Aware of this, Solovyov devised a complex system that incorporated Platonic and Gnostic elements into a Christian philosophy and metaphysics. This would be more compelling than a creed. So he is not really calling for a Christian conversion per se, but rather for the more objective demand for a return to the Logos, and its terrestrial equivalent Sophia which he claimed is objectively knowable. Continue reading
the ignorant do not seek after wisdom because he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself. Continue reading
In order to be truly absolute and infinite, it must also be the principle of relativity and finitude. At this point, the Philosopher admits that this understanding brings him to a state of mystical enthusiasm. Sophia explains that is because the absolute principle is Love. In expressing itself as relative and finite, that is a form of self-denial and the affirmation of the other, the very definition of Love. Continue reading
Freedom is the opposite of compulsion. A serious man takes his life seriously. Continue reading
Analogously, we see this in the microcosm of our own mind. Our spirit manifests itself in a multiplicity of feelings, thoughts, and desires, while remaining one. This does not mean, however, that there is always an awareness of the unity of the spirit. On the contrary, usually a course of spiritual development is necessary to bring about this awareness of the I as subject of the multiplicity of experiences. This I is prior to its manifestations. Continue reading
When we plunge into those mute and motionless depths in which the muddy stream of our actuality has its source, we come into inward contact with the source of the universal life. Continue reading
The world we know is only a phenomenon for us and in us; it is our representation. To place it wholly outside ourselves, as something absolutely autonomous and independent of ourselves is a natural illusion. Continue reading
The highest life is contemplation. Ignorance is the cause of suffering and ignoranceis removed by knowledge of the self. Continue reading
he ideal of the pagan world was the Wise Man, Sage, or the Philosopher, as the one who remembers, i.e., the one who overcomes forgetting. The Buddhas are fully Awakened Ones who overcome sleep. Yet the noble path revealed by the Buddha could not overcome death. The Christian overcomes death. Continue reading
The stone exists; the plant exists and is living; the animal lives and is conscious of its life. Man understands the meaning of life according to ideas; the Sons of God actively realize this meaning or the perfect morel order in all things to the end. Continue reading