--Thx, Authfriend, excellent article! (but there's one minor flaw in
it). He's implying that such entities are only symbolic of
impersonal forces and forgot the convenient fact that the Deities
are also "real" Personalities that can interact with humans, just as
humans can interact with other humans. Thus, the deities are
holographic composites of Personal and impersonal forces (but that's
what we are, only less powerful).> --- In
[email protected], "authfriend" <jstein@>
> wrote:
> >
> > --- In [email protected], Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote:
> > <snip>
> > > Indian yogis personified the fields of nature they perceived to
> > > make the science of yoga more understandable to the general
> public.
> > > I heard a great lecture on this when in Cochin once.
> Personification
> > > also makes teachings easier to remember.
> >
> > A bit of synchronicity:
> >
> > I was looking for something in Google's archive
> > for alt.meditation.transcendental and stumbled
> > across the post from almost 10 years ago I'm
> > reproducing below. I had found this essay on the
> > Web site for the Age of Enlightenment Mall, a
> > Fairfield operation that is apparently now
> > defunct (at least, the URL no longer works).
> >
> > About The Vedic Deities
> > The Inner Dimension of the Devas
> >
> > The consciousness which we experience in common as pure
awareness
> has
> > been described as long as man has existed in different terms.
The
> > totality of pure being which is the basis of the Cosmic
> Intelligence
> > has been said to have the qualities of silence, omnipresence of
> love,
> > and creative power. The ancient seers of every culture have
> described
> > that Cosmic Intelligence which is formless, limitless, infinite,
> and
> > pure awareness as the Mother of all Life.
> >
> > In ancient India, these great seers of thousands of years ago
were
> > called Rishis. They gave expression to their experiences of the
> > unbounded Cosmic Intelligence or Self in the language of
feeling.
> The
> > language they used was a universal language called the Vedic
> Language
> > of which Sanskrit is the present remnant. The word Veda
> > means "knowledge", so the Vedic language was a language made up
of
> > the spontaneous expressions of the heart which came about as a
> result
> > of direct cognition of the qualities of the objects, concepts
and
> > emotions they experienced.
> >
> > For example, one Vedic word in every culture is the sound
> Ma. "Mama"
> > is a word expressing every child's experience of their mother
and
> is
> > expressive of the same mother quality across all nations and
> > civilizations. [Note: It's been suggested that the sound "ma"
> refers
> > to "mother" in so many cultures not because of any inherent
subtle
> > value of the sound that is expressive of experience of the
> maternal
> > quality, but simply because when a baby starts to babble, "ma"
is
> the
> > first sound it makes--all it requires is opening and closing the
> > mouth while activating the vocal cords. The sound has been
> associated
> > with the mother because the mother is usually the first one to
> hear
> > the baby make it, and it's assumed the baby's first utterance
> would
> > be directed at the object in its environment that is the primary
> > focus of its attention.--JS]
> >
> > Similarly our word "heart" is derived from the Vedic
sound "Hrid"
> > which described the sound of the pulse of the heart. When the
> Rishis
> > wanted to express the silent value of pure consciousness they
gave
> a
> > name Shiva. The word "Shiva" means silence--"Shivam Shantam
> Advaitam
> > Chaturtham" i.e., Shiva is silence (Shantam), non-dual
(Advaitam),
> > the fourth state of awareness (Chaturtham) transcending the
> > transitory sleep, waking and dream states. Similarly when the
> Rishis
> > wanted to express the value of omnipresence of love--that
> > consciousness seemed to them so harmonizing and unifying--they
> > expressed that quality as Vishnu: Vish means to pervade and nu
> means
> > within, i.e. that consciousness which is all pervading within.
> >
> > When the Rishis wanted to express the fact that the Cosmic
> > Intelligence, their Self, was huge and creative giving rise to
the
> > whole universe they used the word Brahma. The word Brahma comes
> from
> > the sound Brihat (huge). The "B" in Brahma stands for the
> formation
> > of boundaries; the "r" stands for activity of creation; the "a"
> > indicates expansion of creation; and the "m" in Brahma signified
> the
> > bliss of vibrating within oneself--the cosmic hum. It is that
> cosmic
> > joy in waves of bliss that allows the universe to be maintained
in
> > ever expanding waves of life.
> >
> > Naturally, some Rishis felt that these three qualities of
creative
> > energy, omnipresence of love, and the quality of silence or pure
> > beingness needed to be appreciated in terms of femininity. They
> felt
> > that Cosmic Intelligence was nurturing and full of the
lovingness
> > that a mother would have so they expressed that feeling in terms
> of
> > expressions reflecting the female nature (Mother Nature) of each
> of
> > these sound-qualities previously mentioned. So some Rishis said
> that
> > the silent nature of pure consciousness is Shivaa (feminine term
> like
> > Shiva); other Rishis said that Cosmic Intelligence was
omnipresent
> > love as a Mother Divine called Vaishnavi (feminine form of the
> word
> > Vishnu); and yet other Rishis expressed the creative energy of
the
> > Cosmic Self as Brahmi (feminine form of Brahma).
> >
> > In addition to the three primary aspects of the Cosmic Self as
> > Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva there was another value of the Self
which
> > was given the name of Ganapati. The word Ganapati or Ganesha
means
> > the lord of the ganas, the powers of the Transcendental
> Consciousness
> > of Shiva. This aspect of consciousness represents the junction
> point
> > between the Absolute Being (Shiva) and the totality of its
> multifold
> > expressions (Shivaa or the Divine Mother--Mother Nature). This
> > junction point represents the fully awake Cosmic Intelligence
> which
> > is the vortex of transformations giving rise to all creative
> > expressions in Nature. This is why the name "Gana-isha" or
Ganesha
> > was associated with all knowledge and dynamism of the artistic
> > expressions of life, e.g. Lord of teachers, Lord of Gandharvans
> > (celestial musicians--the sounds of nature), Lord of Happiness
> > (Hrishta-citta = happy consciousness).
> >
> > This level of Intelligence also was given the name of
Vighneshwara
> > which means Lord of Obstacles-- ( Remover of Obstacles). That
> level
> > of Cosmic Self which is fully awake and fully dynamic with all
the
> > powers of the Transcendent Silence simply is invincible and so
was
> > given the title of dominion over all difficulties or obstacles.
> There
> > was later a further elaboration of these Vedic terms expressive
of
> > the feeling evoked by pure being or Cosmic Awareness: Brahmi
> became
> > expressed as Saraswati--the wisdom needed to create the
universe;
> > Vaishnavi became known as Lakshmi--the omnipresence of love and
> > positivity in the form of abundance and prosperity; and Shivaa
> became
> > known as Parvati or Mahadevi--the Great Mother Divinity
expressive
> of
> > all the powers of nature stemming from the Great Silence of the
> > Absolute.
> >
> > In Vedic times, thousands of years ago when the Rishis lived,
> these
> > qualities of the Absolute and Mother Nature were experienced
> directly
> > as qualities of one's own awareness and were not clearly
> personified.
> > Personification of these qualities of consciousness came later
as
> the
> > Rishis sought to express to the ignorant the nature of Ultimate
> > Reality of Universal Being in terms that the masses could easily
> > understand. To express the silent value of the Cosmic Self
(Shiva)
> > the Rishis sought to portray this in terms which every human
could
> > appreciate.
> >
> > Therefore, Shiva is depicted as a Supreme Yogi who sits in the
> > awesome silence of the highest mountain covered with eternal
> snows.
> > Shiva sits in meditation experiencing the state of pure
beingness,
> > transcendental consciousness with the trishula (trident) at his
> side.
> > The trishula represents mastery over the three forces of
creation,
> > maintenance, and evolution through change. In addition Shiva is
> > envisioned as having a great Naga or Celestial Snake known as
> Vasuki
> > around his neck. The coiled snake Vasuki represents the dynamic
> power
> > of Enlightenment and pure energy of the Transcendent value of
> Shiva.
> > The image of Shiva with a third eye of wisdom on his forehead
also
> > indicates the value of pure knowingness or inner consciousness
> fully
> > aware of itself.
> >
> > Similarly, to portray the nourishing all enriching qualities of
> > Mother Nature the Rishis portrayed Vaishnavi or Lakshmi (the
> feminine
> > nurturing quality of omnipresence of consciousness) as a
beautiful
> > female adorned with jewels and attractive red dress. Lakshmi is
> seen
> > as filled with bliss and love indicated by her smiling face.
With
> one
> > hand She holds a flower representing the beauty of creation,
with
> the
> > other hand She is showering gold representing all prosperity.
> > Frequently the devas (creative aspects of the Self) such as
> Lakshmi
> > are depicted with a multitude of arms each representing a
> different
> > power of that aspect of the Supreme Self.
> >
> > Ganesha particulary was given a highly symbolic representation
to
> > enable humanity to comprehend His abstract Supreme Nature.
Ganesha
> > represents the cosmic humm, the point of supremely awake
> Intelligence
> > at the junction between Absolute Consciousness and its Relative
> > values in Nature. He is depicted with a large belly symbolic of
> the
> > ability of that Consciousness to hold all the Cosmos with its
> > galaxies, suns and planets within itself. He has the head of an
> > elephant representing both ability to push aside obstacles with
> his
> > head and trunk as well as having the memory and wisdom an
elephant
> is
> > said to possess. His elephant ears represent His ability to hear
> all
> > sounds in creation simultaneously.
> >
> > Ganesha is depicted as having several arms, each represents one
of
> > His powers: one arm holds sweets--symbolizing His nourishing
> value,
> > the other holds a weapon symbolic of protection; another arm
holds
> a
> > prod indicating His ability to push us on towards progress; his
> trunk
> > may hold the pot of immortality representing the eternal value
of
> > one's Self. Ganesha is depicted as riding upon a mouse. The
mouse
> > represents the vehicle--mind and body--upon which the Self
rides.
> > This characterization of an enormous Ganesh riding upon a mouse
> > brings home to us the reality the enormity of the Self riding
upon
> > the seemingly limited values of mind and body.
> >
> > In this graphic way the Rishis sought to bring to life the
> abstract
> > qualities of the Self which otherwise would remain hidden from
the
> > mass of humanity.
> >
> > Some basic qualities of the Self and their Vedic names are given
> > below for reference:
> >
> > Shiva Silence, non dual Self awake within Itself
> >
> > Parvati or Mahadevi Mother Nature, power of Shiva
> >
> > Kali Mother Nature in the role of Mistress of Time (kala is
time),
> > dissolving all things into the beingness of pure intelligence
> (Shiva)
> >
> > Vishnu Love, the omnipresence quality of the Self
> >
> > Lakshmi Purity, harmony, beauty, abundance and nourishing
quality
> of
> > the aspect of Love
> >
> > Brahma Cosmic Mind, the creative aspect of the Self
> >
> > Saraswati The Enlightenment, Wisdom aspect of the Cosmic Mind
> >
> > Ganesha The Cosmic Humm, the fully awake point of Infinite
> > Intelligence at the junction point between Relative and
Absolute,
> the
> > center of Bliss
> >
> > Siddhi and Buddhi--Two powers of Ganesh: Perfection of
> accomplishment
> > and Intelligence of the intellect
> >
> > Krishna That aspect of Vishnu (or Cosmic Love) which is all
> > attractive and brings everything to oneness of love and devotion
> >
> > Radha The soul intoxicated with Divine Love of Krishna
> >
> > Ram Aspect of Cosmic Love (Vishnu) which is representing the
> Cosmic
> > Soul (Soorya--the Sun) in the role of restoration of
evolutionary
> > values (dharma--i.e., that which sustains evolution)
> >
> > Indra The Unifying Value of the Self which unifies all the laws
of
> > nature in order to promote evolution (the Power of dharma)
> >
> > Indrani or Sachi The feminine power of unification and evolution
> >
> > Yama or Dharmaraja The Divine Conscience aspect of Self, one's
> purity
> > of inner conscience; that aspect of the Cosmic Self which is the
> > Divine Judge of all one's actions at the exit of life
> >
> > The above qualities are just a few of the Vedic names given to
> > different aspects of one's inner Self. By looking deeply at the
> Vedic
> > words and root meanings of these sounds it will be possible to
> > understand more deeply the inner values they express.
> >
> > Copyright 1996 Henry Herzberger
> >
>
