Foreword

TRANSLATION OF THE FOREWORD TO THE 2018  GREEK VOLUME CONTAINING EIGHT BOOKS

I am filled with a sense of awe by the decision that I should take part in the dissemination of the Truth, as this was expressed by Emmanuel Papadogiannis and those who worked with him in the series of eight books the publication of which was edited in the 1990s, from 1995 to 1999: The Incorruptible – An Essay on Human Nature (1995), Unassailable Stars (1996), Messages of Love (1996), The Fruits of Being (1997), The Next Steps Towards the Stars (1997), Before Him (1998), The Seventh Proclamation (1998), Course of Angels on the Earth (1999). Awe and honour.

On 20/1/2014, I bought the last copy of the first book, The Incorruptible – An Essay on Human Nature. A few days later, when I wanted to buy another copy for a good friend of mine, it was not to be found in any bookshop, or by searching on the Internet. As to the rest of the eight books, only a limited number of copies of some of these were still left in bookshops. So it became obvious that something needed to be done to meet the needs of other fellow-men who have so much benefit to derive from reading this work.

The aim of the work is simple: the preservation and dissemination of the knowledge given to us “with the strong desire that this deepening and broadening of ancient wisdom should achieve a wider dissemination and right understanding by as many people as possible” (Unassailable Stars, Foreword, p. 168). “We bear the role of dissemination for preservation, and you will take on the same roles” (The Fruits of Being, ‘Being in the Father and the Son’, p. 419).

“For the evolution of the human being and any progress on his part, it is necessary that this should be preceded by knowledge of the self, then knowledge about the self, and, finally, knowledge beyond the self, that is to say, that knowledge which will lead man to the discovery of the boundless unfolding, of the visible and the intelligible. There is an interdependence between these forms of knowledge, as it has been established that without all these three categories, in the order which we have said, there cannot be any possibility of progress. It is impossible, in other words, to study the Universe without studying man, or, conversely, to study man without studying the Universe. Everything has to advance in parallel, or, rather, one must follow the other.” (Unassailable Stars, ‘Self-definition’, p. 214).

“The inner world of man is an entire world, independent of the physical side of the individual, unrelated to the material existence and the biological aspect. A boundless moral Universe of dreams about life, of ideals, of moving stories of tenderness, of loving care, of pain.” (Unassailable Stars, ‘Myth and Reality’, p. 181).

“Of course, from the fact alone of the conjoining of the soul with matter, human existence involves the concept of weakness, weakness which is expressed by dependences on matter, matter which is governed by the law of decay. It is only when one perceives – and this the spiritually awakened individual begins to perceive – what lies beyond matter, what is the essence of things, what is the purpose of each existence, what is the reason for this material and, at the same time, spiritual cohabitation, what is the ultimate purpose of each existing material-spiritual being, then he begins to understand his indissoluble bond with everyone and everything, the unity of all things, and the need for a full realisation of this unity.” (Messages of Love, ‘Universal Unity’, p. 307).

“When man begins to be exalted into the conceptual world, it is certain that he will acquire a new power. He gradually begins to overcome the barriers of place and time and finds himself where he wants to be. He arrives in that region where numbers, quantity, knowledge, viewpoints, hostility are an affront to Truth. Everything is in flux, without boundaries, without limitations, united. Man lets his self flee from the trap of trying to have power over others, and of others having power over him. ‘Musts’ cease to concern him, and his actions are a consequence of his free will and not a compliance with Law or the expectation of the enjoyments of future rewards.” (The Incorruptible, ‘Mind – Observation – Apprehension’, p. 77).

“The purification of the human race and of all the forms of life which the planet hosts is approaching. Humanity finds itself before the portals of the greatest transitional period of those he has experienced so far. Man will pass from the period of fear and darkness to the period of light and freedom.” (Before Him, ‘The Vision’, p. 566).

“It will become obvious even to the last thinking human being that nature manifests a hierarchy in its structure, and that between the last microscopic atom of matter to the most distant galaxy there is a connecting link and organisation to such a degree of perfection that the random is precluded.” (Before Him, ‘The Vision’, p. 566).

The above extracts are indicative of the issues which are analysed in the eight books. It is a very small foretaste. Innumerable questions which have always preoccupied man – at an individual or collective level, in countless volumes or debates, in theological and philosophical, scientific, and social circles – are here set out in a comprehensive way and are answered with incredible lucidity, simplified thanks to the purification which comes with knowledge.

I am speaking of the knowledge which is a distillation of aspects of knowledge, where ‘aspects of knowledge’ are those things which are known, given and explained in the form of theoretical knowledge, or lived in practice as experiences – by others or by ourselves.

Resonance with our own experiences, thoughts, and theoretical knowledge is a source of our identification with the present work – and these become structured, succinct and at the same time simple, unifying instead of divisive, by logical epagoge – induction. The principle aim of the book is, however, achieved through the synthesis and linkage of pieces and aspects of knowledge which have been the object of study of people who have been separated, in the course of humanity’s history, into religions, philosophical, scientific, and social groups. And this synthesis and linkage is documented and rendered intelligible.

All these groups investigate the truth, or a truth, and, often, not only approach it in an erroneous way, but believe that they possess it, and, moreover, in a way superior to other thinking fellow-humans – seekers – through the ages. Over time, one of the most tragic human misfortunes is oblivion, deception, and ignorance. The result of all the above is also the egotistical idea that the discovery of a piece or aspect of knowledge is a ‘modern achievement’, whereas in reality it was revealed hundreds, if not thousands, of years earlier. In essence, it is frequently a case of the verification or extension of knowledge coming from previous centuries. Sometimes we condescendingly ‘marvel at’ this knowledge, but we are either in ignorance about it, or bury it in oblivion, or, deep down, regard this kind of knowledge as inferior to any contemporary ‘high knowledge’, expertise, and developed cognition.

The eight books which are presented in this work constitute an updated “expression of ancient wisdom, truths, that is, which were spoken thousands of years ago at various points on our planet” (Unassailable Stars, Foreword, p. 167).

“The books explore the Truth and demonstrate it, they make it visible, existent, and perceivable for the many, and at the same time they succeed in delimiting things with distinct markers which refer to universal messages with a range of inestimable value.” (Messages of Love, Foreword, Part One, p. 281).

In the end, it would be difficult to find a matter accessible to human understanding – even from among those considered occult – which is not analysed, explained, and/or documented as far as possible in this work. And, furthermore, one which is not linked and confirmed with all the rest of the issues which have preoccupied man as to his individual existence, his relationship with the rest of the existences and the things existing upon Earth, with the Universe, and with God. Even the things which are inaccessible, which truly exceed present-day human cognition, are illuminated afresh in a revelatory manner. Most important of all, what enchanted me and continues to enchant me 12 years after my first acquaintance with the eight books of Emmanuel Papadogiannis, is that all these things which many have approached as theoretical matters take on a substantive meaning in relation to our everyday life, as to how we consciously lead our life. In addition, this is what every ordinary person such as myself is looking for as guidance. The existential questions which determine our response in practice to the angst of the ensuring of security which we are all, to a greater or lesser extent, in search of are placed in a revelatory setting for our contemplation.

We are living through a chaotic era in which religions, cultures, philosophies, forms of scientific knowledge, socio-political trends are in conflict with one another – and the conflict is not only on a theoretical, intellectual level. The conflict is being experienced painfully, in one way or another, all over the planet, in the form of military battles, economic wars, social upheavals, but also in the individual struggle for survival. Thus we are in search of reassurance for our present and for our future – and this is absolutely reasonable. But we turn and limit the quest for our safeguarding to some God whom they have ‘taught’ us about (rarely, however, to God, since we do not know Him), to religion (through its ‘representatives’), to philosophy (and its representatives), to the progress of science in medicine and in the technological fields, to the state or to the political entity or to the laws, to the family, to the people around us, to those who promise us a drop of hopeful ‘guaranteed insight’ as to the future which we do not control but they ‘know about’, to our intellectual and material enrichment, to study, to work, to whatever occupation will bring us whatever we think that we need in order to live – even to our ‘luck’. All the above – and others – may be real sources of our reassurance fleetingly, but the basic questions are: (1) whether they will stand up to and be sufficient for us in the test of time; (2) how we handle them. Because the reassurance of one individual sometimes comes into conflict with that of another or others. And reassurance for the present sometimes is far removed from desires for reassurance in the future which we dream of or consider that we deserve by right. Finally, the securing of our material, biological existence sometimes comes into conflict with our spiritual dimension, either at an intuitively conscious level or at a level of conscious contrast with what we have been taught by external sources: parents, schools, society, books, communications media, religions. And some of us sometimes – all of us in the end – sense or realise that all of the sources from which we seek whatever reassurance seem not to suffice us, or even to have betrayed our trust in them. Without doubt, these have not been always or completely inadequate. It was our knowledge which has proved to be inadequate as to the substantive security provided by each source, and as to the price to be paid for its approach to be rendered adequate, albeit in appearance only and fleetingly.

In the times in which we live, there is a widespread notion that concern with our inner self and the spiritual is optional during the course of our life; that it is one further source of the maintenance of the insecurity of the weak or a ‘luxury’ interest for the time when our material dependences have been satisfied, or a refuge for occasions when a difficulty presents itself which cannot be resolved in any other way. This book brings out the tragic inadequacy of this perception.

“This book concerns the unbeliever, the doubter, the believer and the credulous: the unbeliever so that he comes to believe, the doubter so that he will abandon any doubt, the believer to more firmly establish his faith, and the credulous so that he can recover his sense of the measure.

“This work does not discriminate, it does not divide people, it is concerned only with human behaviour and human actions. It rejects no one. As the sun lights and warms everyone, so God loves and cares for all. There is one, the One for all, the Creative Logos, who even before His incarnation and now is near to everyone. The Spirit blows in all directions, and enlightens and cares for everyone, and is here close to us, as is the Creative Word. Divine Providence, the Divine Dispensation covers all things, and there is no one who is not provided for. The call is a general one, a universal one – but only those who so wish accept it.” (The Incorruptible, Introduction, p. 34).

“Free Will. The radiance of harmonious wisdom. An empirical resolution. Free will penetrates and dissolves ignorance. By seeking, knowledge which leads to harmonious patterns gains recognition. Beyond all doubt, knowledge is a conquest. Man has never yet been a conqueror of knowledge. It is near, and the path of waiting steadily leads him there.” (Emmanuel Papadogiannis).

As to the work itself, the writing of it, and its sources, there is no need to deal here at greater length with more than is written in the foreword of each of the eight books.

Nevertheless, a few words need to be said about the Valley of the Roses by Paul-Amadeus Dienach. Some decades after the enigmatic channelling to humanity of items of revelatory knowledge and information by Dienach and Georgios M. Papahatzis, the present work comes to enlighten us about past, present, and future. The two works have a Single Source – on this the contents of the two works are in agreement, and it is now my own belief. Having, in principle, understood the above, I find greater interest in the content of the works, in the distinct likenesses and in the clear – sometimes complementary – differences in the works themselves, than in the individual manners and in the sources through which the works are delivered to us. That is to say, I perforce accept detailed aspects of their writing as an essentially inaccessible and impenetrable issue and focus my attention on the text of each work itself: on the one hand, on the resonance which they have with me – as to my knowledge, experiences, my reason and intuition – and, on the other, as to the confirmation up to now of what is written there by the phenomena-events of the twentieth century and of our times. In the case of citations from the Valley of the Roses – where frequently, to a differing extent and for different reasons, the transference, word-for-word, of phrases from the original text has not been feasible – I have used italics to delineate, as far as possible, and to emphasise identical or similar citations from the text, which, with the help of the references to the footnotes, will assist the reader-seeker in the joint assessment of the content of the two works. I have made every effort to ensure that this task has been complete.

The series of eight books which explore the incorruptible Truth through the innumerable aspects of the multidimensional and cosmic unfolding, books which deal with sources of wisdom of the past and present – theological, philosophical, scientific – as well as universal teachings, precepts, and injunctions – is then now presented in a remodelled and enhanced, but unimpaired, form in a single volume.

As Emmanuel Papadogiannis also points out, those who contributed to the books which he either wrote or edited “do not lay claim to any laurels, they do not seek literary prizes, because none of them has contributed to the realisation of the messages which these books contain, nor was any of them ever a professional writer. The workers who have contributed and contribute to the shaping of these texts are ‘non-specialists’”, difficult to locate, far off, with a certain other attitude towards life – which it is difficult to apprehend – and with a sense of noblesse oblige, not egotism.

Emmanuel Papadogiannis writes in the dedication of the first book, The Incorruptible: “This book is dedicated to Maria, who has departed from us and has left behind certain manuscripts with the earnest desire that they should soon be published”. And he goes on: “Many friends have helped me in various ways to write this book. I thank them. In particular, however, I would like to thank Vasso Kafioti and Stella Theodosiadou for their substantive contribution to my efforts to complete what has certainly been a difficult task.” And then came S.S., and with her the books which followed. And the number of those contributing to the work increased – without names known to us, unseen, imperceptible, and some without dimensions. And the work was enriched.

In the end, I believe that, regardless of the origin and identity of its sources, this work can be judged by its content alone.

Given that the original authors did not wish to, or cannot, be named, it has no meaning for the less important contributors to the present continuation of the work to be identified. I thank them all – those whom I have known and those whom I have ‘come to know’; they are all ‘with us’ and are all ‘close to us’. Together we have carried out the task. Together we present this book. The experiences have been given. The messages have been received. The eight books have been written. The work has now been consolidated, the book is being presented, the logos-word emerges with clarity. The Logos is present. We thank you. I thank you.

Athens, December 2017
Efthymios H. Mikropoulos