Ä Area: META_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Msg#: 2477 Date: 05-05-96 22:15
From: Ed Stewart Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: 01 - HHH: The Hindu-Hebre
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
From: density4@cts.com (Blue Resonant Human)
Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.alien.research,alt.archaeology,
talk.religion.misc
Subject: HHH: The Hindu-Hebrew-Hopi Connection
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 22:43:25 GMT
Ancient American Spirituality:
The Hindu-Hebrew-Hopi Connection
by Schuyler E. Grey, Ph.D.
Spiritual Archeology is not an oxymoron because there are
tangible symbols that identify the mystical connection between
the world's spiritual traditions.
Anyone taking a five-hour drive west northwest from the
Albuquerque airport to the Hopi Nation (the word Hopi means
'peace') can observe and experience ceremonies that graphically
illustrate universal spiritual symbolism and demonstrate the
principal of duality. (1) The Peruvian Temple of the Crossed
Hands at Kotosh (2,000 B.C.); the sculpture of the supreme
deity that decorates the patio of the Peruvian New Temple at
Chavin de Huantar (500 B.C.) and holds a Strombus shell (male)
in its right hand and a Spondylus shell (female) in his left
hand (2); the Aztec-Toltec Plumed Serpent (Quetzalcoatl) a
hybrid and mythical creature representing Spirit and Matter
(1,000 B.C.); and the male and female spruce trees utilized at
the Hopi-Niman Ceremony (1995 A.D.), all represent the principal
of complementary opposition. Recognizing the physical
representations of the duality concept and the meaning behind
it is a key factor in understanding the foundation of ancient
American spirituality. Maintaining harmony and balance in life
by following the "middle way" between two extremes is explained
by an Apache Indian in the Heard Museum's multi-media production
"Our Voices, Our Land," saying,
"I'm telling young Indian people that there is a place there,
right down the middle. Not too far this side, not too far to
that side, but down the middle between pairs of opposites." (3)
The Hopi call it the "Road or Path of Life," and their ancestors
came to their present location from the "Four Directions." For
a thousand years, farming communities in the Southwest co-
existed in a peaceful and cooperative manner. In the 12th
Century, a prolonged drought and raiding bands of Athabascam
nomads (ancestors of the Navajo and Apache) forced these
communities to move to the Rio Grande Valley and the southern
edge of Black Mesa in the Painted Desert of Arizona. (4)
The founding of the Hopi villages of Oraibi and Shungopavi in
the 1100's on Black Mesa and the abandonment of Chaco Canyon,
the spiritual center of the Anasazi region, occurred during this
same time period. No longer did the carefully nurtured
Ponderosa pine located at the very center of the center (Pueblo
Bonito in Chaco Canyon) and served as the cosmological center
(axis mundi) of the Anasazi world, (5) regulate the ceremonial
calendar by its shadow. Later, these Chacoans who went west to
Black Mesa would be joined by the Mesa Verde and Kayenta Anasazi,
along with groups from the Fremont, Sinagua, Hohokan, Mogollon
and Salado cultures.
Each would bring their spiritual traditions to the emerging Hopi
nation. Fortunately, because of their isolation in the middle
of the Painted Desert, they were able to develop a sophisticated
mythic and ethical structure that has been untouched or
influenced by western civilization. They believe that balance
was embedded in our world by the divine power of the Creator,
and the task of human beings is to preserve and restore it if it
is disturbed. (6) Their myths, symbols and rituals function to
accomplish this objective.
Myths, symbols and archetypes are part of our common heritage as
human beings. The scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism,
Confucianism, Taoism and Shintoism are all packages of myth that
transcend time, place and culture. (7)
Myths are:
o a shared heritage of ancestral memories, related consciously
from generation to generation.
o threads that hold past, present and future together.
o the "glue" that holds societies together.
o an essential ingredient in all codes of human contact.
o a pattern of beliefs that give meaning to life.
(continued)
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Ä Area: META_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Msg#: 2478 Date: 05-05-96 22:16
From: Ed Stewart Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: 02 - HHH: The Hindu-Hebre
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
(continuation)
Symbols are:
o cultural artifacts that illustrate expressions of human nature.
o representation of reality and also indicators of intuitive
wisdom that eludes direct expression.
o a universal language, because the images and their meanings
occur in similar forms and carry similar power across cultures
and centuries.
Archetypes are:
o internal blueprints of what it means to be fully human.
o bundles of psychic energy that influence the manner in which
we understand and react to life.
o embedded deep in our unconscious but when they emerge in
consciousness, they express themselves in the form of symbols.
For the past 30 years, I have had the good fortune to observe
those segments of the Hopi ceremonial cycle that have been open
to visitors. Although I have no understanding of what the
participants are chanting and doing in their rituals, it is a
powerful and unexplainable spiritual experience.
As a psychologist who has researched and utilized the theories
of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell in his counseling practice, I
have become increasingly aware of the correspondences between
Hopi symbolism and those of other ancient spiritual traditions.
The following observations and associations of the symbolism
displayed in Hopi ceremonies are seen and explained through the
eyes of a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. I have not asked for an
explanation of these metaphysical events. Their true meaning
and significance is only for those Hopi who have earned the
right to hear this sacred teaching from their elders.
Figures I and II [Figure 1 = Mandala.gif and Figure 2 =
TreeLife. gif; both figures included in this series -d4]
represent petroglyphs, ceremonial participants, Kachinas (masked
dancers representing the spirit of the invisible forces of life)
and a sand painting that correlate with similar symbols of
Hebrew, Hindu, Egyptian and Greek origin. Twenty-two are listed
and four will be explained in depth.
::: THE MANDALA (Figure 1) :::
This is a classic symbol for an archetype; it means "circle" and
"center" in Sanskrit. Its traditional design often utilizes the
circle with four exit-entry points as a symbol of the cosmos and
a square as a symbol of the earth. The circle represents both
the subconscious and super-conscious aspects of nature, whereas
the square is related to the conscious rational aspects.
It is the oldest known religious symbol (8) of humanity, going
back 20,000 years to the concentric circles carved into a cliff
in Transval, South Africa. Archaeologists call these circular
designs "Sun Wheels." The most famous illustration of this
archetype is the Aztec "Great Calendar Stone." The primary
purpose of this universal symbol is an attempt by the conscious
self, through contemplation, to recognize and integrate
unconscious knowledge, and, as such, it often plays a major role
in ceremonial events.
Figure I is a modified diagram of a sand-painting that is
utilized by the Hopi Powalalu ceremony. (9) This ritual takes
place before a major event in the Hopi ceremonial calendar,
Powamu. At this time, the Kachinas return to the villages from
their home in the San Francisco peaks.
"Wholly unconscious of what it meant," Carl Jung painted his
first Mandala in 1916 (10); it is almost identical to the symbol
mediated upon in the Hopi ceremonial chambers (Kivas) before
Powamu.
::: THE LABYRINTH (Figure I) :::
Another archetype found at Hopi is a complex geometric design
known as a Labyrinth. The oldest reliably dated depiction of
this symbol was recovered from the ruins of the Mycenaean Palace
of Nestor at Pylos, Greece (1200 B.C.)". It has also been
found on Cretan coins and in Spain, Italy (Pompeiian and
Etruscan pottery), Ireland (Cornwall) and Arizona (Casa Grande).
At Hopi, a circular one is carved on a rock south of Shipaulovi
on Second Mesa, and six others, five square and one circular,
are found on Third Mesa near Oraibi. This classical labyrinth
design, both in its square and round forms, conforms in their
cultural heritage to its universal meaning.
The square one represents their ancestors coming out of the
Great Earth mother to the surface of the Earth and their
migrations to the four cardinal directions. The round one, as a
spiritual symbol of rebirth and regeneration, is a woman having
a baby -- the small curves are an embryo hanging to the Tree of
Life by its umbilical cord. When I was shown this round symbol
near Shipaulovi, it was explained to me that a shadow pointed to
the center of the design at sunset on the Winter Solstice.
According to Hopi tradition, this is when Sun Father stops his
journey to the South, stays in his Sun House for a few days, is
renewed and starts his journey back to the Hopi Nation. It is
also interesting to note that, as representation of Earth Mother'
s organs of generation in India, the design is called Chakra-vy-
uha, and is used to focus concentration during child birth; it
is also in the esoteric rites of tantric Hinduism.
(continued)
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Ä Area: META_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Msg#: 2479 Date: 05-05-96 22:18
From: Ed Stewart Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: 03 - HHH: The Hindu-Hebre
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
(continuation)
::: THE CULTURE-BEARER (Figure I) :::
- - - - -
Note:
For those who may have trouble reading the fine print of the
Mandala graphic, the text indicates the similarities between the
following ancient entities:
Hopi.........Ahola
Zuni.........Kokko Thlanna
Egyptian.....Thoth
Greek........Hermes
Roman........Mercury
Hindu........Vishnu as Avatar
Mayan........Kukulcan
Aztec........Quetzalcoatl
Chavin.......The Staff God
Inca.........Viracocha
- - - - -
As a bird has the ability to walk on the ground and fly in the
sky, it is an excellent symbol for a messenger of the gods. It
brings to Earth from the cosmos instructions on the development
of culture and civilization. The earliest examples of this
symbolism can be found on the walls of a cave in Lascaux, France
(16,000 B.C.). It is an image of a man wearing a bird mask.
Nearby is a stick with a bird on top. Tangata Manus, or
Birdmen, are carved into the rocks on Easter Island. Thoth, the
Egyptian God of Wisdom and Learning, is identified a a man with
the head of an Ibis. Vishnu, as an avatar in India, was closely
associated with a bird as his means of transportation. Hermes,
the Greek messenger of the gods, has wings on his helmet and
heels.
At Hopi, one of the first kachinas to appear after the winter
solstice in order to open the kivas for the new ceremonial
season at Walpi, Mishongnovi and Shongopovi is called Ahola and
looks like a man with a bird on his head. He also carries a
staff surmounted with two eagle feathers. Numerous petroglyphs
of bird-headed men (Figure I -- Cardinal Points) in and around
the Hopi Nation represent archetypical spiritual messengers.
::: THE TREE OF LIFE (Figure II) :::
- - - - -
Note:
For those who may have trouble reading the fine print of the
TreeLife graphic, the symbology is that of the Qabbalistic Tree
of Life, the 10 points of which are labelled three ways; Hebrew,
Hopi and (Jungian) Psychological. From top to bottom and left
to right, the author's interpretation is as follows:
1. Kether...................Crown
2. Taiowa...................Creator
3. God; Higher Power
1. Binah....................Understanding
2. Kokyangwuti..............Create Life
3. Female Energy
1. Chokmah..................Wisdom
2. Sotuknang................Plan for Life
3. Male Energy
1. Geburah..................Severity
2. Poqanghoya...............Physical Laws
3. Power Need
1. Chested..................Mercy
2. Palongawhoya.............Mental Laws
3. Love Need
1. Tipharith................Beauty
2. Sikangnuqa...............Breath of Life
3. Conscious Mind
1. Hod......................Splendor
2. Tkwoonie.................Intellect
3. Left-Brain Logic
1. Netzach..................Victory
2. Inangwu..................Emotion
3. Right-Brain Intuition
1. Yesod....................Foundation
2. Talawva..................Warmth of Love
3. Sub-Conscious Mind
1. Maikuth..................Kingdom
2. Man, Woman with Kopavi...Speech and Reproduction
3. Physical Body
- - - - -
A single archetypical symbol such as a tree can produce a
variety of images throughout the world, yet the underlying
meaning remains constant. On a cosmic level, a vertical axis,
or "axis of the world" (axis mundi stands at the center of the
universe and passes through the middle of three cosmic zones;
heaven, earth and the underworld. On a personal level, the
roots represent the unconscious, the trunk, conscious
realization of the union of opposites, and the branches contact
with the "Higher Power."
(continued)
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Ä Area: META_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Msg#: 2480 Date: 05-05-96 22:20
From: Ed Stewart Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: 04 - HHH: The Hindu-Hebre
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
(continuation)
In the Old World, this symbolism can be found in the Hindu
Upanishads, the Egyptian Tree of Life, and the Scandinavian
world tree, Yggdrasil. The Buddhist stupa is an image of the
cosmos through which the axis mundi passes.
In the Americas, the supreme deity at Chavin de Huantar, known
as the Lanzon, constitutes an axis mundi with its upper section
set in the roof of the Old Temple (1000 B.C.) and its base
embedded in the floor. It's right arm is raised with an open
palm and it's left arm is lowered with the back of it's hand
visible. This illustrates that the deity is also a mediator of
opposites and a personification of the principle of order and
balance.
The Mayas' World Tree is the Milky Way. According to their
creation story, First Father raised the heaven 542 days after
his rebirth from the cracked shell of a tortoise and linked
Earth to both Heaven and the Underworld by erecting a World Tree,
whose roots lay deep in the southern sky. This World Tree
appears on the sarcophagus lid of the Emperor Pacal at Palenque.
It is possible that the single Ponderosa pine that was located
at the "Center of the Center" in Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon
also represented the Anasazi mythical tree of emergence into the
fourth world.
Today, when a nomadic tribe in Australia, called the Arunta,
erect a sacred pole called the Kauaua, they believe it serves as
a portable tree that links this world to the realm of divinity.
Also Columbia's Kogi Indian temples display a chain similar to a
world axis, or a world ladder. (12) Their spirituality is
governed by the concepts of opposition (selda) and alliance
(sewa), and maintain that human behavior must always try to
establish a workable balance between opposing forces and
tendencies in nature and men's minds. Other visual
representations of this concept can be found in their houses,
lime containers and spindles.
At Hopi, the ladder that enter their ceremonial chambers (kivas)
through the roof serve as a vertical axis by which the Kachinas
descend into a structure that is made in imitation of their
cosmos. As each Kiva contains a "sipapu," a small hole that
symbolizes the path of man's emergence from the previous
underworld, the ladder is a natural extension to the Outerworld.
Frank Waters, author of The Book of the Hopi, wrote, "The Hopi
mytho-religious system of year long ceremonies, rituals, dances,
songs, recitations and prayers are as complex, abstract and
esoteric as any in the world. It has been the despair of
professional anthropologists, ethnologists and Sociologists."
(13)
A key to understanding the depth and sophistication of Hopi
spirituality is the correlation of their mystical traditions
with those of the Hebrews of ancient Palestine. Their mystical
views of God relating to our "oneness with the universe" and our
purpose in this world are remarkably alike. According to the
esoteric Hebrew tradition, the divine pattern of the Tree of
Life, which is a symbol for the manifestation of the cosmos from
a single transcendent source, was given to Moses when God spoke
to him on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 25:30-40).
The exoteric (knowledge suitable to be imparted to the public)
symbol relating to the cosmic tree is the seven branch
candlestick known as the Menorah. (14) It is an outer
reflection of the inner form of the cosmos.
The esoteric (knowledge that is restricted to a small group)
symbol is the Tree of Life (Figure II). This diagram consists
of ten spheres (Sephiroth) representing different forces and
aspects of God, and are connected by paths representing the 22
consonants in the Hebrew alphabet. Together they constitute the
Tree of Life which visually represents the creation of this
world. It's structure contains all the laws that govern
existence, because it reveals a universal process of balanced
interaction between upper and lower, active and passive
principles. It graphically illustrates the "Middle Way" or
"Road of Life."
The Hopi creation myths Frank Waters received from thirty tribal
elders correspond with the 10 Sephiroth on the Hebrew Tree of
Life. Figure II gives the Hebrew, Hopi and current
psychological terminology for the ten aspects of creation.
::: THE 22 PATHS ON THE TREE OF LIFE (Figure II) :::
The internal structure of the Tree of Life consists of 22 paths
that connect to Ten Divine Emanations. Their purpose is to
illustrate specific esoteric concepts that have universal
significance and meaning. As each name denotes a familiar
natural object that calls up in every human mind a basic
association of ideas, the 22 paths are assigned a specific
letter of their alphabet that corresponds to its meaning.
Figure II correlates these objects with images found in the
mythologies of the Hopi, Hindu, Egyptian and Greek cultures.
For example, the letter Beth, meaning "house," is represented as
a culturebearer by Abola, Vishnu as avatar, Thoth and Hermes
(Mercury). The letter Kaph, meaning "curve," is represented by
the Labyrinth mandala and the Egyptian Ra. The remaining 20
archetypical paths will be illustrated and explained in our
upcoming book, The Hopi Tree: Ancient American Spiritual
Symbolism.
(continued)
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Ä Area: META_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Msg#: 2481 Date: 05-05-96 22:22
From: Ed Stewart Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: 05 - HHH: The Hindu-Hebre
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
(continued)
How did these powerful spiritual concepts arrive at Orabi and
Shungopavi in the 12th Century?
Did....
o the Hopi spiritual elders draw through Rupert Sheldrakes'
theory of "Morphic Resonance" (15) the psychic imprints of
archaic images found in Carl Jung's theory of the Collective
Unconscious, and integrate them into their ceremonies and
spiritual teachings?
Or did....
o Hopi ancestors learn about these symbols and concepts of
balance and equilibrium on their clan migrations throughout the
Americas, and bring them to their "Center Place" in the Painted
Desert?
Or did....
o Spiritual Teachers bring these metaphysical concepts from
their traditional "Red Cities in the South" (Palenque and Tula)
to the Hopi via Casas Grandes and Casa Grande and also via El
Tajin, the Rio Grande and Puerco Rivers, Pottery Mound (next to
Hidden Mountain at Los Lunas in New Mexico)? (16)
Or...
o Was it a combination of all three sources?
It is our good fortune that there is an easily accessible and
extraordinarily beautiful location in America where we can
respectfully observe the last vestiges of a 4,000 year-old
American spiritual tradition, developed to maintain harmony and
balance on both a universal and personal level.
Footnotes with Bibliography
1) Quetzalcoatzl Continuum, Jose Lopez Portillo, 1982, pgs 11
and 53.
2) Chavin and the Origins of Andean Civilization, Richard L.
Burger, Thomas & Hudson, 1992, pg 48.
3) Our Voices, Our Land, edited by Stephen Trimble, Northland
Press, 1986, pg 147.
4) A History of the Ancient Southwest, Harold Sterling Gladwin,
Bond Wheelwright, 1957, pgs 237-299.
5) American Indians of the Southwest, Bertha Dutton, University
of New Mexico Press, 1983, pg36. Hopi Clay, Hopi Ceremony,
Seymour Koening, pg 26.
6) The Voice of the Great Spirit, Rudolf Kaiser, Shambhala
Publications, 1989, pg l8.
7) Parallel Myths, J.F. Bierlein, Ballantine Books, 1994, pg 5-6.
8) The Secret Language of Symbols, David Fontana, Chronicle
Books, 1993, pgs 8-13.
9) The Oraibi Powamu Ceremony, H.R. Voth, Field Columbia
Museum Publication, 1901, pg 14.
10) C.G. Jung, World & Image, edited by Aniela Jaffe, Princeton
Univ. Press, 1979, pg 76.
11) The Classical Labyrinth: Old World and New, Charles
Herberger, E.S.O.P. Vol. 20, pg 326.
12) The Sacred Mountain of Columbia's Kogi Indians, C. Reichel-
Domatoff, E.J. Birll, 1990, pgs 10-11.
13) The Book of Hopi, Frank Waters,Viking Press, 1963, intro. XII
14) The Tree of Life, Roger Cook, Avon, 1974, pg 20.
15) A New Science of Life, Rupert Sheldrake, Houghton-Mifflin Co.,
1981, pgs 95-107.
16) "The Ten Commandments and New Mexico's Mountain Citadel,"
David A. Deal, The Ancient American, Issue #9, 1995, pgs 20-27
- - - - -
The preceeding article appeared in:
The Ancient American
Volume 2, Number 11
ISSN 1077-1646
Published by:
Wayne N. May
PO Box 370
Colfax, WI 54730
"The purpose of the Ancient American is two-fold: to report in
layman's language the variety of ancient artifacts found in the
Americas and to open a forum for discussion between the
professional and avocational archaeologist."
[yet another fine post by density4@cts.com]
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ed Stewart - egs@netcom.com - | So Man, who here seems principal alone,
"There is | Perhaps acts second to some sphere unknown.
Something Going On!" ,>'?'<, | Touches some wheel, or verges to some goal,
-Salvador Freixedo- ( O O ) | 'Tis but a part we see, and not a whole.
------------------ooOO-(_)-OOoo------- Alexander Pope, Essay on Man -------
-!- Arf! ---
! Origin: Gates of Delirium (916)339-9043: (1:203/163)