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For many years we have been trying to communicate to people what the Esoteric Teaching really is. This is a very difficult task, because the English language does not contain adequate terminology to explain the Esoteric Teaching without distortion. The Esoteric Teaching is not a religion, a spiritual path or a philosophy; it is the basis of all kinds of religions, spiritual paths and philosophies.

So, what is the Esoteric Teaching? The Esoteric Teaching is Mindware: a transcendental ontology; an operating system for your mind.

Windows, Linux and OS X are operating systems and programming environments that provide a context for application software. Similarly, the Esoteric Teaching is a transcendental ontological operating and programming environment for a spiritual being, that provides a context for spiritual enlightenment and self-realization.

Most computer operating systems come with a collection of system software, useful utilities and application programs; similarly, the Esoteric Teaching Mindware has its own set of utilities and applications: an extensive collection of spiritual wisdom and practices. And just like if you have enough skill, you can write original programs for your computer operating system; if you become sufficiently knowledgeable and realized, you can compose original spiritual applications for the Esoteric Teaching Mindware. This is the Master Teacher, the highest degree of enlightenment in the Esoteric Teaching.

The Mindware metaphor makes it much easier to explain to people exactly what the Esoteric Teaching actually is. If we were to use the traditional language—the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya bhakti-sampradaya of Vedantic exegesis—no one but a handful of specialists would have the faintest idea what we are talking about. But most people know what a computer is, and have at least a vague idea what an operating system, a program, and a programming language is.

This table lists of some of the meanings of our Transcendental Ontology Mindware metaphor for the Esoteric Teaching:

Don’t take these correspondences too literally. Remember, it’s just a metaphor. But it’s a good metaphor, so we’ll use it a lot in upcoming posts. There really are a lot of parallels between computer software and the Esoteric Teaching.

For example, when you first begin using a computer, it seems very complex and bewildering. All the programs you run are previously written by other people. You find that if you use software from untrustworthy sources, or you install your software incorrectly, you can crash your computer and even lose data.

Likewise, when you first contact the Esoteric Teaching, it also seems very complex and bewildering. All the spiritual practices you perform are given in the traditional Vedic scriptures written by the ancient Master Teachers. You find that if you use spiritual practices from untrustworthy sources, or do not perform them properly, the results are unpredictable and you can get into spiritual difficulty.

As you learn more about computers, you may want to know more about them and eventually write your own programs. This requires learning a great deal about your computer, your operating system and becoming expert in at least one software programming language. If you are successful, the rewards of writing a new application are potentially very great.

Similarly, as you learn more about spiritual life, you may want to know more about it, and eventually attain self-realization. This requires learning a great deal about your body, mind and soul, God, spiritual life, the Esoteric Teaching itself, and becoming a specialist in at least one area of spiritual practice. If you are successful, the spiritual rewards of creating a new application or branch of the Esoteric Teaching are potentially very great.

Let us also compare the terms of this metaphor with our existing terminology for the Esoteric Teaching:

The Esoteric Teaching is not computer software; it is transcendental ontology: Mindware for human beings who are millions of times more complex than any computer. The path from a neophyte to Master Teacher may take lifetimes. But the Mindware metaphor can help us understand this ancient, vast and tremendously complex field of spiritual ontology, the Esoteric Teaching, and put it into some kind of useful perspective so that we can understand it properly without having to learn Sanskrit or spend years studying in India.

Of course, if you really want to get the maximum benefit from the Esoteric Teaching, you should study the original source literature. This is now available in good English translation, and you can find out more about that on our online forum. But the point of using the Mindware metaphor is to give you an overview, using a familiar model, of the stages of the Esoteric Teaching and their functions.

Next: Dimensions of Ontology