Joseph Azize Solar Mysticism in Gurdjieff and Neoplatonism
نویسنده
چکیده
This article evaluates a striking similarity between two passages, one from the emperor Julian (‘the Apostate’), and the other from G. I. Gurdjieff (1865?-1949). These passages present the ‘sun’ as the source of ‘nous’ (Julian), or ‘higher centres’ (Gurdjieff). I suggest that these two faculties are effectively the same, as in both systems these faculties ground mystic experiences. In both systems, mystical experience is the experience of elevated human faculties which are nourished by the sun. This enquiry establishes that Gurdjieff was, directly or indirectly, aware of certain Neoplatonic ideas. It also suggests that Gurdjieff can be reasonably characterised as a mystic.
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