The Easy Tendency to Mythomania

Mythomania is a psychological illness in which a person, through intense fascination and identification with certain thoughts—especially concerning their own self-image—convinces themselves that falsehood is truth. At first, they consciously distort reality, telling others what is not true. But soon, by repeating the lie, they deceive themselves and forget it was ever false. Thus, the liar becomes the first victim of their own invention. This is the instantaneous karma of mythomania: self-deception, the hypnotism of the consciousness, and the inability to distinguish truth from illusion. In spiritual schools, this is seen among people lying about spiritual experiences, degrees, past lives, etc., which ultimately stems from the ego of mystical pride. Although it may seem purposeless, the temptation to mythomania is a common obstacle, for it is a test of mystical pride—a defect that must be consciously dissolved on the path of initiation.
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This ego is especially common in spiritual movements. Many begin to imagine experiences they never had, or claim titles they never earned, until they convince themselves they are masters, prophets, or great initiates. By lying in this way, they fall deeper into illusion, closing the door to genuine spiritual development. True mastery is proven only by the radical death of the ego, the incarnation of the Being, and the sacrifice for humanity—not by self-proclaimed titles or fantasies.

Whenever we encounter such cases, we must remember the times we are living in: the Age of Aquarius, the age of the awakened individual. In this new era, the true disciple does not follow personalities or outward confusions, but aspires only to follow their own Inner Being. By renouncing every form of external fascination and illusion, one avoids wasting precious time focusing on other people and gains the freedom to penetrate more deeply into self-realization.

Do not worry or become preoccupied with who is a master, an initiate, or awakened—or who is not. Such concerns only feed comparison, pride, and confusion. Be concerned only with your own inner development. Work sincerely, patiently, and with love for humanity. In time, as the ego dies and the consciousness awakens, you will naturally earn the discernment to recognize truth from illusion. Real understanding does not come from judging others, but from awakening your own Essence and following your own Inner Being.

Below are excerpts from the works of V.M. Samael Aun Weor on mythomania...

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Mystical Pride: The Root of Self-Deception

I want to emphasize a distressing point, which we have been able to verify through many years of constant observation and experience. In plain language, I wish to refer to "MYTHOMANIA", a marked tendency amongst people affiliated to various metaphysical schools.

Apparently very straightforward people, after hallucinations, become Mythomaniacs overnight. Undoubtedly, such mythomaniacs with subjective psyches almost always manage to catch many people unaware, who become their followers.

The Mythomaniac is like a wall without foundations, a light push is enough for it to become rubble.

The Mythomaniac believes that occultism is like "the twinkling of an eye" and overnight he declares himself to be a Mahatma, a resurrected Master, a Hierophant, etc.

The Mythomaniac usually has impossible lures and he invariably suffers from what is called "delusions of grandeur".

This kind of people present themselves as reincarnations of Masters or fabulous legendary heroes from fiction.

However, it is clear that we must emphasise something that deserves an explanation.

The egotistic centres of the subconscious animal can follow determined mental groups, and through association and imaginary reflexes, can rouse something like "spirits", which are almost invariably only illusory figures, personifications of their pluralized "I’s".

It is not difficult for some "psychic aggregates" to assume the figure of "Jesus Christ" in order to issue false oracles...

Any of these many entities which in conjunction constitute that which is called Ego can, if it so wishes, acquire the figure of a Mahatma or Guru and then, when the dreamer wakes up, he will think of himself, "I am a Self-Realized man, I am a Master".

It must be observed with respect to this matter that in the subconscious of all people lies the latent tendency to take sides and to the personification.

This is the main reason for many Asiatic Gurus to forewarn all possible forms of self-deceit, before initiating their disciples in Transcendental Magic.

Mythomaniac boasts of being enlightened without having liberated the Essence, without even possessing the Seminal Pearl.

Mythomaniac wants to be enlightened overnight, and boasts of being wise, and believes himself a God.

— The Mystery of the Golden Blossom, Chapter 25

The Mystic Pride is a feature of the inner PHARISEE. Those who boast of being Initiates, Saints and Sages, without having still manufactured their Solar Bodies, without having never worked in the Ninth Sphere, without having reached the Second Birth; those ones end up renouncing sexuality and developing the abominable "Kundabuffer organ".

It is very difficult to point out the faults of those who are "sincerely mistaken", since they feel themselves super-transcended, they claim to be Gods, without having put their foot in the first step of the Holy Stairway yet.
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— Christmas Message of 1967, Chapter 28

The Sad Reality of What We Are

Let's pay attention to the Pride, for example. Not only are proud those who have money; those who are of gentle birth; those who have a new car, and feel happy with it. There is another kind of pride; I want to point emphatically the MYSTICAL PRIDE. Some schools of pseudo-esotericism and pseudo-occultism say: "Through the Law of Evolution, one day we will become Ineffable Gods; human being is destined to become a God"...

Obviously, teachings like that only lead to the MYSTICAL PRIDE, to the SPIRITUAL VANITY, to the MYTHOMANIA. Even if man would be very perfect, as a matter of fact, even if he becomes a Boddhisattva, man is nothing more than that: a man...

God is "the Father that is in secret", and only He is God. If a man is very perfect, if he is a Bodhisattva, the Father can take that man and put him in His mind, or in His heart, or make that man work out of Himself, somewhere, so that man do something; however, if that man, if that "good-for-nothing", feels himself being God, that is a Mythomania of the worst class.

Men are men; and nothing more than that: men. God is God. However, we are only men. He who feels proud of having acquired some knowledge of Pseudo-Esotericism or Pseudo-Occultism, here, in the mind, and believes that he is a great Initiate, etc., etc., etc., has fallen in the Mythomania, he is full of himself...

Each one of us is no more than a vile worm in the mud of the earth. When I say this, I begin by myself. I am no more than that: a vile worm in the mud of the world...

God is God; He is God! We are not Gods, we are only worms in the mud of the earth. It is absurd to think that we are Gods or Sages...

So as a matter of fact, my dear friends, we shall not become "poor in Spirit" if we are full of ourselves, full of false images about ourselves, full of fantasy...

When we recognize our own not value and inner misery, when we feel neither so sublime, nor so God, nor so Wise; when we understand that we are just sinners like everybody, then we are no longer full of ourselves, and therefore we shall be "Blessed"...

​— The Fifth Gospel: The Destruction of our Lunar Inheritance

​Then, it can happen that a person possesses the "seed" of a God from the Constellation of Sirius, for example; a disciple of Sirius, over there; however, in his life, that person has a body, which receives a certain type of Energies, transforms them, and transmits those energies to the different layers of this planetary organism; this is the fact, and there is nothing else.

Yes, he carries a germ within, there, in his sexual glands..., the germ might be developed; however, it also might fail to achieve its development. Living like any other man, like a common man, he is just a nobody.

Why is he going to have a special karma? Why is he going to be a somebody special in the Universe? He is a poor silly, just like I, or like anybody else! This is the grim truth! So, let's place ourselves in the field of realities, and LET'S GET OUT OF MYTHOMANIA because mythomania is damaging the Gnostic Movement.

— The Fifth Gospel: Steps Towards Omniscience

The Difficult Path to Humility

When we manage to annihilate the psychic aggregate of Pride, then the ineffable virtue of HUMILITY crystallizes in ourselves...

In this part of our speech, I must say that, unfortunately, many texts of occultist and esoteric type are leading people to the MYSTICAL PRIDE; and this is grave...

Venerable and famous authors state that "we are Gods", that "each one of us is a God". Obviously, this statement can strengthen our Mystical Pride (which has caused so much damage to the Path of Self-Realization), because if one person is convinced that he is a God, then, easily can fall in the MYTHOMANIA...

Unquestionably, one cannot become a true enlightened if one is full of Pride. I could not think of a God who is drunk, who fornicates, who is adulterous, fighter, selfish, envious, jealous, lustful, etc. We are all of it, indeed.

I have felt very sad when I have always found in the texts of occultism, etc., (I do not want to name any organization, because some of them are very venerable), this harmful affirmation: "that we are Gods".

It is better to be serious people and accept the facts; open the eyes and do not create false illusions. We eat, drink, fornicate, commit adultery, we hate, criticize, we are jealous, etc. Do you think that there exists a God like that? It is better to say: "We are vile worms in the mud of the earth", and it is better to be convinced that we really are this. If we want to become convinced of it, we only have to be sincere with ourselves.

If we carefully examine our existence, we shall discover that in truth our existence is not one of the seven wonders of the world. This exam of ourselves and our life will bring wonderful consequences, because it will allow us to know what we are, to understand that we are only poor sinners, vile worms in the mud of the earth... Thus we shall go by the WAY OF NATURALNESS AND HUMILITY.

When we really disintegrate the psychic aggregate of Pride, then, the precious virtue of Humility crystallizes in ourselves. You should mind that pride is not only based on social standings, on money, on family lineage, etc. There is another kind of Pride, which is much worse than the previous forms of pride. I am referring to the MYSTICAL PRIDE: to believe that we are Saints, Sages, Gods; to think that nobody is greater than us, that we are Great Initiates, etc., etc.

Indeed this is grave, because thinking in this way, the Pride will never allows us to have a right relation with the superior parts of our Being. When one cannot get a right relation with the superior parts of the Being, one cannot enjoy Enlightenment either; then, one will have to trust on books, on reading, on the lecturers, but one never will have the mystical experience of That Which is Real.

So, first of all in these studies, we must urgently eliminate from ourselves the Mystical Pride, which is very dangerous. If we succeed, then the precious virtue of Humility will flourish in ourselves.

​— The Fifth Gospel: The Need of Crystallizing our Soul