From the Depths of Millennia

By editor in Teaching Anatomy April 15, 2020

According to the Teaching, humanity has existed far longer than modern science acknowledges. More precisely, civilisation itself has a much older history. The origins of humanity as a species have been pushed back, thanks to recent scientific discoveries, to over a million years ago or even further. Yet, civilisation is only granted the last 5–7 thousand years, with the preceding period described as primitive society or savagery. However, the Teaching reveals that many more cultures have risen and fallen than is commonly believed, and these human civilisations — unknown to science — might have reached levels comparable to the Middle Ages or even higher, though not necessarily in a technical sense.

The book “Evor” includes mitevma “The Top”, which narrates events from approximately 265,000 years ago. The significance is not merely that it describes an advanced civilisation of that era. What is crucial is that one of Hermes’ revelations occurred at that time — though Hermes likely bore a different name then. This implies that by the time of that revelation, even if it were the very first, humanity as a civilisation must have already existed for tens of thousands of years. Otherwise, the revelation would not have been possible.

Every sentient race in the Universe — of which there are many — must tread the path of knowledge and spiritual perfection. This journey is never easy. Some races face particular difficulties, their progress stagnates for long periods, and they come to the brink of extinction or even self-destruction. Yet each of them plays a vital role in the destiny of the Universe, as intelligent life is an invaluable evolutionary force. Thus, the God of Wisdom (Hermes, Emere) intervenes to aid races facing such challenges. He provides them with a message — an intellectual and spiritual impulse — that helps them overcome crisis. In simpler terms, he offers a sort of hint, revealing a portion of the Truth to guide them back onto the right path. This message is referred to as a revelation. It is not a supernatural event — rare and extraordinary, yes, but not beyond nature.

Humanity is one of the problematic races, struggling greatly with independently comprehending the Truth. This is due to certain traits of its character and mentality. Yet, despite these difficulties, humanity is a highly gifted race that, by overcoming its flaws, could achieve much not only for its world but also for the evolution of the entire universe. This conclusion is evident, at least from the God of Wisdom’s persistent efforts to support humanity. While some races need just one revelation to resolve their crisis, others may require several. Occasionally, seeing a situation as almost hopeless, the God of Wisdom ceases his attempts, leaving the stubbornly misguided race to the fate it has chosen for itself. After all, free will is an inviolable right — it allows guidance but not coercion, even in the right direction.

Humanity’s case is nearly unprecedented; it has received twenty-seven revelations throughout its long history — a staggering number. Clearly, humanity is deemed worth the effort.

Even if the revelation mentioned in “The Top” was the very first, there must have already been enough time before it to demonstrate the failure of humanity’s attempts to comprehend the Truth independently. This would have involved a series of intellectual and spiritual highs and lows, crises, and their resolutions — until the situation became particularly dire. As such, it is unlikely that this process took less than several tens of thousands of years. From this reasoning, the age of human civilisation can be estimated at a minimum of 300,000 years.

Over this period, humanity has periodically received revelations — on various continents and through prophets of different peoples. These prophets gathered followers to whom they imparted their knowledge, creating closed communities of the initiated. In this way, the Teaching returned to the world again and again. However, the knowledge was not intended for open dissemination. Its purpose was not to hand humanity ready-made answers but to nudge it towards the right path. Thus, these circles of initiates admitted only a limited number of individuals, ranging in size from a few to a few thousand, depending on the era and region. Naturally, the knowledge did extend beyond these communities; otherwise, the revelations would have been pointless. However, it spread indirectly, through moral exhortations, philosophical doctrines, scientific concepts, works of art, and so forth. This always had the desired effect, fulfilling the purpose of the revelation. The communities of the initiated eventually faded away.

This often raises questions such as, “Why did they disappear? Doesn’t this mean the Teaching was unsustainable?” Not at all. No closed, secretive society — especially one that imposes high standards on its members and limits its size — can endure indefinitely. Issues arise, such as the preservation of knowledge, recruitment of suitable candidates, and more. Furthermore, such communities struggle to survive during wars, social upheavals, epidemics, and other catastrophes. Most significantly, they find it hard to survive in environments hostile to dissenters. Today, when religious tolerance is almost globally accepted, it may be hard to imagine a time when this was not the case. But in the past, dissenting groups faced suspicion, hostility, and often open persecution — sometimes even physical annihilation. The history of humanity offers many tragic examples (and even today, such situations still arise). Followers of the Teaching, unable to form genuinely secret societies due to their commitment to truth and integrity, were often exposed. They were persecuted and killed because they refused to lie to save themselves or renounce their beliefs. The Teaching, as a system of views, was not preached openly or demonstratively; however, the principles and behaviour of its followers did not conform to the prevailing beliefs, often contradicting commonly accepted customs and the interests of the powerful. Here is how it is described in the mitevma “The Top”: “Our work was never accepted by the world as a good one because it was opposed to evil, which the world considered to be good. Although we did not reveal our deeds openly, they were often discovered by those who went where the clean wind came from. They guarded the stench of purity; and they found us, for we were pure and could not lie for our salvation. And then we perished, blessing the world” (The Top, 12-15).

Despite these challenges, and even though the knowledge-bearers eventually faded away, each revelation successfully provided humanity with the necessary impetus. Its echo resonated long after the last of the initiates had passed, shaping new religions, philosophies, sciences, and arts. This intellectual and spiritual legacy endured for centuries and millennia, until yet another crisis arose and a new revelation was needed.

Twenty-five of the revelations have left little trace due to their antiquity. However, the twenty-sixth — its predecessor — has significantly influenced modern civilisation. It took place several thousand years ago in Europe, where the God of Wisdom was known as Hermes. Over time, this name entered mythology, and the prophet who received that revelation was forgotten. Eventually, he became conflated with the source of the revelation, giving rise to the legend of Hermes Trismegistus.

Trismegistus undoubtedly existed and was one of the prophets of the Teaching. His legacy profoundly influenced religion, philosophy, occultism, science, and culture, echoing the Teaching in varying degrees of clarity.

The tradition known as Hermeticism is believed to preserve Trismegistus’ heritage. While it has undoubtedly impacted humanity’s history, Hermeticism actually has little in common with Hermes’ original teaching. It is merely a distant echo, distorted over time. Only now, with the arrival of the latest revelation, can Hermes’ teaching be restored in its true form. But that is a subject for another time.