Secret Societies and Unions in the History of Mankind
1 hr. 15 min.
Description
This course of lectures describes the history of the activities of some of the most influential secret communities and alliances in human history.
Their structure, organizational aspects, relations with power, financial and economic foundations of their activity, and certain aspects of their spiritual life—their ideologies—are analyzed in detail. The lectures also cover in detail the Eleusinian mysteries, Orphic and Pythagorean communities, the cults of Isis in their Hellenic interpretation and modifications, and the activities of medieval spiritual and knightly orders— the Ioannites, the Templars—as well as the activity of the so-called Christians of the catacombs. It also discusses the religious and priestly communities of the ancient Celts, their priesthood—the Druids—and gives a characterization of Freemasonry: its ideology, structure, and the way Masonic organizations formed and operated in the largest countries of Europe, describing the features of national models of Freemasonry. The course proposes the idea that in society, often, two types of elites coexist: an official—public—and an unofficial—secret—elite, which often has no less, and sometimes even greater, weight and influence in state, political, and economic matters. And the figures of this backroom, hidden, secret elite frequently recruited their representatives into official bodies and structures.
And it turns out that all these communities, across different eras, were in many ways centers for nurturing that very secret, latent elite, and through it they strongly influenced the widest range of aspects of both internal and foreign policy of their states. All these communities created a powerful system for storing, collecting, processing, and transmitting information, a system for describing themselves, and a mechanism of self-reflection. It seems that the material presented here may be useful for those studying history, philosophy, culture—indeed for everyone who travels the path of self-education and, through it, wants to broaden their horizons and knowledge about the problems that were originally stated in this course and follow from its very title.
Their structure, organizational aspects, relations with power, financial and economic foundations of their activity, and certain aspects of their spiritual life—their ideologies—are analyzed in detail. The lectures also cover in detail the Eleusinian mysteries, Orphic and Pythagorean communities, the cults of Isis in their Hellenic interpretation and modifications, and the activities of medieval spiritual and knightly orders— the Ioannites, the Templars—as well as the activity of the so-called Christians of the catacombs. It also discusses the religious and priestly communities of the ancient Celts, their priesthood—the Druids—and gives a characterization of Freemasonry: its ideology, structure, and the way Masonic organizations formed and operated in the largest countries of Europe, describing the features of national models of Freemasonry. The course proposes the idea that in society, often, two types of elites coexist: an official—public—and an unofficial—secret—elite, which often has no less, and sometimes even greater, weight and influence in state, political, and economic matters. And the figures of this backroom, hidden, secret elite frequently recruited their representatives into official bodies and structures.
And it turns out that all these communities, across different eras, were in many ways centers for nurturing that very secret, latent elite, and through it they strongly influenced the widest range of aspects of both internal and foreign policy of their states. All these communities created a powerful system for storing, collecting, processing, and transmitting information, a system for describing themselves, and a mechanism of self-reflection. It seems that the material presented here may be useful for those studying history, philosophy, culture—indeed for everyone who travels the path of self-education and, through it, wants to broaden their horizons and knowledge about the problems that were originally stated in this course and follow from its very title.
1:15:49
Recorded Audio 2014--16 08-57-07
