CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT JOHNES RUTA’S ESSAY
“THE BERMUDA GROUP” AND BERKELEY’S
PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPT OF IMMATERIALISM

by VALERIU BOBORELU

Johnes Ruta, a complex writer and art critic and reader of Western Philosophy, presents an interesting and challenging essay which reflects social-spiritual tendencies in human society from Berkeley’s century until our times.

            The idea of writing this essay was inspired by John Smibert’s 1729 painting of “The Bermuda Group,” displayed in the Yale Art Gallery exhibition “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

            The artist Smibert depicts in a traditional and documentary style a major figure of Eighteenth century philosophy, the David George Berkeley and his entourage – family, sponsor, and teaching administrators.  Ruta gives a subtle, aesthetic description of the painting, compositional disposition of personages – dominated by the tall stature of Berkeley. The figures are related to the whole atmosphere of art work, but in the same  time each of them seems to have their own mind-inside preoccupation – similar to Berkeley’s concept of Immaterialism that Ruta relates to solipsism.

            Berkeley and his group descended from London in 1729 with the main goal to create on the island of Bermuda a college “for better supplying of churches in our foreign plantations” and to convert the people to Christianity.

            Inspired by the philosophical ideas of Berkeley, Ruta develops a multi-layered social-spiritual web which represents a dynamic, dramatic relation between Idealism and Materialism, the continuing search of the human mind to define the truth, the reality, and the field of knowledge.  He considers Berkeley a preeminent figure in the philosophical movement called Empiricism.  This system originated with thinkers like Epicurus (senses: valid source of knowledge), Thales, Aristotle, Descartes (mind perception is superior to the senses), John Locke (experience if essential), or Leibniz. 

            Ruta shows that “in terms of categories of Idealism and Materialism, the concept of Immaterialism – argued by Berkeley has been variously misunderstood.” and also, when the idea of Immaterialism “became close to solipsism (only one’s own mind is sure to exist), there have been generated conflicting interpretations…”  The principles of solipsism can be summarized as:  1. Egotism (isolation of the self), 2. Metaphysical (individual perspective), and 3. Epistemological (history of the field of knowledge.)

            Ruta emphasizes that Berkeley, as this “preeminent Western Idealist in the metaphysical sense” sustains that deep distinction between mental states and external things, and, Ruta continues, “Berkeley expressed this with the Latin formula “Esse est percepi”  (To be is to be perceived.) , and thereby concludes that “Berkeley’s concept of  Immaterialism  is carried to its logical extreme “with this view of the world which defines a subjective reality from each person”  (a purely subjective uni-verse.)

            The philosophical Berkeley sees the whole universe as a manifestation of a supreme deity, the God and “any order humans may see in nature is the landscape of

the handwriting of God…” 

            In the Eighteenth century, the sophisticated term of “Immaterialism” (and solipsism) would be applied only to the privileged classes, superior beings, and the land-owners (“to preserve the social order as the perceived and correct order of the universe.”

            In the conclusion of his essay, Ruta says “Subjective Idealism,” as proposed by Berkeley, was surely only a domain of the privileged classes and is still being fought for in the 21^st century.   There are indeed many problems of our contemporary world: social movements discontent with governments, the struggle of people to find truth, the correct relations between the members of society. Inspired by Ruta’s essay, I would like to present some additional ideas, concepts from some philosophical thinking, religious teachings, and some spiritual thinkers and writers.

           
         *  Buddhist School – Vaibhasika

-- Direct Perception and inference are valid conditions.  

-- Existence of:             * sense perception

                                    * mental direct perception

                                    * yogic direct perception

-- existence of Ultimate and Relative Truths.  

        
        * Buddhist School – Sautrantikas

-- existence of Ultimate and Relative Truths.  

-- Ultimate Truth: a phenomenon that is able to perform a function.  

-- things that exist momentarily.  

-- physical sense powers are not valid cognition.  

-- mental perception is valid cognition.

-- existence of direct perception:  sense, mental, yogic, self-consciousness.  

    
        * Buddhist school of Mind only (Cittamatras)

-- the basis of all phenomena is the mind.

-- the appearance of all external objects is similar to dreams;  external objects do not exist and they only exist in the mind.

            * Buddhist Mahayana school

-- all phenomena are in a continuum of change, and flux movement. 

-- all phenomena are depending arising: depend on causes and on conditions.

-- Theory of Emptiness: lack of inherent existence.

-- Selflessness   * of beings

                          * of objects

-- all phenomena are impermanent , except 3 categories:            * emptiness

                                                                                                * space

                                                                                                * analytical and non-analytical

-- the existence of the mind of clear light : the most subtle mind, the Buddha nature

-- Bodhicitta : the love, compassion for all beings

-- the Great Beings – Bodhissatvas – take the vows of Bodhicitta – to help all other beings to become liberated from Samsara abd obtain supreme state of Enlightenment.

-- Buddha Sakyamuhti : never think “I, mine, me.”

            * Sri Ramana Maharishi

--  the essential question:  Who am I ?

--  the nature of self : contrary to perceptible experience, not an experience of individuality

but a non-personal, all-inclusive awareness.

            * Self = God

-- the self  is ever present

-- the silent self is god

            * Sri Chinmoy

-- “Man and God are eternally one.”

            * Pard Mahansa Yogananda  “The Divine Romance”

--  “Christ is right here, he can be seen if you look within your forehead at the point between the eyebrows, the center of Christ-consciousness, the seat of the single or spiritual eye.”

            * Caroline Cory  “The visible and invisible worlds of God.”

-- the Creator Source is without beginning and end.

-- the Creator Source is not one being or one person. It is layered multi-dimensional existence.

-- we are one minute particle of the Creator Source.

Creator Source

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Creator Consciousness

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Divine Creator            Creator Energy

(Father)                   (Mother)

                                                                                      |                         |
                                                                                      |_____________|   

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                                                                          O    Massive Body of Light-consciousness
                                                                                   particles “Split-off” 
                                                                           |

             __________________________ |_______________________   
            |                                                                          |                                         |
    Divine and Celestial                           Solar and Planetary                      Intelligent
            Beings                                         Systems                              Evolutionary Being

           
         * Gabriel of Sedona   “The Cosmic Family”

--  our planet is going through important changes : we are passing now from 3^rd to 4^th dimension.

--  subtle, superior beings are involved in helping our planet.

--  some of these great beings take the human re-personalization in order to help direct our planet.

-- Deo-Atomic = atomic structures in alignment with God and Paradise absolute and are connected to cosmic vibration patterns.

-- Deo-Atomic Cells aligned with Paradise absolute and are cells of future Light Body.

-- the fourth epochal revelation was fulfilled when the Creator Son of our local universe,

Christ-Michael bestowed himself as a human mortal, Jesus of Nazareth to portray the nature of his Paradise Father.

        
         * Urantia – the cosmic name of our planet. 

-- Urantia is Planet 606 in the system of Satania, in the constellation of Norlatiadek,

in the universe Nebadon, in the super-universe of Orvonton.

-- Michael (Christ) of Nebadon chose among all the planets in his universe for his Seventh Bestowal, as a human mortal, in which he revealed the loving nature of the Universal Father.

-- Urantia is sometimes called “The World of the Cross” because it is the only planet in the 700,000 local universes where a creator son was put to death by his own creatures.

            * KRISHNANANDA (“2012 End or beginning.”)

--  “There are ‘Light Beings,’ Astral Masters and a Divine Plan waiting to help us and gift to us higher living facilities and comforts.  We have to get ready to receive them.  We can qualify by just going back to our original state : the state of love, peace, and truth.  Positivise,

remove all violence, corruption and aggression. 

--  We have to meditate and channel Light a lot to transform.  It is actually possible for the transition into the Light Age to be peaceful; and painless.

            * Quantum Theory

--  All our thoughts, emotions, and activities are recorded on a subtle level (“Crystal Cave”).

When we are passing away the recordings from the “Crystal Cave” are transferring to the matrix of the Earth (the subtle energetic grid) for the benefit of Humanity.

 January 2012, Valeriu Boborelu