abian Philosophy

Recognizing a master -- a master plumber, a master carpenter, or a spiritual master, is recognizing that this person has mastered the required degree of excellence in some special discipline. Such an accomplishment is not easily achieved. It requires both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It involves accepting challenges that the non-master is not asked to accept. It requires an expenditure of personal effort that the average individual can avoid. For the spiritual master, it requires a habitual attitude of living under the impulse of social vision. The spiritual master is a person of broad experience in the world of men.  His vision is so inclusive that he can embrace a person of any ethical persuasion or system of belief as long as that person is of good will.

Sabian philosophy teaches that a spiritual master is one whose roots, like those of a tree, are spread in all directions and yet are so interconnected and unified that they cooperate fully in nourishing a vast number of branches.  This is in sharp contrast to the person of narrow perspective and blinding prejudice whose roots are so constricted that he can support but a few branches.

This approach to creative living is based on Ibn Gabirol’s Fountain of Life Book IV, Chapter 10. Here the Teacher speaks of a hierarchy of being that has the ability to encompass a broader span of reality the higher up in the hierarchy it is.   Reason or intellect is the highest of these and so is the most capable of embracing all reality below itself.

A practical application of the concept of mastership would be to try to find some opinion that you hold -- political, religious, or social -- that may be suspect of prejudice or limited vision and rethink your opinion in the clear and objective light of reason.