Peter Dunov (/ˈdʌnɒv/ DUN-əv; Bulgarian: Петър Дънов [ˈpɛtɐr ˈdɤnof]; July 11, 1864 – December 27, 1944), also known by his spiritual name Beinsa Douno (Bulgarian: Беинса Дуно [bɛinˈsа duˈnɔ]), and often titled Uchitelyat ("the Teacher") by his followers, was a Bulgarian philosopher and spiritual teacher who developed a form of Esoteric Christianity known as the Universal White Brotherhood. He is widely known in Bulgaria, where he was voted second by the public in the Great Bulgarians TV show on Bulgarian National Television (2006–2007).[1] Dunov is also featured in Pantev and Gavrilov's The 100 Most Influential Bulgarians in Our History (ranked in 37th place).[2] According to Petrov, Peter Dunov is “the most published Bulgarian author to this day.”[3]
Peter Dunov was born on 11 July 1864 [O.S. 29 June] in the village of Hadarcha (now Nikolaevka in Suvorovo Municipality) near Varna, Bulgaria (at that time in the Ottoman Empire), the third child of Konstantin Dunoffsky and Dobra Atanasova Georgieva. His father was the first Bulgarian teacher in the region before becoming a Bulgarian Orthodox priest. He was one of the first to present the liturgy in Bulgarian, the language of the local people, instead of the imposed Greek language.[4]
Dunov attended secondary school in Varna and the American Methodist School of Theology and Science in Svishtov, from which he graduated in 1887. He worked as a primary school teacher for a year before leaving for the United States (1888), where he studied theology at Drew Theological SeminaryinMadison, New Jersey. After graduating from Drew, he enrolled in the Boston University School of Theology and obtained his degree in June 1893 with a thesis on "The Migration of the Germanic Tribes and Their Christianisation" (published in 2007[5]). In July he entered at the School of Medicine of Boston University. In 1895 he returned to Bulgaria.[6]
Upon his return to Bulgaria Dunov was offered the position of a Methodist pastor in the city of Yambol. This offer was withdrawn after he stipulated he would only serve without remuneration. In 1896 he published Science and Education, in which he analyzed the development of mankind into a new culture, which he thought was bound to take place during the forthcoming century. He is engaged in educational and social activities.[7]
In 1897, Petar Dunov had a mystical experience - the descent of the Divine Spirit on him, which was a key moment in his life. This takes place on March 7 (old style) in Varna. It is believed that then "he accepts the 'duty' of a spiritual Master who has incarnated in this body of his". This spiritual obligation, combined with a civic position, Dunov followed steadfastly until the end of his life, working among the Bulgarian people "for their acceptance of Divine Love, Wisdom and Truth, as the highest ideal for man".[7] Later that year, Petar Dunov founded in Varna Society for Raising the Religious Spirit of the Bulgarian People.[8] In 1898, he recorded and delivered the speech A call to my people - Bulgarian sons of the Slavic family, which was an appeal to social and spiritual self-affirmation. Next year he wrote The Ten Testimonies of God and God's Promise. [9] In 1900, he published a mystical text under the title Hio-eli-meli-Mesail. Voice of God, alias "Emmanuel"; the original manuscript was begun on his sacred date of March 7, 1897.[7] His first three disciples belonged to different branches of Christianity – Todor Stoimenov (Eastern Orthodox), Dr. Mirkovich (Catholic) and Penyu Kirov (Protestant).Their affection slowly grew into a devotion, in which Deunov envisioned those disciples as potential founders of the new teaching. In 1900, he extended invitations to all three to participate in a meeting in Varna, regarded as the first annual convention of what later evolved into a spiritual community enduring until the end of Deunov's life.[10]
From 1901 to 1912 Dunov traveled throughout Bulgaria, giving talks and undertaking phrenological research.[11] He met with a wide circle of people. After traveling around the country, Dunov settled in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, at the end of 1904 and began giving lectures.[12]
In 1914 he gave his first public lecture, Behold, the Man! (Ecce Homo in Latin), published later in the series Power and Life. Dunov began to give regular Sunday lectures which were based on the elaboration and explanation of a Biblical passage.
In 1921 the community Izgrev (Sunrise) was established. A site at what were then the outskirts of Sofia, it was the gathering place in the mornings for Dunov and his disciples. Many followers started building nearby and the place eventually became the center of a large spiritual community. Dunov gave lectures in the newly constructed Lecture Hall. In 1922 he initiated two new streams of specialized lectures in addition to the Sunday lectures, and from 1930 began delivering “morning talks” on Sunday mornings before dawn. The themes of the different lecture streams were wide-ranging and encompassed, among others: religion, music, geometry, astrology, philosophy and esoteric science. Overall, Dunov gave approximately 3700 lectures in the three decades between 1914 and 1944. His thoughts were also recorded in talks, private conversations, and early letters.[13]
In 1932, he developed Paneurhythmy exercises: a sequence of exercises performed to music, to achieve inner balance and harmonization. This practice promotes the processes of self-perfecting, expanding of the consciousness and attaining of virtues. The circle dance, is a conscious interchange between human beings and the forces of living nature. Each movement is the expression of a thought. The effect should be that the observer picks up from the movements, the thought or the idea they express. The rhythm in the movement of the physical body leads us to one in our spiritual life.[14]
Etymologically, "Pan-Eu-Rhythmy" is derived from three roots:
On March 22, 1939 he wrote a message to his disciples entitled "The Eternal Covenant of the Spirit." At the beginning of 1944, during the air bombardments over Sofia, he organized the evacuation to the village of Marchaevo (24 km southwest of Sofia) and settled in the home (now museum) of his pupil Temelko Gyorev. He returned to Izgrev on October 19, 1944. On December 20, 1944, he delivered the lecture "The Last Word" to the Common Occult Class and died on 27 December.[15]
Several thousand of Dunov's lectures were recorded by stenographers and are documented in the form of deciphered stenograms (some modified by editing and others left intact [16]). These contain the essence of Dunov's teaching. There are also a number of songs and prayers, among which The Good Prayer from 1900 is regarded as the most special.[17]
