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prout.gen

Marxist and Proutist Dialects

November 30, 1995

Q: What is the essential difference between Proutist and Marxist conceptions of dialectics?

I wish to say regarding dialectic materialism, that dialectic materialism differs from the dialectics of Proutist philosophy because fundamental and inherent to it is materialism. It is based on materialism, whereas the Prout philosophy is based on spirituality or consciousness. That means the fundamental outcome will differ. One is based upon the social development alone, whereas the other takes its place in spiritual life and sees the human being as more than the outcome or product of materialism. Thus the dialectics are different.

In dialectic materialism, the clash of differing forces and synthesis compose the outcome. It is strictly based upon the social development, whereas in Prout social development is only one factor, so that the dialectic of clash of social forces - of antithesis and synthesis - is only one aspect, for underlying this there is the continual movement towards Parama Purus'a. There is vidya, or that which moves towards synthesis, and avidya, or that which moves towards diversity or degeneration. These are the two forces which dominate the individual and the social cycle and therefore are the basis for the dialectic movement or understanding. If the movement of society, the understanding of the processes which underlie this movement is materialistic, it will be inherently flawed. If on the other hand, it is based in consciousness, it will be realistic. So what moves in the social cycle? It is consciousness which is in flux, and so there are those forces which pull away from synthesis or unity and those forces which move towards it. In this process there will be unity and diversity.

The human society will move forward utilizing the magnetic pull of evolution which stems from the draw of consciousness upon all living beings. This is the underlying process which governs development in all spheres. So in the social sphere you will find that human beings are inherently drawn from within to that which enhances their evolution towards consciousness. But in this process there will be resistance due to the forces which cause stasis and degeneration. These forces will come up, be expressed, and reach a critical point in which they cannot stand up to the evolutionary pull, and, at that point, they will crumble and the progressive movement of human society will go forward. Then again it will stabilize and the forces of degeneration will begin to take hold after some time. Then the evolutionary pull will challenge those forces. There will be resistance due to the static principle, but again a tension will come and eventually the evolutionary force towards the enhancement of consciousness will take hold, and the situation will alter so that consciousness may develop. In this way, with stops and starts, humanity moves towards divinity.

But this is not the same as dialectic materialism, which is based on social development alone. You see, when the evolutionary force takes hold, and destroys the darker forces of degeneration - those forces which move towards materialism in human society - you may find dramatic shifts. They may include devastation, they are not merely synthesis. The change is much deeper and can look very dramatic. For example, when the Roman society reached its peak and began to degenerate, it then fell to other forces and the progression of human society went forward. But in many ways, on the surface, it appeared to go backwards. Societies can collapse, whole civilizations dissolve, as the evolutionary pull causes fundamental changes in human society. War also has played a part in this evolution, for people resist with great passion the pull of the divine upon them. But they are helpless in the end but to move both individually and collectively towards Parama Purus'a. It is their inherent nature which calls them and which causes the upheaval necessary for evolution to greater and greater levels of self awareness. The dialectics of the movement of human society cannot be seen apart from this process. All other philosophies, all other approaches that do not take this into consideration are incomplete.