88. Once upon a time

 The audio recording is available at https://youtu.be/-hfGR3mJD8k.

In Hungarian folk tales and less in the tales of other peoples, the opening line "Once upon a time" was written in this way by our ancestors because they knew that a child’s soul, born with the universal self and not yet corrupted by worldly power struggles, would understand the message. Parents, who have been infected by the distorted worldview of power, are less likely to understand what is meant by what "was and yet was not," what "is and yet is not," and what "once" truly means. Parents who have been reduced by the power rulers of the world to slaves, partly because they accepted the rulers, do not understand that, for example, "once" is the same as "twice," "three times," or "four times," because everything originates from the one. Our children know that what "was" is "now," and the "where" is "here." In other words, "was" and "is" is the time, and "where" and "here" is the space. This is the space-time, which is transcendence. Simultaneously there and here, then and now, above and below, outside and inside, these are the manifestations of duality, yet they are also the beginning and the end. It is often said that when we are born in the body, we die in the body, but we should also add that when we die in the body, we are born again in the soul. 

This naturally does not mean that we physically die and are buried, but rather that our soul returns to its original, childlike state, its universality. And now, gradually distancing itself from the sensory, material world, our soul is reborn in the spiritual sense, meaning that we born twice on the spiritual path. In religious terms, this is called returning, metanoia, initiation, when a person becomes simple, or attains the One, becomes like the One. At this stage the person withdraw himself/herself from the chaos, rushing, and foolishness of the power-driven world, now seeing events from above, only acknowledging what serves the universality, transcendence, duality, or at a higher level, with those which serve the analogy within. 

We know that the One is unnameable, untouchable, and thus unspeakable, because we do not have the proper concepts; it cannot be expressed in a single word but only through explanation, with multiple concepts. This is because the One is change, simultaneously both above and below, inside and outside, cold and hot, and many other dualities can be listed. We could also say that the One is dynamism, balance, order, circularity, everything, universality, and reality. Thus, it may be clearer now why the change, does not change, why the dark is bright, and why the "once" was that which never was, because it always was. 

The change, the universal, the constant, is simultaneously centrifugal and centripetal, synthesis and analysis, integration and disintegration—these are all manifestations of the One. What is certain is that nothing is certain, because within the relative exists the absolute, and within the absolute exists the relative, in the time is space, and in the space is time, matter in energy, and energy in matter. The theory of relativity and the quantum theory was known to the ancient universal man, but he forgot it along the way, as the universal being became an individual, material human. When something is declared a discovery, it is only a rediscovery because there is nothing new under the Sun. 

The opening lines of Hungarian folk tales, "Once upon a time," attune the reader to this change, this pulsation, rhythm, dynamism, and universality. Because this kind of "story" is an initiatory teaching. The most beautiful tales presenting transcendence are perhaps those in which the "tree reaching the heavens" is found, a symbol of the seven stages of the soul's journey back to the One and Only. Here, the wandering young man—meaning we, ourselves—must wear out seven pairs of shoes to reach the kingdom of the princess. In other words, we must pass through seven stages of our soul to be purified before we reach the One and Only. If we too undertake the task of passing through these seven stages and bring our purified soul to the One, then in our soul-building practices, on our path becoming spiritual, we should ask ourselves questions like: When the One speaks to me, do I hear it, or am I deaf? When the One looks at me, do I see it, or do I turn my head away? When the One extends its hand, do I take it, or do I pull my hand back? When the One steps toward me, do I step toward it, or do I step back? 

The opening phrase "Once upon a time" refers our Initiation Master when he said, "My time has not yet come," or the frequently appearing introductory phrase in the Gospels, "In those days." The first refers to the fact that our Initiation Master will act, teach, and fulfil his mission when he is ready, when he has "become God," that is, when he has transformed from man to sacrifice. The second refers to the timelessness of the teaching—it is universal, valid today, tomorrow, and the day after. 

The Son, the messenger, the teacher, must become divine, must become a master to fulfil his task and mission, which is nothing less than to teach another person about the universality, the duality, and the pulsating reality, to raise them so that they understand and pass on the message and love of the One. Without disciples, those who transmit His message further, the mission cannot be fulfilled. The teaching was never, and is not today, anything other than a revelation, a manifestation in body, soul and spirit at once, but also an example that you too can do it. It is up to you what you do with the sacred tasks entrusted to you and with the other person—whether you raise them up or bring them down.