Vanity

Much is said about feminine vanity. Really, vanity is the living manifestation of selfesteem. The women before a mirror is a complete narcissus adoring herself, worshipping herself with frenzy. The woman adorns herself the best way she can, she paints herself, she curls her hair, the only purpose being, for others to say, “You are gorgeous, you are beautiful, you are divine!”, etc.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

The ‘I’ always enjoys it when people admire it, the ‘I’ adorns itself in order for others to admire it. The ‘I’ believes it is beautiful, pure, ineffable, holy, virtuous, etc. No one believes himself to be evil, all people consider themselves good and just.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

Self-esteem is something terrible. For example, the fanatics of Materialism do not accept the Superior Dimensions of Space due to self-esteem. They love themselves too much and as is natural, they demand that the Superior Dimensions of Space, of the Cosmos and of all ultra-sensible life subject themselves to their personal whims. They are not capable of going beyond their narrow criteria and their theories, beyond their beloved ego and their mental precepts.

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Pride

Death does not resolve the fatal problem of the ego. Only the death of the ‘I’ can resolve the problem of human pain, but the ‘I’ loves itself too much and does not want to die in any way. As long as the ‘I’ exists, the wheel of Samsara, the fatal wheel of human tragedy will turn.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

When we are really in love we renounce the ‘I’. In life, it is very rare to find someone who is really in love. Everyone is impassioned and that is not love. People become impassioned when they meet someone they like, but when they discover their same errors, qualities and defects in the other person, then the loved one serves them as a mirror where they can contemplate themselves totally. Really, they are not in love with the loved one, they are only in love with themselves and they enjoy seeing themselves in the mirror which the loved one is; that is where they meet and then suppose that they are in love. The ‘I’ enjoys itself before the glass mirror or feels happy seeing itself in the person that has its same qualities, virtues and defects.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

Preachers speak much about the truth, but, is it perhaps possible to know the truth when self-esteem exists in us?

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Pride

It is only by putting an end to self-esteem, it is only with the mind free of assumptions that we can experience, in the absence of the ‘I’, that which is the Truth…

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Pride

Erudite persons only listen in order to compare with their assumptions stored in the memory. Erudite persons only listen to translate according to their language of prejudices and preconceptions and to arrive at the conclusion that the teachings of the Revolution of the Dialectic are fantasies. This is how erudite persons always are, their minds are already so degenerated that they are not capable of discovering what is new.

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in The Mind, The “I” Is Memory

In its arrogance, the I wants everything to coincide with its theories and mental assumptions. The ‘I’ wants all its whims to be fulfilled and for the Cosmos in its totality, to subject itself to its laboratory experiments.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

The ego despises everyone who hurts its self-esteem. The ego adores its theories and preconceptions.

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Hatred

There is not a human being who does not adore himself. We have listened to individuals who enjoy entire hours and hours talking about themselves, of their marvels, of their talent, of their virtues, etc.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

The ego loves itself so much that it gets to envy others’ well-being. Women adorn themselves with many things, partly out of vanity and partly to awaken envy in other women. They all envy each other. They all envy the other’s dress, the beautiful necklace, etc. They all adore themselves and do not want to see themselves as less than the others; they are one hundred percent narcissists.

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Envy

Some pseudo-occultists or brothers of many sects adore themselves so much that they have gotten to believe themselves as being fountains of humility and sanctity, They feel proud of their own humility. They are terribly proud.

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Pride

There is not a pseudo-occultist little brother or little sister who deep within does not presume of sanctity, splendor and spiritual beauty.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

No pseudo-occultist brother or sister believes he or she is evil or perverse, they all presume of being saints and perfect even when they are really not only evil, hit perverse as well.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

The beloved ego adores itself too much and presumes, even when it does not say it, of being good and perfect.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

When the student goes astray, he believes he is wiser than the Masters of Gnosis. Really, the failures of the Ninth Sphere, those who do not succeed in passing the very long and hard trials of this Arcanum, in fact become terribly perverse demons. The worst of it is that no demon believes himself to he bad or perverse. Every demon believes himself to be saintly and wise.

The Perfect Matrimony, 1950 (ed. 1966)

Nonetheless, such people think the best of themselves. They boast of their virtues. They feel they are perfect generous helpful, noble, charitable, intelligent responsible etc. Practical life as a school is formidable, but to take it as a goal in itself is manifestly an absurdity.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

They are people who esteem themselves to the extreme; people who love themselves too much...

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

Nonetheless, as if our misfortune was not enough, negative emotions, self love and self esteem fascinate us, hypnotize us, never allowing us to remember ourselves, to see ourselves exactly the way we are...

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in Identification, The Remembrance of Oneself

To top off so much infamy, we only sympathize with ourselves, with our much “beloved ego.” Moreover, we feel antipathy and even hatred towards those who do not sympathize with us.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in Hatred

We love ourselves too much. We are one hundred percent narcissists; this is irrefutable, indisputable.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

In these circumstances, loving oneself too much, considering oneself in this way, it is clear that the “I” or better if we say the “I’s,” instead of disappearing, become horribly fortified.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in The Psychological Song

Therefore, as long as a human being has not dissolved these creations of hell, these aberrations of himself, undoubtedly in the deepest part, in the most profound part of him, he will continue being something that must not exist, a deformity an abomination. The most critical aspect of all of this is that the abominable person does not become aware of his own abomination. He believes himself to be beautiful, just, a good person, and he even complains about the lack of comprehension of others. He laments the ingratitude of his fellowmen. He says that they do not understand him. He cries affirming that they owe him, that they have paid him back with black coins, etc.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in The Psychological Song

He who is content with the state in which he lives, the dunce, the retardatary, the negligent, will never feel the desire to see himself, he will love himself too much and in no way will he be willing to revise his behaviour and his way of being. We will clearly say that various "I"s which we need to comprehend intervene in some comedies, dramas and tragedies of practical life.

The Great Rebellion, 1975 also in Laziness, The Great Rebellion, The Many I’s

What is your reality? Shadows and nothing more than that, shadows! You need to open the inner mind, but for that to happen you must cease to exist as miserable shadows, you must become merciless toward yourselves because, at present, you love yourselves a lot, you consider yourselves too much.

The Fifth Gospel Work Taste and Life Taste Third Chamber – Mexico City – 1976

But what is it that you love? Your dear Ego, your nakedness, your inner misery, the darkness in which you find yourselves? Is that what you love so much? No, brothers, reflect profoundly, reflect!

The Fifth Gospel Work Taste and Life Taste Third Chamber – Mexico City – 1976

We have known powerful enlightened Masters who have never read a book. We have also known great intellectual spiritualists who are totally ignorant, but who are certainly full of pride. The spiritualist sisters who have read a great deal are even worse; they are full of a frightening vanity. It is shameful to see them, how they speak, how they argue about things that they have never seen. They speak about reincarnation but they do not remember their past lives. They speak about karma, but they have never visited a tribunal of karma. They discuss cosmogenesis, but they have never consciously attended the dawning of a world in formation, in the astral body. They speak with authority about what they have not seen and they then, full of pride, sit down in their comfortable living room armchairs.

The Greater Mysteries, 1956

Those who are self-sufficient and proud have the opinion that teachers and spiritual guides are not necessary.

Fundamental Education, 1970 also in Pride

These are degenerate minds, decrepit minds that do not know how to listen or how to discover what is new; minds that do not accept reality because they are embottled in self-love; minds that love themselves excessively, that do not know about cultural refinement; crude, course minds, unpolished minds that listen only to their beloved ego.

Fundamental Education, 1970 also in Pride

We must never forget that hypocrisy and the silly vanities of our false personality make of us persons that are dull, rancid, retarded, reactionary, and incapable of seeing that which is the new.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in Hypocrisy

Certainly, the characteristics of the kalkian personality are unmistakable; before everything else, the self-sufficiency and the terrible pride and the frightening vanity based on theories. We see, for example, in the schools of psychoanalysis, parapsycho1o etc., what terrible pride and self-sufficiency seize those people with true kalkian personalities. They stand out not only in certain groups but they also appear on television, they appear in the press, on radio, and have the entire world completely poisoned with a type of vibrations which in esotericism is called veneniooskirian.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

There are also people who are very full of themselves. These people do not want to listen to the word, they do not have an empty place, a little place for our word, they are full of themselves: of their conceits, their pride, their fatuities, their vanities, their theories, etc.; therefore, the word has nowhere to enter. Where would it enter if these people are full of themselves?

The Fifth Gospel The Metaphysical Value of Knowing How to Listen also in Pride

Many students of pseudo esoteric and pseudo occultist schools, full of refined metaphysical ambitions, commit the error of dividing their beloved ‘I’ into two arbitrary and absurd halves.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66

They classify the first half as the superior ‘I’ and the second half is looked at despairingly saying, “that is the inferior ‘I’.” The most curious thing of all of this, the most comical and at the same time tragic, is to see that wretched inferior ‘I’ desperately fighting to evolve and to perfect itself in order to one day attain the longed for union with the superior ‘I’. The poor mind of the intellectual animal is ridiculous, fabricating the superior ‘I’, conferring upon it divine attributes, giving it arbitrary powers to control the mind and the heart. The same ‘I’ divides itself in two, the same ‘I’ wants to mix itself after having divided itself in two, the same ‘I’ separates itself and wants to unite itself once again. The ambitions of the ‘I’ do not have limits, it wants and desires to make itself a Master, Deva, God, etc., etc.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66

The “I” enjoys being divided between superior and inferior, the “I” likes to think that a part of itself is divine, eternal, immortal; the “I” loves to be praised, to have homage rendered, to be worshipped, to have divine status, etc.

The Buddha's Necklace, 1967

Before anything else, it is indispensable to carefully analyze this matter of ego. Diverse schools of a pseudo-esoteric and pseudo-occult type emphasize the absurd idea of a double “I”: the first they denominate Superior “I”; the second they called Inferior “I’. We say that whether Superior or Inferior, they are two sections of the same thing. Much has been talked about the Alter-Ego and it is even praised or deified, considering it divine.

Yes, There Is a Hell, a Devil and Karma, 1973

In the name of the truth, it is indispensable to say that the Superior “I” or Inferior “I” are two aspects of the same ego and that therefore, to praise the first one and underestimate the second one, is without a doubt something that is illogical.

Yes, There Is a Hell, a Devil and Karma, 1973

The Superior ‘I’ and inferior ‘I’ are only two sections of one thing, they are different aspects of the self, facets of hell.

The Secret Doctrine of Anahuac, 1974

Since superior and inferior are two portions of the same thing, it is not irrelevant to state the following corollary: superior “I” and inferior “I” are two aspects of the same tenebrous and pluralized ego.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in The Many I’s

The so-called divine “I” or superior “I,” alter ego or anything of the sort, is certainly a trick of the “Myself,” a form of self deceit.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

‘When the “I” wants to continue here and in the beyond, it deceives itself with the false concept of being a divine and immortal “I”

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

Those who worship the Ego are self-idolaters. There are many schools that emphasize definitively that within each one of us there is a superior “I” and an inferior “I”. There are those who assume that the superior “I” must control the inferior one in order to triumph, and that then we will turn into Mahatmas, into Gods. Those who proceed like this do not know that inferior and superior are two sections of the same thing.

The Fifth Gospel The Reality and Fantasy of our Psychology Public Lecture – 1976

The mind, upon having the bad pleasure of creating the superior ‘I’ as a separate and super divine entity, often falsifies reality mistakenly supposing that said entity is the Being, the Intimate, what is real. The mind arbitrarily wants the superior ‘I’, which the mind has fabricated, to be the Being, and it foolishly attributes to it things it fabricates, things that have nothing to do with the Being. These tricks of the mind are similar to counterfeiting money; the mind forges a counterfeit Being, the aforementioned false bill is the superior ‘I’.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66 also in The Being Is the Being, The Mind

Whoever has at sometime experienced the Being during meditation is forever cured of the danger of falling into mythomania. The Being, the Intimate, what is real, is completely distinct from that which the pseudo esoterisists and pseudo occultists call superior ‘I’ or divine ‘I’.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66 also in The Science of Meditation

We have to put an end to the process of the human I in order for the Being to be born. Let us not commit the error of dividing ourselves into a Superior I and an Inferior I. That which spiritualist students call the superior I, is not the Being, but rather a refined form of the human I, a subtle modality of self-defense that the human I uses to sustain itself and remain. It is a refined concept of Satan, a subtle escape that the human I uses. We have to die in order to live. We have to lose it all in order to win it all. We have to die with the death of the cross in order to have the right to live. The Being, full of glory and power, is born on top of the cadaver of the human I. The man-I wants to show off everywhere, he wants everyone to applaud and admire him; he lets his hair and beard grow, he wears strange clothes to appear publicly on the streets, in order for the gullible to call him Master, elder brother, etc.

The Greater Mysteries, 1956

I did not really see in the Ego anything worthy of being adored, any type of divinity, etc. On arriving at this point in my exposition, it would not be strange that some of the participant s will object to my words, saying, “Possibly you, sir, saw your inferior “I”, the sum of psychic aggregates as oriental Buddhism affirms; your concept would be different if you had perceived your Superior “I” in all its greatness”

Yes, There Is a Hell, a Devil and Karma, 1973

Nobody wants to see their beloved “I” reduced to cosmic dust, just like that, because so and so said it in a lecture hail.

Yes, There Is a Hell, a Devil and Karma, 1973

Since the Gnostics like to talk with concrete, clear and definitive facts, I will not have any problem now in narrating another unexpected happening with the purpose of demonstrating that the Superior “I” does not exist.

Yes, There Is a Hell, a Devil and Karma, 1973

It is a crime to boast about the power and the Light, which does not emanate from ourselves, but from the Being.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

Any part of the Being which is bottled up in one or another psychic aggregate, living personification of a psychological defect, intends to boast of itself and believe itself to be sovereign.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in The Twelve Powers Are Within Us

Unfortunately, the adorers of the “I” do not accept this. They believe themselves to be Gods. They believe that they already possess those “glorious bodies” that Paul of Tarsus spoke about. They assume that the “I” is divine. Nobody can erase One does not know what to do with such people. The doctrine is explained to them; yet, they do not understand it. They always hold fast to the sands upon which they built their house. They are always engrossed within their dogmas, within their whims, within their foolishness.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

Well, those schools of a pseudo-esoteric and pseudo-occultist type make one believe that everyone is already a complete septenary; first mistake. The second, the second is extremely serious, highly serious: they praise the dear Ego. Never in life have they self-observed. Their sense of self-observation is atrophied; they have never wanted to self-observe. Because if they were to self-observe, they would realize what is the dear Ego that they extol so much and refer to as divine. Do you see it? This is extremely serious.

The Fifth Gospel Particularities of Objective Reason Conference – Mexico City – 1975 also in Identification

The mind fabricates the comical superior ‘I’ to its own taste, it sees it as a Mahatma and gives it a sonorous name and then becomes self exalted falling into mythomania.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66 also in Clairvoyance, Lying

We know the case of a mythomaniac who let his beard and hair grow, dressed himself in a Christian tunic, and told everybody that he was none other than the very reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Naturally there were many imbeciles who not only adored him, but that still continue adoring him.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66 also in Clairvoyance, Lying

The mythomaniacs have a terrible and frightening self love; they live much attached to themselves, they adore their false bill, their so boasted superior ‘I’. Every mythomaniac is a ludicrous psychopath, every mythomaniac excessively overestimates himself and considers every inch of himself a god, whom people are compelled to adore.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66 also in Clairvoyance, Lying, The Words He Uses

Only through profound meditation can we experience the Being, the Intimate. The experience of the Being, the Intimate, transforms us radically. Mythomaniacs often adulterate said experience with unconscious mental self projections, which they then hurry to tell to everybody. Mythomaniacs are often victims of self-deceit and believing themselves to be gods, they aspire for everyone to adore them.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66 also in Clairvoyance, Lying, The Science of Meditation

Therefore, the human person, the intellectual animal called man, is worth less than the ash of a cigarette. But, the fools feel themselves to be giants. Unfortunately, in all the pseudo-esoteric currents there abound mythomaniacs, individuals who feel themselves to be Masters, and enjoy it when others call them Masters; individuals who believe themselves to be Gods, individuals who presume to be Saints. The only one who is truly great is the Spirit, the Intimus. We, the intellectual animals, are leaves that the wind tosses about. Leaves of the Tree of Life; that is all. “Man is a hybrid mixture of plant and ghost.”... “a poor shadow that can only achieve immortality if it fabricates that which is called Soul”.

The Perfect Matrimony, 1950 (ed. 1966) also in Lying, The Being Is the Being

The Mythomaniac type of person is the one who boasts of being a God, who feels himself to be super-transcended, who wishes to be worshipped by all of the world.

Runic Magic, 1969 also in Clairvoyance, Lying

You must be very sure that when a sleeping mythomaniac works in the Forge of the Cyclops, very soon they will abandon this work, and will say: I already achieved the Second Birth, I am a liberated one, I have renounced Nirvana for the love of humanity, I am a God We have seen many ugly things within our beloved Gnostic Movement. It becomes dreadful to see the mythomaniacs, the sleepy, hallucinated ones prophesying madness, slandering their neighbours, qualifying others as black magicians, etc. Certainly, this is dreadful.

Runic Magic, 1969 also in Clairvoyance, Lying, Slander

The Mythomaniac believes that occultism is like the twinkling of an eye and overnight he declares himself to be Mahatma, a resurrected Master, Hierophant, etc.

The Mystery of the Golden Blossom, 1971 also in Clairvoyance, Lying

The Mythomaniac generally has impossible lures and invariably suffers from what is called "DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR".

The Mystery of the Golden Blossom, 1971 also in Clairvoyance, Lying

The Mythomaniac wants to be Enlightened overnight presumes to be wise and believes himself a God.

The Mystery of the Golden Blossom, 1971

Having arrived at this part of our conference, I have to say that, regrettably, many texts of an occult, or esoteric type, etc., take one to mystical pride, and that is serious. Distinguished, very venerable authors, state that we are Gods, that each one of us is a God. Obviously, this declaration fortifies in us the mystical pride, which causes a lot of damage on the path of self-realization, because one, being conceited, convinced that he is indeed a God, can become a mythomaniac.

The Fifth Gospel The Need to Crystallize the Soul Second Chamber – Mexico City – January 1977 also in Pride

God is the Father who is in secret; only he is God. The Father can take the man if he is very perfect, if he is a Bodhisattva; put him in his mind, or put him in his heart, or put him to work outside himself, somewhere, to do something. But for that man, that good-for-nothing, to feel that he is God, is mythomania of the worst class, of the worst taste.

The Fifth Gospel The Destruction of our Lunar Inheritance Third Chamber – Mexico City – June 1977 also in Lying, Pride, The Being Is the Being

We men are men, and nothing more than that: men. God is God, but we, men, are men. The one who feels very wise because he has some knowledge of pseudo-esotericism or pseudo-occultism here, in the mind, and thinks that he is already a great Initiate, has fallen into mythomania, he is full of himself.

The Fifth Gospel The Destruction of our Lunar Inheritance Third Chamber – Mexico City – June 1977 also in Lying, Pride

(All who say: I am a Great Master, I am a Great Initiate, I possess Great powers, I am the reincarnation of the genie. Such and such a hero, even when he really is one, should know that he is a Prince of this world, his Satan is the one that glorifies himself about all these things. Really no one has anything to be proud about or to be vain about, because as men, down here we are miserable Sinners, splinters, dust of the earth; and up there in the heavens, one is only a Super divine atom of the Absolute and Abstract Space).

Logos, Mantram, Theurgy, 1959 also in Logos, Mantram, Theurgy

“Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God”. This angel did not allow himself to be praised. Nonetheless, thousands of disciples enjoy being praised by people. They are the ones who say: I am a great Seer, nothing is hidden for me, I do not ignore anything. I am a great Initiate, I am a Master, I know everything etc. Thus, this is how Satan enjoys his self praise. The psychological “I” is Satan. He is the one that says I am the reincarnation of a great Master, or of a great man.

The Aquarian Message, 1960

Egoic self-praise, the cult to the I, the over-esteem of the self: this is paranoia, idolatry of the worst kind.

The Secret Doctrine of Anahuac, 1974

Seif-aggrandisement is the biggest error that many modem pseudo-esotericists and pseudo occultists have. They love themselves so much, and they yearn for the evolution of the misery they carry within. They want to move on, and long for the extension of that, which in no way deserves either perfection or perpetuation.

The Secret Doctrine of Anahuac, 1974 also in Evolution, Involution, Revolution

In psychological matters, we have been able to clearly verify that paranoid subjects, self worshippers and mythomaniacs would never abandon the cult to their beloved ego for anything in the world.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

The mythomaniacs, megalomaniacs, ego worshippers, narcissists and paranoid ones would never accept the thesis of the “Plurality of Thinkers,” because they love themselves too much. They believe themselves to be “Superman’s daddy” or “Wonder Woman mommy.”

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

Megalomaniacs believe themselves to be Gods, Mahatmas, etc., without even suspecting that they do not even have an individual mind and Conscious Will.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in The Many I’s

Ego worshippers adore their beloved ego so much that they would never accept the multiplicity of egos within themselves.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in The Many I’s

The intellectual animal is so hypnotized by his fantasy, that he dreams that he is a lion or eagle when in truth he is nothing more than a vile slug from the mud of the earth. The megalomaniac would never accept these aforementioned affirmations. Obviously, regardless of what people might say, he feels to be an arch-hierophant, without suspecting that fantasy is merely nothing. “Fantasy is nothing else but fantasy.” Fantasy is a real force, which acts universally upon mankind. It keeps the intellectual humanoid in a state of sleep (hypnotic state), causing him to believe that he is already a human being, that he possesses true individuality, a will, awakened consciousness and a mind of his own, etc.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975 also in Awakening, Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition, The Many I’s

The transition to another level of the Being includes, therefore, a leap and that leap is rebellious, it is never of an evolving type, it is always revolutionary, dialectic. There are men, busybodies, who feel they are like a god; this type of individuals are megalomaniacs of the worst kind, of the worst taste. The one who feels he is a sage because he has some pseudo-esoteric teachings in his mind and thinks that he is already a great initiate, has fallen into megalomania he is full of himself.

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Evolution, Involution, Revolution, The Level of Being

Unfortunately, people are self-enclosed in that stinking atmosphere of their own mind, adoring the beloved Ego, worshipping it. The only thing that remains is putting it on an altar with a couple of candles and kneeling before it.

The Fifth Gospel The Wonders of Awakened Consciousness Public Lecture – 1975

May none of us think he is perfect, because perfect, only the Father who is in the Heavens is perfect; we all, starting with me –who is the one delivering this conference here before you–, must consider ourselves imperfect. It is lamentable that in the Gnostic Movement there are still personalities who think they are perfect; it is lamentable that in our Gnostic Movement there are still mythomaniacs, people who feel sublime and hierarchical. I, as founding president of this great Movement, would never feel perfect, because I am perfectly convinced that only he, the Lord, the Father, is perfect. But in the Gnostic Movement, one sometimes sees astonishing incon-gruities: people full of error who think they are wise, people who feel very holy when their hands are full of coal; people who feel very elevated hierarchically, transformed into Hierophants when, in reality and in truth, they have not even started to tread the revolutionary vertical path.

The Fifth Gospel The Verticality of Existence First Gnostic Youth Encounter – Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico – July 10. 1975 also in Clairvoyance, Hypocrisy, Lying

In the Gnostic Lumisials the priest only uses a sky blue tunic with a white cord at the waist. He also wears sandals. The Isis of the Gnostic Lumisials only covers her head with a white veil. That is all. In other times we ordained that those attending use their own tunics, a tunic similar to the one, which each one has internally in the Intimus, according to his esoteric grade. Later we had to prohibit this custom due to abuses by many of those present who, believing them selves to be High Initiates dressed in beautiful tunics and gave them selves sonorous names. As well, this lent itself to pride. Many who were seen dressed in tunics of certain grades were filled with vanity and pride during the rite, and looked with scorn on those of a lesser esoteric grade.

The Perfect Matrimony, 1950 (ed. 1966)

Vainglorious women curl their hair, dress and adorn themselves with everything they can so as to arouse envy in other women, but vanity also disguises itself with the robe of humility.

Fundamental Education, 1970 also in Pride

Tradition tells us of Aristippus, the Greek philosopher who, wanting to demonstrate to the whole world his wisdom and humility, dressed in a very old cloak all torn and tattered, grasped in his right hand the staff of philosophy and passed through the streets of Athens. When Socrates saw him coming he exclaimed, “Oh Aristippus, your vanity shows through the holes in your clothing.”

Fundamental Education, 1970 also in Pride

Some people dress humbly, (not doing anything ostentatious) but they have sublime pride, boasting of their simplicity; they hide their pride, not only from others, but also from themselves.

The Buddha's Necklace, 1967

Many are the devotees of the path who do not covet money, but covet psychic powers. There are many devotees of the path, in the world, whose humility astonishes others; they can calmly sleep on the floor, at the door of a rich man and are content with the crumbs that fall from the master’s table, but they are proud of possessing many virtues or boast of their humility.

Esoteric Treatise of Hermetic Astrology, 1967 also in Greed, Pride

Vanity also dresses in rags and many are the aspirants who dress poorly and walk the streets in total untidiness, but vanity can also be seen through the holes of their clothes. Innumerable aspirants have not been able to abandon Self-Esteem; they love themselves too much and they suffer the unutterable when someone snubs them.

Esoteric Treatise of Hermetic Astrology, 1967 also in Pride

It would be the breaking point of absurdity to think that an Initiate with the Ego very well dead would commit the crime of dumping garbage or filthy things into the lakes or rivers. However, it is obvious that the ‘I’ enjoys such crimes, it delights in doing evil, it does not feel compassion for all creatures. The Ego does not want to understand that when the liquid element (water) is infected, as a fact, he is damaging everything that is with life. 37. Hail, thou, Ahi, who comest forth from Heaven, I have never made haughty my voice. The Ego is lofty, haughty, proud, arrogant, imperious, contemptuous, disdainful. It is accustomed, nonetheless, to hide its pride under the tunic of Aristippus (a vesture filled with holes and patches). The Ego even gives to himself the luxury of uttering with fake meekness and pietistic poses; yet, through the holes of its clothing its vanity is shown. 38 Hail, thou, Spirit, who givest commands to the Initiates, I have never cursed the Gods. Perverse people abominate and denigrate the Gods, Angels or Devas.

Parsifal Unveiled, 1970 also in Hypocrisy, Pride

We resemble vain peacocks with our fine clothes and shiny shoes, although all around us and throughout the world there are unhappy, undernourished and wretched millions. Natural, spontaneous and ingenuous simplicity and beauty, without any artifice nor conceited make up, have disappeared in the female sex. Now we are modern, that is life. People have become dreadfully cruel, kindness is not found, nobody has compassion for anyone any more.

The Great Rebellion, 1975 also in Gratitude and Kindness

Vanity is also accustomed to being disguised with the costume of modesty. A vain painter or writer can appear in public displaying a costume of a beggar.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in Pride

The pedantic, the vain, the proud, believing themselves to be very humble, wear the robe of Aristippus. Humility is a very exotic flower, whoever boasts of humility is full of pride.

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Pride, The Flower That Is Born

Look at the lady who gets ready in front of the mirror, who applies make-up on the bags under her eyes, who brushes her eyebrows, who puts on some enormous artificial eyelashes, who colors her lips red, etc. Look at her dressed in the latest fashion, see how she looks at herself in the mirror, in love with herself! She is convinced that she is very beautiful. If we told her that she is frightfully ugly, she would be hurt in her vanity, and fatally. She has a terrible fantasy, her form of fantasy makes her see herself as she is not, it makes her see herself extraordinarily beautiful.

The Fifth Gospel Imagination as POWER, Fantasy as Illness also in Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition, Pride

Conceit has so many faces, it is the worst enemy of the dissolution of the Ego. If one becomes conceited because of the virtue of chastity, in fact, one loses it. The one who says: “I am chaste, I am working in the Ninth Sphere, I am gnostic one hundred percent!”, unquestionably, deep down they turn out to be perverse fornicators. The one who says: “I have already attained humility, I have no pride over anyone; I handle myself well with everyone; even the most unhappy ones, I have esteem, appreciation for them; in my house I receive everyone!”. Well, the one who becomes conceited by the virtue of humility, undoubtedly resembles Antisthenes, the philosopher of Greece, who put on a robe full of tremendous holes to show everyone his humility, grabbed the stick of philosophy and went through the streets of Athens, and arriving before Socrates, the latter exclaimed: “Oh, Antisthenes, your vanity is visible through the holes of your garment”.

The Fifth Gospel The Wonders of Awakened Consciousness Public Lecture – 1975 also in Pride

The vain one obviously feels wounded when someone hurts him, and he sacrifices others on the altar of his vanity, so he can have what dazzles people the most: the brand-new car, the luxurious residence, the elegant suits, etc. It does not matter that he has to exploit many people, if by that means or by different means, he has to get the necessary money which allows him to show his fatuity to the world.

The Fifth Gospel The Verticality of Existence First Gnostic Youth Encounter – Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico – July 10. 1975 also in Pride

Somebody hits us and we react by hitting back; somebody harasses us for the rent payment and we react by anxiously looking for money; somebody hurts our self love and we react crazily.

Christmas Messages, 1952–66

If you want to triumph in life, don’t criticize anyone. Whoever criticizes others is weak, while the one who is critical of himself from moment to moment is a giant. Criticism is useless because it hurts the pride of others and provokes the resistance of the victim who then seeks to justify himself. Criticism provokes an inevitable reaction against its own author. If you truly want to succeed, listen to this advice: do not criticize anyone. The man or woman who knows how to live without criticizing anyone does not provoke resistance or reactions on the part of his fellowman and, consequently, creates an atmosphere of success and progress. On the other hand, he who criticizes others has many enemies. We have to remember that human beings are full of pride and vanity and this pride and vanity, which is inherent in them, produces a reaction (resentment, hate, etc.) that is directed towards the one who criticizes. We can conclude, then, that the one who criticizes others inevitably fails. The one who wants to correct others should best begin by correcting himself. This gives better results and is less dangerous.

Introduction to Gnosis also in Hatred, Hypocrisy, Resentment & Generosity, Resentment and Generosity, Slander, The Secret Weapon of the Ego

At times, anger is due to self-love or to hurt vanity.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in Anger

Vanity is a charlatan by nature and when it is hurt, it thunders with great anger. Many are the Saints who have revested themselves with the costume of vanity.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in Anger

When Socrates saw him approaching, he exclaimed: “Oh Aristipus, your vanity is shown through the holes of your vesture.” Vanity and pride are use to being dangerously associated.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

A wealthy woman could buy an antique car from the beginning of the century, in order to have it in her home. Such eccentricity is caused by dint of pride. However, for vanity, she would prefer a fine new car, in order to drive on the streets of the city.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

We would accept many things because of vanity, yet, because of pride we would reject them.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

Vanity is a relative of pride.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

Vanity is a charlatan. Pride is silent.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

Someone will speak about certain things because of vanity, yet, will keep silent about them because of pride.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

Hurt vanity causes frightful suffering. However, hurt pride can cause death. When vanity and pride are united, they can perform monstrosities.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in Pride

When an artist is hurt in his vanity, then he is apt to fall into terribly painful situations. A fruit bearing olive tree is like the one who works on himself and who trusts in the grace of God from all eternity.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in Pride

Then, who is the one that is causing us the suffering, the supreme pain? Is it not perhaps the demon of jealousy? Obviously! Which other demon? The “I” of self-love, which has been mortally wounded. The “I” of self-love is one hundred percent selfish. And what other one? The “I” of self-importance; it feels very important and will say: “I, who am Mr. so-and-so! And this woman comes here with that kind of behavior?” See what terrible pride of Mister self-importance! Or that other one of intolerance, which says: “Out, adulteress; I condemn you, evil one; I am virtuous, untouchable!” Therein lies the crime within one, and this type of “I’s” are the ones which cause pain.

The Fifth Gospel Gnostic Consequences of the Immolation of Pain Lecture – Interview – Mexico City – 1976 also in Jealousy, Pride, Suffering

If someone were to hurt their vanity, what would happen? They would become enemies of that someone, right? Then, are those gentlemen who manage the multitudes, masters of themselves? Do they have an individual mind? It is obvious that they do not, anyone can play with them. But if we were to say a flattering word to one of those representatives of modem art, what would happen? They would radiate with joy, right? Why? Because we have praised them. If the audience does not applaud an artist, it destroys him, because that artist has no individuality, he depends on that audience. This is how, in every respect, we show our own weakness.

The Fifth Gospel The Mind and Ethics of Resurrected Masters Third Chamber – Mexico City – December 31. 1975 also in Pride

If one does not become identified with vanity, one does not care about walking on the street even if with mended trousers. Why? Because one is not identified with vanity. If we first of all become identified with ourselves and then with the vanities of the exterior world, then we cannot forgive; let us remember the Lord’s prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...” But I say something more, it is not enough to simply forgive, but we also have to cancel the debts. Someone could forgive an enemy but would never ever cancel the debts. We have to be sincere, we need to cancel...

The Revolution of the Dialectic also in Gratitude and Kindness

Suppose an insulter insults us, hurts our self-love. We suffer horribly and we answer the insult with an insult, but if there is no one to get hurt inside here, who would answer?

The Fifth Gospel The Serious Damages of Mental Representations Third Chamber – Mexico City – June 1977 also in Anger, Suffering

Let us suppose that the insult had words that were going to hurt our self-love, but if the “I” of self-love does not exist, who would suffer? Suppose the words were meant to slander us, to say that we are thieves. Let us suppose that we, in reality and in truth, are not thieves in the first place, and secondly, well, we do not have the “I” that loves itself so much, that of self-love. Who would suffer?

The Fifth Gospel The Serious Damages of Mental Representations Third Chamber – Mexico City – June 1977 also in Anger, Slander, Suffering

As long as one identifies with oneself, one cannot forgive anyone. It hurts to be insulted, it hurts to be humiliated, it hurts to be despised. Why? Because one has the “I” of pride, one has the “I” of self-love in there, very much alive; and as long as he has the “I” of self-love, it hurts when another person wounds his self-love. Thus, if we do not identify, then it is easy for us to forgive, and moreover, I say, to cancel the debts, which is better.

The Fifth Gospel The Destruction of our Lunar Inheritance Third Chamber – Mexico City – June 1977 also in Anger, Gratitude and Kindness, Identification

The man-I wants to occupy the front row seats in the synagogues and in public places. The man-I has no modesty; he says it all, he speaks about everything, he tells everything without any modesty whatsoever. The man-I, like the artist, works in order for others to applaud him and admire him.

The Greater Mysteries, 1956

The “I” wants to escalate, to rise, to show off, and to make itself noticed everywhere.

Endocrinology & Criminology, 1957

Yet now the “I” will be alert; his passions will not flourish so easily. He will disguise himself with the appearance of a beautiful child, but now it is more dangerous, more sly; he does not want money but power; he does not want fame but honors from the world, from the human flock; he wants to receive reverence from the human flock and to receive kisses on his hand from them, so that they can call him great Prelate or great Master. Now, he writes books, dictates lectures and enjoys talking about his great deeds. As the actors from theatres, he enjoys the applause. He always has a philosophical excuse to amend all of his evil actions. He shaves his crowned head or lets his beard and hair grow long; he dissimulates sanctity in all of his moods; he disguises his anger with severity and his pride with beggar’s attitudes; he undresses himself without shame in order to show his great powers, and in gatherings he always craves for the first chairs of the first row. Nevertheless, for God there is neither space nor time. But while the human being awakens from his dream of separatism, within which only the impulse of his passion moves to the degree that these are governing the world; he lives dead in regard to God, to himself and to fellowmen. He polishes his personality throughout his reincarnations; thus, his body and face become beautiful or ugly according to his deeds (read The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde). Only his eyes are slowly changing and he leaves the unmistakable seal of his way of being, thinking, feeling and loving in all of that which he does. Then, one day tired of his painful pilgrim life over the earth, he stops, turns and goes back towards his Beloved One. The liberation of this type of human is what the Divine Master Jesus Christ refers to in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Aztec Christic Magic, 1973 also in Anger, Hypocrisy, Return and Reincarnation

The Ego wants to rise, to climb to the top of the ladder, so that he then can boast of himself, to show that he is somebody in life, etc. The ‘I’ is a pretender, mischief-maker, prankster, troublemaker, trickster, friend of plot and conspiracy, sly, obscure, dangerous. 41. Hail, thou, Spirit, whose head is holy, who comest forth from thy cavern, I have not increased my wealth through illicit ways.

Parsifal Unveiled, 1970

All of us human beings, deep within, are narcissists, in love with our own selves. Observe a singer on the theater stage: he is madly in love with himself, he adores, idolizes himself, and when applause pours on him, he reaches the climax of his self-adoration, for that is precisely what he wants, what he aspires to, what he awaits with infinite thirst. Really, vanity is the living manifestation of self esteem. The ‘I’ adorns itself in order for others to adore it.

The Revolution of the Dialectic

Many mistaken causes and effects are processed with conceit and vanity. The conceited one wants to climb up to the top of the ladder, to make himself noticed, he wants to trample on honors, dignities, hearts and feelings, without any interest in the pain of others.

The Fifth Gospel The Verticality of Existence First Gnostic Youth Encounter – Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico – July 10. 1975 also in Pride

In its more complicated forms, the “I” becomes subtly covetous; it no longer covets nobility titles, but it covets divine titles. It wants everyone to call it a Master, it wants hierarchic and esoteric titles, and it loses very long infinite eternities caught up in the karma of the worlds. It no longer covets gold or silver, but it covets occult powers. It no longer covets honors and greatness, but it covets initiations and degrees. It no longer covets lordships or earthly kingdoms, but it covets internal kingdoms, lordships and majesties in the superior worlds. It enjoys governing paradises and although it may seem incredible to you, it even gets to feel jealous of its own divine hierarchy arid becomes an ineffable tempter. It enjoys governing worlds and suns, and offers its edens to the bodhisattvas of compassion. It no longer wants to rest on soft beds and in comfortable earthly mansions, but it longs to rest in the ineffable bliss of Nirvana. These beings do not like the narrow, hard and difficult path. It enjoys itself in nirvanic, celestial rests, while poor humanity suffers and cries. They also offer us their seductive paradises in order to impede for us the entrance to the Absolute.

The Greater Mysteries, 1956 also in Envy, Greed

Nowadays, the whole world wants to be a great lord and sit in the front seats of the synagogues; they all want to be great avatars and great Masters; no one feels like being a child. They all know too much; they preach those teachings but they do not apply them. None of them wants to have a child’s mind; it does not please them. The brothers of the different schools, orders, lodges, etc. are bookworms; they believe that they know a lot and becoming a child even seems ridiculous to them. But, they auto-declare themselves to be like children, just out of pride; that is the present humanity. They all say that they are famous reincarnations. No one wants to be less, no one wants to be the least of all. In order to receive the Crown of Life, one must have a child’s mind.

The Greater Mysteries, 1956 also in Envy

One of the gravest dangers that attack the devotee is vanity and pride. Many students fills themselves with pride and vanity when they begin to perceive the reality of the supra-sensible worlds. They then qualify themselves as masters, yet they have not achieved the complete development of their internal powers. They begin to mistakenly judge others, based on their incomplete clairvoyant perceptions.

The Yellow Book, 1959 also in Clairvoyance, Pride

It is useless for us to be conceited about ranks, honors, diplomas, money, vain subjective rationalism, aforementioned virtues, etc.

Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology, 1975

The external man does not do a thing without being securely protected, he feels badly rewarded, feels sorry for himself, self-esteems himself too much, if he is a soldier he aspires to be a general, if a factory worker he protests when not promoted, he wants his merits to be duly acknowledged, etc.

The Great Rebellion, 1975 also in The Great Rebellion, The Psychological Song

We are not interested in anyone’s money, nor are we interested in monthly fees, or brick temples, of cement or clay, because we are conscious visitors in the cathedral of the soul and we know that wisdom is of the soul. Flattery tires us, praises should only belong to our Father who is in secret and watches us minutely.

Zodiacal Course, 1951

The poet imagined everything but an insult. Great was his surprise when with a compassionate look and furrowed brow the saint closed the door saying to the poor poet, “Go away my friend, go, go… Such things do not please me, I abhor flattery… The vanities of this world disgust me, this life is illusory… I follow the path of humility and modesty.” The poor poet, wanting only some change, instead got an insult from the saint, a hurtful word, a slap in the face, and with his aching heart and his poetry torn to pieces he passed slowly...slowly...slowly...through the streets of the city.

Fundamental Education, 1970

Beloved brethren, I have the high honor of inviting you to a constant epistolary interchange, but please I beg you, I beseech you, do not send me any type of praise, adulations or cheers.

The Solar Bodies, 1968

Remember, that all of them who betrayed us in the past, they really were tremendous adulators.

Runic Magic, 1969

Truly, we are not more because they praise us, neither are we less because they condemn us, because we are always what we are Salvation within the Truth is radical.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

They want to see us happy? They give us a few pats on the shoulder and some flattering words in the ear, and we would be content. They want to see us full of anger? They tell us a word that hurts our “I” of self-love; they tell us any hard word and they will also see us offended, angry.

The Fifth Gospel The Pendular Conduct of Humanity Third Chamber Mexico City July 13th, 1977 also in Anger, The Law of the Pendulum

On a certain occasion, I had the physical body of Thomas a Kempis. I wrote, in a book called The Imitation of Christ, the following sentence: “I am not more because they praise me, nor less because they reproach me, because I always am what I am.” That is clear, everything has double sides: praise and reproach, triumph and defeat, everything has two sides.

The Fifth Gospel The Pendular Conduct of Humanity Third Chamber Mexico City July 13th, 1977 also in The Law of the Pendulum

In reality, there is no basis for our self-importance because we are nothing; each one of us is nothing but a vile worm of the mud of the earth. What are we in front of the infinite, in front of the galaxy in which we live, in front of those millions of worlds that populate the endless space? Why do we feel self-important?

The Fifth Gospel The Exercise of SELF-KNOWLEDGE also in Pride

Disciple: Venerable Master, the vanity of believing oneself to be a good Gnostic, is it a representation that can consequently bottle up a part of the Essence?

The Fifth Gospel The Danger of Mental Effigies Third Chamber – Mexico City – June 1977 also in Pride

Master: Well, that is a different thing. If one has the vanity to think of oneself as a good Gnostic, it is due to the “I” of vanity. There is no effigy there, there is no representation there. Quite simply, one feels really important; that is all. Let us see...

The Fifth Gospel The Danger of Mental Effigies Third Chamber – Mexico City – June 1977 also in Pride

In the protest there were words that were, not of a grotesque type, but quite ungrateful. I did not feel anger, due to the fact that I had dissolved it; but some pain in the heart, yes. I immediately devoted myself to meditation to know what this pain which I had felt in my heart consisted of, and I could clearly verify the crude realism of an “I” of self-love which had been wounded.

The Fifth Gospel Didactics for Buddhist Annihilation Conference at the end of the Missionary Course – Guadalajara, Jalisco. Mexico – From June 15 to August 30. 1976 also in Anger, Gratitude and Kindness, The Science of Meditation

Unfortunately, people have been made in accordance with the model of self-love. It is obvious that we must eliminate from ourselves, layer by layer, the different aspects of self-love. A large part of that which is called love –that the men feel for the women and vice versa– is deep down nothing more than an extension of self-love. It is very difficult to eliminate self-love from ourselves. The “I” of self-love must be disintegrated, must be annulled, must be reduced to ashes, if we truly want to learn to see the point of view of others.

The Fifth Gospel The Transvalorization of the Esoteric Work Third Chamber – Mexico City – 1975 also in Pride

Truly, you only possess the lunar bodies and the animal ego, that is all. Then, why do you fall into mythomania? Your soul, your Essence, is bottled up asleep within the ‘I’. Then, on what is your mystic pride based on?

Runic Magic, 1969 also in Pride

If we slay the "I"s of pride, of vanity, of conceit, of self-importance, the ridiculous scenes of these defects will draw to a close for lack of actors.

The Great Rebellion, 1975 also in The Great Rebellion

Obviously, my dear brothers, we need to provoke a change in ourselves. If a mage, by a work of magic, dissolved vanity and conceit, people would find themselves totally transformed. Unfortunately, they would not know what to do, they would find themselves disoriented, they would not find meaning in life, they would commit suicide, they would die. And nevertheless, one has to dissolve those two ingredients: conceit and vanity.

The Fifth Gospel Psychological Foundations of the False Personality Third Chamber – Mexico City also in Pride

(Those who become fatuously proud of their wisdom, those who praise themselves, are like the idiot who, on top of a solitary tower, begins to scream and praise himself... Those who are really wise, instead of criticizing their fellowman, let them show by good conversation, their deeds and with humility and meekness, their wisdom).

Logos, Mantram, Theurgy, 1959 also in Anger, Logos, Mantram, Theurgy

The truly humble Boddhisattwa never praises himself. The humble Boddhisattwa says: I am just a miserable slug from the mud of the earth, I am a nobody. My person has no value. The work is what is worthy.

The Aquarian Message, 1960 also in Pride

Certainly, I could evidence until satiety and without a doubt that already nothing that could be called ‘I’, ‘myself’, existed within these human creatures, these men were completely dead. I did not see within them the desire of standing out, of ascending, of climbing until the top of the ladder and wanting to boast of themselves, etc. These creatures had no interest in their existence, they only wanted the absolute death, to lose themselves within their Being, that is all.

Runic Magic, 1969

Those who worship their ‘beloved ego’ will never find Pistis Sophia.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

The proud, the conceited, and the vain ones, can never wisely relate with the superior part of the Being.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in The Twelve Powers Are Within Us

The Lord rejects those who latch onto vanity.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

Vanity destroys the possibilities of illumination.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

Illumination is grandiose; yet, it is possible only by annihilating the psychic aggregates of vanity.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

The one who does not trust in the help of God, but in his material wealth and who has developed the psychic aggregate of vanity, falls into the abyss of perdition.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

The aggregate or psychic aggregate of vanity impedes the correct relation with the superior parts of the Being.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983

A conceited, vain, or proud person cannot consciously know how to take advantage of the Grace, the Light-Power that comes from the Father.

Pistis Sophia Unveiled, 1983 also in Pride