The Faces of the Crystal Damanhur

By Coboldo Melo

Over the centuries, philosophers and spiritual leaders who did not behave in a "virtuous" way or spoke too freely of their theories often had problems with survival: from Socrates to Plato, and then Osho, Krishnamurti, Mere, Kriyananda, all the way to the spiritual guide of Damanhur, Falco Tarassaco.

On these pages, we recapitulate the events of a very Italian experience that started more than forty years ago: esoteric thought, creation of a Popolo Spirituale (Spiritual People), community life with transformations that have come about through alchemies that were not always easy, through Temples, art, alternative economy, Selfica technology, networks of organizations, and a complex social-political organization.

Damanhur is like a crystal with many faces to discover, visiting or living there for shorter or longer periods of time.



• Language: English
• Publisher: DEVODAMA
• Release date: Oct 29, 2017
• ISBN: 9788899652593

Book preview

UNIVERSE

INTRODUCTION

We live in a historical period in which we consume a lot, and we elaborate little to nothing with respect to our capacity of thinking, which is what distinguishes humans from other beings on the planet. We are actually living from our memories, often incomplete and inaccurate ones that are almost never connected with one another according to a logical thread of events that happen over time.

Today we celebrate philosophers and spiritual leaders, and we honor characters and entrepreneurs who have collected more suspicion than glory in their lives, including ostracism and persecution. Some great thinkers, who in certain moments have illuminated the world with their works, seem destined to the same fate as artists who become famous only after death.

Everything is repeated with unchanging monotony, and the sense of important experiences and teachings is relegated to history, while in present times, there is a perpetuation of diffidence and ostracism towards innovators. Often the vision of the whole is completely neglected, and we lack the passage from making good arguments to putting them into practice in everyday life.

It is worth reflecting on some illuminating stories: Greek philosophers who were caught between honors and condemnations by state and religious power, spiritual leaders venerated in the East and persecuted in the West, entrepreneurs considered to be models but only as long as they were living, thinkers with worth that is recognized by society but who cannot find anyone willing to put their theories into practice.

Other examples involve characters who have succeeded in building their concrete utopias, albeit not without battles, divisions, and numerous defamatory campaigns. The experiences of Falco Tarassaco and Damanhur are very relevant in the chapter about ideas realized among controversies and difficult moments.

It could be useful to deepen the exploration of the spiritual and social model of Damanhur, retracing the main historical stages compared to the current situation. Certainly, many things change over a short period of time. We can consider that this kind of change is one of the most interesting characteristics of Damanhur.

The current situation can be more easily understood by reviewing the history of the Constitution of Damanhur, which is the foundation of the social aspects and always a reference point for approving laws that govern community life. The same is true for the economic system, which involves the use of the Credito, a complementary currency that has been in use for over forty years now.

Between spirit and matter, we find original aspects such as the game of Damanhurian Risk, known for its fun and useful nature that develops multiple levels of logic, and also proposals for an alternative economy destined for a more expansive territory.

Damanhur experiments with, elaborates, and proposes projects that are very different from one another, which can be applied in other environments and social models. The community experience is summarized in a course dedicated to creating life in communities that are very different from one another. An integral part of the training course for new community groups is the element of diversity, the need to not replicate the same situations within the context of Damanhur, and also not exporting this model to the world as the solution to all problems.

These aspects have always stimulated Damanhur to maintain activities and contacts with other Italian and international communities. Such collaborations have facilitated the organization of events and conferences and have helped to develop the text of an Italian law with the intent of regulating life in communities, ecovillages and cohousing in urban centers. A lot of history and activism has stimulated many considerations, articles, and rivers of words in blogs, including criticism that is sometimes sensible and sometimes specious.

A cycle of history that endlessly repeats the usual patterns is completed with the analysis of recurring accusations against a community movement considered to be a model to study and replicate, and yet implicated with being a harmful sectarian group grasping for money.

As Greek philosophers could comment, we pass from the hope for change yearned for by the youth of society, to facing troubles with the establishment, to ending up in the Olympus of great thinkers, unless we end up becoming only a specter in the school exams of today’s youth, and not a living history.

Basically, nothing new under the sun.

SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES BETWEEN INNOVATION AND CONFLICT

Given that the centuries pass for everyone, and we cannot assume that words retain the same meaning over time, it may be worthwhile examining the word community, taking a peek here and there in old dictionaries and on an online encyclopedia.

So, the origin comes from the Latin word communitate and usually, it simply translates to the term commune, indicating a gathering of people who live on the same land or have common origins, traditions, ideas and interests, or even a group of people living together who pool their assets (Dictionary Garzanti).

In other texts, the word community is a collective in which members share most or all of their activities, developing intense interpersonal relationships, or a collective that shares a portion of land for their daily activities (Encyclopedia Treccani).

On the internet under sociology, they describe the term in pretty much the same way: In the social sciences, with ‘community’ we mean a collection of human groups or individuals who, more or less consciously, share norms, values and some sense of belonging (www.sapere.it).

Both encyclopedias and dictionaries make reference to the works of Ferdinand Tönnies¹ that analyze the classic theme of the dichotomy between community and society. The first is a form of coexistence based on a sense of belonging and the fusion of individual wills. The second, on the other hand, is characterized by a clear division of individual roles and differences, where social cohesion is entrusted to a systems of contracts and exchanges.

Explained in another way, a community is a natural entity in which individuals are united by a spontaneous solidarity among members, while society is dominated by market relations based on private property and some popular concepts such as individualism, competition, mobility and a rational view of the world.

According to academics such as MacIver² and König³, by their nature, communities are able to meet the primary needs of individuals, because they are the most immediate level of organization and self-organization of social groups.

Sociology aside, using the basic language of film to describe a hypothetical dark side of communities, we could say that there are stories of blood, sweat and tears, while on their good side, the solar side, we find imagination, union, solidarity, and many, many high ideals.

Considering that the truth is always somewhere in the middle, everyone can find their own balance point between the dark side and the good side of the force, but without going too far into the realm of Jedi knights, you may notice that many philosophers and their schools of thought cultivate small seeds of new sociality, which sooner or later create situations that either come into conflict with the rest of the world or are perfectly integrated into society.

There is nothing to be surprised about, given that philosophers, Indian gurus, and masters from any provenance teach spiritual knowledge - which is a patrimony of humanity - to help individuals evolve, and in this way, come closer to divinity or feel that they themselves are divinities; their schools are often small communities because this is the most practical and accelerated way of demonstrating to their students how to put the teachings into practice.

Evolving means changing, discovering yourself as different than before, and there is always someone who considers change not as an optimum condition for building your own destiny, but as an attempt to change society as a whole. Now let’s be honest, some people may feel irritated with those seeking to create change, perceiving the situation as a threat to oppose.

Usually, a social system does not like change if it was not foreseen by the system itself, and if it feels threatened in its solid integrity, it may react accordingly.

So then, from society’s point of view, is danger nested in the idea of social and political change proposed by those who live outside the usual patterns?

No... even though, if we examine history, there is no lack of encounters, disputes and clashes that have generated an infinite number of events. The thing is that changes occur naturally, and this means it is necessary to observe situations over a period of time while events occur.

Laws, customs, nutritional tastes and social behaviors are not always the same. Technology changes, but in general, the powers that be do not like to leave space for small groups who want to experiment and try something new, especially if this is outside the established patterns.

In past centuries there have been several examples of disputes, which can also happen in our times. To avoid going into ancient texts written in Sanskrit and Eastern histories, we can examine some situations of the past and then look at the example of Damanhur, Federation of Communities, a completely Italian experience, founded and developed in the Old World.

Damanhur has recently celebrated its 40th birthday, and this is considered a remarkable age for a community to reach.

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1 Tönnies, Ferdinand, German sociologist (1855-1936), published Community and Society in 1887.

2 MacIver, Robert Morrison, American sociologist of Scottish origins (1882-1970), focused on state political organization, institutions and sociology.

3 König, René, German sociologist (1906-1992). Professor of Sociology, President of the German Sociology Society, one of the founders of the International Sociology Association (ISA).

NOT ALWAYS EASY PATHS

The European Union has scolded Greece for economic management considered below standard, and some commentators have likened the actions of the EU to the famous story of the condemned person forced to drink hemlock to atone for his sins, permanently. You could say that Greece could have refused the hemlock by distancing itself from Europe, thus choosing the uncertain road of exile, but these are stories that repeat themselves, even if the protagonists are different from one another. Governments, peoples and individuals who fall outside established patterns must change their paths, or the path itself is ended.

In particular, philosophers who were determined to not behave virtuously or who even created scandal by speaking about their theories in public, at times had some small problems with survival. In books we only find chronicles of the cases that have incited the most headlines, and there is no doubt that many similar incidents have been ignored or forgotten.

Classical culture celebrates the ingenuity of Greek philosophers of paramount importance, but it seems to forget the tragedy generated by their conflict with the society of the time, that is, with established authority.The young Socrates (Athens, no registry of birth although we certainly know he died in 399 BC) was distinguished early in his life for courage demonstrated in war.

At age 15, he left the army and soon after he was appointed to the Senate of his polis.

At a mature age, he was well known for what he taught, as well as for his problems with the customs and traditions of his time. During the last year of his life, the civil and religious authorities accused him of not believing in the gods and of corrupting the youth with unconventional ideas. The famous public trial, masterfully described by Plato, ends with a conviction for impiety. Stubborn and at the same time coherent with his teachings, Socrates rejected the exile that would have allowed him to avoid death, and he ended the game by drinking hemlock.

A philosopher who was intelligent and sharply critical of the social and political administration of the city, he was considered a negative example for his theories and for the way he lived. His ideas are well known, at least to students in current times, while it was said that he was excessively scruffy in his appearance, too attached to the bottle and often completely drunk and collapsed in some alleyway, and - even more scandalous - he preferred to walk barefoot.

A few decades later it was Aristotle’s turn (383-324 BC). He studied at the Academy founded by Plato, who had been a student of Socrates. At the age of almost 40, he became the tutor of Alexander the Great, the most powerful man in the world.

His school in Athens is called Perìpato (walking), because Aristotle taught while strolling in the garden. At the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), the Athenians celebrated the funeral with great fanfare, and immediately after, they accused Aristotle of impiety. Perhaps mindful of the previous illustrious philosopher, Aristotle chose exile and died the following year.

In our times, the young Osho (1931-1990) did not follow the Jain faith of his family, and he often had attitudes of challenging authority. At 21 years old, he experienced his enlightenment, and soon after he held his first public conferences. He got a degree in philosophy, became a university professor, and in 1964 he organized meditation camps. Then, he left his job and opened an ashram in Pune.

A few years later, he temporarily moved to Oregon, USA, where he founded a commune, but a few years later, the federal authorities accused him of tax evasion and sent him to prison. Released in 1987, he went back to Pune where he discovered that he was poisoned while in custody, and he died three years later. Other masters, gurus, and spiritual guides have had less tragic fates, although they always seem to have some small problem with the authorities, or they experience intense divergences within the group.

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was 14 years old when he began to follow the teachings of Helena Blavatsky, and he quickly accrued a large following of people who contributed to funding foundations, schools and his publications in Europe and the USA. His group was called the Order of the Star.

In many countries his teachings triggered conflicting reactions, and his lifestyle was often criticized to the point that some governments limited the diffusion of his talks. After internal conflicts, he dissolved the Order of the Star, and in the