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Ariadne/Chapter Fourteen: The Arrival of Hamilcar

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Chapter Fourteen:
The Arrival of Hamilcar

The arrival of Hamilcar turned into a celebration for all the students of the School.

First, both Pythagoras himself and everyone who wished to attend went out to the sea and watched the approach of the two vessels that were carrying the guests.

The guests who came ashore were solemnly welcomed!

… Hamilcar and his disciples stopped at Ariadne’s house. It was a very pleasant surprise for her: after all, many assumed that for the duration of his visit he would be only next to Pythagoras. But it was decided so jointly by Pythagoras and Hamilcar. Perhaps the reason for this was that it provided a convenient location to house all the guests, or maybe — there were some other important reasons for this that Ariadne had not guessed yet.

The four white horses that arrived with Hamilcar were greeted by an experienced groom who lived in Ariadne’s house. The groom had once been a slave, and then, after gaining his freedom, remained living in the house because he had nowhere else to go.

Ariadne, from the very beginning of the preparations for the Olympics, carefully and attentively watched the arrival of each guest. And sometimes she even looked for that candidate who could capture Ferenika’s heart.

And so it happened! Along with Hamilcar’s disciples, came a sculptor from Crete, who dreamed of seeing Pythagoras and making a sculptural group depicting the sage surrounded by his disciples. Hamilcar, of course, had already inspired him with the Pythagorean Teachings. And Nev, which was the sculptor’s name, had already become a follower and admirer of Pythagoras in absentia before he arrived in Croton.

When Nev saw Ferenika, he asked her to pose for him.

And now the model and sculptor spent almost all their free time together.

The energies of blossoming love and bliss, reverence for wisdom and harmony, perception of joy and beauty — hovered in the space. These were many times amplified by the multitude of Pythagorean souls who also felt spiritually uplifted by everything that was happening in the School!

Every day, everyone gathered and listened to Pythagoras’ speeches. The older disciples held talks and meditations for everyone who wished to attend.

… After Hamilcar’s arrival, Ariadne was under such a strong and special impression of the guest that when she was with Hamilcar, she did not understand what was happening to her.

She even wondered: “Have I really fallen in love? It’s as if I’ve returned to those long-gone days when Ferenika and I used to have girlish dreams about our first suitors…”.

Ariadne had long since stopped looking at people as men or women, not judging them by their outward beauty and speeches — but trying to see the souls, their underlying states.

And it was precisely this that made Hamilcar have such a strong impression on her. In his presence, a special radiance of the soul and a feeling of freedom of flight and irrepressible happiness flashed in her! Never before had she seen in an incarnate man such a combination of strength and tenderness at the same time.

Hamilcar’s task on this visit to the School was to initiate students, who were ready for it, into the initial stage of developing the power of the soul, as well as to talk about cognizing the possibilities of interaction between bodily power and Divine Power. He showed exercises that activate the energies of the body and soul, allowing one to find the ways in which the two contact and interpenetrate one another. And this makes it possible to control one’s own body in a special way. And later, when one’s body has been properly prepared through such exercises, one can then conduct the Divine Power through one’s body.

For many, it seemed at first to be the ability to control matter. But Hamilcar explained that it’s really about controlling the soul-self.

He said that such Power could be manifested not only in controlling one’s own body, such as in sports, but also in poetry, music, dance, or in receiving Revelations.

Many explanations were given to caution students about such power. Specifically, they were warned not to allow power to become a trap for the soul, and to make sure not to lose love and purity when developing the power of the soul.

Not all the disciples of Pythagoras participated in the practical lessons of Hamilcar, but only those recommended by Pythagoras himself. Whereas, all who wished to do so could take part in the discussions and ask questions.

Hamilcar was listened to with great attention.

He spoke much about his life and his spiritual experiences:

“Before we talk about the techniques of mastering the power of the soul, I would like to tell you a little of my life story.

“I was once a priest. At that time, I dreamed of power, of the possibilities of creating miracles, of miraculously fulfilling my desires, and of suppressing the will of others. And I studied it diligently. I sought all possible knowledge about the power of consciousness and lived with the conviction that only those who possessed such power could succeed. This was the only goal of my efforts.

“It was a trap: I became addicted to my own thirst for power over events and people — through the help of magical knowledge. At that time, it seemed to me that therein lay freedom from destiny, freedom from the tyranny of other people with greater earthly power.

“What would have become of me if I had not met Pythagoras?!

“I see clearly now what a catastrophe for the soul it would have been to move in this direction: in acquiring a personal power that was not refined!

“For I, without true purpose, was learning magic and was proud of both my bodily strength and my even greater strength of soul energy, which knew almost no tenderness or refinement…

“At that time, I lived with a sense of feeling chosen. My ambition knew no bounds! In my dreams, I wanted to become like the Gods, but I had no idea what it meant to be God!

“For so many people, having power means being able to do whatever one wants.

“But permissiveness is not Freedom at all! And one cannot win happiness in life through personal power, no matter how great it is! It took me a long time to understand this…

“… What should we, the disciples of Pythagoras, search for, when mastering the knowledge of the Power?

“In my opinion, it is wisdom and love. After all, it is love that gives one the wisdom to understand the possibilities of jointly using one’s personal power and the Divine Power that is conducted through the body and soul!

“This is very important when a person decides to invite God into his or her life — and to live and improve further, feeling oneself as a part of the beautiful Divine Whole! Then gradually the Guidance from God comes and begins to be perceived more and more clearly!

“… The soul learns to distinguish between what is good and what is evil only through the course of many long and difficult births, sufferings, deaths, and recompenses for former deeds… All this is not a punishment from God! They are lessons that lead to the growth of a wholesome, true humanity! Only when one connects one’s life to the Divine Guidance does one realize this!

“At some point, I made a request to God, to the Divine All-Consciousness, for Guidance, for aid in directing the development of me, as a soul. It was then that everything began to change and even fall apart in my life at that time. The first thing that happened was that I became quite displeasing to the head priest of the temple where I served, because he saw me as a strong rival to take his place.

“And then there was the war, the captivity…

“Through this complete collapse of my former goals and the former me — God brought me to Pythagoras and gave me the opportunity to learn and perceive the Truth in its true Purity!

“Pythagoras is unique as a spiritual guide! He simultaneously possesses a depth of knowledge in many different branches of being. In one man, is combined the profound Knowledge of each direction of the sciences and arts. Pythagoras synthesized these into the creation of a single Teaching about the universe!

“Usually, for Sages who achieved Enlightenment, there is Perfection in one area only.

“And, probably, none of us will ever be able to embrace — even in the future — such a broad spectrum of knowledge as that which Pythagoras shows us!

“Personally, I have never had a deep inclination for geometry or astronomy. Yes, I was fascinated by Pythagoras’ stories of the cosmos, the structure of the planets and of the smallest particles of the universe! Meditations and cognition of the laws of the non-material worlds and their influence on the visible world have always been closer to me. And also — transformation of bodily energies for conducting the Divine Force into this world. And Pythagoras, seeing the disposition and abilities of every soul, helps us to concentrate and direct the most valuable qualities of the soul towards achieving the Main thing: Mergence with the Divine! This is the Main Goal! The achievement of this Goal is also facilitated by service to the good of all beings with the help of the knowledge and skills that we acquire.

“Many now accuse us of keeping secret the methods of spiritual work on the higher levels and of not sharing spiritual practices with all those who wish to learn. Some even call our School a place for teaching only the elite.

“But let’s look at the truth of the matter! Who needs higher practices? Why do we need the techniques of working with the power of consciousness?

“There is a sad tradition of mankind: all wonderful discoveries and achievements are used not only for the benefit of evolution, but also for harm. Almost anything that can serve progress can also be used by individuals for evil.

“And spiritual knowledge has even greater potential for this than material knowledge. One does not even need to be near a certain person in order to harm him or her. It is also possible to influence the course of various situations without being visible to the participants of these situations. How attractive this is to those people who strive by all means for power and enjoy inflicting pain and illness on others!

“This is why Pythagoras is so careful in selecting students for the higher levels of learning!

“That is why we devote so much time to ethical perfecting.

“And each of us should think more than once about the responsibility in possessing knowledge and the opportunities to manifest power. We must remember this and be able to control ourselves at all times.

“…Tomorrow, we will begin a study of some exercises that will help us both in this control and in learning to feel the space and the beings within it as clearly as we are accustomed to feeling ourselves. We will begin precisely with the techniques of dissolving into silence and purity, with the techniques of perceiving the Whole from a state of consciousness that has become love! After all, the fullness of Mergence is possible only in perfect love!”