The Logos: The Meletic Testament (Chapter 13 The Witness)
đź“ś Chapter 13: The Witness
1. Asterion once told us that no man should call him a prophet. He claimed to foretell nothing that had not already been inscribed in the quiet laws of nature and the order of the Logos.
2. He said—Let no man call me a sage, for I do not possess wisdom as a treasure—I merely pursue it as one chases the horizon in the morning.
3. —If I am to be remembered at all, let it be not as a master or a mystic, but simply as a witness.
4. A witness not of gods, nor of miracles, nor of divine revelation, but of To Ena—the One that binds all existential things without binding. A witness like no other.
5. Not the One of worship, nor of hymns sung in incense-laden halls, but the One of nature, of order and of quiet continuity that emanates the Logos and the Nous
6. Asterion spoke of how one day, he had seen a bright light shine that was stronger than the sun in the grove, where he was sitting, under a olive tree. The light began to cover the entire grove.
7. At first, the light blinded him knocking him to the ground, until the light then entered his body. The wind blew and as he breathed, something had entered with his breath. He sensed that he had witnessed and felt the presence of To Ena. This was what he reflected in his vision with such providence.
8. I was intrigued about his unique vision and asked him—What did his vision mean?
9. Asterion replied—It means to observe without distortion, without the lens of desire or fear. To be able to see the truth.
10. —To see the world not as we wish it to be, nor as we are told it must be, but precisely as it is—unadorned and whole.
11. To Ena is not a creator god to be emulated—it does not speak in divine thunder, nor judge from a throne above. It cannot be what it is not, which is becoming.
12. It is the unity behind all things of existence. The structure, the rhythm, the balance that persists even when we do not see it. It is sufficient to know that it is present.
13. And he having glimpsed it had to speak—not to convert the masses, but to clarify the vision for those people who sought it. It was not a yearning that would be fulfilled, but more of an understanding.
14. For the soul, when it sees clearly and without illusion, begins to heal from its confusion. Being a witness of To Ena was no illusion. It was ultimate reality.
15. And clarity begins not with belief, but with witnessing. He was an actual witness of To Ena; for he spoke on its behalf with the infusion of its influence.
16. Not with blind faith, but with deliberate observation that he was given since his birth, which eventually would evolve into his old age.
17. Not with divine worship that others invoke, but with the understanding that grows from enquiry and wisdom.
18. He told the people who gathered to listen to him, to not follow him as disciples. He asked them to look, and to look honestly with not only those hearts, but with their souls.
19. To look at the world, and see the unfolding in its unity—not imposed, but inherent. This was the beginning of the process of becoming a witness of To Ena.
20. To see that all things with genuine essence are joined—not by will, nor by divine design, but by the nature of their being that reflects the order of the Logos.
21. To Ena is not above us, nor below—it is within and around, like the air we breathe but seldom notice. Thus, it is what emanates the Logos and the Nous.
22. It is behind the breath of the vast cosmos. It does not breathe as we do, as mere mortals.
23. It is behind the motion of the apparent stars that glow in the night. It does not move with intent.
24. It gives presence to the Logos which is the law that governs cosmic order, although To Ena does not command with voice or decree. Its being is not divine.
25. He said one day to the crowd who had gathered—I Asterion am a witness; for I have witnessed its influence—not in visions granted by gods, but in the quiet unfolding of existence.
26. —Not in sheer ecstasy or a mesmerising trance, but in the thought that is patient and precise.
27. —I am no actual messenger of a divine will that was send by a god. I am no chosen one of prophecy.
28. —I am only a mortal man who has looked deeply into himself, and who now speaks plainly.
29. —Let that be my legacy that will endure the test of time—not a doctrine, but a direction.
30. I Heromenes, wrote these words not to glorify Asterion, but to preserve the clarity he so fiercely defended with wisdom. The man who was my teacher and mentor.
31. For Asterion feared the corruption of memory of men more than the silence of death itself. He understood that men had the tendency to corrupt or be corrupted.
32. He once told me that men will make all myths they desire to make, when they cannot bear the weight of the truth. To be a witness of To Ena was to be a witness to the truth.
33. They will call him divine or mystic, because they cannot accept that a man may see without being chosen by divine will. This was common amongst the Christians.
34. They will think of him as an image of a statue, when all he asked from one was reflection of one's truth. He never imagined himself the embodiment of another man, only that of his philosophy.
35. They will forsake his name in the pages of history, when all he offered was a question to ponder and the essence of his wisdom.
36. Let them do so, if they truly understand, but who was he to tell them what to do for themselves?
37. Let them remember him as one who bore witness to To Ena—not to a heaven or Olympus, but to the harmony of the Logos that encompasses the Nous.
38. Not to any eternal salvation, but to the structure that sustained his soul and living breath.
39. Not to the whims of mystery, but to meaning that emerges when illusion is stripped away and the truth is all that remains.
40. And if they must speak of him, let them say: he saw, and he spoke—not to lead, but to illuminate the way of the truth.
41. Asterion once stood beneath the olive trees and told me that the world does not ask to be worshipped—it asks to be understood. It is we the people who create worship.
42. Men kneel before idols, but they do not kneel before the truth; for the truth does not demand posture, nor does it resemble any falsehood.
43. To Ena is not a presence to be appeased like a creator god is—it is a principle to be perceived, and one that is the foundation for Meletic belief and practice.
44. It does not punish with impunity, nor reward with good fortune—it simply is in its existence. It has no authority over man's judgement. Its influence is seen in its practicality.
45. And in its being, it reveals the quiet architecture of existence that is displayed by the Logos and the Nous. When we think of being, it is To Ena which we should be reminded.
46. He had walked amongst the thinkers and the priests, and he had found that both seek comfort more than clarity. It is the logos that is within us as our rationality.
47. But clarity is not comfortable when it is lost—it is sharp, it is cold, but it is honest, when accepted. Clarity is the semblance of knowledge, when that knowledge is genuine.
48. To witness To Ena is to endure that honesty without retreat, and to be a worthy witness without regret. Life makes us realise that we are worthier when speak the truth.
49. It is to stand before the world and say boldly: I know you are there, and I shall not look away. I shall remain here for now. This is how we should interact with it.
50. Even when the world is indifferent, even when it offers no answer or comfort in return. The world is constantly evolving. It is the people who either evolve or remain stagnant.
51. I asked Asterion the following question which was—Is there no illusion in witnessing?
52. Asterion replied—There is only peace, but not illusion. There is understanding, but not forgetting.
53. The type of witness that he spoke of, did not possess the world for himself—he walked beside it. Someone whose path is the way of the truth in life.
54. He did not command the truth with his presence—he listened to it, even when it was silent.
55. And in that silence, he found the rhythm of To Ena that echoes through the Logos. This echo was one that became familiar to him.
56. It was not a mere voice that one is trained to hear, but a certain pattern. Not a will, but a way that defines the essence of life.
57. To Ena does not speak to us in words that are expressed—its sheer emanations unfold in the natural order of the Logos and the formation of the Nous.
58. It is the unfolding that he had seen with his eyes, and that he then described to me, with such as eloquence and understanding that could only be revealed in this process.
59. Not with the sacred words of scripture, but with the language of thought that is human in its essence.
60. Not with divine revelation ordained from above, but with reflection that makes one contemplate and realise the nature of To Ena.
61. He told to me to let others speak of ineffable miracles that bring back the dead or heal the sick with a touch that was holy—he would speak instead of the natural wonders of life.
62. To let others speak of divine light—he would speak of the clarity that comes from reason that reflects the truth.
63. To let others seek that elusive eternal salvation—he would seek the understanding of life. Whilst he spoke of being a witness of To Ena, the Christians spoke instead of the kingdom in heaven, the Antichrist and Armageddon. They spoke these things, as they were the owners of ultimate fate.
64. And if they called him foolish in his shunning of their sacred gods, to let them know that the fire burnt in his light continued as he reached enlightenment.
65. He did not burn—he illuminated. For it was the illumination that kindled his soul when in need. The soul once illuminated guided one on the path towards To Ena.
66. Not with fervent passion of others who profess a creator for the explanation of the world, but with the knowledge that he existed as a man.
67. Not with the falsehood of deceivers, but with the belief to what is actually truthful in its origin. Asterion was aware of the Christian belief of creation.
68. The witness that he referred to, must always be loyal to himself—not to belief, but to the truth. He strongly emphasised this description of the witness.
69. He must not distort the way of the truth, nor embellish it with words of praise, nor conceal its moments of uncertainty.
70. He must speak what he sees with his soul, even when it is inconvenient to admit to others who ignore the plight of the soul.
71. Even when it contradicts the songs of the exalted ones and the scrolls of the scholars.
72. Even when it leaves him alone, he must never dare to forsake his soul along the path to enlightenment.
73. For the way of the truth is often solitary, and the witness must be prepared to walk alone.
74. But he is not truly alone in his path, for To Ena is always present to guide him along the way.
75. Not as a companion that leaves footprints in the soil, but as the very ground upon which he walks.
76. Not as a guide that takes one by the hand, but as the path itself that awaits us all who take that path in life.
77. And so he walked—not towards the heavens, nor away from earth, but along the line that joins all things that are existential.
78. That line is not drawn by the whims of the gods, nor by mortal men—it is drawn by nature itself.
79. And he, having seen it with his own vision, must speak of it—not to be remembered, but to be clear in his wisdom shared with others.
80. For clarity is the only offering he could make that is understood, and the only legacy he desired that would continue his philosophy.
81. Asterion once told us to not mistake simplicity for ignorance—To Ena is simple, but it is not shallow. He described the simplicity in life as being a breath of To Ena.
82. Its simplicity is not the absence of any depth, but the presence of universal existence that reminds us all that we are an evolving part of its emanations.
83. It does not dazzle one with supernatural miracles performed—it endures with the natural wonders of the world that are intrinsic to the order of the Logos.
84. It does not command attention or submission—it invites and inspires contemplation. It is through that contemplation that we begin to comprehend life.
85. And those people who truly witness it like he had, must learn to see without seeking. Being a witness of To Ena, was not the same of being a witness of supreme deity.
86. For To Ena does not hide from us like a stranger would—it is we who look elsewhere in life with our hope and yearning that we often find solace in faith than reason.
87. We chase visions and voices that we believe is the truth, whilst the truth stands quietly before us. It is a truth that reveals itself to us, when we have walks its path.
88. Some of us adorn our ignorance with endless rituals performed, and call it divine reverence, but reverence without understanding or reasoning, is merely fear dressed in the robes of ceremony.
89. Asterion said to me one day—Do not let others say that you are not a witness. Tell them, when they ask you what are you a witness of that you are one of To Ena.
90. One day, a Christian woman named Thimitra asked Asterion, why he did not have faith—Why do you not have faith like we Christians do? Do you not have a heart?
91. Asterion replied—It does not beat to faith, it beats to philosophy. Yes, I have indeed a heart, but I also have a mind.
92. —Do you not believe in the wrath of God, when there are storms, earthquakes or floods that bring chaos unto the world? The woman insisted.
93. Asterion replied—I do not deny there is chaos in the world, but there is also order given by the Logos.
94. —You mean by God, who saves us then after we are punished, when the calamity is over.
95. —Those are your words—not mine professed. A god that punishes who he wills at liberty, is more a tyrant than a god.
96. But this Logos of yours cannot avoid or save us from chaos, like god can—uttered the woman.
97. Asterion would reflect his wisdom—If that is so, then why does he not save the many innocent, men, women and children from chaos?
98. —He saves the righteous than the sinners. This is the way of the truth that I observe.
99. What sin do innocent people have to not be saved from chaos?—Asterion posed the question.
100. The woman could not answer that telling and compelling question, and she left bemused in her belief.
101. Another Christian who was a man names Paulos, asked Asterion about his belief in the Devil. —Do you not believe in the Devil?
102. Asterion answered the man, as he stared into his eyes, exuding not confidence but the truth—No. Give me a reason to do so.
103. The man challenged him afterwards—Do you not believe that evil exists in this world?
104. Asterion proceeded to explain to the man his philosophy of evil and the Devil. —Evil exist indeed in this world, but it is no doing of the Devil.
105. The man was bemused—What do you mean by that? Surely, you do not expect me to believe otherwise, since the Devil is amongst us.
106. —You see, the Devil is nothing more than the fear of man expressed. The worst evil is the evil from within one.
107. Are you implying that I am evil, and that I carry the Devil in me. That is blasphemy—the man uttered.
108. —Those are you words spoken not mine. What I am telling you is that the worst evil that the world has seen has been created by men and women themselves, unto others.
109. The man was still perplexed by Asterion's analogy—And what is behind that evil that you refer to?
110. The greatest evil that is driven by the influence of power that has haunted men for centuries, which is greed—Asterion told the man.
111. And that is the Devil's work that controls men to do evil things—said the Christian.
112. —No. That is the evil of the ego. For it is a shadow far greater than your Devil in disguise.
113. —But the Devil, I tell you. Our Lord and scriptures tell us that he exists within the world.
114. —I do not deny that it is written in your scriptures, but I ask you one question, do men need the Devil to do evil, when they have tasted the fruits of greed by themselves?
115. —No, but I tell you the Devil does exist. If not why do our scriptures speak of him, as the face of evil?
116. Asterion did not mock the Christian, he simply told him what he did not want to hear. —That is simple to respond. Because men need someone to blame for their fears, their doubts, their vices, and their greed.
117. That was the end of the conversation and questions. The Christian man left, but with more questions of his faith than answers.
118. I never stopped asking questions to Asterion; for he knew that it was a sign of my wisdom. I was interested in knowing about his thought on freedom, and so I asked him.
119. Asterion told me that witnessing is the beginning of freedom, and freedom begins with the way of the truth.
120. And the way of the truth, when witnessed without distortion is the only light that does not fade into the shadows of deceit.
121. Asterion once said to me—Men speak of enlightenment as if it was only a flame—but it is not the flame itself, it is the clarity behind the flame.
122. It does not consume like other flames do—it reveals instead that path of enlightenment that teaches one to see life through wisdom.
123. It does not elevate the man to the belief that he can survive without the body and soul—it equalises them.
124. For when one sees clearly, he no longer seeks to rise above—he seeks to stand within. It is his foundation.
125. Deeply within the pattern, within the structure, within the influence of To Ena. And in that standing made, he ceases to struggle against what is his fear, his doubt and his unwillingness.
126. The Meletic witness travels from place to place, never with indoctrination, but with the voice of reason.
127. Verily, he does not surrender his will blindly to faith or traditions—he aligns it with the way of the truth.
128. Thus, he does not obey the will of the mind only—he understands the needs of the body and soul, as they relate to the harmony of the Logos.
129. And once he achieves that understanding, then he realises that enlightenment is the only true freedom in life worth pursuing.
130. Not the freedom from consequence or actions taken, but the freedom from the falsehood of men's illusion.
131. Illusion is the veil that blinds the soul—not because it is thick, but because it is familiar and accessible.
132. We cling to it with a fervent passion, because we think it comforts us more than the truth. That is the error men make in life.
133. Comfort is not the measure of reality. It is more the desire of the body and the yearning of the soul than anything else.
134. And reality, when seen without illusion is neither cruel nor kind—it simply exists as it is.
135. The truth is not solely a refuge for the poor and needy—it is much more than that. It is an abiding foundation that builds philosophy.
136. To Ena does not lead us astray—it gives us a mind and a way of thinking to be led in life, and to be able to do for ourselves.
137. And that support is not mere safety—it is stability that the soul seeks in its unique yearning.
138. The witness who seeks enlightenment must be prepared in the mind—not in emotion, but in genuine perception too.
139. That man must not waver when the world trembles with the signs of chaos in the horizon.
140. He must not falter in his life, when others flee to idols or to the sanctuary of faith.
141. For faith and idols are the escape of the fearful, and he who is the witness of To Ena must not escape the truth.
142. He must choose to remain in tact, even when the truth is heavy and burdens the soul mightily.
143. Even when it isolates him or threatens him, he should not flee from his adversities without recognising them first.
144. Even when it offers no reward as well. The witness of To Ena needs no reward to exist in life.
145. For the reward is not the praise of To Ena—it is the realisation that we belong to the Logos and the Nous. It is our ultimate fate.
146. And the fate that awaits us is the evident mark of the witness who embraces this fate knowingly.
147. It is not eloquence, not charisma, not power that I speak of—but instead awareness. The witness of Meleticism is one that is imbued with the awareness of To Ena, the Logos and the Nous.
148. It is to speak what is seen or felt in the soul, exactly as it is seen, and as it is felt also.
149. To Ena does not require religious devotion—it requires discipline and presence that defines the philosophical practicise of Meleticism.
150. And discipline is not restraint—it is alignment. And presence is the testimony of the witness.
151. It is the alignment with the rhythm of the Logos and the Nous, with To Ena, the One.
152. Not to become divine as immortals to be evoked, but to become clear as mortals in our lives to be respected and recognised.
153. Not to transcend realities with falsehoods, but to comprehend the function of reality that encompasses us in life.
154. Asterion taught us then that comprehension is the highest awareness of the witness. When that awareness was achieved, then the witness can become a guardian.
155. Not because it elevated him unto a superior status, but because it dissolved his uncertainties as he grew in wisdom and in age.
156. Asterion believed that the witness does not stand apart—he becomes part of To Ena. A living symbol of its reflection.
157. Not by losing himself, but by recognising that the self was never meant to be distant from the body or soul.
158. To Ena does not absorb one to exclude others—it includes all who become a lasting witness of its presence.
159. And inclusion is not erasure or elimination—it is integration to belong with others who have witnessed To Ena too.
160. Asterion sought not to be remembered, but to be integrated into the understanding of the minds of others who embraced his teachings.
161. He believed that if Meleticism would survive him. It would not become a school of thought that would be accepted by all, but that it had to remain a philosophy.
162. A philosophy through which the world is seen more clearly, not more comfortably. He never sought to settle with comfort in his philosophy as one's practice.
163. He told me to let no one build temples of divinity in its name, nor carve its philosophical principles into stone only. This he was against; for it would only make Meleticisim a pious religion or tradition.
164. For stone is rigid, and Meleticism must remain fluid and grow beyond the pillars of stone. It has no need to be embellished by any form of divinity.
165. It must adapt to the changing world, not impose upon it any religious scripture or dogma that dictates its principles.
166. It must evolve with the thought of the philosopher and the others, not stagnate in reverence and adoration.
167. To let it be a genuine philosophy of motion and progress, not one that is so easily forgotten and erased.
168. To let it be questioned, challenged, refined—never worshipped. For if it is worshipped, it becomes sacred.
169. For the moment it is worshipped, it ceases to be philosophy and becomes also a myth or mysticism.
170. And myth as we know it is the enemy of clarity, because it is a sheer illusion of the truth. Mysticism is the extension of the supernatural realm of religion.
171. Asterion did not wish to be the founder of another tradition—he simply wished to be the beginning of a conversation that would allow one to understand his philosophy.
172. A conversation that asks with wisdom and keen interest: What is the structure beneath sensation?
173. What is the living rhythm beneath the chaos that we can hear its vibrant pulse?
174. What is the genuine unity beneath the division that we can guide ourselves?
175. Verily, the philosophy of Meleticism, must remain always open to those questions and more. The witness is not a prophet. He is something more; he is the guardian of the soul.
176. Meleticism must not only offer answers—it must offer direction in life to those individuals who seek that direction too. They who seek to become a witness, must first reveal their own truth.
177. One day, he told a senator who asked him the question—How can you be so humble in poverty, when there is wealth around you?
178. Asterion replied—Let me tell you, I was once weaned into wealth. I know its fruit all too well.
179. Do you miss or long for it, after all these years—the senator enquired with curiosity.
180. No. What I have now in life, I did not have then—Asterion confessed to the senator.
181. And what was that, if I may ask you? —The senator continued with his questioning.
182. —The humbleness of the self that guides my conscience and wisdom every day of my life.
183. —What good is all of that in life, if you are mired in poverty and reminded of it daily?
184. Asterion then confessed to the senator—I rather be poor in the body than in the soul.
185. The senator was stunned by that admission of Asterion—But look at yourself. Look at your garments. Do you not see what I see with my eyes?
186. I know what I wear is nothing like what you wear, but I prefer to clothe the soul with the abundance of wisdom than the abundance of luxury—said Asterion.
187. It was enough to make the senator realise the wisdom expressed in Asterion's words of philosophy—You speak the truth, old man.
188. Asterion replied with a gentle smile—I am merely a philosopher, a witness, who speaks about the way of the truth.
189. —A witness of what or who may I ask? It is a god that you have witnessed?
190. —It is no god or creator, but To Ena, the One. Thus, I am its witness in life.
191. What is that truth that I may know of its revelation?—The senator would ask Asterion.
192. He took him by the arm then and told him—Come with me, I shall tell you along the way, unless you fear being seen with a poor old man?
192. The senator was eager to know what Asterion meant by his words—Tell me, before we walk together.
193. Asterion told him—The way of the truth must be walked and lived, before it reveals itself to one.
194. The senator who wished to not reveal his name to Asterion, left his shame behind, and walked with Asterion to know this way of the truth.
195. Asterion told his students to let those people who study Meleticism willingly become witnesses—not disciples. He had not need nor task for disciples. He sought witnesses who not only share the message of Meleticism, but practise it.
196. To let them speak not of him with great pride, but of the philosophy they themselves embraced.
197. To let them build nothing for the sake of something, but see everything for the sake of nothing.
198. To let them teach not what he taught with his wisdom alone, but what they have seen and lived.
199. For the witness of To Ena must be original—not in inspiration alone, but in perception too.
200. And perception must be free—not bound by any tradition, nor chained to man's legacy for glory.
201. If the philosophy of Meleticism becomes a legacy for others to be inspired, let it be a living one in its teaching.
202. One that breathes freely with thought every day, and walks with reason every day, amidst the adversities of life.
203. And if it ever fades, let it fade with dignity—not into a form of obscurity, but into integration.
204. For the best philosophies do not endure as names only in time—they endure as inspirations to people who become witness of their message.
205. And the inspiration that he offered was simple in its essence and nature to witness.
206. To witness without falsehood, without fear, without longing. To witness the One—not as divine, but as existence itself.
207. And he was to be remembered then, to be the one who said clearly—I saw, and I spoke—not to be followed, but to be understood as a witness of To Ena.
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