Very little was known about the ways of life and the beliefs of the early Christian groups which existed prior to the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church as the ultimate doctrine of Christianity, until some Gnostic Scriptures and the Nag Hammadi codices were found. The Nag Hammadi codices consists of thirteen codices with over fifty texts, which was found recently in 1945. Prior to this astounding discovery, the only knowledge we had about the various Gnostic scriptures were their names mentioned in various works of the founders of the Church instructing people to destroy them, as they were a threat to the increasing power of the Roman doctrine. The Church Fathers were against any Christian group which had opinions and beliefs different from them.
Gnosticism is a religion that involves ‘Gnosis’ – meaning knowledge, and the act of Knowledge – that was increasing in popularity in Egypt, Mesopotamia and various place in Europe and Asia, during the early days of Christianity prior to the establishment of the orthodox Roman Church. The word ‘Gnosis’ in this context doesn’t signify bookish knowledge, but rather the knowledge of transcendence from within one’s self. Some Gnostic scholars prove that the tradition of ‘gnosis’ is mystically found within existing religions, even though some of them may appear to oppose Gnosticism. Aldous Huxley, in his book “The Perennial Philosophy”, states a kind of mystic gnosis reserved for an elite group, which is handed down through religious traditions, in spite of the perceived incompatibility with the doctrine of those traditions.
The Gnostics, were very much ‘Christians with a difference’ in their ideology, and believed in Jesus. Their ‘heretical’ Gospels don’t have anything blasphemous in the as the early Roman Church Fathers had accused. The Scriptures interestingly mystically reveal the true nature of God, and the life and teachings of Jesus the Messiah. Unlike mainstream Christian groups, the Gnostics did not blindly believe their scriptures; they knew that the Gospels consisted of mystical allegorical meanings.
TO BE CONTINUED....
Saturday, October 18, 2008
THE DOGMA OF NEW IDEAS AND DEFEAT AND DESTRUCTION OF OLD ONES
As I’ve mentioned earlier about the decline in nature worship and other ‘pure’ sects, there has been a constant ‘battle’ of ideas since the beginning throughout history till the present, and it will continue throughout time.
With the constant change in ideology or religion, there has always been effort to conceal older ideas, philosophers had to be allegorists. Thus mythical, poetic and stories started coming up that had hidden meanings and symbols that often had a totally different meaning than what they appeared; they were mystical in nature. Therefore there was a gradual growth in mystical sects of these ‘changed’ religions, such as the Kabala in Judaism and Christianity, which exist even today and are known for their secrecy, although these groups are more liberal now-a-days for anyone who wishes to be initiated. Most mystic sects have an explanation to the various myths and rituals which are often logically bizarre. There are Inner Mysteries and Outer Mysteries, the Outer Mysteries are the beliefs and rituals that are carried foreword blindly by the followers of the particular religion, while the mystics know the various Inner Mysteries, which are spiritually and materially logical in nature, which explain the traditions of the Outer Mysteries. Thus we see a gradual change in the followers and they become too ignorant to know the true meanings of life and spirituality, and become idolaters. We see this happening today also, where devotees blindly believe everything that is written down in their scriptures literally and don’t understand the hidden meanings and symbolism in it.
The renaissance period was not only a scientific revolution, it was also a spiritually enlightening age as compared to the Dark ages and the absolute powers of the Catholic Church. Many secret as well as religiously enlightened societies started coming up. Great secret societies that are politically very influential in the world today – like the Freemasons, Illuminati, Priory of Knights (The Knights Templar) and Christian Kabalistic groups sprang up, were a great threat to the power of the Church. Great artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are believed to be members and even Grand Master of these groups, although they ‘worked’ for the Church. These artists and architects secretly used various Pagan symbols in their works in the Church to profess their own so-called ‘heretical’ beliefs. However, the masses who are blinded with their faiths and believe that their faith(s) is the only true faith, are ignorant and are not willing to listen even if they’re enlightened on such logical topics. That is why Jesus said “Do not give to the dogs what is holy…”
With the constant change in ideology or religion, there has always been effort to conceal older ideas, philosophers had to be allegorists. Thus mythical, poetic and stories started coming up that had hidden meanings and symbols that often had a totally different meaning than what they appeared; they were mystical in nature. Therefore there was a gradual growth in mystical sects of these ‘changed’ religions, such as the Kabala in Judaism and Christianity, which exist even today and are known for their secrecy, although these groups are more liberal now-a-days for anyone who wishes to be initiated. Most mystic sects have an explanation to the various myths and rituals which are often logically bizarre. There are Inner Mysteries and Outer Mysteries, the Outer Mysteries are the beliefs and rituals that are carried foreword blindly by the followers of the particular religion, while the mystics know the various Inner Mysteries, which are spiritually and materially logical in nature, which explain the traditions of the Outer Mysteries. Thus we see a gradual change in the followers and they become too ignorant to know the true meanings of life and spirituality, and become idolaters. We see this happening today also, where devotees blindly believe everything that is written down in their scriptures literally and don’t understand the hidden meanings and symbolism in it.
The renaissance period was not only a scientific revolution, it was also a spiritually enlightening age as compared to the Dark ages and the absolute powers of the Catholic Church. Many secret as well as religiously enlightened societies started coming up. Great secret societies that are politically very influential in the world today – like the Freemasons, Illuminati, Priory of Knights (The Knights Templar) and Christian Kabalistic groups sprang up, were a great threat to the power of the Church. Great artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are believed to be members and even Grand Master of these groups, although they ‘worked’ for the Church. These artists and architects secretly used various Pagan symbols in their works in the Church to profess their own so-called ‘heretical’ beliefs. However, the masses who are blinded with their faiths and believe that their faith(s) is the only true faith, are ignorant and are not willing to listen even if they’re enlightened on such logical topics. That is why Jesus said “Do not give to the dogs what is holy…”
THE GENESIS OF MONOTHEISM
Monotheistic ideas didn’t come about originally from the ancient Semites, it had originally come about in ancient Egypt with the coming of a Pharaoh named Akhenaton. Akhenaton ruled over Egypt for a span of fourteen years, from 1352 BC to 1338 BC. After the end of his reign, the city that he had created – Akhenaton (named after him), was destroyed due to the ideas his social and religious institutions professed. He was more of a political and religious reformer, who unfortunately did not have a good grounding of power. He took the title of the ‘Prophet of Ra-Horakhte’ (prophet of Ra of the Horizon).
Take a look at Psalm 104 in the Bible:
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
He wraps himself in light as with a garment…
…And lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters…
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and . . . the trees
Where the birds make their nests; as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; . . .
(As) the sun arises, (the beasts) gather themselves together . . .
There go the ships: there is that leviathan (whale), whom thou hast made to play therein
Now view this excerpt from the ‘Hymn of the Aten’, said to be written by Akhenaton himself:
When the land grows bright and you are risen from the Akhet (horizon) and shining in the sun-disk by day, . . .
All flocks (are) at rest on their grasses, trees and grasses flourishing;
Birds flown from their nest, their wings in adoration of your life-force;
All flocks prancing on foot, all that fly and alight living as you rise for them;
Ships going downstream and upstream too, every road open at your appearance;
Fish on the river leaping to your face, your rays even inside the sea.
The Israelites are said to have got many of their religious philosophy from the Egyptians. It is a well known fact that Moses, the man who freed the Israelites from bonded labor in Egypt, was well versed with Egyptian Paganism. He had lived as a prince in the royal family of Egypt. It was a necessary custom for the sons of the royal families to be initiated into the inner mysteries of their religion. It is also said in the Bible that Moses “was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds”. Therefore, it is for certain that Moses was well versed with astrology, math and the other sciences, with which the Egyptians were very well developed in.
Everyone knows of the story of Moses as an infant who was found in the Nile. But surprisingly, there is a myth prior to this by more than a 1000 years, in about 2350 BC involving Sargon - king of Akkad, Egypt.
Gary Beaver states:
“When researching the biblical account of The Parting of the Red Sea, I came across a little known Egyptian account of something that is most interesting and was under the safe keeping of Sir E.A. Wallis Budge at the BM, a reference to a Fourth Dynasty priest named Tchatcha-em-ankh in his unpublished work on Nectanebus II, the last native Egyptian pharaoh:
There is a story of ancient days, when the Pharaoh Snefru ruled. It appears this King, who was father to Khufu who the Greeks call Cheops, was subject to fugue. On a day in summer, falling in low spirits, he called on his Court to find some means whereby his heart might be lightened.
Failing in the more usual remedies of song and gossip, the nobles called on the assistance of the wisest man in Egypt of that day, a priest and writer of books, one Tchatcha-em-ankh. The priest advised the King thus:
“Go, Majesty, to the lake near the palace and there sail upon it in the boat which I have prepared for thee.”
So the King went to the great ornamental lake where the ibis waded in the shallows and there discovered a craft unlike any other, graven with the forms of fabulous beasts and leafed with beaten gold. The paddles of this craft were of ebony, inlaid with gold and in place of oarsmen were twenty female virgins, the most delicately beautiful in all of Egypt. Tchatcha-en-ankh had caused these young women to be dressed in netting, like that of sea fishermen, so that the most intimate aspects of their bodies were at once concealed and revealed.
When the King entered the boat, these nubile women manned the oars and sang sweetly to him while they rowed him hither and tither. And Seneferu, watching the fluid movement of their bodies beneath the netting, became aroused; and with arousal, his heart too rose up… It seems that the leader of the nubile group, unaccustomed to rowing, managed somehow to tangle herself up in her hair; and in an attempt to free herself, lost an ornament of new turquoise, which fell into the water and sank. She ceased to row and the others, following her example, ceased to row as well.
Despite the distractions, Seneferu noticed that the craft had stopped and enquired as to the reason. When the girl told him of the loss of her ornament, he promised that it would be restored to her forthwith and called for the sage Tchatcha-em-ankh who, you will recall, was the originator of the divertissement.
Now Tchatcha-em-ankh was… a priest and a writer, both of which might indicate he was a sorcerer as well; and such seems to have been the case. For on hearing the problem, he spoke certain hekau (which is to say, Words of Power) and a great miracle occurred.
On the command of Tchatcha-em-ankh, one portion of the water of the lake went up upon the other, like stones in a building, leaving the bed of the lake dry.
The virgins were fearful of this wall of water, which towered four and twenty cubits, and even Pharaoh glanced about nervously. But Tchatcha-em-ankh walked beneath it dry shod and found the ornament lying upon a potsherd. When he had returned it to the maiden, he then caused the water-wall to break, the water to fall and the lake to return to its former condition.”
The similarity between this ancient tale and the biblical miracle is plain to see.”
Take a look at Psalm 104 in the Bible:
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
He wraps himself in light as with a garment…
…And lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters…
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and . . . the trees
Where the birds make their nests; as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; . . .
(As) the sun arises, (the beasts) gather themselves together . . .
There go the ships: there is that leviathan (whale), whom thou hast made to play therein
Now view this excerpt from the ‘Hymn of the Aten’, said to be written by Akhenaton himself:
When the land grows bright and you are risen from the Akhet (horizon) and shining in the sun-disk by day, . . .
All flocks (are) at rest on their grasses, trees and grasses flourishing;
Birds flown from their nest, their wings in adoration of your life-force;
All flocks prancing on foot, all that fly and alight living as you rise for them;
Ships going downstream and upstream too, every road open at your appearance;
Fish on the river leaping to your face, your rays even inside the sea.
The Israelites are said to have got many of their religious philosophy from the Egyptians. It is a well known fact that Moses, the man who freed the Israelites from bonded labor in Egypt, was well versed with Egyptian Paganism. He had lived as a prince in the royal family of Egypt. It was a necessary custom for the sons of the royal families to be initiated into the inner mysteries of their religion. It is also said in the Bible that Moses “was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds”. Therefore, it is for certain that Moses was well versed with astrology, math and the other sciences, with which the Egyptians were very well developed in.
Everyone knows of the story of Moses as an infant who was found in the Nile. But surprisingly, there is a myth prior to this by more than a 1000 years, in about 2350 BC involving Sargon - king of Akkad, Egypt.
Gary Beaver states:
“When researching the biblical account of The Parting of the Red Sea, I came across a little known Egyptian account of something that is most interesting and was under the safe keeping of Sir E.A. Wallis Budge at the BM, a reference to a Fourth Dynasty priest named Tchatcha-em-ankh in his unpublished work on Nectanebus II, the last native Egyptian pharaoh:
There is a story of ancient days, when the Pharaoh Snefru ruled. It appears this King, who was father to Khufu who the Greeks call Cheops, was subject to fugue. On a day in summer, falling in low spirits, he called on his Court to find some means whereby his heart might be lightened.
Failing in the more usual remedies of song and gossip, the nobles called on the assistance of the wisest man in Egypt of that day, a priest and writer of books, one Tchatcha-em-ankh. The priest advised the King thus:
“Go, Majesty, to the lake near the palace and there sail upon it in the boat which I have prepared for thee.”
So the King went to the great ornamental lake where the ibis waded in the shallows and there discovered a craft unlike any other, graven with the forms of fabulous beasts and leafed with beaten gold. The paddles of this craft were of ebony, inlaid with gold and in place of oarsmen were twenty female virgins, the most delicately beautiful in all of Egypt. Tchatcha-en-ankh had caused these young women to be dressed in netting, like that of sea fishermen, so that the most intimate aspects of their bodies were at once concealed and revealed.
When the King entered the boat, these nubile women manned the oars and sang sweetly to him while they rowed him hither and tither. And Seneferu, watching the fluid movement of their bodies beneath the netting, became aroused; and with arousal, his heart too rose up… It seems that the leader of the nubile group, unaccustomed to rowing, managed somehow to tangle herself up in her hair; and in an attempt to free herself, lost an ornament of new turquoise, which fell into the water and sank. She ceased to row and the others, following her example, ceased to row as well.
Despite the distractions, Seneferu noticed that the craft had stopped and enquired as to the reason. When the girl told him of the loss of her ornament, he promised that it would be restored to her forthwith and called for the sage Tchatcha-em-ankh who, you will recall, was the originator of the divertissement.
Now Tchatcha-em-ankh was… a priest and a writer, both of which might indicate he was a sorcerer as well; and such seems to have been the case. For on hearing the problem, he spoke certain hekau (which is to say, Words of Power) and a great miracle occurred.
On the command of Tchatcha-em-ankh, one portion of the water of the lake went up upon the other, like stones in a building, leaving the bed of the lake dry.
The virgins were fearful of this wall of water, which towered four and twenty cubits, and even Pharaoh glanced about nervously. But Tchatcha-em-ankh walked beneath it dry shod and found the ornament lying upon a potsherd. When he had returned it to the maiden, he then caused the water-wall to break, the water to fall and the lake to return to its former condition.”
The similarity between this ancient tale and the biblical miracle is plain to see.”
THE BIRTH OF THE CONCEPT OF THE HOLY TRINITY
There was a gradual evolution of ideas of the duality of God to a Holy Trinity of God, often viewed in plurality, but was perceived to be as one. The origins of a trinity of the Creator is more Pagan than Judaic-Christian. Man started viewing God as – The Creator, The Preserver or Sustainer, and The Destroyer.
Even Hinduism has its roots in a trinity of BRAHMA, VISHNU and MAHESH (The Creator, The Sustainer, and The Regenerator). God came to be perceived as The Mother, The Father and Life, unlike religions that we see today like Christianity where God is viewed as The Father and never, The Mother. Various temples in Ancient Egypt and India depicted a trinity of a man, woman and a child, representing God.
Elohim – the Biblical word used for God, is actually the meaning of God in plurality. The singular word for ‘Elohim’ is ‘Eli’. Thus Elohim, who was also worshipped by the Persians and Canaanites, was more of three holy entities in one – The Creator, The Sustainer and The Destroyer.
YHWH, pronounced Yahweh the name of God Almighty, is called the Tetragrammaton by Judaic scholars. The Tetragrammaton depicts the triune character of God the Creator.
Godfrey Higgins states that - "In the second book of Genesis the creation is described not to have been made by Aleim, or the Aleim, but by a God of a double name Ieue Aleim; which the priests have translated Lord God. By using the word Lord, their object evidently is to conceal from their readers several difficulties which afterward arise respecting the names of God and this word, and which show clearly that the books of the Pentateuch are the writings of different persons." In this statement ‘Aleim’ means Elohim, and ‘Ieue’ means YHWH.
Biblical scholars state that Elohim, who was worshipped by the ancients, the creator who said “Let us make man in our image…” (Gen 1:26), wasn’t the same god worshipped by the Jews in later stages. The Gnostics also believe in this fact, the fact that is embedded in the various forms of the Gnostic myths in their scriptures of gnosis. They believe ‘metaphorically’ that the creator and the true Supreme God is not one and the same. According to Gnostic theology, how can the creator be the Almighty Father, if this world that he has created is full of chaotic flaws? They believe that the creator was a lesser being that was created by mistake by Sophia, the female consort of God, who created him without the balance or her male consort, and thus created an ignorant being who thought that he was the one true god. I shall explain Gnosticism in more detail later.
Very few people are aware that there was a female consort of God amongst the historical Jewish customs. Goddess Asherah was said to be the female consort of God as explained by William G. Dever in his book “Did God Have A Wife?” this has been confirmed by archaeological records including the Bible which has evidence of the suppression of the widespread worship of Asherah. The Jewish Kabalistic writings confirm a Goddess Shekinah, and testify her consort unity with Yahweh.
In the Bhagvat Geeta, one of the most sacred books of the Hindus, God says- “I am the mystic trilateral figure Om; the Rig, the Yagur, and the Sam Vedas.” This very statement explains that God is a trinity, and yet is a unity, as in the powers of three in one. “OM” pronounced Aum, is said to be one of the most sacred words referring to God in Hindu theology, just like YHWH for the Jews, it not only meant the Holy Trinity, but also the duality of both male and female. Another commonality between the two sacred words was that they were both (in their respective places) forbidden words that couldn’t be uttered except on the occasion of religious solemnity. The third Commandment of the Jews also states that “Do not take the Lord your God’s name in vain”~
Even Hinduism has its roots in a trinity of BRAHMA, VISHNU and MAHESH (The Creator, The Sustainer, and The Regenerator). God came to be perceived as The Mother, The Father and Life, unlike religions that we see today like Christianity where God is viewed as The Father and never, The Mother. Various temples in Ancient Egypt and India depicted a trinity of a man, woman and a child, representing God.
Elohim – the Biblical word used for God, is actually the meaning of God in plurality. The singular word for ‘Elohim’ is ‘Eli’. Thus Elohim, who was also worshipped by the Persians and Canaanites, was more of three holy entities in one – The Creator, The Sustainer and The Destroyer.
YHWH, pronounced Yahweh the name of God Almighty, is called the Tetragrammaton by Judaic scholars. The Tetragrammaton depicts the triune character of God the Creator.
Godfrey Higgins states that - "In the second book of Genesis the creation is described not to have been made by Aleim, or the Aleim, but by a God of a double name Ieue Aleim; which the priests have translated Lord God. By using the word Lord, their object evidently is to conceal from their readers several difficulties which afterward arise respecting the names of God and this word, and which show clearly that the books of the Pentateuch are the writings of different persons." In this statement ‘Aleim’ means Elohim, and ‘Ieue’ means YHWH.
Biblical scholars state that Elohim, who was worshipped by the ancients, the creator who said “Let us make man in our image…” (Gen 1:26), wasn’t the same god worshipped by the Jews in later stages. The Gnostics also believe in this fact, the fact that is embedded in the various forms of the Gnostic myths in their scriptures of gnosis. They believe ‘metaphorically’ that the creator and the true Supreme God is not one and the same. According to Gnostic theology, how can the creator be the Almighty Father, if this world that he has created is full of chaotic flaws? They believe that the creator was a lesser being that was created by mistake by Sophia, the female consort of God, who created him without the balance or her male consort, and thus created an ignorant being who thought that he was the one true god. I shall explain Gnosticism in more detail later.
Very few people are aware that there was a female consort of God amongst the historical Jewish customs. Goddess Asherah was said to be the female consort of God as explained by William G. Dever in his book “Did God Have A Wife?” this has been confirmed by archaeological records including the Bible which has evidence of the suppression of the widespread worship of Asherah. The Jewish Kabalistic writings confirm a Goddess Shekinah, and testify her consort unity with Yahweh.
In the Bhagvat Geeta, one of the most sacred books of the Hindus, God says- “I am the mystic trilateral figure Om; the Rig, the Yagur, and the Sam Vedas.” This very statement explains that God is a trinity, and yet is a unity, as in the powers of three in one. “OM” pronounced Aum, is said to be one of the most sacred words referring to God in Hindu theology, just like YHWH for the Jews, it not only meant the Holy Trinity, but also the duality of both male and female. Another commonality between the two sacred words was that they were both (in their respective places) forbidden words that couldn’t be uttered except on the occasion of religious solemnity. The third Commandment of the Jews also states that “Do not take the Lord your God’s name in vain”~
The Origin Of Religion
+THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION+
OF RELIGION
In order to understand mainstream philosophical and theosophical perceptions of the different religions of today - especially of mainstream Christianity, we first have to have an understanding of how religion and the beliefs of God, the supernatural, divinity and spirituality, came about amongst our ancestral fathers.
These are some basic terms that one must know for the proceedings on the chapter:
As per the
- RELIGION – 1 the belief in a superhuman controlling power, esp. in a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship. 2 the expression of this in worship. 3 a particular system of faith and worship. 4 life under monastic vows (the way of religion). 5 a thing that one is devoted to (football is their religion). [Middle English via Anglo-French ‘religiun’, Old French ‘religion’ from Latin ‘religio –onis
- CULT – 1 a system of religious worship esp. as expressed in ritual. 2 a devotion or homage to a person or thing (the cult of aesthecism). 3 a popular fashion esp. followed by a specific section of society. 4 (attrib.) denoting a person or thing popularized in this way (cult film; cult figure). [Fre4nch ‘culte’ or Latin ‘cultus’
, from ‘colere cult-
- OCCULT – 1 involving the supernatural; mystical, magical. 2 kept secret; esoteric. 3 recondite, mysterious; beyond the range of ordinary knowledge. 4 Med. Not obvious on inspection. [Latin occulere occult-
OB- , celare ‘hide’>]
- SECT – 1 a body of people subscribing to religious doctrines different from those of others within the same religion; a group deviating from orthodox tradition, often regarded as heretical. 2 a body separated from an established Church; a nonconformist Church. 3 the followers of a particular philopher or philosophy. [Middle English from Old French ‘secte’ or Latin ‘secta’, from the stem of ‘sequi secut-‘
] - MYSTERY – 1 a secret, hidden or inexplicable matter. 2 secret undisclosed. 3 a religious truth divinely revealed, esp. one beyond human reason. 4 the secret religious rites of ancient Greeks, Romans, etc. [Middle English via Old French ‘mistere’ or Latin ‘mysterium’ from Greek ‘musterion’, related to mystic]
-
from ‘muo’ ]
I feel that the concept of God came about ever since the creation of man. God was the answer to all the questions that couldn’t be answered, like questions of how the world was created and how man came about. God was perceived as a supernatural form of energy and in many cases light, as we see in the ancient Vedas of the Hindus and in the various scriptures of the Buddhists.
Man started worshiping various forms of nature like trees, animals, seas or water, fire, earth and most of all the Sun. basically, man worshipped things of nature that was perceived to be life givers or sustainers. Sun-worship was very prevalent in the world for most of human history. Man observed that the Sun gave light and heat, he also noticed that the Sun was the most important for agriculture. In ancient
Man also worshipped animals since they used to learn many survival techniques and culture from them. For example, the bee was worshipped in ancient
Pythagoras is presently remembered only for his math theories. Very few people know that he was a great Pagan sage in
Later man started viewing the different element and objects of nature as having a gender of male, female and in many ways androgynous (ambiguous) genders. Nature as a whole was perceived to be of the feminine gender and was called ‘mother’ as in ‘motherland’ or ‘mother nature’. Female deities representing love, beauty and fertility, were worshipped. Therefore God or the creator was perceived more as female deities than male ones and with the increase of knowledge and observation, and God came to be perceived as a dual-unity, an invincible force of both male and female elements thus making God androgynous. Max Muller in his book – “Origin and Growth of Religion”, states that it was believed that the sky was the husband of the Earth and the Earth was the mother of all gods.
Various scholars like Inman believe that the various description of God in the Bible are allegorical in nature and signify the duality of God. The story of Jacob and Esau of Genesis signify that Jacob represents female energy integrated in nature and of the great mass of people who believed in the superiority of the feminity of nature. On the other hand Esau is said to signify the great mass of people who believed in male superiority. This thus metaphorically explains the clash between the two ideologies. (read both the perceptions from Genesis)
Such a situation is also mentioned in the Hindu scriptures – The divine pair of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati had a dispute over the influence of the male and female sexes in divinity. They then decided to create a new race of men. The race created by Shiva was very numerous and worshipped only the male deity, but they were intellectually dull and were handicapped. Goddess Parvati’s race on the other hand, worshipped the female deity, and were strong and wise. There was then a humungous battle between the two races, and the ‘Lingajas’ (Shiva’s race) were defeated by the ‘Yonigas’ (Parvati’s race). On seing this, Lord Shiva was outraged and decided to destroy the Yonigas with his third eye (Shiva is said to have three eyes, the third eye symbolizes destruction) but Goddess Parvati persuades him not to, with which Lord Shiva spared them on the condition that they would have to leave the country… this itself is a very good allegory of how there were disputes in the ideologies of the ancients with passage of time.
The main philosophy of ancient nature-worship religions was that the balance of male and female elements of nature, equaled harmony. If the balance was said to be lost, there was said to be chaos. The ancients believed that the way for man to be more spiritual, he should fuse with the other gender, thus making him spiritually complete. The ancient Greco-Roman ritual of ‘Heiros-Gamos’ meaning Holy Matrimony, was a sacred ritual in which a male and female consort would have an intercourse in order to be one with the creator. Take Hinduism for instance, there are such great works such as the Kama-Sutra, dedicated to this so-called “heretic” topic, ancient temples in
It was believed that the human psyche was a duality of both male and female elements to it, thus harmonizing one’s soul. Plato, one of the greatest philosophers of his time claimed that man is possessed by two souls, one mortal – which perishes as the man dies- and the other imperishable and immortal – which continues in a state of bliss or sorrow. He explained that the righteous souls would return to the place where it originated from, and the sinful ones would be sent back to earth to undo the sins that they had commited in the past, thus explaining rebirth which is integrated in Hindu and Buddhist theology. In Hindu philosophy, the imperishable soul goes thru a continuous cycle of rebirths until the soul gets spiritually enlightened and only then, can the soul receive ‘nirvana’ or salvation. Buddhism explains that for one to get enlightened, one must receive knowledge (intellect) of one’s self. Thus he would only then understand the root to sin and suffering. Gnostics also believe in a similar theology wherein, one receives salvation only when he/she get ‘gnosis’ (gnosis is a Greek word for knowledge) on oneself, since the kingdom of God, or God himself is within.
Unfortunately, all the sacred and divine aspects of the feminine were gradually shifting to masculinity due to the growth in male dominance and suppression of the feminine in society. There is no doubt that the divine feminine was given a great importance since there was more of a matriarchal culture rather than a patriarchal society that we see today in the male-dominated world. Every riligion is male dominated in many ways when you think of it, rather than blindly believing stuff that is told by so-called know it alls!
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