On the Order of Nature

by Parmenides, Asram Vidya Order Raphael (Editor)

Overview

With PARMENIDES began what is called, in more specific terms, true Philosophy. 
The Eleatic, and his Poem, constitute a "beacon" whose light illumined Plato and even Aristotle, and consequently all the philosophers that followed. 
Parmenides laid down several fundamental philosophical principles: 

1.    The Being as foundation of all the existent
2.    The principle of identity, Being is identical to itself
3.    The principle of non-contradiction
4.    The principle of a-temporality or eternal present
5.    An initiatory philosophical vision of an experiential order

For Parmenides the primary aim is the research for the ultimate Truth, and he, Parmenides, has introduced the mortals to the straight path of wisdom: 

"... and here immediately through the gate the maidens steered the char­iot and the mares straight onto the road. The Goddess kindly welcomed me and took my right hand in hers and addressing me she uttered so: "O young companion, led by the mares and immortal charioteers, you come to our home: rejoice, for no adverse Moira sent you to travel this path - which is far from the way traveled by men - but Themis and Dike" 

The transition from one state of consciousness to another higher one, in a completely objectivistic society, is a revolutionary event, and also of this consists Parmenides' greatness and importance in contemporary life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781931406222
Publisher:	Parmenides Tradl. Philosophy Found.
Publication date:	07/22/2016
Series:	Aurea Vidya Collection , #11
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	136
File size:	210 KB

About the Author

The date of Parmenides' birth is uncertain but, according to the indications of Apollodoros, it can be placed between the sixth and the fifth centuries B.C. Parmenides was born in Magna Graecia, in Elea (today's Velia, Italy) located on the coast of Campania south of Paestum into a family of noble lineage and quite well off. It is known that he governed and gave very good laws to his city (in those days, as it happened, cities were governed by Philosophers), and every year the Eleans pledged their loyalty to those laws. The Pythagorean Ameinias introduced Parmenides to the peace of contemplation, and because of this relationship, Parmenides himself is considered a Pythagorean. Parmenides was the first metaphysician in the history of Western philosophy. Metaphysician because he positioned himself beyond time, space and cause. In the field of Western Philosophy Parmenides' influence can be noted by the following: - A logical dialectical rigor in the exposition - An existential vision addressed to the human entity - A truth coming from on high and not empirically theorized or conceptualized by the dianoetic mind Such a sacred vision can be revolutionary in a culture that, given the signs of the times, is characterized by a gloomy spiritual, ethical, cultural and political impoverishment.
Raphael having attained a synthesis of Knowledge (with which eclecticism or syncretism are not to be confused) aims at 'presenting' the Universal Tradition in its many Eastern and Western expressions. He has spent a substantial number of years writing and publishing books on spiritual experience, and his works include commentaries on the Qabbalah, Hermeticism and Alchemy. He has also commented on and compared the Orphic Tradition with the works of Plato, Parmenides and Plotinus. Furthermore, Raphael is the author of several books on the pathway of non-duality (Advaita), which he has translated from the original Sanskrit, offering commentaries on a number of key Vedantic texts. After more than sixty years of teaching, both oral and written, Raphael has withdrawn into mahasamadhi.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9 The Way that leads to Being 17 Being 21 Introduction to the Proem 31 ON THE ORDER OF NATURE 41 Fragment 1, Proem 43 Fragments 2 - 7 49 Preamble to Fragment 8 57 Fragment 8 63 Introduction to the world of appearances 71 Fragments 8 (contd.) - 19 87 Notes to the Fragments 99 Bibliographic Reference 117 Glossary 119 Raphael: Unity of Tradition 127