A Record of Meetings held by P.D. Ouspensky - HolyBooks.com

MR. O. There is no accepted view. People always argue about theinterpretation of Christian teaching. How many wars, how manyarguments there were about some one small thing!In the same way, I think it is a good idea that the cause of Russianrevolution was an argument in the seventeenth century that arose inthe Russian Church. Some people said you must cross yourself withtwo fingers, and some said with three. As a result it created two sects,and destroyed the possibility of the existence of middle class in Russia.And absence of middle class was the cause of the revolution.If you take the original New Testament it is incomprehensible forus. We don't know its real meaning. We only know words anddifferent interpretations of them. We must come to facts, to where wereally are.MRS. B. Can you say more about the objective right and wrong inconnection with the system?MR. O. If we make a general idea of it, it would be useless, because itwould be too thin. I gave an example: mechanicalness and consciousness.There are many other examples.MRS. B. I realize that ordinary morality does not exist, but I cannotfind anything else.MR. O. You must realize that it does not exist, that it is contradictory.MRS. B. But if I can find nothing else?MR. O. If you realize this, from this point you can begin. You cannotfind it in one day. It needs development of consciousness and conscience.The way to the understanding of objective morality is throughthe development of conscience.MR. A . Does self-remembering help?MR. O. This is the way.MR. A . But it is different?MR. O. Certainly. Self-remembering is only an attempt, only the firststep towards consciousness. But eventually it leads to it.MR. M. Can the teaching of esoteric schools be wrong?MR. O. What do you know about esoteric schools? If you knewseveral, you could compare. Generally, the teaching of esoteric schoolsdoes not reach us directly, but only by passing through the minds ofordinary people. And again there are different degrees of schools. Butin comparison with, say an ordinary academy, certainly there is lesschance of mistakes if a teaching comes from higher minds. But it