The Serpent and the Dove

[logos880]

Originally Posted by exu156

You absolutely hit the nail on the head. Its the whole principle of performing the work with 'no lust of result'. Reminds me of the old Buddhist prayer, "Oh save me from evil and from good."

if you're thinking about yourself instead of the work, the work will suffer. interesting thread, thanks for posting.

[exu156]

Originally Posted by logos880

if you're thinking about yourself instead of the work, the work will suffer. interesting thread, thanks for posting.

You are so correct. The treasure is in the work.

I think that as bishadi well pointed out 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law' has to be one of the most misunderstood spiritual precepts ever uttered. The common complaint being, "well if I can do what ever I want then what's to stop me from killing someone or raping someone?" This is a complete misunderstanding of the sentence. In fact 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law' may well be the strictest of instructions. The sentence is presented in future tense 'shall' meaning that many steps are necessary before the will is even discovered, much less accomplished.

There is another sentence we need to look at, "love is the law, love under will." Now here the tense is in the present ('is'). Thus we now have an inkling of the method. 'Love' - what is love? And why have all the great teachers that have ever walked the earth preached of its virtues? What is this mystery called love? Why did the great Sufi master Rumi tell us, "Until you understand love you can never understand existence." Why did the Buddha tell us that "even death is afraid of love." Afraid of love? What is this mystery called love?

A famous story tells us:

"One day a great warrior asked a wise-man, 'Master, what is hell?
The master looked at the warrior and replied, 'If you wish to know about hell then you must also know about a secret love.'
'I am confused master, can you teach me?' the student asked.
'Who do you think you are?' the master screamed at the warrior. 'You disgust me, you horrible slobbering fool. You pathetic slimy worm, you deranged dog. You are lower than the dogs in the gutter.'
The warrior could feel the anger rising in his body as the master continued with his insults.
'You are the lowest creature I have ever met. Lower than the cockroaches that feed on the dog shit of the dirtiest dogs.' The master continued his barrage of insults. 'Just looking at you makes me want to vomit, your smell is so disgusting.'
The warrior could take no more, his face red with anger, his breath short and fast with rage, he drew his sword and with a roar of fury he raised his arm to strike at the master.
At that very moment the master spoke, 'That is hell.'
The warrior stopped, his face in frozen amazement, his mind in perfect understanding and his lips extended into a smile.
'And that is the secret love.' spoke the master."

[logos880]

Originally Posted by exu156

You are so correct. The treasure is in the work.

I'll take that a step further and say that the treasure is in how your work can serve others and G-d. I am merely a conduit for this service.

Originally Posted by exu156

I think that as bishadi well pointed out 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law' has to be one of the most misunderstood spiritual precepts ever uttered. The common complaint being, "well if I can do what ever I want then what's to stop me from killing someone or raping someone?" This is a complete misunderstanding of the sentence. In fact 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law' may well be the strictest of instructions. The sentence is presented in future tense 'shall' meaning that many steps are necessary before the will is even discovered, much less accomplished.

The "will" is what you are meant to do, right? It is your G-d given purpose...we all have one. For some it is more obvious than for others.

Originally Posted by exu156

There is another sentence we need to look at, "love is the law, love under will." Now here the tense is in the present ('is'). Thus we now have an inkling of the method. 'Love' - what is love? And why have all the great teachers that have ever walked the earth preached of its virtues? What is this mystery called love? Why did the great Sufi master Rumi tell us, "Until you understand love you can never understand existence." Why did the Buddha tell us that "even death is afraid of love." Afraid of love? What is this mystery called love?

A famous story tells us:

"One day a great warrior asked a wise-man, 'Master, what is hell?
The master looked at the warrior and replied, 'If you wish to know about hell then you must also know about a secret love.'
'I am confused master, can you teach me?' the student asked.
'Who do you think you are?' the master screamed at the warrior. 'You disgust me, you horrible slobbering fool. You pathetic slimy worm, you deranged dog. You are lower than the dogs in the gutter.'
The warrior could feel the anger rising in his body as the master continued with his insults.
'You are the lowest creature I have ever met. Lower than the cockroaches that feed on the dog shit of the dirtiest dogs.' The master continued his barrage of insults. 'Just looking at you makes me want to vomit, your smell is so disgusting.'
The warrior could take no more, his face red with anger, his breath short and fast with rage, he drew his sword and with a roar of fury he raised his arm to strike at the master.
At that very moment the master spoke, 'That is hell.'
The warrior stopped, his face in frozen amazement, his mind in perfect understanding and his lips extended into a smile.
'And that is the secret love.' spoke the master."

good story. you might enjoy this:

The Nazarene gave us what is perhaps the simplest, yet most difficult, of all Laws for success: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you." By no means should we construe this in a purely religious sense. It is sound business sense. It commands no more, no less, than: "Do all things right - correctly," then all things may be yours. To accept this command, to comply with it, is the assurance of success.

This statement means exactly what it says. It is a fair, just, righteous command. First be certain that you (a) KNOW what you want to do, (b) learn how to do it, (c) proceed to do it the way it should be done; and, more important still, (d) DO IT WHEN IT SHOULD BE DONE AND (e) IN THE SPIRIT IN WHICH IT SHOULD BE DONE; WORKING PATIENTLY AND PERSISTENTLY until the task is accomplished.

This command or Law is not an arbitrary, unfair, dictatorial decree by an unfeeling judge who is out of sympathy with those of lesser rank than himself. It is not restricted in any sense to the domain of man's religious, devotional, spiritual nature, though all too frequently so considered.

It is not to be regarded as an ethical standard concerned solely with man's relation to man - although it pointedly applies to dealings with his fellow man - because that is strictly concerned with natural, spiritual and moral law. The principle underlying the command is in reality the LAW OF THE UNIVERSE. It is based on RIGHT; it is likewise based on CORRECTNESS, and lastly, on EXCHANGE.

What, under present consideration, does the "Kingdom of Heaven" imply? Simply stated, both in a meterial and spiritual sense (these cannot be separated), the "Kingdom of Heaven" is the domain of man's, EVERY man's, interior resources; his inherent forces, capacities and capabilities. It is the "kingdom" or domain of Divine possibilities with which he is endowed and limited only by HIMSELF - by his inertia, his ignorance or his unwillingness to fulfill the obligations of the Law.

[vooei]

Originally Posted by exu156

Interesting. There are many theories as to what Baphomet actually is/was. The one that I tend to believe is that while the Templars were traveling through the Orient they came across Sufis. From the Sufis they learned not only the mysteries of magic and initiation but also about the prophet Muhammed. Naturally they brought back this knowledge to Europe and were persecuted for it. Baphomet could well be a bastardization of the name Muhammed or 'Mahomet'. I can not guarantee that this is the true origin of Baphomet but there is much to suggest that it is.

The Templars and the origin of Baphomet

At first look, it appears ghastly-a grotesque sphinx like creature, with the head of a goat, cloven hooves, and the body of a nude woman. It is the Baphomet, one of the most misunderstood religious symbols of all time.

The name Baphomet is derived from an enigmatic figure first described at the trials of the Templars, a medieval order of Crusader Monks accused of Heresy, witchcraft, and other crimes against the Catholic Church.

The Order, (ostensibly) founded in 1118 by nobleman Hugues de Payens, was the first of a number of Military Monastic Orders that flourished during the Crusade years. The word “Templar” derives from the full official name of the order, “The poor knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon.” Originally promoted as the protectors Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, they were known as fierce warriors with tremendous military prowess.

In a very short time after their inception, the Knights Templar became very popular. They were exempted from taxation, and had amassed great wealth and property by the 13th century. By this time, Jerusalem had fallen back into Muslim hands, and enthusiasm for crusades was waning. The Templars were now living quite well. They had tremendous political and financial influence (even instituting Europe’s first banking system).

However, with no Crusades to justify their continued existence, they became to some a target of resentment. King Phillip of France, possibly with an eye toward gaining control of Templar finances, issued secret orders to have all of the Templars in France arrested on grounds of heresy and sorcery. Torture elicited confessions of various crimes and heresies from many of the Knights. The laundry list of unlikely confessions included spitting on the cross, denying Christ, and worshipping an idol called Baphomet.

The Baphomet is still an enigma, and there is of course some debate whether or not it was a real item or the product of torture. Several knights recalled that Baphomet was variously a severed head, or an idol possessing two or four heads, or sometimes, as a goat or goat’s head. The name is highly unusual, and many suggestions about the origin of the word have been put forward. Idries Shah has proposed that the name is a corruption of a name of Mohammed. Abufihamat, pronounced “Bufihimat,” a word very similar to Baphomet, is Moorish-Spanish for “father of wisdom,” an epithet used to describe the Prophet. This seems unlikely, although there seems to be a concerted effort to link the Templars with Islam. The Templars certainly had contact with Muslim ideas, and even incorporated symbols of Islam into their emblems, but Islam forbade Idol worship just as strenuously then as now- creating an image of the prophet in order to worship it would have been a tremendous blasphemy.

The Goddess Sophia

Others have suggested more intriguing possibilities-a respected Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, Dr. Hugh Schonfield, believes that baphomet is a kabalistic cipher for the Gnostic Goddess Sophia. The code, known as the “Atbash Cipher,” is a common kabbalistic substitution cipher, where the Hebrew alphabet is laid out twice in opposite directions, each letter from the top row substituting for one on the lower. Using this system, the name Baphomet spelled in Hebrew characters yields the name Sophia. Curiously, a number of Templar artifacts bear an image of an unusual bearded androgyne which resembles alchemical drawings of the Anima Mundi, or soul of the world, who is identical to the Gnostic Sophia (Sophia was often referred to by the Gnostics as a hermaphroditic deity). Even more curiously, Gnostic texts often equate Sophia with Mary Magdalen, who is sometimes implied as the lover or companion of Christ. (They also resemble depictions of Abraxas, a Gnostic solar deity, and some images of Osiris used by Gnostic groups) The images are certainly not drawn from any orthodox Christian symbolism:


The Cathar Connection

Historians over the years have debated whether or not there was any truth at all to the charges against the Templars. There is some evidence of connections between the Knights and the Cathars, or Albigensians, a heretical Gnostic group which was the very first target of the inquisition. The Cathars were pious ascetics whose main offense to the Church seems to have been their acceptance of women as the spiritual equals of men, and their unusual beliefs about Mary Magdalen. In a time when it was still a matter of debate whether women had souls, even the suggestion was beyond blasphemy. (The Templars, too, seemed to take a more positive view of women. Surviving records show many instances of women joining the Order, a practice which was discontinued by Papal order.) The Cathar’s last stand was in the mountain fortress of Montsegur. The Templars are rumored to have refused to participate in the fight, and may have assisted fleeing Cathars. The main trouble with a Cathar origin for Baphomet, however, is that the Cathars assiduously avoided any use of religious symbolism.

The Holy Grail

Another interesting connection between the two groups can be found in the Arthurian Grail romances. The imagery of the mysterious bearded head surfaces again in the Grail romances of Chretien of Troyes, where thinly disguised Templars are the Guardians of the Holy Grail. The grail in this story is not the cup of Christ of later versions, but a mysterious dish accompanied by a lance.

The story, commissioned by a Templar nobleman, is rife with alchemical and sexual allegory. The hero Percival visits a mysterious castle, Montsalvat- believed by many to be identical to the Cathar stronghold of Montsegur. During his stay, he observes two odd processions: a maiden carrying a platter (the grail) with a single wafer on it, and a page carrying a lance which bleeds continuously. Out of respect, he avoids asking about the items.

He awakens to find the castle deserted. Outside, he encounters the mysterious Fisher King, who is tellingly wounded “in the thigh,” (an allusion to a loss of sexual potency) and admonishes the hero that his failure to discover the secret of the Grail and the lance has cursed the land with infertility (most of the grail stories follow in similar vein, seeming to hint at pre-Christian sexual rites associating the health of the land with the virility of the king). A fourteenth century painting underlines the hidden message of the Grail stories- it depicts the Grail knights kneeling before a glowing vision of the Goddess Venus:


(A curious related fact: unusual graffiti symbols left behind by imprisoned Templars at Chinon Castle in France includea symbol of Venus)

Celtic symbolism

Another thread of continuity exists between several descriptions of the Baphomet as an idol with multiple heads, and the very obvious connection between the Grail romances and Celtic mythology. In the pre-Christian European Celtic religion, heads were venerated as the seat of power, and important deities were quite often portrayed with multiple heads/faces. Pagan fertility rituals were known to have been carried on long after the conversion of Europe’s Pagan tribes. The Templar connection to the Grail stories, with their unmistakably Celtic notions, has been well established.


Eliphas Levi and the Occult Baphomet

The popular drawing of Baphomet pictured above was drawn by the nineteenth century occultist Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Constant). Based on hermaphroditic gargoyles found on Templar chapels, the figure was drawn with the head of a Goat, a human body with cloven feet and wings. According to Levi, it was a revelatory figure, requiring study to understand:


“The goat on the frontispiece carries the sign of the pentagram on the forehead, with one point at the top, a symbol of light, his two hands forming the sign of hermetecism, the one pointing up to the white moon of the Qabbalistic Chesed, the other pointing down to the black one of Geburah. This sign expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice. His one arm is female, the other male like the ones of the androgyne of Khunrath, the attributes of which we had to unite with those of our goat because he is one and the same symbol. The flame of intelligence shining between his horns is the magic light of the universal balance, the image of the soul elevated above matter, as the flame, whilst being tied to matter, shines above it. The ugly beast’s head expresses the horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely responsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively; because the soul is insensitive according to its nature and can only suffer when it materializes. The rod standing instead of genitals symbolizes eternal life, the body covered with scales the water, the semi-circle above it the atmosphere, the feathers following above the volatile. Humanity is represented by the two breasts and the androgyne arms of this sphinx of the occult sciences.”


What is the purpose of such a figure? It could be easily assumed that the intolerance of the Church would have made extreme secrecy on topics that may be found blasphemous or heretical, especially any doctrine which promised illumination without the guidance of that Church. The use of symbolic figures would allow communication between those in “the know” without making any obvious statement to those without; it also enables outsiders to learn through the interpretation of symbols. In any case, it is unlikely that Levi’s goat-headed figure bears any true relation to the Templar idol.

The true historical identity of the Baphomet can only be guessed at, it cannot be solved; symbolically, it is an open book to anyone with the key.

[exu156]

very, very interesting vooei. Thank you for that.

[exu156]

Originally Posted by logos880

good story. you might enjoy this:

I did very much, thank you.

[bishadi]

Originally Posted by exu156

Life, Love, Light and Liberty to you and yours and be it to you the accomplishment of your will.

living the 'will' of revelation

[theabbot 7]

man you one of my favorite poster i love how thorough you are you dont mind if i print this out do you

[exu156]

Originally Posted by theabbot 7

man you one of my favorite poster i love how thorough you are you dont mind if i print this out do you

Thank you very much. Use the material however you want.

[theabbot 7]

whats your next subject going to be?

[passerbye999]

What an awesome thread exu156. Very well researched and presented. I can tell these theories apply to your own practice and study. I have nothing to add but compliments. I thank you for your ideas on the Tree of Life. I have been studying it myself and love it's mysteries. Anyway well done.

[passerbye999]

The Goddess Sophia

Others have suggested more intriguing possibilities-a respected Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, Dr. Hugh Schonfield, believes that baphomet is a kabalistic cipher for the Gnostic Goddess Sophia. The code, known as the “Atbash Cipher,” is a common kabbalistic substitution cipher, where the Hebrew alphabet is laid out twice in opposite directions, each letter from the top row substituting for one on the lower. Using this system, the name Baphomet spelled in Hebrew characters yields the name Sophia. Curiously, a number of Templar artifacts bear an image of an unusual bearded androgyne which resembles alchemical drawings of the Anima Mundi, or soul of the world, who is identical to the Gnostic Sophia (Sophia was often referred to by the Gnostics as a hermaphroditic deity). Even more curiously, Gnostic texts often equate Sophia with Mary Magdalen, who is sometimes implied as the lover or companion of Christ. (They also resemble depictions of Abraxas, a Gnostic solar deity, and some images of Osiris used by Gnostic groups) The images are certainly not drawn from any orthodox Christian symbolism:

There is no connection between Baphomet and Sophia. The Gospel of Philip makes the connection between Mary Magdalene and Sophia. The Pistus of Sophia, Apocryphon of John, Sophia of Jesus Christ and a few other Nag Hammadi texts refer to the nature of Sophia and she is always feminine. Adam was androgynous in the beginning. The Father of Fathers and Sophia are a huge part of my faith. I don't know what gnostic texts you have been reading but I feel there reliability is in question or you are mixing theories.

[theabbot 7]

^where does that come from?

[passerbye999]

Originally Posted by theabbot 7

^where does that come from?

Vooei's last post.

[exu156]

Originally Posted by theabbot 7

whats your next subject going to be?

Probably nothing for a while. I find myself too busy answering other threads at the moment

Glad you enjoyed this thread. It was the first thread I ever started on this forum. There is a lot more I would like to add but I am just soooooo busy with work that it's hard to find the time to sit down and do some proper work on the things I am interested in.

[exu156]

Originally Posted by passerbye999

What an awesome thread exu156. Very well researched and presented. I can tell these theories apply to your own practice and study. I have nothing to add but compliments. I thank you for your ideas on the Tree of Life. I have been studying it myself and love it's mysteries. Anyway well done.

Thank you very much sir. Glad you enjoyed it

[theabbot 7]

i want to ask you do you have any knowledge on the sefer yetzirah i see that you pretty well-verse in hebrew and was wondering

[exu156]

Originally Posted by theabbot 7

i want to ask you do you have any knowledge on the sefer yetzirah i see that you pretty well-verse in hebrew and was wondering

Great essay here:

http://hermetic.com/heidrick/yetzirah.html

and the original:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/yetzirah.htm

[maverick angel]

This is a great thread, thankyou, lots of great stuff. I've always wondered why the western mystery schools seem to make everything so obscure and impenetrable in comparison to yoga for example, although of course they are 'mystery' schools I have never been drawn to Kabbalah, the masons, Rosicrucians ect. It seems to me that something that is in fact incredibly simple is veiled in layer upon layer of over complication. It seems like an attempt to give an intellectual understanding about something that is beyond words and symbols and can only be experienced. Yes, there are interesting connections, for instance, 33 degrees of masonry, age of Christ 33, and 33 vertebrae in the spine, the main conduit of kundalini. But i would say that there is no way, that going to the Lodge and dressing up and doing a ritual is going to get you there. When we look at the people we know are high ranking masons like the Bushs or the royal family this becomes clear. If these people had Shiva and Shakti coursing through them in divine cosmic union, the world would be a differnt place For me, when kundalini came, there was nothing left to do but simply meditate, and allow it to do its job of revealing the divine. A few years ago, a young boy came to me in a dream and gave me this mantra. He said, 'surrender to the song, surrender to the way of god, surrender to kundalini'. It's as simple as that really!

[toallofyou]

Originally Posted by exu156

If you know the crucifiction well then you will know that upon the cross, above Christ's head was placed the inscription I.N.R.I.

Probably not connected, but I couldn't help but notice the similarity between this and the Japanese word "inori", which means prayer.

Originally Posted by exu156

I. A. O.

And in the mystery formula called I.A.O. is contained the greatest mystery of the Western Mystery Tradition.
The basic formula of IAO is one of life, death, and rebirth.

I googled IAO and found this:

The IAO was established after Admiral John Poindexter, former United States National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan and SAIC executive Brian Hicks approached the US Department of Defense with the idea for an information awareness program after the attacks of September 11, 2001.