Should knowledge ever be hidden?

[clara927]

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." - Matthew 7:6

This quote to me seems to make the case for hidden knowledge. Does concealing knowledge ever serve a noble purpose? What do you feel are benefits and drawbacks of doing that?

[gruntal]

The field of religion, metaphysics, and spirituality is filled with tales or allegations (or paranoia) of veiled knowledge; traps; false roads ect aimed at either hiding things from the "unworthy" or ensuing only years of earnest study would suffice to be enlightened. Indeed the neophytes of the Golden Dawn just assumed they were being given false choices to test their ability to discern the truth. The late Herbert W Armstrong built his church via a radio program called The World Of Tomarrow in which he repeatedly quoted Jesus's words to his disciples that they were to know things that the masses would hear but be unable to understand. Naturally Mr. Armstrong would reveal all if you subscribed to his Plain Truth magazine (free to all ). Perhaps the most intriguing is the allegation that the Illuminati and/or Rosicrucians taught the leaders of their day the secrets of the universe (perhaps under threat of torture or death) but actually taught them simple nonsense that said leaders were too stupid or egotistical to recognise as such.

In modern times some societies ban even the hint of abortions although it is common knowledge a combination of certain medicines have a synergistic toxicity that could enduce a miscarriage. That might qualify as an induced abortion if you tricked several doctors to prescibe the drugs to you one drug at a time and went to differerent pharmacies so the very dissemination of that knowldge might be considered illegal or immoral. Of course it also opens the can of worms as to if the average person should have all the knowldege available to them to protect themselves.

If we are to believe the writings of the so-called New Testiment the Master Jesus was very honest and taught his followers to be the same. But I do not recall anything about blurting out every little secret to people animical to you and everything else either because of malice or ignorance. I tend myself to ask in a very limeted way. If I come off as too persistant I fear I will not get more then an alibi or excuse. Even if the person does know something I do not he/she may not be able to express it in words anybody can understand. Or I may have asked the wrong question to begin with.

Yeah I think the biggist problem is knowing what to ask for. If you do not know that then you might not be ready for the answere anyway. And you can't expect people to give you answeres out of the thin air just because there are answeres. Another enigma of life.

[sparklekaz]

Hi Clara,

This is an interesting question. "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

I think first of all we have to look at what dogs and swine meant as a metaphor or symbolically to the people of the time. Swine being seen as unclean creatures and dogs being untrustworthy and likely to bite you. Any man deemed to have both these qualities would be seen as unfit or unworthy to receive or be taught valuable spiritual lessons.

Did they feel it would be wasted upon them as their very natures would make it difficult or impossible to appreciate and understand the message or lessons behind the holy teachings. Or simply that the knowledge would be turned by them to suit their own questionable or dishonorable purposes.. I don't know, but it would seem likely.

We can all be given knowledge, but I feel it is what we do with it, how far we go with it, is what is important. You can present two men with information, but it is their own innate abilities and character that will determine how they use that knowledge. Especially esoteric knowledge.

Personally and I feel many who follow a spiritual path believe, that knowledge should be given freely to anyone. What they do with it is up to them, but it would never be wasted, for if only a tiny seed is planted who knows what fruit it might bear forth. Man's nature is such, that he has within himself the ability to redeem himself in any moment, given the right circumstances.

For me, this passage, simply illustrates the way men thought at the time.

Love and light
Kaz

[clara927]

Thank you for your responses Gruntal and Kaz. Btw, just as a caveat, hope I didn't come off as holier than thou, because that was not what I intended. I just thought it was a question that needed to be asked. Gruntal, I think that's a valid point, that there may not be such a thing as hidden knowledge, that its there for anyone who looks. Maybe people don't know what questions to ask. So another question is, is there such a thing as hidden knowledge?

[gruntal]

I think now we get to the heart of the subject. There would pretty much have to be hidden knowldege or there would by definition be no such thing as spirituality. By inferance there also could be no such thing as Great Masters or Ascended Beings. "When the student is ready the teacher will come". We just assume it is up to the student to decide if the teacher is legit. But can the teacher make the same mistake? It is suggested that is impossible because those much higher then us can not be so unless they are actually capable of being and knowing all.

Well I might be an exeception but that guy next to me I don't trust to be so all knowing and powerfull so I hope he stays very average and I guess there is some reason and order to the Cosmos.

[sparklekaz]

I think if something is hidden, it means that only those who are genuine spiritual aspirants will seek to find it. Human nature being what it is, it sorts the wheat out from the chaff so to speak.

You made a good point George, about it not all being up to us. I have thought about this a lot, I believe there is a element of Divine interaction and guidance. I feel we encounter many teachers and inner guides as we move through each stage of our development.

I believe that is for our own good, for if we are not ready, emotionally as well as spiritually, it could be dangerous for ourselves and others around us. A kind of divine safety net to ensure that powerful knowledge doesn't get into the wrong hands. Without that I feel we will only get so far by ourselves.

Love and light
Kaz

[aceofcups]

I find it an interesting question. I personally have been attracted to the Mysteries and Mystery Schools which have existed since antiquity. Have belonged to number of them over the years. I think there are many spiritual teaching which were formerly hidden from the general public that are now readily available for any to openly read over.....others are not and still hidden.... but now the hidden blinds in knowledge comes in the form of true understanding of them at times.

I know some people don’t like the idea of hidden schools. But they have existed for an long time in many cultures in many belief systems and still exist and by their very nature are veiled. One doesn’t join a real mystery school to be better then anyone,,, actually one joins to become the best they can become after a lot of hard work. But the mystery school way is only one path of many of course.

The mysteries are not just knowledge, it is the understanding and working of and with the forces of nature for Mankind's evolution. For mankind’s sake I am happy they exist and happy for mankind's safety some are hidden.

Some believe they were used selfishly in the past by some ,,,but that is another story.

Peace,
Charlie

[markings]

We know that with children there are are appropriate answers. The answer depends on the mental capacity the child has at the time. This is not hiding knowledge but presenting it to the child in a way which the child can process.
The same principles should apply to all spiritual knowledge. Hiding such is evil, to present it in a way which is beneficial to the other is good.

[shaw-09]

benefits : hmmmm... a sudden release of knowledge or the truth to everyone can freak some people out, simply becasue they are not in the steady mind of excepting it.

drawbacks: hmmmmm..... U will be called SELFISH by the community

BUT!!!! always a but..... jus because of this those ppl(apart of them) with this knowledge tend to be choosy in passing it down... (NOT the right way).. they should pass it down to ppl who can except it and cherish it..

[DeeUSA]

Hi Clara,

Another great question. Here's my answer...its not profound, historical or philisophical or anything like that! Its just my opinion for today's modern day life. I wish I would not have "flaunted" my knowledge around my ex husband. I already know what I know and I didn't have to always prove to him that I knew it.

In others words, knowledge is gained to help us grow as a person...an individual. Just because it was gained by me as a person didn't mean I had to shove it down someone else's throat. Some people are perfectly content with being blissfully ignorant and we should respect their wishes. :-)

Blesses
Dee

[Ishtahota]

Knowledge is a tricky little thing to understand. There is the knowledge from teachers, books and schools, and then there is the knowledge that comes from within. Then there is the ability to comprehend knowledge. And only true comprehension makes it practical to use. You can have all of the degrees in the world and still be as dumb as a stump.
The knowledge from within takes a lot of work and to be perfectly honest the knowledge that is in books and schools originally came from within. There are two things that block us from accessing the knowledge from within. One is what the mystics call the veil, it is a wall that stands between us and the other side. The veil is created by each of us, and it is made up of our fears. Thinning the veil takes a lot of personal clearing work. Then there is our ego and our ego is like a pair of sunglasses, it clouds and distorts what we think we see. Clearing and cleaning the ego takes a lot of personal clearing work.
And after all of that we have to comprehend the knowledge that we have. How many people do you know that have a lot of knowledge, but they can not put it to any practical use? There is something that happens to people who are on a spiritual journey, that the mystics call the quickening. The quickening can bring with it fear, panic, and anxiety attacks. It is a time when the Spirit world raises our over all body vibration, or you could say that our higher-self sets this into motion. Over all body and being vibration is tied into comprehension of knowledge. A person of lower vibration can not fully comprehend the knowledge that is out there. They can not see the bigger picture and put all of the peaces together.
Knowledge can never be lost or even hidden.