BRO. ERLE: THE PERSON

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Bro. ERLE FRAYNE ARGONZA y DELAGO is a sociologist, political economist, social development manager, philosopher, poet, musical artist, yogi/guru, and mystic. He had writen over forty (40+) analytical articles to date, most of which were published. The broad range of his writings are: political economy, culture/ideology, politics & governance, social movements, art & culture, theory &epistemology, esoteric philosophy, and mysticism. He had likewise published three books, to note: Libertosophy & Freethought: The Path of Illumination for Libertarian Freethinkers (1999); Testament of National Grandeur (2000); and, 13th Gate Unveiled: The Glorious Destiny of the Philippines & Southeast Asia (2000). He has been a major proponent of post-church spirituality, or spirituality beyond the churches, intended for freethinkers & freeworshippers. He had also composed songs, in the genre of alternative/world music, and had conducted his individual concerts from 1993 through 1997.

As an esteemed intellectual, Bro. Erle had always been a fellow of circles of highly gifted individuals since his youth days. He is a founding fellow of the Ermita Circle, a theory construction & soiree group at the University of the Philippines-Manila (other fellows are all productive writers, to note: Edberto Villegas, Roland Simbulan, Doroteo Abaya, Floro Quibuyen, Benjie Mangubat). He was a prime mover of the educators' club CONTEND, whose top leaders included: Prof. Bien Lumbera (Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for literature, 1994), Prof. Elmer Ordonez (RP's foremost expert on underground literature in the Philippines), Prof. Edberto Villegas (one of RP's foremost political economists, and novelist), and Rogelio Ordonez (top fiction writer). His own brethren and sisters in the Collegium Liberum, which he leads as gatekeeper, are highly intellectually endowed, even as some are illustrious professionals and writers of national renown. In college, he was tutored by such illustrious professors as the sociologists Randy David and Cynthia Bautista, the anthropologists Ponciano Bennagen (former Constitutional Convention delegate) and Michael Tan, the musical genius Pedro 'Edru' Abraham, and theatre director Behn Cervantes. His closest friends in college (Cagayano friends biologist Dr. Roberto Pagulayan, finance executive Daniel Pagulayan, photojournalist & environmentalist Gaudencio de la Cruz, educator-executive Joy Perez-Cue; his friends at the UP Repertory Company include the genius Mike Lopez, engineer Randy Gonzales; engineer Jun Gonzales, and journalist Joe Aspiras, at the Kalayaan dormitory) are among the brightest minds of their own cohorts.

Bro. Erle was born on the 6th of July 1958, on a Sunday, in the city of Tuguegarao, province of Cagayan, northern Philippines. He was a product of the Cagayan High School, the top public high school in the Cagayan Valley region, known for producing hundreds of illustrious minds. He was distinguished for landing on the roster of the school's graduating honor roll, topped the nationwide examination for the government's National Integration Study Grant Program (1975), and was recognized as an honorary member of the Philippine Inventors' Club for having designed a model of a flying car (government's Science Conference-Region II of 1975) as a mere high school student. He received a 99+% in the National College Entrance Examination for 1975 (upper 0.5%), for which he was additionally honored with a citation. He was one of the elite quizzical wiz kids of his batch.

He undertook his college schooling from the University of the Philippines (Diliman, Quezon City), the nation's premier university and one of Asia's best, where he finished a Bachelor of Arts degree, major in sociology & minor in anthropology, with units in industrial engineering (graduated Oct. 1980). He was a full grantee of government scholarship during his college years. He also took up graduate units in sociology from the same university in the mid-80s. From 1997 to 2000 he took up a Master of Arts in Development Studies from the De La Salle University (DLSU), the top private university in the Philippines and also one of Asia's best. He was a consistent dean's lister at the DLSU, and ended up with a general average of 4.00 or Excellent, which is the topmost average for his batch of students.

It was during his college life--at the tender age of 18--that he first encountered (in dream states) the spiritual master who primarily guided him in his sojourns, namely, the Ascended Master EMK, gatekeeper of the Darjeeling Council, Great White Brotherhood. It was also in college that his duties as an advocate of militant causes were defined. He was active in theatre, activist formations, varsitarian circles, academic circles, youth coalitions, and the Collegium Liberum fraternity which had become his lifetime civic-spiritual niche. It was likewise in college where he acquired his theorizing skills, notwithstanding the methods used in math and engineering courses where one derives equations that one employs to solve case study problems such as those problematized in industrial engineering courses.

Aware of the ever increasing presence of spiritual guides and an archangel in his life, Bro. Erle Frayne went on to study deep wisdom philosophy and theoretical works across various disciplines as a young man. He also plunged into social development work early in his life, working first in government (Ministry of Human Settlements), then winding through the top management of non-government organizations (KAKAMMPI, KANLUNGAN Center Foundation, CONTEND, Orden Magnum Collegium Liberum), a brief civic coordinatorship in the academe, and a private consulting firm (Phoenix Konsult). He coupled these development works with university mentorship (he had taught at the Maryknoll College and the University of the Philippines-Diliman and Manila campuses). Quite early in his life, he began offering spiritual & psychological counsel to various stressed-out and depressed folks. He likewise consistently practised yoga meditation throughout his adult life, while at the same time performing his duties as an activist advocate of cause-oriented coalitions and non-government organizations.

In the year 1994, his spiritual initiation intensified and accelerated, as he was sponsored into the 'higher mysteries' circle (spiritual brotherhood) by the Filipino guru F.F.. He discovered on that same year that dozens of gurus & masters have been sent to the Philippines (over a hundred by his estimate) to prepare the grounds for the future great republic and Philippine-led regional union. Together with his brethren from the Collegium Liberum, they revived the erstwhile inactive fraternity, even as he was instrumental in its conversion to a wisdom Order (at parallel with masons, roscicruceans, theosophists, templars, sufis, khalsa, gnostics, essene, ...) of international scope. Since the early 1990s, he had assisted dozens of young adults and middle aged souls in their spiritual paths, most of whom were initiates of his Order. He had since then taught yoga meditation (for free) and subsidiary soul harmonizing practises.

He has been the most central figure in developing the wisdom (esoteric-mystical) philosophy dubbed as libertosophy. This philosophy is a synthetic one, intended largely as spiritual (yoga or union) foundation for civil society advocates and militants. However, it can also serve the purposes of souls who want a spiritual path outside of church formations. Starting first with the foundational aspects of the philosophy, Bro. Erle is now moving to its practical aspects, which includes the need for institution-building and civic works as part of one's yoga engagements. Relatedly, he had configured a 'yoga for liberators.'

As a revelation, the thinkers who have had the most profound influence on him were: the Ascended Masters, and the continental European (German) philosophers. On the esoteric/mystical side, Bro. Erle had the greatest borrowings from the Ascended Masters El Morya and Saint Germaine. Their works were largely systematized by the theosophists, notably H.P. Blavatsky, Leadbeater, A. Bessant, J. Hodson, and Col. Olcott. Concerning the wisdom traditions, the vedic and kabbalistic philosophy have had the greatest impact, as synthesized through theosophy. The couple Mark & Elizabeth were also instrumental in regard to chanelling the messages of the ascended masters. ...As to the German philosophers, Karl Marx and Jurgen Habermas stand out as most influential. Other equally influential were: F. Hegel, Karl Jung, J. Goethe, S. Freud, Erich Fromm, H. Marcuse, T. Adorno, and M. Weber.

Highlights of Some Achievements

Engineering Design Innovator (Age 16, 1st Quarter 1975): Awarded an Honorary Member degree, Philippine inventors' Club, for design innovation of a flying car. In a Science & Technology Conference, attended by high school students from Cagayan Valley (Phils.).

National Scholarship Topnocher: Examination of the National Integration Study Grant Program (state scholarship), 1975.

University Fellowship: Granted full scholarship at the University of the Philippines (75-80) via the said scholarship program. The University of the Philippines is the country's top tertiary school, and is one of Asia's best.

Citation, for Garnering a 99+% inthe National College Entrance Examination or NCEE, 1975 (upper 0.5% percentile of his cohorts).

Division Manager (Age 23): Rises very quickly to the position of Division Manager, junior rank, for outstanding performance, at the defunct Ministry of Human Settlements (Phils.) in Region II. He was at one time Acting Provincial Manager-Cagayan and concurrent Regional Public Relations Manager, and also Editor-in-Chief of the technical paper KKK Regional Newsletter. He was barely 1 & 1/2 years in his job, since he graduated from college at age 22. (By the way, the qualifications for division manager stipulated age 34, with at least 10 years track record...)

Development Technocrat & Leader (Age 23): Convenor of the very prestigious Provincial Development Council (Batanes, then later Cagayan province), a development forum of government and private agencies that is chaired by the Provincial Governor.

Corporate Top Management Executive (Age 28): Invited to become an Assistant Vice President in a corporate agency. He declines the offer though. Later, he was again invited as an Assistant Vice President in a realty firm that he shortly served.

NGO Top Executive & National Leader (Age 29): Becomes National President of a (nation-wide) organization of families/dependents of overseas contract workers (KAKAMMPI).

National Powerlifter (Ages 31-33): After a long hibernation from athletics, he competes in powerlifting contests sponsored by the Powerlifting Association of the Philippines. He received the Bronze Medal, lightweight division, in the 1991National Novice Competition. Lastly, he received the Silver Medal, Middleweight division, for the 1992 National Class A Powerlifting Competition.

Solo Concerts: In 1993, his beloved students, notably the officers of the Behavioral Studies Society and the Outdoor Recreation Group, of the Univ. of the Phils.-Manila, sponsored his first solo concert, dubbed 'Erle-mita', at the College of Arts & Sciences of the same university. He launched his first set of compositions on the said concert. Succeeding concerts followed till 1997.

Re-engineering Organizations: In 1994, Bro. Erle and his brethren (Brothers Four) revived an organization that was already clinically dead, the Collegium Liberum. Earlier, he was instrumental in reviving and re-engineering the KAKAMMPI, which was likewise dead for a time.

Both organizations today are much alive, are able to raise funds at substantial levels, and are recognized in socio-civic and fraternal circles. His conceptualization and decisional inputs have been central to the re-engineering efforts.

Graduate School Topnocher: With a general weighted average of 4.00 or Excellent, Bro. Erle is surely at the top of his graduate school batch at the De La Salle University.

Board Chairmanship: On the 1st Quarter of 1997, he was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a private consulting firm (Phoenix Konsult). He steered the firm amid the turbulence of the economic crisis in Asia, when clients shied away from previously made commitments.

Book Writer: In 1999, he released his first book, Libertosophy & Freethought. The ideas presented in the book were adjudged as manifesting the trait of high originality. By that year, he had clearly exhibited that he had the marks of a guru (of esoteric/mystical philosophy), yogi and mystique.

Excellent Teaching Performance. Amid the rigorous instruction he had offered at the University of the Philippines-Manila campus, he had always received very high marks (very good, outstanding) in his overall teaching performance from his endeared students. Many of his students revere him as a mentor, friend and spiritual guide, as indicated by their personal writings to him after every semester.