Initiation and initiative : an exploration of the life and ideas of Dimitrije Mitrinović

THE NEW AGE 73

The Trinity, then, for Mitrinovic was not merely a theological abstraction, a religious myth—it also expressed synchronically the pattern of organic wholeness, whilst diachronically it represented an archetype for the development of humanity towards that wholeness. God the Father is the first Person of the Trinity and taken as representing the unconscious creative power immanent throughout the world and through which, at the level of the collective unconscious, all Humanity is one. The second Person of the Trinity, Jesus of Nazareth, was both God and Man who proclaimed “Land my Father are one.” The begetting of the Son by the Father represented the emergence of the self-conscious individual from the unconscious unity of humanity. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both Father and Son—so, from the natural unity of humanity and the self-conscious decision of individuals would emerge the conscious unity of humanity, the Holy Spirit incarnated as Universal Humanity, “cosmic socialism.”

The notion of humanity as a self-conscious organism can, of course, be realised only through the consciousness of its constituent cells. It can be brought about only by the will of individuals. Mitrinovi¢ wrote:

It is freedom and the human race that rule the earth’s fate as much as Providence and Destiny ... Man is thus the very heart of the world and its plan. It is out of the mystery of human sovereign indefiniteness that the guidance of the species must come. Freedom, however, means voluntary and rational obeying of Providence. It means realising the creative needs of Providence. . . 3°

The notions of Providence, Destiny and Freewill run right through the “World Affairs” series of articles. In developing the concepts Mitrinovi¢ drew upon the work of Fabre d’Olivet in his Histoire Philosophique du Genre Humain who had sought to explain the development of world evolution and history as a consequence of the interaction of these three factors or forces. Providence is that incomprehensible power operating to give any being its potential life and the form in which it can be perfected. As such it can be compared with Mitrinovi¢’s portrayal of God the Father as the unconscious power in the universe. Providence is what ought to be, its end is the perfection of all beings. Destiny, on the other hand, is what must be. Destiny can be compared to the laws of nature. As such, Destiny can be grasped by the intellect whilst Providence can be known only through intuition, by the soul rather than the brain. Providence is what can be if humans make the effort to realise their powers to the full. Destiny is what will be if humans fail to intervene to affect the course of history. In this sense, Freewill means the freedom to act towards the realisation of the