Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Mantra Therapy is Poetry Therapy !




















A Roman physician, Soranus, was the first advocate of Poetry Therapy. Tragic poems were prescribed to the manic patients. It is a catharsis of Pity & Fear. Comedy was prescribed to the depressed ! This theme was articulated by Smiley Blanton is his " Healing Power of Poetry " !
Mantras are prayers, written as poems in Sanskrit ! Mantras are thus both poetry and music !
So in Mantra Therapy, we have the double benefits of Poetry and Music therapies !
A mantra is defined as that which protects the mind ( Mananat thrayathe iti mantra ). Mantra elevates, mantra uplifts us to the subime and Mantra heals !


Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Pagan origins of Easter




By Royce Carlson

Easter celebrations were held hundreds of years before Christ was born as festivals of spring honoring Eostre, the great mother goddess of the Saxons. This name was fashioned after the ancient word for spring, Eastre. The goddess Ostara was the Norse equivalent whose symbols were the hare and the egg. From this comes our modern tradition of celebrating Easter with eggs and bunnies.

In the Mediterranean region, there was a pre-Christian spring celebration centered around the vernal equinox (March 20 or 21) that honored Cybele, the Phrygian goddess of fertility. Cybele’s consort, Attis, was considered born of a virgin and was believed to have died and been resurrected three days later. Attis derived his mythology from even earlier gods, Osiris, Dionysus, and Orpheus, who also were supposed to have been born of a virgin and suffered death and resurrection as long as 500 years before Christ was born. The death of Attis was commemorated on a Friday and the resurrection was celebrated three days later on Sunday.
There are other Easter traditions that are pagan in origin. The Easter sunrise service is derived from the ancient pagan practice of welcoming the sun on the morning of the spring equinox, marking the beginning of spring. What we now call Easter lilies were revered by the ancients as symbols of fertility and representative of the male genitalia. The ancient Babylonian religions had rituals involving dyed eggs as did the ancient Egyptians.

The Christian version of Easter is celebrated after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Modern day neo-pagans usually have their spring celebrations on the day of the equinox. Either way, these celebrations have gone on every year continuously for over 2500 years. So, next Sunday, if you go to an Easter sunrise service, hunt for colored eggs or eat marshmallow bunnies, remember you are indulging in pagan rituals that celebrate fertility and the advent of springtime!

Read about The Pagan Origins of Christmas

The Pagan Origins of Christmas



Royce Carlson

This article was first printed at Zenzibar on December 17, 2000.

Many of our modern Christmas traditions began hundreds of years before Christ was born. Some of these traditions date back more than 4000 years. The addition of Christ to the celebration of the winter solstice did not occur until 300 years after Christ died and as late as 1800, some devout Christian sects, like the Puritans, forbade their members from celebrating Christmas because it was considered a pagan holiday. So what is the history behind these traditions?

The Christmas tree is derived from several solstice traditions. The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and placed candles in live trees to decorate for the celebration of Saturnalia. In Scandinavia, they hung apples from evergreen trees at the winder solstice to remind themselves that spring and summer will come again. The evergreen tree was the special plant of their sun god, Baldor.

The practice of exchanging gifts at a winter celebration is also pre-Christian and is from the Roman Saturnalia. They would exchange good-luck gifts called Stenae (lucky fruits). They also would have a big feast just like we do today.

Mistletoe is from an ancient Druid custom at the winter solstice. Mistletoe was considered a divine plant and it symbolized love and peace. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is Druid in origin.

The Scandinavian solstice traditions had a lot of influences on our celebration besides the hanging of ornaments on evergreen trees. Their ancient festival was called Yuletide and celebrated the return of the sun. One of their traditions was the Yule log. The log was the center of the trunk of a tree that was dragged to a large fireplace where it was supposed to burn for twelve days. From this comes the twelve days of Christmas.

Even the date of Christmas, December 25, was borrowed from another religion. At the time Christmas was created in AD 320, Mithraism was very popular. The early Christian church had gotten tired of their futile efforts to stop people celebrating the solstice and the birthday of Mithras, the Persian sun god. Mithras’ birthday was December 25. So the pope at the time decided to make Jesus’ official birthday coincide with Mithras’ birthday. No one knows what time of year Jesus was actually born but there is evidence to suggest that it was in midsummer.
So, if you are celebrating any of the western traditions of Christmas this year, remember that you are actually enjoying the rituals and activities of several ancient religions whose traditions have been borrowed by the Christians over the years for the celebration of the birth of Christ.
Happy Holidays!


Read about The Pagan Origins of Easter

Article Source - http://www.zenzibar.com/

The Gnositc World VIew





GNOSTICISM IS THE TEACHING based on Gnosis, the knowledge of transcendence arrived at by way of interior, intuitive means. Although Gnosticism thus rests on personal religious experience, it is a mistake to assume all such experience results in Gnostic recognitions. It is nearer the truth to say that Gnosticism expresses a specific religious experience, an experience that does not lend itself to the language of theology or philosophy, but which is instead closely affinitized to, and expresses itself through, the medium of myth. Indeed, one finds that most Gnostic scriptures take the forms of myths. The term “myth” should not here be taken to mean “stories that are not true”, but rather, that the truths embodied in these myths are of a different order from the dogmas of theology or the statements of philosophy.

In the following summary, we will attempt to encapsulate in prose what the Gnostic myths express in their distinctively poetic and imaginative language.

The Cosmos

All religious traditions acknowledge that the world is imperfect. Where they differ is in the explanations which they offer to account for this imperfection and in what they suggest might be done about it. Gnostics have their own -- perhaps quite startling -- view of these matters: they hold that the world is flawed because it was created in a flawed manner.

Like Buddhism, Gnosticism begins with the fundamental recognition that earthly life is filled with suffering. In order to nourish themselves, all forms of life consume each other, thereby visiting pain, fear, and death upon one another (even herbivorous animals live by destroying the life of plants). In addition, so-called natural catastrophes -- earthquakes, floods, fires, drought, volcanic eruptions -- bring further suffering and death in their wake. Human beings, with their complex physiology and psychology, are aware not only of these painful features of earthly existence. They also suffer from the frequent recognition that they are strangers living in a world that is flawed and absurd.

Many religions advocate that humans are to be blamed for the imperfections of the world. Supporting this view, they interpret the Genesis myth as declaring that transgressions committed by the first human pair brought about a “fall” of creation resulting in the present corrupt state of the world. Gnostics respond that this interpretation of the myth is false. The blame for the world’s failings lies not with humans, but with the creator. Since -- especially in the monotheistic religions -- the creator is God, this Gnostic position appears blasphemous, and is often viewed with dismay even by non-believers.

Ways of evading the recognition of the flawed creation and its flawed creator have been devised over and over, but none of these arguments have impressed Gnostics. The ancient Greeks, especially the Platonists, advised people to look to the harmony of the universe, so that by venerating its grandeur they might forget their immediate afflictions. But since this harmony still contains the cruel flaws, forlornness and alienation of existence, this advice is considered of little value by Gnostics. Nor is the Eastern idea of Karma regarded by Gnostics as an adequate explanation of creation’s imperfection and suffering. Karma at best can only explain how the chain of suffering and imperfection works. It does not inform us in the first place why such a sorrowful and malign system should exist.

Once the initial shock of the “unusual” or “blasphemous” nature of the Gnostic explanation for suffering and imperfection of the world wears off, one may begin to recognize that it is in fact the most sensible of all explanations. To appreciate it fully, however, a familiarity with the Gnostic conception of the Godhead is required, both in its original essence as the True God and in its debased manifestation as the false or creator God.

Deity

The Gnostic God concept is more subtle than that of most religions. In its way, it unites and reconciles the recognitions of Monotheism and Polytheism, as well as of Theism, Deism and Pantheism.

In the Gnostic view, there is a true, ultimate and transcendent God, who is beyond all created universes and who never created anything in the sense in which the word “create” is ordinarily understood. While this True God did not fashion or create anything, He (or, It) “emanated” or brought forth from within Himself the substance of all there is in all the worlds, visible and invisible. In a certain sense, it may therefore be true to say that all is God, for all consists of the substance of God. By the same token, it must also be recognized that many portions of the original divine essence have been projected so far from their source that they underwent unwholesome changes in the process. To worship the cosmos, or nature, or embodied creatures is thus tantamount to worshipping alienated and corrupt portions of the emanated divine essence.

The basic Gnostic myth has many variations, but all of these refer to Aeons, intermediate deific beings who exist between the ultimate, True God and ourselves. They, together with the True God, comprise the realm of Fullness (Pleroma) wherein the potency of divinity operates fully. The Fullness stands in contrast to our existential state, which in comparison may be called emptiness.

One of the aeonial beings who bears the name Sophia (“Wisdom”) is of great importance to the Gnostic world view. In the course of her journeyings, Sophia came to emanate from her own being a flawed consciousness, a being who became the creator of the material and psychic cosmos, all of which he created in the image of his own flaw. This being, unaware of his origins, imagined himself to be the ultimate and absolute God. Since he took the already existing divine essence and fashioned it into various forms, he is also called the Demiurgos or “half-maker” There is an authentic half, a true deific component within creation, but it is not recognized by the half-maker and by his cosmic minions, the Archons or “rulers”.

The Human Being

Human nature mirrors the duality found in the world: in part it was made by the false creator God and in part it consists of the light of the True God. Humankind contains a perishable physical and psychic component, as well as a spiritual component which is a fragment of the divine essence. This latter part is often symbolically referred to as the “divine spark”. The recognition of this dual nature of the world and of the human being has earned the Gnostic tradition the epithet of “dualist”.

Humans are generally ignorant of the divine spark resident within them. This ignorance is fostered in human nature by the influence of the false creator and his Archons, who together are intent upon keeping men and women ignorant of their true nature and destiny. Anything that causes us to remain attached to earthly things serves to keep us in enslavement to these lower cosmic rulers. Death releases the divine spark from its lowly prison, but if there has not been a substantial work of Gnosis undertaken by the soul prior to death, it becomes likely that the divine spark will be hurled back into, and then re-embodied within, the pangs and slavery of the physical world.

Not all humans are spiritual (pneumatics) and thus ready for Gnosis and liberation. Some are earthbound and materialistic beings (hyletics), who recognize only the physical reality. Others live largely in their psyche (psychics). Such people usually mistake the Demiurge for the True God and have little or no awareness of the spiritual world beyond matter and mind.
In the course of history, humans progress from materialistic sensate slavery, by way of ethical religiosity, to spiritual freedom and liberating Gnosis. As the scholar G. Quispel wrote: “The world-spirit in exile must go through the Inferno of matter and the Purgatory of morals to arrive at the spiritual Paradise.” This kind of evolution of consciousness was envisioned by the Gnostics, long before the concept of evolution was known.

Salvation

Evolutionary forces alone are insufficient, however, to bring about spiritual freedom. Humans are caught in a predicament consisting of physical existence combined with ignorance of their true origins, their essential nature and their ultimate destiny. To be liberated from this predicament, human beings require help, although they must also contribute their own efforts.
From earliest times Messengers of the Light have come forth from the True God in order to assist humans in their quest for Gnosis. Only a few of these salvific figures are mentioned in Gnostic scripture; some of the most important are Seth (the third Son of Adam), Jesus, and the Prophet Mani. The majority of Gnostics always looked to Jesus as the principal savior figure (the Soter).

Gnostics do not look to salvation from sin (original or other), but rather from the ignorance of which sin is a consequence. Ignorance -- whereby is meant ignorance of spiritual realities -- is dispelled only by Gnosis, and the decisive revelation of Gnosis is brought by the Messengers of Light, especially by Christ, the Logos of the True God. It is not by His suffering and death but by His life of teaching and His establishing of mysteries that Christ has performed His work of salvation.

The Gnostic concept of salvation, like other Gnostic concepts, is a subtle one. On the one hand, Gnostic salvation may easily be mistaken for an unmediated individual experience, a sort of spiritual do-it-yourself project. Gnostics hold that the potential for Gnosis, and thus, of salvation is present in every man and woman, and that salvation is not vicarious but individual. At the same time, they also acknowledge that Gnosis and salvation can be, indeed must be, stimulated and facilitated in order to effectively arise within consciousness. This stimulation is supplied by Messengers of Light who, in addition to their teachings, establish salvific mysteries (sacraments) which can be administered by apostles of the Messengers and their successors.

One needs also remember that knowledge of our true nature -- as well as other associated realizations -- are withheld from us by our very condition of earthly existence. The True God of transcendence is unknown in this world, in fact He is often called the Unknown Father. It is thus obvious that revelation from on High is needed to bring about salvation. The indwelling spark must be awakened from its terrestrial slumber by the saving knowledge that comes “from without”.

Conduct

If the words “ethics” or “morality” are taken to mean a system of rules, then Gnosticism is opposed to them both. Such systems usually originate with the Demiurge and are covertly designed to serve his purposes. If, on the other hand, morality is said to consist of an inner integrity arising from the illumination of the indwelling spark, then the Gnostic will embrace this spiritually informed existential ethic as ideal.

To the Gnostic, commandments and rules are not salvific; they are not substantially conducive to salvation. Rules of conduct may serve numerous ends, including the structuring of an ordered and peaceful society, and the maintenance of harmonious relations within social groups. Rules, however, are not relevant to salvation; that is brought about only by Gnosis. Morality therefore needs to be viewed primarily in temporal and secular terms; it is ever subject to changes and modifications in accordance with the spiritual development of the individual.

As noted in the discussion above, “hyletic materialists” usually have little interest in morality, while “psychic disciplinarians” often grant to it a great importance. In contrast, “Pneumatic spiritual” persons are generally more concerned with other, higher matters. Different historical periods also require variant attitudes regarding human conduct. Thus both the Manichaean and Cathar Gnostic movements, which functioned in times where purity of conduct was regarded as an issue of high import, responded in kind. The present period of Western culture perhaps resembles in more ways that of second and third century Alexandria. It seems therefore appropriate that Gnostics in our age adopt the attitudes of classical Alexandrian Gnosticism, wherein matters of conduct were largely left to the insight of the individual.

Gnosticism embraces numerous general attitudes toward life: it encourages non-attachment and non-conformity to the world, a “being in the world, but not of the world”; a lack of egotism; and a respect for the freedom and dignity of other beings. Nonetheless, it appertains to the intuition and wisdom of every individual “Gnostic” to distill from these principles individual guidelines for their personal application.

Destiny

When Confucius was asked about death, he replied: “Why do you ask me about death when you do not know how to live?” This answer might easily have been given by a Gnostic. To a similar question posed in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, Jesus answered that human beings must come by Gnosis to know the ineffable, divine reality from whence they have originated, and whither they will return. This transcendental knowledge must come to them while they are still embodied on earth.

Death does not automatically bring about liberation from bondage in the realms of the Demiurge. Those who have not attained to a liberating Gnosis while they were in embodiment may become trapped in existence once more. It is quite likely that this might occur by way of the cycle of rebirths. Gnosticism does not emphasize the doctrine of reincarnation prominently, but it is implicitly understood in most Gnostic teachings that those who have not made effective contact with their transcendental origins while they were in embodiment would have to return into the sorrowful condition of earthly life.

In regard to salvation, or the fate of the spirit and soul after death, one needs to be aware that help is available. Valentinus, the greatest of Gnostic teachers, taught that Christ and Sophia await the spiritual man -- the pneumatic Gnostic -- at the entrance of the Pleroma, and help him to enter the bridechamber of final reunion. Ptolemaeus, disciple of Valentinus, taught that even those not of pneumatic status, the psychics, could be redeemed and live in a heavenworld at the entrance of the Pleroma. In the fullness of time, every spiritual being will receive Gnosis and will be united with its higher Self -- the angelic Twin -- thus becoming qualified to enter the Pleroma. None of this is possible, however, without earnest striving for Gnosis.

Gnosis and Psyche: The Depth Psychological Connection

Throughout the twentieth Century the new scientific discipline of depth psychology has gained much prominence. Among the depth psychologists who have shown a pronounced and informed interest in Gnosticism, a place of signal distinction belongs to C. G. Jung. Jung was instrumental in calling attention to the Nag Hammadi library of Gnostic writings in the 1950's because he perceived the outstanding psychological relevance of Gnostic insights.

The noted scholar of Gnosticism, G. Filoramo, wrote: "Jung's reflections had long been immersed in the thought of the ancient Gnostics to such an extent that he considered them the virtual discoverers of 'depth psychology' . . . ancient Gnosis, albeit in its form of universal religion, in a certain sense prefigured, and at the same time helped to clarify, the nature of Jungian spiritual therapy." In the light of such recognitions one may ask: "Is Gnosticism a religion or a psychology?" The answer is that it may very-well be both. Most mythologems found in Gnostic scriptures possess psychological relevance and applicability. For instance the blind and arrogant creator-demiurge bears a close resemblance to the alienated human ego that has lost contact with the ontological Self. Also, the myth of Sophia resembles closely the story of the human psyche that loses its connection with the collective unconscious and needs to be rescued by the Self. Analogies of this sort exist in great profusion.

Many esoteric teachings have proclaimed, "As it is above, so it is below." Our psychological nature (the microcosm) mirrors metaphysical nature (the macrocosm), thus Gnosticism may possess both a psychological and a religious authenticity. Gnostic psychology and Gnostic religion need not be exclusive of one another but may complement each other within an implicit order of wholeness. Gnostics have always held that divinity is immanent within the human spirit, although it is not limited to it. The convergence of Gnostic religious teaching with psychological insight is thus quite understandable in terms of time-honored Gnostic principles.

Conclusion

Some writers make a distinction between “Gnosis” and “Gnosticism”. Such distinctions are both helpful and misleading. Gnosis is undoubtedly an experience based not in concepts and precepts, but in the sensibility of the heart. Gnosticism, on the other hand, is the world-view based on the experience of Gnosis. For this reason, in languages other than English, the word Gnosis is often used to denote both the experience and the world view (die Gnosis in German, la Gnose in French).

In a sense, there is no Gnosis without Gnosticism, for the experience of Gnosis inevitably calls forth a world view wherein it finds its place. The Gnostic world view is experiential, it is based on a certain kind of spiritual experience of Gnosis. Therefore, it will not do to omit, or to dilute, various parts of the Gnostic world view, for were one to do this, the world view would no longer conform to experience.

Theology has been called an intellectual wrapping around the spiritual kernel of a religion. If this is true, then it is also true that most religions are being strangled and stifled by their wrappings. Gnosticism does not run this danger, because its world view is stated in myth rather than in theology. Myths, including the Gnostic myths, may be interpreted in diverse ways.
Transcendence, numinosity, as well as psychological archetypes along with other elements, play a role in such interpretation. Still, such mythic statements tell of profound truths that will not be denied.

Gnosticism can bring us such truths with a high authority, for it speaks with the voice of the highest part of the human -- the spirit. Of this spirit, it has been said, “it bloweth where it listeth”. This then is the reason why the Gnostic world view could not be extirpated in spite of many centuries of persecution.

The Gnostic world view has always been timely, for it always responded best to the “knowledge of the heart” that is true Gnosis. Yet today, its timeliness is increasing, for the end of the second millennium has seen the radical deterioration of many ideologies which evaded the great questions and answers addressed by Gnosticism. The clarity, frankness, and authenticity of the Gnostic answer to the questions of the human predicament cannot fail to impress and (in time) to convince. If your reactions to this summary have been of a similarly positive order, then perhaps you are a Gnostic yourself!

+ Stephan A. Hoeller (Tau Stephanus, Gnostic Bishop)

Gnosis Archive Library Bookstore Index Web Lectures Ecclesia Gnostica Gnostic Society

Monday, February 12, 2007

The Gospel of Judas - "Jesus Was Not Crucified"




By Karen Fish

The Christian Gnostic (Knowledge) Gospel of Judas was made public this week and Judas was the hero not the betrayer. This was just the tip of the iceberg - The Christian Gnostic Gospels also tell us that Jesus was not crucified. The Christian Gnostic Gospels pre date the 4 Gospels kept in the New Testament. The Gospel of Judas was one of the Christian Gnostic (Knowledge) Gospels burned by the Church Fathers at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and discovered in Egypt in the town of Naj Hammadi by a peasant in 1945. The numerous Gnostic Knowledge Gospels of Christ were burned by the Church Fathers because they made the 4 Gospels which they put in the New Testament in 325 AD look ridiculous. In the Gospel of Judas, Judas was the hero and most trusted disciple doing the will of Christ. Pope Benedict looked like the boy putting his thumb in the hole in the levee this week when he called Judas a “Double Crosser”, sticking to the party line despite the new evidence to the contrary.

Well, this revelation about Judas is nothing compared to the others in the Christian Knowledge Gospels. In the Koran, (Sura Chapter 4:156) the angel Gabriel who brought Mary the good news tells the Prophet Muhammad that in fact Jesus was not even crucified, a likeness, an impostor was, because this was the story in the Christian Knowledge Gospels which were burned by the Church Fathers forever (they hoped) 1,700 years ago.


The Gnostic Gospel of Judas never mentions the crucifixion or the resurrection. Seth was the third child of Adam and Eve. There was a group of Gnostic (Knowledge) Christians named after Seth, Sethians. In the Christian Gospel called "The Second Treatise of The Great Seth", 56.6-19 in NHL 332, Jesus Christ told Simon, "It was another...who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I... it was another Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. It was another upon whom they placed the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height (the hills) over… their error. And I was laughing at their ignorance. (for thinking it was I who they were crucifying)". The Christian Gnostic Knowledge Gospels contradict the 4 Canonized Gospels in the New Testament endlessly. The 4 New Testament Gospels contradict themselves endlessly. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

One need only look right in the Holy Bible to see what is really going on. God the Father said through Prophet Isaiah that the Bible writers, the Priests and Prophets who wrote the Bibles, “the scribes were creating for the people a shelter, a refuge, of lies and falsehoods, (Isaiah 28:14-15) which would cause the people to fall backward and be broken and ensnared and taken.” (Isaiah 28:9-13). God the Father called the Holy Bible “The Word of Satan!” God said to the scribes, "You prophesy by Baal, Beelzebub, Satan!" (Jeremiah 2:8). God the Father said, "They (the scribes) say, 'Says the Lord', when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word!" (Ezekiel 13:6). Jesus launched into an absolute diatribe in Matthew 23 calling the Bible writers, the scribes, lying venomous snakes who spewed their own divisive racist deadly hateful lies right into your Holy Bible and signed them, “said God”, and “said Jesus”. Jesus lambasted the scribes and those who followed the same Old Testament followed by Judaism, Christianity and Islam today.

In fact, Hell itself is an invention of the modern Bible Writers. In the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible every time Hell is mentioned there is an asterisk beside it. The Bible was written in Greek, and every time that Jesus says Gehenna or Sheol your modern Bible Writers substitute their own word, “Hell”. Gehenna was a place outside of Jerusalem where the Jewish and non Jewish people sacrificed their children on fire altars to the God Baal, Satan. Sheol was a place underground where both the good and the bad spirits dwelled together after death. Jesus spoke of Sheol all the time. According to Jesus right in the Bible, everyone goes to Hell, Sheol, after death, both the good and the evil spirits. How long can Christianity survive on a foundation of what God the Father endlessly calls “lies” right in the Holy Bible? Hasn’t it caused enough suffering, or will you all allow it to now lead you all into extinction in Nuclear World War 3?

The Temple of Love – The World Peace Religion unites Christianity Islam Judaism and everyone else and the countries they all live in by tying them all together with their common threads and resolving all of their differences once and for all, including setting the record straight about the passion of the Christ. Come on in and get the whole story with Biblical citations and new evidence. Come help save the world with truth, love, God of Mount Sinai, and by following the real Word of God, “10ve”, the 10 commandments, once you see what they really mean, and how powerful they truly are.

Karen Fish is a writer currently living in Los Angeles California. The Temple of Love http://www.thetempleoflove.com/ The World Peace Site

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Do You Want to Know a Secret? Solomon's Temple Revealed




By Philip Gardiner
There is a journey that we all must take. It is called life. There is no escaping this journey. We cannot pay somebody to take it for us or take the pain and sorrow that frequents our path. Without our mother and father there would be no help at all from the very start. We would be helpless and we would die.

We are born with no knowledge whatsoever other than some minor genetic memories, and many of us simply follow the patterns that life, evolution and our peers throw at us. We subconsciously assume we must do as our forefathers; we must follow in their footsteps; we must marry, have children, get a job, step onto the roller-coaster of commercialism and the greed oriented rat race we know as capitalism or even communism. There is seemingly no way out of this life and anyway, most of us are enthused by the chase - for we truly know do different.

All of this is perfectly natural. We are, after all, apes with less hair. We strive to be the alpha male and female; to be top dog; to fit in with the society or “tribe” that surrounds us and support the same football team as our friends. And often that society is just a larger version of our selves; it is created by groups of selves.

But, in the times gone by, our ancestors saw through all of this and recognized that there was another way. They discovered that in-order for man to elevate himself above the level of the brown earth upon which he scrambled he needed to alter his internal dialogue. Man needed to understand himself and the forces that drive him.

This unique understanding - that there could be a higher goal for mankind, whether collectively or individually - evolved into what we now know as Gnosticism. Of course this is a massive oversimplification and we should always take into account the mystics – those who have experienced what we would call other-worldly emotions or visions. Also, regardless of popular perception, the Christian’s were not the only Gnostics and mystics. Gnostic comes from the Greek word gignoskein meaning simply to know. It was applied to “one sect of so-called philosopher’s in the first ages of Christianity.”


However, the term is now being used more loosely and I personally see the term slightly differently to others and probably in a controversial light.

To me the Greek term implies all-knowledge. This is a kind of knowledge gained much like plugging ones mind into the world wide web and being able to download every single piece of data in an instant. In the same way, the true Gnostic, much like the mystic, could understand all things in a unique way. Whether this is the mind tapping into the collective unconscious, the Akashic records, or any other name given to the process, does not matter for the purpose of this article, the fact remains, it was believed. And because of this belief, physical manifestations of the internal belief system emerged the world over. In this way, the temples of man, were exactly that – Temples of Man.

Gnosis then, means knowledge of the most esoteric kind and this is the story that has been hidden from our eyes for too long. This is the truth of the secret societies that we on the outside are supposedly too worldly to comprehend.

The Temple

So, let us now try our best to comprehend the Temple of Solomon and in doing so, let us walk upon Holy ground, trodden only by the initiated.

In the years of my own searching there were times when I would be found at the feet of the Magi, sitting and listening to the wise words of the Sufi, joining in the debate at some Freemasonic Lodge. All the time I was learning and viewing the process with an open ear and an open eye, and yet also balancing it all with the knowledge of modern day science and reductionism. Both worlds, the one of the esoteric and the one of science are useless apart – both are needed today if we are to truly understand and believe.

And so down to facts about the Temple of Solomon. Well, unfortunately we are sadly lacking in any archaeological evidence, regardless of what you read on some literal fundamentalist website. What we are told is that in the 10th century BC, the wise King Solomon erected a great Temple to the Lord. Unfortunately, if any of this is true, then we actually find that it was a Temple, which encompassed many pagan religions.

According to Professor James Pritchard in his book, Solomon and Sheba (1974, p.35):

“.. the so-called cities of Megiddo, Gezer and Hazor, and Jerusalem itself were in reality more like villages.. Within were relatively small public buildings and poorly constructed dwellings with clay floors. The objects reveal a material culture which, even by the standards of the ancient Near East, could not be judged sophisticated or luxurious.. The ‘magnificence’ of the age of Solomon is parochial and decidedly lackluster, but the first book of Kings implies exactly the opposite.”

In fact and in the bright light of day, what we actually have, and what most writers are afraid to say, is no evidence whatsoever for Solomon’s Temple. In fact, we have no evidence for Solomon, other than these peculiar Biblical texts. Neither do we have any evidence for the Queen of Sheba, or any of the other characters involved. Instead, there is more depth than could ever be imagined, more meaning than we would dare to believe.

John Michell in The Temple at Jerusalem: A Revelation, (Gothic Image) gives us an insight to the real meaning.:

“Legends of the Temple describe it as the instrument of a mystical, priestly science, a form of alchemy by which oppositely charged elements in the earth and atmosphere were brought together and ritually married. The product of their union was a spirit that blessed and sanctified the people of Israel.”

How right Michell is. The Temple is an instrument of mystical and priestly science or even magic. The secret unravels before our eyes the more we learn. You see the true Gnostic, the true disciple or perfect one, must be a man or woman of balance. He or she must unite the two sides of the mind, the male and female principles as they are called. We are all both male and female and the alchemists used this concept of balance and revealed it in their images of the Hermaphrodite, half man and half woman.

Solomon, was no real man, and Sheba was no real woman. Instead they were symbols of this internal and often external process. The whole story of Solomon, Sheba and the Temple, which is the perfectly formed body, both physical and spiritual, is the story of our own psyche. It is an esoteric truth, misunderstood in its exoteric form.

Hiram

Hiram was the son of a Jewish mother and a Phoenician father and is credited with the decoration of the Temple of Solomon. He was said to have been the “son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali… He cast two bronze pillars” 1 Kings 7:13-15.

We must also note something of interest mentioned in 1 Kings 16:

“Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on top of the pillars. The height of one capital was 5 cubits; and the height of the other capital was five cubits. He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital.”

These pillars became known as Jachin, meaning “he establishes” and Boaz, which means “in him is strength” and these are now familiar to most modern Freemasons as central to their own Lodge or Temple. Copies of these can be clearly seen at the infamous Rosslyn Chapel as we shall discover.

But, what is interesting here is the original text about these pillars. Firstly bronze is used for the capitals, just as bronze is used for the “Brazen Serpent” of Moses and is indicative of the fiery aspect of the serpent as one of the channels in the Kundalini process. Their “heights” were 5 cubits, matching the five hooded cobras seen across India and atop many pillars, although the Bible calls them Lilies, which are symbols of balance anyway.

Leading up to these capitals then were “wreaths” of “chainwork”, seven on each pillar. Strangely these chains were “for the capitals,” and so we conclude that these seven levelled chains (coils) were pointing towards the head (capital) just as the serpents of the Kundalini do.

There are more real links between Hiram and the serpent. For instance, we noted above that he was of the Tribe of Naphtali. The standard of the Tribe of Naphtali, according to Jewish tradition, is a serpent or basilisk and this could have come from Egyptian origins, as Jewish tradition states that Naphtali was the brother of Joseph, chosen to represent the family to Pharaoh.

“And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram [Hiram] my master [father] craftsman, (the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skilful men and with the skilful men of my lord David your father.” 2 Chronicles 2:13-14.

Here, Hiram is said to be a son of the Tribe of Dan and even the tribe of Dan had an emblem, which was amazingly also the serpent, this time with a horse.

Incredibly there is also a hidden truth and repetitive pattern in this little statement about the real skills of this literary character. Follow this pattern:

Hiram is skilled in:-

1 gold and silver,
2 bronze and iron,
3 stone and wood,
4 purple and blue,
5 fine linen and crimson,
6 and to make any engraving
7 and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him.

Note that there are seven ‘balanced’ elements to the skill of the man who will build the Temple! This is a real clue to the Temple’s secret indeed.

According to this book of Chronicles Hiram was a cunning man (a word used for the serpent) endued with understanding, skilful as we can see in the work of gold, silver, brass, stone and timber. But he was also credited with certain tools, which could pierce stone. Stone, as I show in Gnosis is symbolic of wisdom and foundation. Hiram’s tool therefore pierced the veil or even the very root of wisdom.

According to the book of Kings the Temple was built of stone (or wisdom) before it was brought to the site. Something like a prefabricated building. It was said by tradition that neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron was used in the building. So how was it built? This in itself is a paradox, which can only be answered by the true secret of the Temple being revealed.

According to Rabbinical teaching the prefabrication of the Temple was performed by the Shamir, a giant worm or serpent that could cut stones (incidentally worm means serpent). Not dissimilar to Norse and Celtic beliefs where Valhalla and Camelot were built with the fire of the dragon and in China where building is aided by the serpent energy.

This is a universal concept as can be seen in India, where it was the serpentine linked Naga’s of fable who escaped their country and took the architectural wisdom abroad. The architect gods, such as Thoth of Egypt, are linked strongly with the serpent wisdom because they are linked with the building of “Temples of Wisdom” inside our SELVES.

The Shamir, according to one legend had even been placed in the hands of the Prince of the Sea (Shamir by Wilhelm Bacher & Ludwig Blau), which of course is symbolic of the Prince of Wisdom.

In essence what we really have here is the Temple of Wisdom being built by the serpent and that serpent is none other than that of, or similar to, the internal Kundalini, later to be developed into the Kabbalah. This is a psychological training manual; a method of self-improvement; a way for society to become One; a multi-layered method of getting closer to the deity which resides in each and everyone of us; a deity, that the ancients saw as being the same in each of us.

The whole process repeats again and again throughout the Bible. The Temple is reduced (like the alchemical method) and is remade. Then again and again, until finally the Christ is the Temple which is reduced (killed) and then rises again for the last time. And now, according to the texts, we can all meet with this Christ and we can all have the knowledge. We just need to understand that the true Christ is all and in all. But this hasn't worked has it. Man is still even now in the 21st century, searching for answers and so the temple is being reduced once again……

I say, we should all take a look at our own "temples" and knock them to the ground. We should then go about re-building them in a bigger and better way than before, just like the Bible states. And more than that, we must keep on doing this until this world of ours has peace and all truly are equal before God.

About the Author

Philip Gardineris the author of the best selling The Serpent Grail, The Shining Ones, and Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon’s Temple Revealed. He does talks, lectures, has his own radio show and does tours across the world via www.powerplaces.com

Philip has a degree in marketing and 9 diplomas ranging from etymology to holistic medicine. He is hosting the Philip Gardiner’s Forbidden Knowledge Conference UK (FKCUK) in July 2006.

www.philipgardiner.net
www.gardinerosborn.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Gardiner

Jesus & the Gnostic Cathars




By Robert Baird
These are some of the highlights of a connected story of Milesian/Phocaean/ Phoenician architects who allow 'his'-story to confuse the masses. It is still going on and we must try to change it. There was a better time if one is concerned for freedom and ethics, and there is no Malthusian 'one pie' to worry about. Creative potential can develop new pies!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ALPHABET COMPARISONS: A key to the greatest heresy of the ages.

TIME-LINE OF CONTROVERSIAL POINTS:

INTRODUCTION:

-the Dead Sea Scrolls say there are two spirits - 'truth and error' -the Britannica 'Ogham' cover-up is disgusting and as wrong as the Scale of Nature -the bounty on the heads of Druids

CHAPTER ONE: THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE SEXES:

-prostitution for the temple was required of women but why not men -"Together our voices accumulate the power to topple the systems that condone violence, incest and rape." - The Courage to Heal by Bass & Davis -"If your parents refused to tell you about sex because of their religious beliefs...that is religious sexual abuse." - Fr. Leo Booth -The cover-up or poor scholarship of Byblos, on the Persian Gulf which was a Phoenician base to help the Sumerians become civilized, and where the Egyptians bought ocean-going ships in 2900 BC according to the World Book -Psychoanalysis by 'experts' on the 'Confessions' of St. Augustine which brought us the 'Original Sin' or 'women are the harbingers' of his own evil -Priestly interpreters of the soul within that connects us all are into making sheep for their flock rather than empowering humanity. -The Qaballa or Verbal Tradition which formed part of Jesus' learning. -'Love and Living' by Thomas Merton displays the truth of Mayan beauty.

CHAPTER TWO: MOSES, MIRIAM AND THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS:

-Mariae is the sister of Moses who 'discussed the problem of the whitening of the stone in a few days.' (Stone = The alchemical Great Work) - Rabbi Silver gives insight to the lengths those in need of sheep will go to defend their position and keep their 'flock' ignorant. -". .Thoth-Hermes and Imhotep-Asklepios… these two cults and elements in the two Moses stories" have 'numerous similarities'- Rabbis agree -The Old Testament of Augustine who merely interpreted Genesis (falsely) was written by a woman ('The Book of 'J"). -There was no such word as Essene. A debate on derivations provides some interesting connections from Bible and Dead Sea scholars. -"For the Essenes we have only what was said about them by outsiders writing in a different language and for people who knew nothing at all about them." -'The Dead Sea Scrolls' by Millar Burrows -Jesus and his father were wise 'arch-tectons' in the Septuagint which is the Greek Bible once thought to be the first Bible, not poor carpenters. -Hyam Maccoby, 'a leading Talmudic scholar' says "Paul alone created a new religion through his vision of Jesus as a divine Savior who died to save humanity."… taken "from Gnosticism and the mystery cults." -"Jesus' threat to the Temple was not subversive... of Jewish religion, but it was a real threat to the quisling regime of the High Priest. (Appointed by Rome)… rather it was the Jews who were framed by the Gospels."

CHAPTER THREE: THE 'TUATHA De DANAAN' & THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE OF MEGALITH BUILDERS:


-"The sacred books of 'the subject peoples had a special place in this systematic project of collection and translation, because religion was, for those who wished to rule them, a kind of gateway to their souls.” (2) -"… the bearded white gods South America's shadowy legends say brought knowledge and culture to Andean tribes.” (3) -Ogham as a sign language and Huna as a spiritual enhancement language like chanting. -Homer's 'DNN' are the original settlers of Greece and the De Danaan are the 'Ogygia' or 'ancient ones' of Keltic colonizing culture. -"Some scholars now feel that the early Hebrew Bible shows an enormous amount of influence from Canaanite and Phoenician sources...Through the Bible the entire civilized world has fallen heir to Phoenician literary art.” (6) -"The group that emerged by the time Dido arrived was culturally diverse, ruggedly independent and, as Herodotus has emphasized, often given to animistic religious practices, which means simply that they may have venerated natural phenomena…" -'Carthage' by top scholars, on the Berbers. -Velikovsky supported by Einstein comments on the top Egyptologist Sir Flinders-Petrie - "This script was known in Egypt for a thousand years for a thousand years; it was never used to write down an Egyptian text…" -Barry Fell from 'America BC.'-"The rise and fall of Celtic sea power has been strangely neglected by most historians and archaeologists as to prompt much skepticism when first I began to report Celtic inscription in America. 'I can't say I've ever heard that the Celts were seafarers,' was a typical comment." - watch the movie 'Spartacus' and see him talk to Keltic sea captains [Seleucids] who controlled the Mediterranean.-Mystery Hill, N.H. -"Simon Magus himself was of the race of the Gaedhils of Erinn.” A Celtic Reader' -"Iberian or Megalithic people of Britain introduced the immigrant Celts to the Druidic religion." -in 2600 BC, the Beaker People came to Britain and they are Kelts from Old Danube or Hallstatt. -CHART - Phoenician Brotherhood - Enterprises and Colonies.

CHAPTER FOUR: POSSIBILITY-THINKING AND SOUTH AMERICA!:

-"Colombia's outstanding archaeological remains occur along the Atlantic coasts of Santa Maria. Here were found abundant evidences of a sprawling public works' system, cities and ceremonial centers, paved roads, efficient irrigation and sophisticated agricultural practices… resembles… Hal Saflieni, in Malta…" Ancient American, Vol. 5. -Aristotle's 'Strange Things Heard' says the Carthaginians didn't allow people to go to America anymore in order to keep their population?

-Necho II of Egypt engages Phoenicians to travel for two years for him. We later show books that identify this time and the place they went in South America. -Cyprus and the importance of mining led to an original Mt. Olympus. -Recent report of l.5MM old 'well made wooden throwing spears' should make archaeologists swallow hard as they try to maintain our ignorant cave man heritage with spears from just 20,000 years ago(Asimov). From an unrelated article in Scientific American by linguists. -Mayan knives from pre-Columbian times were better than iron and made from meteorites - Mircae Eliade’s 'The Forge and the Crucible'. -Solid state chemistry and Don Robins the top dog in a science being used that relate to the lattices that encode information in stone.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE GODS OF THE ORIGINAL MT. OLYMPUS:

-"Geophysiologists warn that if the planet does function like a body, the Earth may have the equivalent of vital organs and vulnerable points." (l) British atmospheric scientist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis are able to see what 'representational deities' were all about. -ILLUSTRATION: THE TREE OF YGGDRASIL - Cosmic Fire (Bel) and Cosmic Ice are in the Aristotelian concept borrowed from Shamans and they are in the sephirah of the Hassidic 'Tree of Life', which Jesus studied. -Heraclitus "conceded the existence of an over-riding, all-encompassing unity, in which the apparently contradictory opposites are all linked to one another, in a single, regular, cohesive system of balanced, harmonious measure and just order."- the 'Logos', the 'I Ching' and Miletus. -Men and women both can live in harmony with this order according to Heraclitus who Michael Grant (top classical scholar) says: "This inertia, resulting in a total non-recognition of the truth (shared by anti-feminists… had learned about many things which had failed, however to bring them real understanding.” -Tacitus - "So obscure are the greatest events; as some take for granted any hearsay, whatever its source, others turn truth into falsehood, and both errors find encouragement with posterity." -Rennes le Chateau = Jesus in PLAID swaddling clothes, “Tau - (Hebrew) St. Anthony's cross; a T-shaped cross patterned after the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet meaning the end of the world..." -"Essentially the Sea Peoples theory was a convenient and plausible invention of the 19th century, designed (largely by historian Gasten Maspero) to fit very limited facts.” (14) -Lies about Pyramids as tombs for 'freaky' Pharaohs are debunked. The almost intact Keltic ship on the Giza plateau has a 40 Ton displacement and is not a funerary barge, with sails to go a few hundred yards. -Druidic 'Cabiri' and the Cauldron of Ceridwen = Cosmic Egg and shamans -ILLUSTRATION: THE 'TRAVELERS' - 6,000,000 years of man and how the ethnic and cultural growth seems likely to have occurred with a conservative archaeologic perspective included.

CHAPTER SIX: BRUTUS, BRITAIN AND THE GOTHS:

-Quintus Fabius Pictor led Livy to try to make sense of a myth that has truthful roots in the 'Aeneid' of Virgil and the 'Iliad' of Homer. Both are shown support in true history and from the Phocaean/Milesian roots of Ireland. A consistent picture emerges with real historical and aristocratic families who became forced to accept EMPIRE when Brutus failed to maintain the Republic. -1800 BC. brought the (carbon-dated) Nuraghe of Barumini, Sardinia as Jacquetta Hawkes talks about the "'tombe di giganti' in which the inhabitants of the nuraghi buried their dead." and "It is difficult to avoid the terms of medieval castle architecture in describing the nuraghi." There are over 6500 on Sardinia. -"Picti is invariably translated = ‘Redshanks’,” epithets become history. -Crete had the royal house of Mallia and was the origin or related to the Milesians when we know the code of Ogham and its use of vowels and doubling or reversing of letters.

CHAPTER SEVEN: SPIRITUALITY WAS NOT 'OCCULT' (HIDDEN):

-Mircae Eliade says: "There appears to be an unbroken continuity of folklore traditions, Taoism and alchemy: The Taoist alchemist is the successor of the hunter of medicinal remedies, who, from time immemorial, went off into the mountains with a calabash to collect magic seeds and plants." Yet character assassins employed by the hegemony say alchemists are hermits who sought only gold for avaricious needs. -The Hubbell photos of the center of the universe bring us proof of energy coming through from other universes and much more that mystics have known. -The cover-up of Da Vinci's alchemy and how he saw the 'bicycle' is exposed in-depth though scholars avoid it. -These concepts are not in conflict and do not need to create stress or threaten anyone in search of truth. The 'Zen' of the moment is not designed to promote ignorance and lack of concern for our collective history or our soulful potential. -“The 'Bardo Thodol' ('Liberation by Hearing, on the After-Death Plane') is among the sacred books of the world, unique. As an epitomized exposition of the cardinal doctrines of the 'Mahäyäna' School of Buddhism, it is of very great importance, religiously, philosophically, and historically. As a treatise based essentially upon the Occult Sciences of the 'Yoga'…" (15) -We know the War department contractors are working on Pyramid technologies and yet it isn't being exposed to the general public. -Ossianic legends of pre-Egyptian culture who founded Egypt are explored. -Dark Matter is not the regulating force causing the increasing outward velocity of the universe. Tesla's non-force 'info-packets' and Bearden's energy from vacuums are related to the 'one-dimensional harmonic force'. -The 'Triads of Bardism' 'enlighten the darkness'. -Pythagoras knew the truth of the Sphinx but has been portrayed a 'fool'.

CHAPTER EIGHT: BEL-IG-ERANT 'Brothers' - GOTHS & ARYANS!

-'Cleopatra' - "This book is about them, but it is also about politics - sexual, racial and constitutional - and about morality, neurosis and desire. Above all it is about propaganda and the persuasive power…” (1) -Jack Kerouac's 'Some of the Dharmas' brings us 'The Cause of Sorrow'. -"Meanwhile, in early 1985, researchers at the University of Colorado announced that they had discovered a lost city in Northern Peru. The name? Gran Pajaten! How many times can you discover a city, especially one discussed in tourist guides?” -Savoy -"The magnitude of the Gran Vilaya ruins, consisting of over 80 interconnected city-type layouts composed of some 23,950 structures to date,." (1985 in South America) Is this where the Ostrogoths went after Italy as the 'Chronicle of Akakor' says was the case in 570 AD.? -Hitler was an indolent scatophagist and pawn who would have gladly kept England and America strong, if they had only given to him what they gave to the criminal genius Stalin. In fact he would have wanted less than Poland and the other 50,000,000 Eastern Europeans who feared the same treatment the 32,000,000 Ukrainians were already getting from Stalin. -The 'Grail' legends as a useful managers tool and coded study of the Merovingian dynasty of Benjaminites who are not Israeli and wish to revenge themself on those Tribes they tried to help.

CHAPTER NINE: JESUS CHRIST!!

-Those who call him Messiah are righter than they know. -Mishnaic Law of the Judean teachers would not have allowed Jesus to be a teacher (rabbi) without having a wife. -"the archetypal Roman shouldered the White Man's Burden, the arduous but fabulously profitable task of governing those whom, despite all evidence to the contrary, the Romans judged incapable of governing themselves." (Lucy Hughes-Hallett from 'Cleopatra') -Jesus and His Curricula Vitae: -Joseph of Arimathaea - Another Phoenician! -"The excavations of Thomas W. Jacobsen at the Franchithi Cave on the Bay of Argos... by 13,000 - 11,000 B.C. and that the cultivation of hybrid grains, the domestication of animals, and organized community tuna hunts had already begun." (Britannica) Yet there are those who say we couldn't travel the ocean when obsidian had to be brought from a distance, at this time. They like to intimate we couldn't travel the oceans for a reason when they say (NY Public Library's Chronicles) the earliest recorded sea travel was in 2600 BC to Lebanon. -What entitles unproductive half-witted inbred psychopomps and sadists to lounge around making deals to improve their power over people? The Divine Right of KINGS?!?!

CHAPTER TEN: FROM THE TEMPLARS TO TEMUJIN:

-Blood was a vital psychic or spiritual and ritualistic ingredient that communion is based upon according to Gardner and those who still do the Star Fire Ceremony with Crowley's 'blood of the moon' or female hormone -'To drink like a Templar' became a common… Sir Walter Scott portrays them as bullies... not established to protect pilgrims." -Genghis Khan was a gifted 'smith' and listener who learned a lot that his progeny built upon; and did unto others before they did unto him. -Marco Polo was a 'slaver' who worked with Catholic cowards whose need for concubines and slaves was enough to allow the Mongols to conquer a recently Christianized Russia. Greek Fire was available to them. -"According to the Supreme Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, there were thirty-nine men and women on the High Council of the Brotherhood, who sat at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor. (2) A branch of this Order became more generally known as the Egyptian Therapeutae, who in Heliopolis and Judaea, were identified as the Essenes. (3)…Jesus was later initiated..." -Illustration; The Pyramid Propaganda:

EPILOGUE: THE GREATEST HISTORIANS!

-Bernard Mandeville brings us the Fable of the Bees which Childeric, Napoleon and the Sarmoung Brotherhood of the esoteric secret groups including the Merovingians (and the Melchizedek Mormons) use as a main symbol. He says 'Virtue is just a pretence which man has invented for his own advantage.' -Fukayama deals with Plato and Hegel, though appropriately notes the real master philosophy of politics - 'Machiavelli was the founder of modern political philosophy, who believed that man could become the master of his own earthly house if he took his cues not from the way men ought to live, but the way they actually live.' - Fukayama the social engineer, would have us believe there is little chance of another 'Holocaust' (in 1992 he wrote this, before the Rwanda genocide) or 'communist resurgence' and placates the American public with a plethora of half-truths. The Durants document the true nature of continuing cycles and 'Dark Ages' brought about by class and economic or power re-adjustments. - The Pope’s 1995 encyclical spoke of a worldwide culture of death.

Author of Diverse Druids Columnist for The ES Press Magazine Guest 'expert' at World-Mysteries.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Baird

Gnosticism - Understanding the Liberal Mind





By Charles Jines
Gnosticism is not a term we usually hear today, and yet we live in the age of the Gnostic. Gnosticism permeates every aspect of modern life. I tell my kids that it’s even in our ice cream. Many people associate this term with early Christianity, and not with modern liberalism. Liberalism is indeed Gnostic. It is a child of a much older philosophy known as Gnosticism.

Gnosticism pre-dates Christianity by many centuries. Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle combated the Gnostic attitude long before Christ entered the pages of history. In the time of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, liberals were known as the sophist. The sophists claimed that men could be “possessors” of ultimate wisdom, much like John Kerry who considers himself part of the “enlightened.” Plato considered himself a seeker of wisdom, not a possessor of the ultimate wisdom. That was reserved for God.

Liberals are our modern Sophists. The Gnostic Liberal believes that man can possess the wisdom and the power to change the nature of reality, or fundamental ground of being. The Gnostic Liberals either consider themselves to be god, or claim that god is dead... either way, they believe that we must look to man, rather than to God, for the solutions to global issues.

Eric Voegelin has written extensively on this subject, and I will be using him as our guide throughout this article. I understand liberalism in a much broader light since reading Voegelin. I recommend two works by Eric Voegelin on the subject of Gnosticism: The New Science of Politics, and Science, Politics and Gnosticism. For a different take on WWII, check out Voegelin’s Hitler and the Germans. Voegelin does not let the German people off the hook like so many other historians.

FOUNDERS OF MODERN GNOSTICISM


Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche can indeed be considered the founding fathers of all the Gnostic mass movements of the past century. Their ideas led to the holocaust and multiculturalism. Their ideas led to the political decline spawned by communism, and the moral decline caused by relativism.

The Gnostic Enterprises in recent history include Karl Marx, with his attempt to create the social man, Fredric Nietzsche with his attempt to create the superman, Hitler with his attempt to create the Arian man, the New Age Movement with its attempt to create the god man, and yes, modern liberalism with its attempt to create the softer, gentler, kinder girly-man. As well, we should not forget Hegel who thought he was the only man.

All of these Gnostic enterprises ended in disaster. All of these enterprises share certain principles which we will get to in a moment.

SIX PRINCIPLES OF THE GNOSTIC ENTERPRISE

Voegelin lists six characteristics that all Gnostic Enterprises have in common.

First, the Gnostic is always dissatisfied with any given situation. To the Gnostic, the glass is always half empty. Even in the best of times the Gnostic will find the situation bleak. A recent example of this attitude can be seen in the liberals’ view of our current economy. Despite record employment, a booming housing market, and a thriving stock market, the liberal mind sees things as gloomy. The Gnostic attitude is founded in pessimism. It sees everyone as victims in one form or another, especially oppressors. That is why Gnostic Liberals see Islam as the victim, and Christianity as the oppressor. Somehow the Gnostic mind is able to turn reality on its head, no matter what the issue may be.

The second aspect of the Gnostic attitude is the belief that any drawbacks to any given situation can be attributed to a flaw in the system, that the world is intrinsically poorly organized. To the Gnostic Liberal, it is God who screwed things up. Creation itself is evil. What is never considered, is the possibility that mankind, with his free will, is flawed. To quote Voegelin: “Gnostics are not inclined to discover that human beings in general and they themselves in particular are inadequate. If in a given situation something is not as it should be, then the fault is to be found in the wickedness of the world.”

The third principle in the mindset of the Gnostic Liberal is, “the belief that salvation from the evil of the world is possible.”

Voegelin: “Form this follows the belief that the order of being will have to be changed in an historical process. From a wretched world a good one must evolve historically.” I personally encounter this thinking quite often. To site just one example; I often attend Gnostic Liberal discussion groups, just to see what they are up to. Gnostic Liberals love to do lots of talk-talk, so I have many to choose from in my town. At the one I attend on Thursday nights, the topic is often centered on negotiating with mad men like Kim Jung Mentally Ill, and Ah, mad in jihad. I often cite Chamberlain’s attempts to do the same with Hitler and how that did not pan out so well. Referring to history often makes Gnostic Liberals upset, because they truly think the nature of man has changed, that man has evolved. One person who was getting hot around the collar said, “why do you keep bringing up WWII? Things are different today.” This is why Gnostic Liberals are extremely dangerous people. Reality does not register.

The fifth aspect of the Gnostic attitude is that the nature of reality can be changed through human action. Voegelin: “…the belief that a change in the order of being lies in the realm of human action, that salvational act is possible through man’s own effort.” If we just gave everyone food, starvation would end; if we just provided more education, everyone would be smart like liberals; if we just found common ground with our enemies, wars would end; if we just meditated long enough, we would become enlightened; if we just promoted more science, we could live forever. “If we all just would get along.”

This sets the Gnostic Liberal on the quest for the right formula or methodology to achieve this self, and world salvation. As well, a Gnostic prophet will come forward who claims to posses the knowledge to save us all. Al Gore has recently come forward as just such a prophet. He has the knowledge, and the power to alter weather patterns. What a man! What a god!

THE SPIRITUAL GNOSTICS

We can break the Gnostic Liberals into two general categories that intertwine with each other. First we have the spiritual Gnostic Liberal. The spiritual Gnostic Liberals come in all sorts of flavors. We have the rebirth of paganism, with the belief that god can be found in rocks and trees; that the earth itself is god. Environmentalism is closely related to this religion. Save the moss and the hell with humans! Voegelin calls this the “path to de-humanization;” where man is placed beneath the animals. Historically, mass murder soon follows this philosophy.

Another flavor of the spiritual Gnostic Liberal is one where man is really god; it’s just that he has forgotten this fact. These Gnostic Liberals have all kinds of methods to remember that we are god. Meditation is a popular system to pursue this “awakening.” If one can gain the power to stop all thought, then bang-o! Now you are god. In reality one simply stops all thought. Another popular method of self salvation is to submit to a guru. The Sufis subscribe to this line of reasoning. If one can kill their ego by absolute surrender to a “master,” then true freedom will be achieved. Again, historically speaking, blind submission to a man has led to mass slaughter, not freedom.

THE SECULAR PROGRESSIVE GNOSTICS

The second category of Gnostic Liberals is the secular progressives. This group has two main reasons for evil existing in the world. The first being economic hardships, the second, Religion.

If there are terrorists, it is due to poverty. If there is theft, it is due to poverty. According to the secular progressive Gnostic Liberal, just about every evil in the world is caused by lack of economic resources. Therefore, they believe that through the redistribution of wealth, a new and great society can be created. The inadequacy within human nature never crosses their mind as a possible cause of evil.

Religion is also a cause of evil to this group of Gnostics. Every atrocity that has occurred was caused by religion, in the mind of the secular Gnostic Liberal. Of course, the Gnostic Liberal would not recognize their own belief as a religion, nor do they recognize the slaughter of the past century as evolving from the anti-religious Gnostic mass movements.

THE UNCHANGING GROUND OF BEING

The truth of the matter is that while many external changes can be measured and recorded concerning external reality, the internal realms have remained unchanged since the beginning. Evil is found within the nature of man. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. All Gnostic Liberal insanity can be traced back to the denial of this reality.

Plato cried tears of sorrow, and laughed with joy, just as you and I do today. Greed is still found in man despite the passing of time. People, like all things decay, and fade away despite advances in science. Death still comes to us all. Galaxies dance and collide into each other, and yet life goes on. Many worlds have come and gone, souls have departed this life, and yet we think we have gotten somewhere. The metaphysical world resides in the mind of God, the one and only unmovable mover. The timelessly boundless ground of being remains unchanged.

It is often claimed by the Gnostic Liberal that religion, and the belief in God, have been the cause of all the evil in the world. I say that it is the shortcomings of man. I will go further and state that when man abandoned God, and entered the age of the Gnostic, the ovens really cranked, the bodies stacked up to unparalleled heights, and the blood truly began to flow. Industrial production line slaughter on a massive scale. The death count of the past century, the century of the Gnostic, dwarfs any killing performed by any church or religion. The slaughter that is about to take place will be even worse. Man has indeed killed man in the name of God. Man has killed more men in the name of man.

http://www.globalconservative.com/GNOSTICMIND.htm Providing information and rational perspectives on global issues.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Jines

The Gnostic Awakening


Gnostic Awakening



by: Christosphere
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While I believe for some individuals certain non-addictive drugs can help open the door to spiritual experiences, this experience was not the result of using drugs, I had been anti-drug my entire life to the point of usually refusing simple over the counter pain relievers, so rest assured it wasn't induced by any kind of substance. The night before I had this experience I was at a very low point in my life, the world seemed so terribly unjust and cruel that I was at a breaking point and when just getting home walking from my car to the front door I paused to look up into the star filled sky and with tears rolling down my cheeks quietly cried Why, why, why? I could not understand how complete innocents could be treated so terribly, how children could suffer so unjustly under the hand of another. I did not believe that God could exist because any such "God" which would allow these kinds of things to happen wasn't any kind of God to me. I couldn't pray to the concept of God but the universe was real, the immense out there, the all that is was something I could pour out my heart to without needing a belief in God. That night I gave the heavens my full heart seeking an answer to that question, with all my heart tearfully pleading for the answer.

The next afternoon I received an answer to that question; since we are all a part of one another we do it to ourselves. Although the answer didn't completely make up for all of the pain, much of the edge of that pain was taken off by being able to understand why such terrible things could happen to innocent children, because we are all really one, we in effect are only hurting ourselves when ever we hurt another. Because of this and this alone we are allowed the freedom to do good or evil, if we weren't really one I do not believe God would allow any of it to occur. In the end we all pay the price for any wrong as well as reap the reward for any good. The following is how the answer came to me through a dream that was the most lucid moment of my life before or since:

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

One warm afternoon in 1996 I took a short nap. I awoke within it to find myself standing in the presence of a huge sun or sphere of light, quickly understanding that this sun was pure conscious awareness. Although its surface was only swirling light and did not have a face, it seemed as if it was smiling at me and had nothing but love for me.


I felt its thoughts as one with my own and felt it peering deeply into my own awareness, knowing everything about me all at once. Standing in its presence I was overcome by a deep sense of awe and at the same time I was surprised to find myself so fully conscious in this empty, but light-filled void. There was nothing in existence for me but myself and this bright bluish-white (more white than blue) sun smiling its awareness at me. It was unlike any place on earth, and yet as real as waking reality. In fact, it was more real; I was super-conscious.

Suddenly I came to a profound awareness that this sun was God! I was so overwhelmed and surprised that God was real that I mentally gasped and then yelled out, “You’re Real!” I had always had a deep mistrust of religion. Years before this experience, I had decided for many seemingly valid reasons that religion and God were only a product of the human mind, yet there I was standing in the presence of what I knew without a doubt was God. What I had previously thought to be the truth about the universe was shattered and I stood there stunned, having had my world turned around so quickly.

I was happy because I had always hoped that God was real and that there was a future beyond the physical. As I stood in its presence, I perceived myself to be nothing but pure awareness and without a body. This sun of awareness fully merged with me, seeing everything inside of me. It saw everything I had ever done (and failed to do) both good and bad, and yet I did not sense or feel this Being was judging me or my past. There was no serial or motion-picture-like review of my life, just a sudden and full knowing about all things I have ever done, thought and experienced.

Because this sun of awareness/God was peering so fully and deeply into me, I felt totally naked, more naked than if I were standing without clothes in front of a million people. This Being seemed to be the consciousness of everyone I had ever known plus that of millions of others. It seemed to be everyone, but incredible as it might seem, most of all it seemed to be me.

Even though I had no awareness of having a body, this feeling of nakedness was more than I could stand. Before I had time to think about what I was doing, I began moving away from this Being as fast as I could. It wasn’t that I was afraid, nor that I wanted to get away from this wonderful sun of light, it was more like an automatic response to feeling more naked than I thought naked could be.

As I was traveling away from this Being I found myself bursting through some kind of barrier into a blackness that was filled with wonderful stars; space. As I continued moving forward at a tremendous speed through the star fields, I soon found myself slowing down as if I was up against another barrier or membrane. It seemed to stretch slightly and then I burst through it into another blackness of star-filled space.

I continued to speed away faster and faster, but regardless of how much physical distance I traveled, I was never any farther away from the sun of awareness at all. I quickly traveled through several star-filled spaces, at least six of them beyond the great sphere of light, each separated from one another by barriers that I was easily penetrating. As I passed through each layer, my speed increased each time, but its consciousness was still with me. It was still deeply within my own consciousness.

All of a sudden, I fell through the top of my bedroom ceiling, hit my body with a jolt and immediately woke up. The jolt was so strong that my bed physically bounced as my body jerked awake in response to the sudden stop. I opened my eyes and immediately spoke in a low and powerful voice, "I am that great I am." I said this almost involuntarily; the words spilled out of my mouth without even thinking about what or why I was saying it. I also knew what this meant: that I was the very consciousness that I was trying to get away from!

As much as I tried to get away from that Sun of Awareness, I could never get one fraction of an inch farther away from it, no matter how far or fast I traveled. Even after waking up, it was still with me. To this day, I still feel and know its presence. I believe that this Sun/Intelligence/God wasn't a single Being, but is the center of all beings, that it is me, you and perhaps all conscious beings.

From this experience I think that somewhere at the center of each of us is a spark of this same light, and without it we would not have consciousness, and perhaps without us it would not exist either. As I was flying away from this being, I had the impression that I was traveling through several layers within a sphere, but I was bursting through layers like the layers of an onion but between each layer was star-filled space. I can’t really tell you if I was traveling from the inside out, or the outside in, but as I traveled through them I had an impression that the farther I got from the sphere of light, the smaller I got and the more divided I became.

As I was returning I felt like I was not only traveling through spheres within spheres, but also as if I were traveling from the top of a pyramid down, the peak an all seeing eye of omni-present consciousness, the blocks below all of the individuals which make the whole. While trying to move away I could both see and feel myself splitting into more and more diverse copies of myself, each branching off into many other branches of selves which also split into their own branches, dividing and dividing into ever larger numbers.

Because of this experience, I came to see everyone around me as myself. At the same time, I also see this as equally true from everyone else’s perspective, that I am them too. They too can look around and only see other parts of themselves, other selves experiencing life from another point of view, separated by their physical bodies and world, by their individual minds and wills, but in reality they are one at their core.

These feelings and thoughts were so strong within me that I had trouble referring to other people at work as anything other than “I.” I had a tendency to think about others as just another part of myself. Just as I think about my hands as being a part of me, I would sometimes refer to others as “I” instead of the name of the person. For example, instead of saying, “He had finished working on that project” it came out as “I had finished working on that project.” I had to re-learn how to refer to others as separate from myself. After four years, I still think of others as myself, but now I can stop from verbalizing it.

If I had the chance to do it over again and stand in the presence of this sun-intelligence-God, I wouldn't run away from it no matter how startling it is to be seen to such depth. I now hope that I would stand in its presence no matter how naked I felt. I don't believe that my motive for running was because I couldn’t stand to face the light, or that I felt like a bad person, but because I was so unaccustomed to being seen so fully, so suddenly, so clearly and to such depth. Unfortunately my flight away from it took place before I could think of what I was doing and why.

I believe that the words I spoke after the experience, "I am that great I am" meant that, although I am individual here, I am also a part of every other consciousness at the great central point of consciousness; God. I am now secure in the knowledge that this presence of consciousness has always been with me, and that I have never been alone and never will be alone. I now know that this presence is closer to me than anything else in the universe. I had been so accustomed to it that I didn’t know it was there, much like becoming used to a smell in a room, once you are there with it long enough, it begins to fade into the background. Like silence, it is always there, maybe in the background, behind and between the sounds, but always there. Like a quiet pure awareness, completely silent but ever present. To find it within listen to the silence and then try to find what is behind it, it's there as strong as your own silent awareness forever smiling at you.


About the Author
Christopher Hazlitt lives in Palmer, Alaska working at an electronics technician in the satellite telecommunications industry for a long distance telephone and data networking company.



Article Source - www.book-of-thoth.com

Sunday, February 11, 2007

In ignorance I have described Thee !





The greatest Indian Mythological treatise, the Bhagavatha, which consists of 18000 poetic verses, was condensed into 1000 verses by the poet Melpathur. In it he sings the glory of Love Divine. He extolls Union via Love, Bhakthi Yoga, as the greatest.

Of all the Fourfold Methods of Yoga
The greatest is Thy Bhakti Yoga !
For what bliss can rival the Bliss which floweth from Thee !

The Path of Universal Love is the greatest
Greater than the Wisdom Path
Or the Path of Action Divine
So sing the poets of yore !

Universal Love is the effortless Path
Whereas great penance is needed for Wisdom
Concentration of Universal Beauty is Thee
Self Actualisation comes effortlessly!

Path of Selfless Action takes time
Even though "Work is Worship" is slogan good
Difficult & tedious is Upanishadic Wisdom to attain
As the Universal " I " is inscrutable

Greater is unalloyed Love for Thee !

After composing the 1000 verses, the poet felt uncomfortable. Had he not described the Indescribable ? Or defined the Indefinable ? Describing Deity in terms of humanity, is like describing the Center in terms of the Circumference!

He asks for forgiveness !

In ignorance I have described Thee
In ignorance of Thy Glory
Forgive ! My body spake, not I !

Who is Kali ?








Though Kali is associated with divinity, She has also been called 'Queen of the Demons' (and deservedly so). Her role could be compared to that of Persephone/Proserpine of the Greeks, who descends into the Underworld to rule there during half the seasonal and cosmologic cycle. Kali seems much more in control over Her destiny than the Greek goddess, however.
Let us begin, then, with this story to which I make mention (perhaps one of the first known concerning Kali):
The gods and the titans engaged in a great battle. There was one particular titan who was too powerful for the lesser gods to defeat. Durga, the Warrior/Mother goddess, was then called upon for aid. She arrived in splendour, riding a lion into battle, Her ten arms each bearing a magical weapon, Her ten faces each displaying a serene calm. She became the center of a cyclonic force of destruction.
Durga wounded the asura king (who was Her main opponent and the hub of his army). From his wounds the blood flowed to the ground, yet where each drop touched the soil a 'clone' of him appearred. The more quickly and fiercely She attacked, the faster his reproduction took place.
In the heat of Her frenzy, Durga called forth Her most powerful (and gruesome) aspect. From Her brow emanated Kali, the Destroyer. Kali was as black as the night, draped in a tiger's skin, was wearing a necklace of skulls, a skirt of severed hands, and had a gaunt, ghoulish contenance. She was the very essence of wrath. With the fierce passion of a mad mother protecting Her children, She began to eat the asura army.
Kali's intense hunger and lust for blood were the necessary elements for victory. She gobbled up the new forms of the asura king, slurped up the blood escaping from his wounds, finally devouring him whole. The army, defeated and demoralized, quickly dispersed and peace was again restored to the realm of the gods.
In many ways the asuras were the manifestation of malevolent masculine energies. They are most often depicted in male form and almost always as feral, animal-like beings. They are the brutish, coercive aspects of the Cosmos.
In this story Kali is a savioress despite the gruesomeness of Her appearance. She enters as the Queen of Battle in order to quench the demon-fire that ravages the heavens (and by fallout, our world). Her main strengths are Her passion and Her ability to take others into Herself: to consume. This is an important point. Kali is the powerful, hungry feminine. The consumption of the masculine is therefore necessary and transformative.
When a battle is forced (by asura-energies), it is our ability to take in, to absorb the very being of our adversary which makes real peace possible (preferrably by our understanding of their position and thus our ability to negotiate, rather than our ability to predict their behavior and react aggressively in response).
If and when consciousness devolves into combative conflict (as it has many times in the past and shall likely continue), then 'consuming our adversary', in the spirit of 'knowing our enemy', is the best method of successful resolution. Direct confrontation only breeds others in succession who will readily assume the role of adversarial leader in the event of a temporary triumph.
When ravaging masculine energies threaten the sacred, Kali comes to the fore here so as to quell the activity of that war, matching the wild masculine passion with Her feminine counterpart, and renewing a harmonized equilibrium.
Kali is the mask of Death, drinking the Elixir of Life (blood) and reconciling polar energies. She is the goddess of our time (in many Hindu cosmologies we currently live in the 'Kali yuga', or 'Age of Kali' -- a time of disintegration and moral depravity).

Dark Age ( Epoch of the Beast ), Kali Yuga

Vagbhata, who authored the magnum opus on Ayurveda "Ashtanga Hridayam", wrote about the Dark Age ( Kali Yuga ) or the Epoch of the Beast, which is the triumph of base passions and materialism, thus


The Earth without virility
Medicines without value medicinal
The vicious extolled as great
Politicians interested in only gold
Priest fallen from their purity
Wives inimical to husbands
Sons vituperating against parents
Ethics & Morality in total exile
Such is the Dark Age or Kali Yuga !