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The teachings of the famed Cypriot mystic Daskalos are summarised by one of his closest disciples, describing how introspection enables the discovery of our true, divine nature.
Over the past half-century, the island of Cyprus has endured one of the world’s most brutal and inhumane conflicts. The inhabitants have been caught up in a titanic struggle between two larger powers – Greece and Turkey – as each sought to exert control over the whole of the country’s territory. These events culminated in the Turkish invasion of 1974, which saw the expulsion of Greek Cypriots from the north of the island. The southern section then responded by taking similar action against the Turkish Cypriots. An uneasy peace endures to this day between the two bitter rivals as tensions remain over what each side sees as an occupation by the other of its rightful land.
Amid such a tense political climate, Cyprus seems an unlikely place in which to seek spiritual enlightenment. Yet in this nation so divided by violence and hatred, Stylianos Atteshlis – more commonly known as Daskalos – was a beacon of hope. His was a lone voice advocating love and peace.
Daskalos first came to prominence in Kyriacos Markides’s The Magus of Strovolos (1985). Since then, personal accounts of his life and teachings have continued to pour forth from the legion of disciples drawn to him throughout his life. One of the most respected of them, Daniel Joseph, has continued where the Master left off (having passed in 1995). As a leader in The Researchers of Truth, the organisation Daskalos founded, Joseph has spent his life testifying to the works and wonders of the great Magus, documenting his experiences in a series of books. The first and perhaps most important of these is Swimming with the Whale.
Part biography, part personal testimony and part workbook, Swimming with the Whale offers an integrated guide to the life and practices of the Cypriot mystic. Few were fortunate enough to meet the Master himself; fewer still entered his inner circle of initiates. In fact, his impact during his lifetime was relatively minor. However, since his death, the small tremor has steadily expanded outwards, and the few disciples who knew him best have assumed the responsibility of keeping his memory and teachings alive. For Joseph, this begins with understanding the man himself – both his extraordinary story and the mission he set out to achieve.
Having founded his ministry at age seven, Daskalos taught the need to go beyond the exoteric teachings that define each religion and seek the buried treasure beneath their surface. These esoteric teachings, once so closely guarded, must now be proclaimed globally to combat the rising threat of materialism. By revealing our true nature, this knowledge replaces our identification with the false ego of the personality that dies with the physical body.
We learn that we inhabit three worlds simultaneously – the physical, the psychical (or astral) and the noetic. In these higher realms, we create thought forms from our emotions, desires and ideas. These ‘elementals’ are responsible for our karmic debt and attach themselves to us and those around us. Negative elementals breed negative results. Through introspection, we become conscious of these dark forces, learning to master and de-energise them. Then, by releasing ourselves from this karmic debt, we grow consciously towards our true, divine self.
In other words, though we are all created by God, we are not destined to be separated from Him. Rather, it is human destiny to return to our divine source. While this may require many lifetimes (and the generous help of our guardian angels), the process is inevitable. Eventually, we pass beyond the three realms of separation (physical, psychical and noetic) and return to the SuperSubstance that lies above all the duality. In the meantime, our goal, throughout our various incarnations, is to learn.
Through the practice of meditation, we can discover the akashic record of our previous lives, find out how to leave our physical form (exosomatosis) and allow our bodies to become conduits of healing – an art for which Daskalos himself was renowned. As we bring consciousness to our subconscious depths, the Light of Life slowly begins to dawn within our being. Our true “I-ness” is then revealed – the inner divine reality in which we live, move and have our being. In these final stages, we lose ourselves in selfless love and the joys of the world become ours to share.
Many students came to Daskalos to boast about their extensive knowledge of esoteric teachings, believing their broad array of expertise would impress the renowned sage. Daskalos’s terse response to these erudite scholars could be summarised in two words: ‘So what?’ If these teachings are not put into practice, they are empty. This lesson left a lasting impact on Joseph, which is why each chapter ends with an extended treatment on how to put the learnings into practice. In other words, Swimming with the Whale seeks not to provide knowledge but guidance. It is not a mere exploration of the late mystic’s teachings but a chance to sit at his feet.
While many of the lessons can prove difficult, especially when it comes to understanding the nature of the higher worlds, they never venture into the realm of the academic. By remaining grounded in lived experience and the ultimate goal of liberation, Joseph’s work will prove of interest to anyone who has wondered about the mysteries Daskalos claimed to reveal. If you want to find out whether they are also true for you, this work offers a bridge leading directly to the path Daskalos once trod.
