Future Hi: The Secret School & The Temple of the Present Day

November 06, 2005

The Secret School & The Temple of the Present Day

There is, or was, a Secret School (a brotherhood or monastery) that existed in Afghanistan for thousands of years called the Sarmoun Darq. The name of the school means “beehive” or “collectors of honey.”

The Sarmouni as depicted in the film "Meetings with Remarkable Men."

“True knowledge, it is asserted, exists as a positive commodity, like the honey of the bee. Like honey, it can be accumulated. From time to time in human history, however, it lies unused and starts to leak away. On those occasions the Sarmouni and their associates all over the world collect it and store it in a special receptacle. Then, when the time is ripe, they release it into the world again, through specially trained emissaries.”

The reason for this school—and there have been and still are many such schools—is to gather and preserve certain kinds of knowledge regarding the human soul, particularly at times when such knowledge appears to be dissipating. This activity and its significance have a profound implication for our human evolution. Without it we cease to evolve.

Mystics and masters collect and store sacred knowledge and esoteric principles in much the same way as bees collect nectar, although they have the capacity to concentrate and change the nectars when they are gathered so that when the time comes and the containers are accessed, the knowledge that has been concealed will inform the deeply curious and be of value to seekers of truth. By bringing new meaning to old texts, or revising rituals and meditation techniques, great teachers create new bodies of work. Secrets of esoteric understanding are redesigned and couched in new forms. Methods are borrowed from one tradition and used to inform another. Legends are created and masterfully designed nuggets of wisdom are hidden within. As time passes, the truths that once were obvious become obscured. They are hidden, and they wait to be rediscovered.

There are wonderful fragments of sacred knowledge in myths and sacred rites, in sacred sounds, in sacred art and architecture, and there are profound messages in the holy scriptures from every culture that have been handed down through the ages.

--from Divine Proportion: PHI in Art, Nature, and Science, by Priya Hemenway

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"... The Faith of the future will be, first and foremost, a faith in the immediate and universal accessibility of the Divine in the present Here and Now. You shall have again the Sun and Moon within you, and all the Earth as your playground. It shall be widely and openly acknowledged that it is truly man’s divinity that insures man’s humanity. In place of shrines devoted to the moldering relics of the past, you shall have an open-air Temple of the Present Day. ..."

-- Omrishi (see more below)

The remains of the Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei
as they appear today.

In a book called Rome 2,000 Years Ago, is described a group of temples in the ancient Campus Martius, the Field of Mars. One of these temples (‘Temple B,’ built in 101 BC) is a circular temple with only six of its columns remaining, called Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei, or, The Temple of the Present Day.

Comments

Beautiful imagery.

I wrote a review of the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex that dealt with a similar theme. I think that it's so necessary for us to continue the work of forming schools and teaching where we can, because there is an element of unpredictability when it comes to "our Mercury". It jumps around a bit, so it's really important to have these frameworks in place when the honey starts to leak out.

Anyway, food for thought. :)

B'shalom
Casey Sheldon

Posted by: Ayrkain at November 9, 2005 01:14 AM

Why do you label something that is clearly either a shot from a computer game or a photoshop job as a photo? It is not even remotely purported - it is clearly fake.

Posted by: Hazrat at November 10, 2005 07:23 AM

I myself agree that it is fake. I do not find it plausible that anyone has photos of the Sarmoun. I called it "purported" out of kindness. I fail to see that it is a purely digital work -- but I'm far from being an expert.
I think I will change the caption, however. Thanks for the comments.

Posted by: Upwinger at November 10, 2005 05:48 PM

Hazrat & Upwinger --

That photo is a still from the film, Meetings with Remarkable Men, based on the book of the same name by Gurdjieff. The film was directed by Peter Brooks with the guidance of one of Gurdjieff's students. Obviously it is still their attempt at evoking a place few have ever seen. And that is assuming it is real. Even many devote Gurdjieffians suggest its a myth, an allegory. Although the article by Desmond Martin suggests otherwise. The Martin stor was reprinted in a book published by Idries Shah's Octagon Press. Also, Oscar Ichazo claimed to have hooked up with the Sarmounis too. . . . More grist for the mill. Thanks for posting this btw Paul -- I just wish the second page of the article didn't crash by browser!

Posted by: cinnamon twist at November 10, 2005 07:19 PM

The 2nd page crashed yr browser? I dont understand .... ?

Thanks for the info on the image. Ive never been able to track down that film! Nor "In Search of the Miraculous." Any idea where I can get a (*cheap*) copy of either one? Thanks.

Personally, Im wondering what has become of the Sarmoun after the Soviet strife in the 1980s and the more recent US invasion of Afghanistan. If nothing else, they may have relocated?

Posted by: Upwinger at November 10, 2005 11:23 PM

*NOTE* I have now for the *4th time* changed the caption beneath the image in question. If anyone else has a problem with the way its worded, please let me know.
Thanks again to Twist for the needed info. And to Ayrkain for doing what youre doing.
Namaste.

Posted by: Upwinger at November 13, 2005 06:15 AM