The Universal Teaching of Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

This article provides an overview of Omraam’s life and a synthesis of the Science of the Initiates he gave nearly 50 years ago as a prelude to a new series on OMTimesTV, Towards a Solar Civilization. Beginning February 19, 2024, it covers the practices of the Teaching, such as sunrise meditations, conscious breathing, silent and mindful meals, meditations, mystical songs, and more.

Harmony in Action: The Universal Teaching of Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

By Valérie Francillon

Board Member, Prosveta (Switzerland)

From the mid-20th Century, Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov left a legacy widely recognized in the West, with an influence that extends to this day. He often described the emergence of a new consciousness as “solar,” akin to the sun that shares its light, warmth, and life with all beings. Many have drawn inspiration from his Teaching for their personal lives or their spiritual, esoteric, wellness, or personal development writings.

His teachings have a universal scope, and the numerous methods he introduced increasingly address the changing mindsets and challenges posed by current living conditions. He called on all humans across the globe, regardless of skin color, nationality, religion, or race, to lead a life of dignity for the benefit of all.

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov firmly believed that peace among humans worldwide is both possible and essential. Most of today’s societal problems can only be resolved when a spirit of brotherhood, or fraternity, becomes humanity’s primary goal.

If all humans could finally come together, united by fraternal bonds towards a common, elevated ideal, and if they could rediscover and reestablish their spiritual dimensions and origins, then a universal brotherhood is possible where everyone, irrespective of origin, social status or beliefs, can live in harmony within themselves, with others, and with nature.

Helping humans rediscover their spiritual dimension while flourishing in their environment is a key aspect of teaching.

Words that illuminate: Omraam’s Solar Teaching

The Master’s Teaching, a radiant expression of wisdom based on the Science of the Initiates, is contained in thousands of impromptu talks. He never penned his thoughts; his legacy is rooted in the spoken word, predominantly in French, his chosen language. From 1938 to 1985, he gave around 5,000 talks, initially in France and Switzerland, primarily at Fraternal Centers, and later in Canada, the United States of America, India, Sweden, and Norway. He also gave talks in English, particularly while in the USA. Continually inspired by the desire to propel his listeners further along the path of evolution and perfection, his talks were inclusive, ensuring that no one felt excluded from this spiritual journey, regardless of their level of consciousness.

He was eager to address every possible situation, encouraging all humans to embark together towards a promised land of enlightenment.

At the insistence of his disciples, his spoken words were first transcribed, then recorded and finally filmed during the latter years. These recordings were compiled and published in the form of books, brochures, audio and video talks. Today, his work consists of approximately 120 volumes and over 40 CDs and DVDs. Many have been translated into English and in more than 45 additional languages, making them accessible to the public*. Hundreds of additional volumes could be produced to capture the entirety of his discourse.

A Journey of Transformation: The Life of the Master

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov embodied a spiritual reality defined by living in constant harmony with the divine realm and expressing this harmony in its purest forms. His presence, words, and the ambiance he created were the embodiment of this simplicity. His creative thinking process, meant to be lived by those who hear it, lays the foundation for a new culture, one deeply resonant in the souls and spirits of many: a solar civilization where all human beings live as brothers and sisters, in fraternity. This was one principal reason for the creation of the association called the “Universal White Brotherhood” in France in late 1947.

The “Universal White Brotherhood” concept is deeply rooted in spiritual symbolism and universal values. It emphasizes that humans beings, created in the image of God, have the capacity to elevate their consciousness to a universal understanding of life. The term “white” in this context is purely symbolic, representing spiritual purity and unity found in white light, which combines all colors and stands apart from racial connotations. The term “brotherhood,” or “fraternity,” signifies that this Teaching is meant for all humanity, seen as children of a common divine parentage – God and Nature. This concept is a call for humans to live together in harmony and mutual respect.

The organization rises above religious and spiritual boundaries, welcoming everyone dedicated to the pursuit of goodness and light. This vision, when wholeheartedly embraced and diligently pursued, possesses the potential to enrich and fulfill the heart and soul. It contributes significantly to the purification and elevation of our planet.

Initiatory Journey Through India

The name Omraam was given to him during his initiatory journey in India in 1959-1960 at a temple retreat. There, three mysterious pilgrims traveled together, and one of them named him Omraam. The Master never detailed how this event unfolded, but he believed that the spirit of Melchizedek had entered that being.

The great gurus of India he met during this journey, including Mahavatar Neem Karoli Babaji, Mâ Ânanda Moyî, Swami Nityananda, Anagarika Govinda, and Swami Shivananda, all recognized him as a Master. Madrassi Baba even named him the “Solar Rishi,” highlighting the importance of the sun symbol in his Teaching.

Upon returning from India, still known as Brother Mikhaël, he was so physically and internally transformed through his profound inner work that his disciples spontaneously began referring to him as Master. He did not ask for this change, but it reflected his entire life’s humility and selflessness.

As he explained in his autobiographical work, “To Become a Living Book,” published by Prosveta, “The name I was given in India, Omraam, corresponds to the two processes of solve and coagula of the alchemists: Om dissolves all things, rendering them subtle, and Raam materializes them, concretizes them. The name Omraam is, therefore, a whole process of dissolution and concretization. It is the invisible, intangible idea that must incarnate on earth so that the whole world can see it, touch it.”

His universal message follows in the footsteps of the great sages and spiritual masters who have imparted the Science of the Initiates to humanity. This Initiatic Science encompasses all truths and methods aimed at leading humans toward perfection. It is both knowledge and practice; upon discovering it, one cannot help but transform and improve oneself. In the Master’s Teaching, he elucidated the essence of this knowledge about the structure of the universe and the great laws governing life’s processes: conscious eating to nourish all visible and invisible bodies, loving, birthing, and educating children, enlivening all things sleeping, walking, connecting with nature’s beneficial forces, and projecting purity, light, and love to awaken the consciousness of the divine realm. He offered numerous practical methods, leading to a deeper understanding of oneself.

Light Through Adversity: The Making of a Master

Born on January 31, 1900, in Serbtzy, Macedonia, Mikhaël Ivanov, as he was then known, later lived in Varna, Bulgaria. His youth was marked by hardship: the loss of his father, poverty, instability, and wars, which fueled his determination, deepened his spiritual knowledge and strengthened his love and desire to be useful to humanity.

At 17, he met Peter Deunov, a well-known Bulgarian Master of his time who would guide him on the path of spiritual knowledge and self-mastery. Mikhaël pursued university studies, became a teacher, and later a school director, all while diligently following Master Deunov. Although he enjoyed reading many spiritual works, he liked best experimenting on himself with the truths revealed by his Master.

Master Deunov, the son of an Orthodox priest, theologian, and musician, composed many mystical songs and created the sacred Paneurhythmy dance. He spent several years in the USA studying theology. Still, in Bulgaria, his ideals of brotherhood and unity energized the spiritual movement he founded and named “The White Brotherhood.” It grew to over 40,000 followers by 1944, the year of his death.

Peter Deunov, after 20 years of intense exchanges between him and his disciple, sensed the impending political troubles that would ban spiritual associations in Bulgaria and asked Mikhaël to go to France to spread his teaching and adapt it to a new audience and societal conditions. Ivanov arrived in Paris on July 12, 1937, and was welcomed by a few loyal Peter Deunov followers who were aware of his arrival. In January 1938, he delivered his first talk in French at Luxembourg Hall, Place de la Sorbonne in Paris, on the topic of “The Second Birth.”

A Life of Challenges

Despite the World War II challenges, followed by jealousy and resentment that plunged him into his worst life conditions, including imprisonment from 1948 to 1950 on false accusations, he remained faithful to his mission. He selflessly gave his love, knowledge, and attention to all he met.

After his release from prison, he continued to teach at the Center outside Paris, established in 1947 and called Izgrev, which means ‘sunrise’ in Bulgarian. He offered nearly daily talks attended by a growing number of disciples and fostered a fraternal lifestyle that embodied the methods he advocated for awakening our spiritual nature.

In 1968, Aïvanhov explained, “The Universal White Brotherhood is an earthly community initiated by Peter Deunov and enduring still, but it is merely a symbol, a representative of the Great Universal White Brotherhood on high, the White Lodge or the Communion of Saints, the eternal cosmic ideal of fraternity that humanity must keep in mind. We are all tiny representatives of this Great Universal White Brotherhood.”

He typically spent Christmas and New Year’s at Izgrev and several weeks in February and March at Vidélinata near Vevey, Switzerland, a center that opened in 1961. For Easter, he visited the Bonfin in Fréjus, France, which opened in 1953, where he also stayed during the international summer retreats from July to September. At these locations, he held numerous daily meetings with the brothers and sisters, where a fraternal life was and is still centered on practicing his Teaching and listening to his talks. In the fall, he often retreated to Castelrama in the Pyrenees, France, to pursue his inner work.

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov: A Worldly Master

Omraam also visited many countries: Bulgaria, Canada, several in the Caribbean, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States (including California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Texas, Washington D.C.), Yugoslavia, and many more. In many of these countries, national associations and centers of the brotherhood have been established.

St Francis of Assisi and Compassion for Animals

The purpose of these centers, as he often reminded us, was to maintain beacons of light in the world, to create models of fraternal life as precursors for a future Golden Age among humanity.

Omraam transmitted with remarkable pedagogy and clarity knowledge of the human structure with its different bodies or two natures: -higher (or, in his terminology, “individuality”) and -lower (or “personality”). According to him, understanding these two natures is the key to solving all of life’s problems.

Until his departure on December 25, 1986, Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov was a “bearer of light,” a vivifying and loving being, enthusiastic and accessible, who tirelessly worked for the well-being of all. He was a model of consistency; his thoughts, words, and actions were deeply aligned. Firmly rooted in unity and attuned to the subtler realms, he cared for others and their daily circumstances for the Earth and the universe at large.

The Master’s Teaching can be summarized by a few words that epitomize his life:

“Wisdom is to know that love must come first.”

Valérie Francillon’s 37-year odyssey with Omraam’s Teaching began the day he passed away (December 25, 1986) and has profoundly shaped her life and work. She has been the Director of her own software company for nearly 30 years, simultaneously working with the publishing house Prosveta (France) to disseminate the Teaching, particularly at wellness and book fairs and webcasting.

As Prosveta’s (France) CEO and Chair for seven years and a Board member until 2017, she played a crucial role in spreading Omraam’s books. She sees his solar Teaching as a personal spiritual compass and a tool for uplifting humanity. This rich spiritual, esoteric, and psychological knowledge, shared by Prosveta since 1972 and distributed globally, deeply influenced her life. For Valérie, the practices of the Teaching represent a culture of inner harmony and universal connection, and its principles sculpted her own life.

* This abundant source of spiritual, esoteric, and psychological knowledge has been distributed by Éditions Prosveta since 1972 and by numerous co-editors and distributors around the world. Prosveta’s global headquarters are in Fréjus, France.

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