, based on the work of Helena Blavatsky, is a philosophy that seeks Universal fraternity through an ancestral and eternal knowledge that promotes spiritual development.

This philosophy proposes that all religions have the same roots, that which is hidden under the doctrines that have arisen through history and that veil the original teachings.

The Theosophical Society, created in 1875, studies philosophy, religion and science to discover the fundamental teaching in each of them. In its doctrine, the Christian, Buddhist and Hindu religions merge and is related to other esoteric movements such as Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Gnostics.

Gnosticism

Gnosticism refers to a set of philosophical and religious currents that initially merged with Christianity, but were considered heretical at a time when it acquired great prestige among the Christian intellectuality

This doctrine mixes ancestral knowledge of Christianity with Orientalist beliefs, as well as ideas of Greek philosophy, mainly of Platonic work.

Today there is talk of a pagan Gnosticism and a Christian Gnosticism, although the heterodox branch derived from early Christianity is the most significant.

This doctrine is a mystique of salvation . Gnosticism believes that people can save themselves. The initiated are not saved by faith in forgiveness thanks to the sacrifice of Christ, but the introspective knowledge of the divine (Gnosis), a knowledge superior to faith gives them salvation.

The beginning of the esoteric study can be done by reading the main authors who have given the basis for the formation of the different schools or doctrines of esotericism.

You can also start by joining different institutions that help you start the initiation path, such as the IPO (Opus Philosophicae Initiationis) an initiative that promotes dissemination, study and implementation Ethics of the different teachings of Ancient Wisdom .

Seen in Esoterismo-Gu a, by Pedro, editor of the White Brotherhood