Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Definition of an Order from Masonic Encyclopedia

An Order may be defined to be a brotherhood, fellowship, or association of certain persons, united by laws and statutes peculiar to the society, engaged in a common object or design, and distinguished by particular habits, ensigns, badges or symbols.

Johnson's definition is that an Order is "a regular government, a society of dignified persons distinguished by marks of honor, and a religious fraternity." in all of these senses Freemasonry may be styled an Order. Its government is of the most regular and systematic character; men the most eminent for dignity and reputation have been its members; and it does not constitute a religion in itself, it is at least religion's handmaid.

The ecclesiastical writers define an Order to be a congregation or society of religious persons, governed by particular rules, living under the same superior, in the same manner, and wearing the same habit; a definition equally applicable to the society of Freemasons. These ecclesiastical Orders are divided into three classes: 1. Monastic, such as Benedictines and the Augustinians. 2. The Mendicant, as the Dominicans and Franciscans. 3. The Military, as the Hospitallers, the Templars, and the Teutonic Knights. Only the first and third have any connection with Freemasonry; the first because it was by them that architecture was fostered, and the Masonic gilds patronized in the Middle Ages; and the third because it was in the bosom of Freemasonry that the Templars found a refuge after the dissolution of their Order.

An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: By Albert Mackey, M.D. 1894 (pg. 551-552)

Pa + Ma = Na NA IS A HERMAPHRODITE

Our "he-ma", it fraud E.
(Jerusalem means "you male ruse 13")
JAVA MAN'S HOMO ERECTUS (Ape-Human) REVENGE

Be careful what you pray for

In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus was a handsome young man, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. He was loved by the nymph Salmacis, who prayed that they become inseparable; when Hermaphroditus swam in her stream (fish soup flood is magnum opus), their bodies fused into one. The term hermaphrodite has come to designate persons with both male and female genitals.

BREASTED MALE FRUIT

The papaya, Carica papaya, family Caricaceae, is a soft-wooded, palmlike evergreen tree indigenous to the tropical lowlands of Central America. It is cultivated in tropical countries around the world for its palatable melonlike fruit and for the latex of the green fruit, which contains papain, a protein-digesting enzyme that is used commercially as a meat tenderizer.

The papaya is often called the melon tree (NA or NE). In many tropical countries, the papaya is called papaw, but it is unrelated to the North American fruit tree of that name.

Papaya trees, which are (1) male, (2) hermaphroditic, and (3) female, have palmate leaves clustered at the top of the trunk. White, cream-colored, yellow, or purple-tinged flowers are borne in inflorescences on the trunk in the axils of the leaves.

The male's numerous flowers are borne on pendulous, branched peduncles up to 1.5 m (5 ft) long or longer. The hermaphrodite bears several bisexual flowers, and sometimes a few special male flowers, on peduncles less than 25.4 cm (10 in) long. The female bears a few female flowers exclusively on peduncles seldom exceeding 2.5 cm (1 in).

Both male and female trees must be present to produce fruit; hermaphrodite trees are self-fruitful.

Fruit ranges in shape from globose to long-ovoid, in weight from 113.4 g (4 oz) to 9.1 kg (20 lb) or more, and in color from light yellow through deep yellow, orange, and pink to red.

NEANDERTHALERS COMMON DENOMINATOR SYMBOLISM

A notorious film featuring real-life performers from a traveling sideshow, Freaks (1932) was produced and directed as a horror film by Tod Browning. "I want something that out-horrors Frankenstein," MGM production executive Irving Thalberg (The Dean of Dollars) reportedly demanded, and Freaks is what he got.

A tale of revenge taken by a troupe of circus freaks (a bearded lady, Siamese twins, paraplegics, "pinheads," a hermaphrodite, and others) on a "normal" female trapeze artist "JANE" who humiliates them, the film was censored as tasteless and an exploitation of its handicapped players. It was cut in the United States and banned for 30 years in Great Britain.

Many critics now contend that the audience identifies more with the "freaks" than with the insensitive villain, and that the suspenseful conclusion, in which they mass to turn her into a freak herself, is a satisfying resolution.

Disregarding definitions of horror, most viewers agree that the film includes sequences of great emotional power, most of them unencumbered by the plot, that reveal the deformed and challenged individuals as a capable, loving, close-knit community on a mission.

The Salvation Army Secret Society

BOEING IS THE NEANDERTHALERS' OREGON TRAIL ALTER EGO

ego: The ãIä or self of any person (ego is LATIN for ãIä). In psychological terms, the ego is the part of the PSYCHE that experiences the outside world and reacts to it, coming between the primitive drives of the ID and the demands of the social environment, represented by the SUPEREGO. The term ego is often used to mean personal pride and self-absorption: ãLosing at chess doesn't do much for my ego.ä

superego: In FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY, the part of the PSYCHE that incorporates parental or community values and standards, and acts as an inner check on behavior. The superego and EGO, responding to social demands, are often in conflict with the original impulses of the ID.

alter ego: An intimate friend, considered another side of oneself: ãHe was my alter ego; we were always picking up each other's thoughts.ä Alter ego is LATIN for ãanother I

allegory: A story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning. Allegories are composed of several SYMBOLS or METAPHORS. For example, in THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, by John Bunyan, the CHARACTER named Christian struggles to escape from a bog or swamp. The story of his difficulty is a symbol of the difficulty of leading a good life in the ãbogä of this world. The ãbogä is a metaphor or symbol of life's hardships and distractions. Similarly, when Christian loses a heavy pack that he has been carrying on his back, this symbolizes his freedom from the weight of sin that he has been carrying.

Gregor Mendel: An Austrian biologist and MONK of the nineteenth century. Mendel rediscovered the basic laws of GENETICS by doing experiments with pea plants (See peeple).

Gregorian: The traditional Austrian music for LATIN texts in the worship of the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Gregorian chant is marked by performance in UNISON, and by free-flowing RHYTHMS that follow the phrasing of the text. The chants often call for one SYLLABLE to be sung across several notes.

San Diego: City in southern CALIFORNIA close to the border of MEXICO. San Diego is a cultural, educational, and medical and scientific research center; a major port and naval base; and home of the San Diego Zoo (Sue).

scapegoat: A person or group that is made to bear blame for others. According to the OLD TESTAMENT, on the DAY OF ATONEMENT, a JUDEAN PRIEST would confess all the sins of the ISRAELITES over the head of a goat on their behalf and then drive it into the wilderness, symbolically bearing their sins away. (See the diaspora of 10 lost tribes of scapegoated northern Israeli Jews and the 2 southern Judean tribes of priests who remained behind to gather the spoils of the Persian war.)

NOTE BENE

*EU TOLERANCE* = Means the LEEWAY given by Europeans to Asian-Persian HP toll-gaters and their termite pirate buds, as they inflict more poisonous hardship and/or pain on America. (Hans Blix and the UN provided time and cover as at least one million tons of explosives and weapons were shipped to Iraq prior to the beginning of the western coalition's War to liberate parasitic Iraqis from Saddam Hussayn.)

Sofism

The Sofis were a mystical sect which greatly prevailed in Eastern countries, and especially in Persia, whose religious faith was supposed by most writers to embody the secret doctrine of Mohammedanism. Sir John Malcolm (Hist. Pers., ch. xx.,) says that they have amon them great numbers of the wisest and ablest men of Persia and the East, and since his time the sect has greatly increased.

The name is most probably derived from the Greek wisdom; and Malcolm states that they also bore the name of philosaufs, in which we readily detect the word philosophers. He says also: "The Mohammedan Sofis have endeavored to connect their mystic faith with the doctrine of prophet, who, they assert was himself an accomplished Sofi." The principle sofi writers are familiar with the opinions of Aristotle and Plato, and their most important work abound with quotations from the latter. Sir John Malcolm compares the school of Sofism with that of Pythagoras. It is evident that there is a great similarity between Sofism and Gnosticism, and all the features of the Sofic initiation remind us forcibly of those of the Masonic. The object of the system is the attainment of Truth, and the novice is invited "to embark of the sea of doubt," that is, to commence his investigations, which are to end in its discovery.

There are four stages or degrees of initiation: the first is merely preliminary, and the initiate is required to observe the ordinary rites and ceremonies of religion for sake of the vulgar, who do not understand their esoteric meaning. In the second degree he is said to enter the pale of Sofism, and exchanges these external rites for spiritual worship. The third degree is that of Wisdom, and he who reaches it is supposed to have attained supernatural knowledge, and be equal to the angels. The fourth and last degree is called Truth, for he has now reached it, and has become completely united with Deity(Moho God). They have says Macolm, secrets and mysteries in every stage or degree which are never revealed to the profane, and to reveal which would be a crime of the deepest turpitude. The tenets of the sect, so far as they are made known to the world, are, according to Sir William Jones (Asiat. Researches, ii. 62,) "that nothing exists absolutely but God; that the human soul is an emanation of his essence, and, though divided for a time from its heavenly source, will be reunited with it; that the highest possible happiness will arise from its reunion; and that the chief good of mankind in this transitory world consists in as perfect a union with the Eternal Spirit as the incumbrances of a mortal frame will allow." It is evident that the true system of these Eastern Mysteries must be an interesting subject of inquiry to the student of Freemasonry; Higgins is hardly too enthusiastic in supposing them to be the ancient Freemasons of Mohammedanism. His views are thus expressed in the second volume of his Anacalypsis, p. 301: a wonderful work - wonderful for the vast and varies learning that it exhibits; but still more do for the bold and strange theories which, however untenable, are defended with all the powers of a more than ordinary intellect.

"The circumstances," he says, "of the graduation of ranks, the initiation, and the head of the Order in Persia being called Grand Master, raise a presumption that the Sofis were in reality, the Order of Masons."

Without subscribing at once to the theory of Higgins, we may well be surprised at the coincidences existing between the customs and the dogmas of the Sofis and those of the Freemasons, and we would naturally be curious to investigate the cause of the close communication which existed at various times during the Crusades between this Mohammedan sect of philosophers and the Christian Order of Templars.

Mr. C.W. King, in his learned treatise on the Gnostics, seems to entertain a similar idea of this connection between the Templars and Sofis. He says that, "inasmuch as these Sofis were composed exclusively of the learned amongst the Persians and Syrians, and learning at that time meant little more than a proficiency in medicine and astrology, the two points that brought the Eastern sages into amicable contact with their barbarous invaders from the West, it is easy to see how the latter may have imbibed the secret doctrines simultaneously with the science of those who were their instructors in all matters pertaining to science and art. The Sofi doctrine involved the grand idea of one universal creed, which could be secretly held under any profession of an outward faith: and in fact took virtually the same view of religous systems as that in which the ancient philosophers had regarded such matters."


An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: By Albert Mackey, M.D. 1894 (pg. 721-722)

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Grand Secretary Writes to Kealey ????

Peter

To verify your authenticity please send an original of this letter on
you official letterhead, by certified snail mail.

In the meantime I will attempt to verify authenticity by independent means.

Glen

The Grand Secretary wrote:

> Glen,
>
> I must tell you that you are spot on when you conclude that the
> true and original form of Free Masonry was (and is) the first
> organised religion.
>
> You may find our website of interest to you. For good reasons, we
> only start the time line on the "Grand Lodges in England" webpage
> from the issuing of the Royal Charter at St Peter's at York (King
> Athelstane - AD 926).
>
> What we do not publish, is that this Charter gave royal assent to
> the Céile Dé Masonic Priest Architects to continue their
> activities, legally, in the face of considerable persecution, from
> Rome.
>
> The Céile Dé Priest Masons came from Celtic/Druidic, pre-Davidic
> roots.
>
> The Moderns form of freemasonry, as you probably already know, was
> a self-stared humanist breakaway (a corruption of the original)
> prompted by the Rosicrucians of the Enlightenment years. This
> hijacking of Free Masonry on behalf of Protestant Hanover, was
> planned and carried out as recently as 1723 (the Anderson
> Constitutions) in the back room of a London Pub (The Goose and
> Gridiron).
>
> It is this form of freemasonry that constitutes the mass
> membership form of the old religion, but it is not the true and
> original form of the Craft, and, as you know has been reduced to
> little more than a social club. However, the Moderns form of
> freemasonry was further developed (we would say corrupted) with
> the added Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Weishaupt's
> Illuminati etc.
>
> I hope that you enjoy your visit to our website.
>
> Peter
>
> Peter J. Clatworthy
> Grand Secretary
> Grand Lodge of All England at York
> www.grandlodgeofallengland.org
>





Bing, Being, Boeing, Beijing, Bang
______________________________
________________________

The SculPTor (1776-1867)

WWW.WORDSCULPTOR.NET aka WWW.KEALEY.NET

Web Site of Glen Kealey, National President
Canadian Institute for Political Integrity (CIPI)

http://kealeyne.ipower.com

http://www.wordsculptor.net/web/previous/kealeynet/content/index4.html

Freemasonry is Moho Tollgaters 360 Degree Ferris Wheel

FROM PHOENIX TO ATLANTA -- 1492 + 484 + 32 = 2008

A 1/2 Shelflife

A two-headed PHOENIX to Ecclesiastic Freemasonry is a period of time which has a duration of 484 years.

Phoenixes are separated by a transition period of 32 years (2x16)

Two Phoenixes plus transition is 1,000 years. One thousand years is one day; ie Bacon's College of six days is 6,000 years (See the New Atlantis and Advancements in Learning.


INRI, GO/REGO, IFRA = from Infrastructure

Honey is 100 -- Beeswax is 200 (It is used to store female eggs obtained in human sacrifice and stored under Greenland's 2 miles of hard ice. They will be used to genetically engineer UNICORNS (perfect slaves)

Secular Masons want instant gratification and therefore are led to a bee hive where they eat the honey and leave a mess. Priests want control and therefore they show up after the Masons leave and collect the beeswax.

Now that they have exploited the Northern Hemisphere for its "milk and honey" I expect that everything is to move to the Southern Hemisphere where the infrostucture will be exploited from the BRAZIL ("AZIL" ie: SIAL 10 - nut house)

I expect that a Unified Theory of the Universe will be found once an archeological excavation takes place on the farm where I live. This will resolve any and all questions about the Herstory of Earth (not History).

Ecclesiastic Freemasonry (since 40,000 BC) is a system of MORALITY (Roma religion), veiled in ALLEGORY (Al Gore climate change), and illustrated by (Sea) SYMBOLS (Ba'al and the DESDEMONA type face. See Othello)

Des = DES-TROY
demon = Deutsche Santa/Satan weemen
a = WOMEN when found at the end of a word.

Read old (1800's) dictionaries, encyclopedias, classics, TROY, Helen (he Glen) of Troy, operas etc..

Shortcut by reading the back issues of The KEALEY papers


Bing, Being, Boeing, Beijing, Bang
______________________________
________________________

The SculPTor (1776-1867)

WWW.WORDSCULPTOR.NET aka WWW.KEALEY.NET

Web Site of Glen Kealey, National President
Canadian Institute for Political Integrity (CIPI)

http://kealeyne.ipower.com

http://www.wordsculptor.net/web/previous/kealeynet/content/index4.html

Tubal Cain

Of Tubal Cain, the sacred writings, as well as the masonic legends, give us but scanty information. All that we of him in the book of Genesis is that he was the son of Lamech and Zillah, and was "an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." The Hebrew original does not justify the common version, for lotesh, does not mean "an instructor," but "a sharpener," - one who whets or sharpens instruments. Hence Dr. Raphall translate the passage as one "who sharpened various tools in copper and iron." The authorized version has, however, almost indelibly impressed the character of Tubal Cain as the father of artificers; and it is in this sense that hh has been introduced from a very early period into the legendary history of Masonry.

The first Masonic reference to Tubal Cain is found in the "Legend of the Craft," where he is called "the founder of smithcraft." I cit this part of the lengend from the Dowland MS. simply because of its modern orthography; but the story is substantially the same in all the old manuscript Constitutions. In that Manuscript we find the following account of Tubal Cain:

"Before Noah's flood, there was a man called Lamech, as it is written in the Bible, in the fourth chapter of Genesis; and this Lamech had two wives, the one named Ada snd the other named Zilla; by his first wife, Ada, he got a son and a daughter. And these four children founded the beginning of all the sciences in the world. The elder son, Jabel, founded the science of geometry, and he carried flocks of sheep and lambs into the fields, and first built houses of stone and wood, as it is noted in the chapter above named. And his brother Jubal founded the science of music and songs of the tongue, the harp and organ. And the third brother, Tubal Cain, founded smith craft, of gold, silver, copper, iron, and steel, and the daughter founded the art of weaving. And these children knew well that God would take vengence for sin, either by fire or water, wherefore they wrote the sciences that they had found, on two pillars that they might be found after Noah's flood. The one pillar was marble, for that would not burn with fire; and the other was of brass, for that would not drown in water."

Similar to this is an old Rabbinical tradition, which asserts that Jubal, who was the inventor of writing as well of music, having heard Adam say that the universe would be twice destroyed, once by fire and once by water, inquired which catastrophe would first occur; but Adam refusing to inform him, he inscribed the system of music which he had invented upon two pillars of stone and brick. A more modern masonic tradition ascribes the construction of these pillars to Enoch.

To this acount of of Tubal Cain must be added the additional particulars, recorded by Josephus, that he exceeded all men in strength, and was renowned for his warlike acheivements.

The only other account of the protometallurgist that we meet with any ancient author is that which is contained in the celebrated fragment of Sanconiatho, who refers to him under the name of Chrysor, which is evidently, as Bochart affirms, a corruption of the Hebrew choresur, a worker in fire, that is, a smith. Sanconiatho, was a Phoenician author, who is supposed to have flourished before the Trojan war, probably, as Sir William Drummond suggests, about the time when Gideon was Judge of Israel, and who collected the different accounts and traditions of the origin of the world which were extant at the period in which he lived. A fragment only of this work is preserved, which, translated into Greek by Philo Byblius, was inserted by Eusebius in his Praeparatio Evangelica, and has thus been handed down to the present day. That portion of history by Sanconiatho, which refers to Tubal Cain, is contained in the following words:

"A long time after the generation of Hyposoaranios, the inventors of hunting and fishing, Agreas and Alieus, were born; after whom the people were called hunters and fishers, and from whom sprang two brothers, who discovered iron, and the manner of working it. One of these two, called Chrysor, was killed in eloquence, and composed verses and prophecies. He was the same with Hephaistos, and invented fishing hooks, bait for taking fish, cordage and rafts, and was the first of all mankind who navigated. He was therefore worshipped as a god after his death, and was called Diamichios. It is said that these brothers were the first who contrived partition walls of brick."

Hephaistos, it will be observed, is the Greek of the god who was called by the Romans Vulcan. Hence the remark of Sanconiatho, and the apparent similarity of names as well occupations, have led some writers of the last, and even of the present, century to derive Vulcan from Tubal Cain by a process not very devious, and therefore familiar to etymologists. By the omission in Tubal Cain of the initial T, which is the Phoenician article, and its valueless vowel, we get Balcan, which, by the interchangable nature of B and V, is easily transformed to Vulcan.

"The Tubal Cain," says Bishop Stilling fleet, (Orig. Sac., p. 292,) gave first occasion to the name and worship of Vulcan, hath been very probably concieved, both from the very great affinity of the names, and that Tubal Cain is expressly mentioned to be an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron, and as near relation as Apollo had to Vulcan, Jubal had to Tubal Cain, who was the inventor of music, or the father of all such as handle the harp and organ, which the Greeks attribute to Apollo."

Vossius, in his treatise De Idolatria, (lib.i.,cap.36,) makes this derivation of Vulcan from Tubal Cain. But Bryant, in his Analysis of Ancient Mythology, (vol. i., p. 139,) denies the etymology, and says that among the Egyptians and Babylonians, Vulcan was equivalent to Osirius, symbols of the sun. He traces the name to the words Baal Cahen, Holy Bel, or sacred Lord. Bryant's etymology may be adopted, however, without any interference with the identity of Vulcan and Tubal Cain. He who discovered the uses of fire, may well, in the corruptions of idolatry, have typified the solar orb, the source of all heat. It might seem that Tubal is an attribute compounded of the definite particle T and the word Baal, signifying Lord. Tubal Cain would then signify "the Lord Cain." Again, dhu or du, in Arabic signifies Lord; and we trace the same signifcation of this affix, in its various interchangable forms of Du, Tu and Di, in many Semetic words. But the question the identical origin of Tubal Cain and Vulcan has at length been settled by the researches of comparative philologists. Tubal Cain is Semetic on origin, and Vulcan is Aryan. The latter may be traced to the Sanscrit, ulka, a firebrand, from which we get also the Latin fulgur and fulmen, names of lightning.

From the mention made of Tubal Cain in the "Legend of the Craft," the word was long ago adopted as significant inthe primary degrees, and various attempt have been made to give it an interpretation.

Hutchinson, in an article in his Spirit of Masonry devoted to the consideration of the third degree has the following reference to the word:

"The Mason advancing to this state of Masonry, pronouces his own sentence, as confessional of the imperfection of the second stage of his profession, and as probationary of exalted degree to which he aspires, in the Greek distich, Struo tumulum: 'I prepare my sepulchre; I make my grave in the pollutions of the earth; I am under the shadow of death.' This distich has been vulgarly corrupted among us, and an expression takes place scarcely similar in sound, and entirely inconsistent with Masonry, and unmeaning in itself."

But however ingenious this interpretation of Hutchinson may be, it is generally admitted that it is incorrect.

The modern English masons, and through them the French, have derived Tubal Cain from the Hebrew tebel, earth, and kanah, to acquire possession, and, with little respect from the grammatical rules of the Hebrew language, interpret it as meaning worldly possessions.

In the Hemming lectures, now the authorized English system, we find the answer to the question, "What does Tubal Cain denote?" is "Worldly possessions." And Delaunay, in his Thuiller, (p.17,) denies the reference to the proto-smith, and says: "If reflect on the meaning of the two Hebrew words, we will easily recognize in their connection the secret wish of the hierophant, of the Templar, of the Freemason, and of every mystical sect, to govern the world in accordance with its own laws." It is fortunate, I think, that the true meaning of the words will authorize no such interpretation. The fact is, that even if Tubal Cain were derived from tebel and kanah, the precise rules of Hebrew construction would forbid affixing to their union any such meaning as "worldly possession." Such an interpretation of it in the French and English systems is, therefore, a very forced and inacurrate one.

The use of the Tubal Cain as a sigificant word in the Masonic ritual is derived from the "Legend of the Craft," by which the name was made familiar to the Operative and then to the Speculative Masons; and it refers not symbolically, but historically to his scriptural and traditionally reputation as an artificer. If he symbolized anything, it would be labor; and a Mason's labor is to acquire truth, and not worldy possessions. The English and French interpretation has fortunately never been introduced into this country.

An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: By Albert Mackey, M.D. 1894 (pg. 835-837)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Zoroaster

More correctly, Zarathustra. He was the legislator and prophet of ancient Bactrians, out of whose doctrines the modern religion of the Parsees has been developed. As to the age in which Zoroaster flourished, there been the greatest discrepancies among the ancient authorities. The earliest of the Greek writers who mention his name is Xanthus of Lydia, and he places his era at about 600 years before the Trojan war, which would be about 1800 years before Christ. Aristotle and Eudoxus say that he lived 6000 years before Plato; while Berosus, the Babylonian historian, makes him a king of Babylon between 2200 and 2000 B.C. The Parsees are more moderate in their calculations, and say that their prophet was a contemporary of Hystaspes, the father of Darius, and accordingly place his era at 550 B.C. Haug, however, in his Essays on the Sacred Langauge, etc., of the Parsees, declares that this supposition is utterly groundless. He thinks that we can, under no circumstances, assign him a later date than 1000 B.C., and is not even disinclined to much his era much earlier, and make him a contemporary of Moses.

Bro. Albert Pike, who has devoted much labor to the investigation of this confused subject of the Zoroastrian era says, in an able article in Mackey's National Freemason, (vol.iii., No.3:)
"In the year 1903 before Alexander, or 2234 B.C., a Zarathustrian king of Media conquered Babylon. The religion even then had degenerated into Magism, and was of an unknown age. The unfortunate theory that Vitacpa, one of the most efficient allies of Zarathustra, was the father of Darius Hystaspes, has long ago been set at rest. In the Chaldean lists of Berosus, is found in the Armenian edition of Eusebius, the name Zoroaster appears as that of the Median conqueror of Babylon; but he can only have recieved this title from being a follower Zarathustra and professing his religion. he was preceded by a series of eighty four median kings; and the real Zarathustra lived in Bactria long before the tide of emigration had flowed thence into Media. Aristotle and Eudoxus, according to Pliny, place Zarathustra 6000 years before the Trojan war. Plato died 348 B.C. ; so that the two dates substantially agree, making the date of Zarathustra's reign 6300 or 6350 B.C.; and I have no doubt that this is not far from the truth."

Bunen, however, (God in History, vol. i., b.iii., ch. vi., p. 276,) speaks of Zarathustra Spitama as living under the reign of Vistaspa towards the year 3000 B.C., certainly not later towards 2500 B.C. He calls him "one of the mightiest intellects and one of the greates men of all time;" and he says of him: "Accounted by his contemporaries a blasphemer, atheist, and firebrand worthy of death; regarded even by his own adherents, after some centuries, as the founder of magic, by others as a sorcerer and deceiver, he was, nevertheless, recognized already by Hippocrates as a great spiritual hero, and esteemed the earliest sage of a primeval epoch - reaching back to 5000 years before their date - by Eudoxus, Plato, and Aristotle."

The name of this great reformer is always spelled in the Zendavesta as Zarathustra, with which is always coupled Spitama; this, Haug says, was the family name, whike the former was his surname, and hence both he and Bunsen designate him as Zarathustra Spitama. The Greeks corrupted Zaratustra into Zarastrades and Zoroastres, and the Romans into Zoroaster, by which name he always until recently, been known to Europeans. His home was in Bactria, an ancient country of Asias between the Oxus River on the north and the Caucasian range of mountains on the south, and in the immediate vicinity, therefore, of the primal seat of the Aryan race, one of whose first emigrations, indeed, was into Bactria.

The religion of Zoroaster finds its origin in a social, political, and religous schism of the Bactrian Iranians from the primitive Aryans. These latter lead a nomadic and pastoral life in their native home, and continued the same habits after their emigration. But a portion of these tribes whom Huag calls "the proper Iranians," becoming weary of these wanderings, after they had reached the highlands of Bactria abandoned the pastoral and wandering life of their of their ancestors, and directed their attention to agriculture. This political secession was soon followed by wars, principally of a predatory kind , waged, for the purpose of booty, by the nomadic Aryans on the agricultural settlements of the Iranians, whose rich fields were tempting objects to the spoiler.

The political estrangement was speedily and naturally followed by a religous one. It was at this time that Zoroaster appeared, and, denouncing the nature worship of the old Aryan faith, established his spiritual religion, in which, syas Bunsen, "the antagonisms of light and darkness, of sunshine and storm become transformed into antagonisms of good and evil, of powers exerting a beneficent or corrupting influence on the mind."

The doctrine of pure Zoroastrianism was monotheistic. The Supreme being was called Ahuramazda, and Huag says that Zoroaster's conception of hime was perfectly identical with the Jewish notice of Jehovah. He is called "the Creator of the earthly and spiritual life, the Lord of the whole universe at whose hands are all the creatures." He is wisdom and intellect; the light itself, and the source of light; the rewarder of the virtuous and the punisher of the wicked.

The dualistic doctrine of Ormuzd and Ahrimanes, which has falsely been attributed to Zoroaster, was in reality the development of a later corruption of the Zoroasteric teaching. But the great reformer sought to solve the puzzling questions of the origin of evil in the world, supposing that there existed in Ahuramazda two spirits, inherent in his nature, the one positive and the other negative. All that was good was real, existent; while absence of that reality was a non-existence or evil. Evil was the absence of good as darkness was the absence of light.

Zoroaster taught the idea of a future life and the immortalityof the soul. The doctrine of the resurrection is one of the principle dogmas of the Zendavesta. He also clearly inculcated the belief of a heaven and a hell. The former called the house of hymns, because the angels were supposed to sing hymns there; the latter the house of destruction, and to it were relentlessly consigned the poets and priests of the old Aryan religion.

The doctrine of sacred names, so familiar to the Hebrews, was also taught by Zoroaster. In one of thr Yashts, a portion of the Zendavesta, Ahuramazda tells Zarathustra that the utterance of the one of his sacred names, of which he enumerates twenty, is the best protection from evil. Of these names is ahmi, "I am," and another, ahmi yat ahmi, "I am who I am." The reader will be reminded here of the holy name in Exodus, Ehyeh asher Ehyeh or "I am that I am."

The doctrine of Zoroaster was not forever confined to Bactria, but passed over into other countries; nor in the transmission did it fail to suffer some corruption. From its original seat it spread into Media, and under the name of Magism, or the doctrine of the Magavas, i.e. the mighty ones, was incorporated at Babylon with the Chaldean philosophy, whence we find its traces in the Rabbinism and the Kabbalism of the Hebrews. It was carried, too, into Persia, where has been developed into modern and still existing sect of the Parsees, of whom we now find two divisions, the conservatives and liberals; the former cultivating the whole modified doctrine of Zoroaster, and the latter retaining much of the doctrine, but rejecting to a very great extent the ceremonial ritual.

An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: By Albert Mackey, M.D. 1894 (pg. 912-914)

Kabbala

The mystical philosophy or theosophy of the Jews is called the Kabbala. The word is derived from the Hebrew Kabal, signifying to receive, because it is the doctrine received from the elders. It has sometimes been used in an enlarged sense, as comprehending all the explanations, maxims, and ceremonies which have been traditionally handed down to the Jews; but in that more limited acception, in which it is intimately connected with the symbolic science of Freemasonry, the Kabala may be defined to be a system of philosophy which embraces certain mystical interpretations of Scripture, and metaphysical speculations concerning the Deity, man, and spiritual beings. In these interpretations and speculations, according to the Jewish doctors were enveloped the most profound truths of religion, which, to be comprehended by finite beings, are obliged to be revealed through the medium of symbols and allegories. Buxtorf (Lex. Talm.,) defines the Kabbala to be a secret science, which treats in a mystical and enigmatical manner of things divine, angelical, theological, celestial, and metaphysical; the subjects being enveloped in striking symbols and secret modes of teaching. Much use is made of it in the high degrees, and entire Rites have been constructed on its principles. Hence it demands a place in any general work on Masonry.

In what estimation the Kabbala is held by Jewish scholars, we may learn from the traditions which they teach, and which Dr. Ginsburg has given in his exhaustive work, (Kabbalah, p. 84,) in the following words: "The Kabbalah was first taught by God himself to a select company of angels, who formed a theosophic school in Paradise. After the fall, the angels most graciously communicated this heavenly doctrine to the disobedient child of earth, to furnish the protoplast with the means of returning to their pristine nobility and felecity. From Adam it passed over to Noah, and then to Abraham, the friend of God, who emigrated with it to Egypt, where the patriarch allowed a portion of this mysterious doctrine to ooze out. It was in this way that the Egyptians obtained some knowledge of it, and the other Eastern nations could introduce it to their philisophical systems. Moses, who was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, was initiated into it in the land of his birth, but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness, which he not only devoted to it the leisure hours of the whole forty years, but recieved lessons in it from one of the angels. By the aid of this mysterious science, the lawgiver was enabled to solve the dificulties which arose during his management of the Israelites, in spit of the pilgrimages, wars, and the frequent miseries of the nation. He covertly laid down the principles of this secret doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch but withheld them from Deutewronomy. This constitutes the former the man, and the latter the woman. Moses also initiated the seventy elders into the secrets of this doctrine, and they again transmitted them from hand to hand. Of all who formed the unbroken line of tradition, David and Solomon were first initiated into the Kabbalah. No one, however, dared to write it down till Simon ben Jochai, who lived at the time of the destruction of the second Temple. Having been condemned to death by Titus, Rabbi Simon managed to escape with his son, and concealed himself in a cavern where he remained for twelve years. Here in this subterranean abode, he occupied himself entirely with the contemplation of the sublime Kabbalah, and was constantly visited by the prophet Elias, who disclosed to him some of its secrets, which were still concealed from the theosophical Rabbi. Here, too, his disciples resorted to be initiated by their master into these divine mysteries; and here Simon be Jochai expired with this heavenly doctrine in his mouth, whilst discoursing on it to his disciples. Scarcely had his spirit departed, when a dazzling light filled the cavern, so that no one could look at the Rabbi; whilist a buring fire appeared outside, forming as it were a sentinel at the entrance of the cave, and denying admittance to the neighbors. It was not till the light outside, and the fire outside, had disappeared, the disciples percieved that the lamp of Israel was extinguished. As they were preparing for his obsequies, a voice was heard from the heaven, saying 'Come ye to the marriage of Simon b. Jochai; he is entering into peace, and shall rest in his chamber!' A flame preceded the coffin, which seemed enveloped by and buring like fire. And when the remains were deposited in the tomb, another voice was heard from heaven, saying 'This is he who caused the earth to quake and the kingdoms to shake!' His son, R. Eliezer, and his secretary, R. Abba, as well as his disciples, then collated R. Simon b. Jochai's treaties, and out of these composed the celebrated work called Sohar i.e., Splendor, which is the grand storehouse of Kabbalism."

The Kabbala is divided into two kinds, the Practical and the Theoretical. The Practical Kabbala is occupied in instructions for the construction of talismans and amulets, and has no connection with Masonic science. The Theoretical Kabbala is again divided into the Dogmatic and Literal. The Dogmatic Kabbala id the summary of the rabbinical theosophy and philosophy. The Literal Kabbala is the science which teaches a mystical mode of explaining things by a peculiar use of the letters of words, and reference to their value. Each of these divisions demands a seperate attention.

I. THE DOGMATIC KABBALA. The origin of the Kabbala has placed by some scholars at a period posterior to the advent of Christianity, but it is evident, from the traces of it which are found in the Book of Daniel, that it arose at a much earlier day. It has been supposed to be derived originally from the system of Zoroaster, but whether its inventors were the contemporaries or the successors of that philosopher and reformer it is impossible to say. The doctrine of emanation is, says King, (Gnostics, p.10,) "the soul, the essential element of the Kabbala; it is likewise the essential element of Zoroastrianism." But as we advance in the study of each we will find important differences, showing that , while the idea of the Kabbalistic theosophy was borrowed from the Zendavesta, the sacred book of the Persian sage, it was not a copy, but a development of it.

The Kabbalistic teaching of emanation is best understood by an examination of the doctrine of the Sephiroth.

The Supreme Being, say the Kabbalists, is an absolute and inscrutable unity, having nothing without him and everything within him. He is called EN SOPH, "The Infinite One." In this infinitude he cannot be comprehended by the intellect, nor described in words intellible by human minds, so as to make his existence perceptible. It was necessary therefore, that to render him comprehensible, the En Soph should make himself active and creative. But he could not become the direct creator; because, being infinite he is without will, intention, thought, desire, or action, all of which are qualities of a finite being only. The En Soph, therefore, was compelled to create the world in an indirect manner, by ten emanations from the infinite light which he was and which dwelt. These ten emanations are the ten Sephiroth, or Splendors of the Infinite One, and the way in which they were produced was thus: At first the En Soph sent first forth into space one spiritual emanation. This first Sephira contained within it the other nine, which sprang forth in the following order: At first a male or active potency, proceeded from it , and this, the second Sephira is called Chocmah or "Wisdom." This sent forth an opposite female or passive potency, named Binah or "Intelligence." These three Sephiroth constitute the first triad, and out of them proceeded the other seven. From the junction of Wisdom and Intelligence came the fourth Sephirah, called Chesed or "Mercy." This was a male potency, and from it emanated the fifth Sephira, named Giburah or "Justice." The union of Mercy and Justice produced the sixth Sephira, Tiphereth or "Beauty;" and these three constitute the second triad. From the sixth Sephira, Nitzach or "Firmness." This was amale potency, and produced the female potency named, Hod or "Splendor." From these two proceeded, Isod or "Foundation;" and these three constituted the third triad of the Sephiroth. Lastly, from the Foundation came the tenth Sephira, called Malcuth or "Kingdom," which was at the foot of all, as the Crown was at the top.

This division of the ten Sephiroth into three triads was arranged into a form called by the Kabbalists the Kabbalistic Tree, or the Tree of Life as shown in the following diagram:



In this diagram the vertical arrangement of the Sephiroth is called "Pillars." Thus the four Sephiroth in the centre are called the "Middle Pillar;" the three on the right, the "Pillar of Mercy;" and the three on the left, the "Pillar of Justice." They allude to these qualities of God, of which the benignity of the one modifies the rigor of the other, so that the Divine Justice is always tempered by the Divine Mercy. C. W. King in his Gnostics, (p.12,) refers the right hand pillar to the Pillar Jachin, and the left hand pillar to the Pillar Boaz, which stood on the porch of the Temple; and "these two pillars," he says, "figure largely amongst all the secret societies of modern times, and naturally so; for these illuminati have bowowed without understanding it, the phraseology of the Kabbalists and the Valentinians." But an inspection the arrangement of the Sephiroth will show, if he is correct in his general reference, that he has transposed the pillars. Firmness would more naturally symbolize Boaz or Strength, as Splendor would Jachin or Establishment.

Thes ten Sephiroth are collectively denominated the archetypal man, the Microcosm, as the Greek philosophers called it, and each of them refers to a particular part of the body. Thus the Crown is the head; Wisdom the brain; and Intelligence, the heart, which was deemed the seat of understanding. These three represent the intellectual; and the first triad is therefore called the Intellectual World. Mercy is the right arm, and Justice the left arm, and Beauty is the chest. These three represent moral qualities; and hence the second triad is called the Moral World. Firmness is the right leg, Splendor the left leg, and Foundation the privates. These three represent power and stability; hence the third triad is called the Material World. Lastly, Kingdom is the feet , the basis on which all stand, and represent the harmony of the whole archrtypal man.

Again, each of these Sephiroth was represented by a Divine name and by an Angelic name, which may be thus tabulated:


Sephiroth.
Crown,
Wisdom,
Intelligence,
Mercy,
Justice,
Beauty,
Firmness,
Splendor,
Foundation,
Kingdom.

Divine Names.
Eheyeh,
Jah,
Jehovah,
El,
Eloha,
Elohim,
Jehovah Sabaoth,
Elohim Saboath,
El Chai,
Adonai.

Angelic Names.
Chajoth,
Ophanim,
Arelim,
Cashmalim,
Seraphim,
Shinanim,
Tarshishim,
Beni Elohim,
Ishim,
Cherubim.

These ten Sephiroth constitute in their totality the Atzilatic world or the world of emanations, and from it proceeded three other worlds, each having also its ten Sephiroth, namely, the Briatic world or the world of creation; the Jetziratic world or the world of formation; and the Ashiatic world or the world of action: each inhabited by a different order of beings. But to enter fully upon the nature of these worlds would carry us to far into the obscure mysticism of the Kabbala.

These ten Sephiroth, represented in their order of ascent from the lowest to the highest, from the foundation to the Crown, forcibly remind us of the system of Mystical Ladders which pervaded all the ancient as well as the modern initiations; the Brahmanical Ladder of the Indian mysteries; the Ladder of Mithras, used in the Persian mysteries; the Scandavian Ladder of the Gothic mysteries, and the Masonic mysteries the Ladder of Kadosh; and lastly, the Theological Ladder of the Symbolical degrees.


II. THE LITERAL KABBALA. This division of the Kabbala, being, as has already been said, occupied in the explanation of sacred words by the value of the letters of which they are composed, has been exstensively used by the inventors of the high degrees in the symbolism of their significant words. It is divided into three species: Gematria, Notaricon, and Temura.

1. Gematria. This word, is evidently a rabbinical corruption of the Greek geometria, is defined by Buxtorf to be "a species of the Kabbala which collects the same sense of different words from their equal numerical value." The Hebrews, like other ancient nations, having no figures in their language, made use of the letters of their alphabet instead of numbers, each having a numerical value. Gematria is, therefore, a mode of contemplating words according to the numerical value of their letters.

Any two words, the letters of which have the same numerical value, are mutually convertible, and each is supposed to contain the latent signification of the other. Thus the words in Genesis xlix.10, "Shiloh shall come," and of "Messiah," both have numerical value of 358, according to the above table. By Gematria, applied to the Greek language, we find the identity of Abraxas and Mithras. The letters of each word having in the Greek alphabet the equal value of 365. This is by far the most common mode of applying the literal Kabbala.

2. Notaricon is derived from the Latin notarius, a short hand writer or writer in cipher. The Roman Notarii were accustomed to use single letters, to signify whole words with other methods of abbreviation, by marks called "notae." Hence, among the Kabbalists, notaricon is a mode of constructing one word out of the initials or finals of many, or a sentence out of the letters of a word, each letter being used as the initial of another word. Thus of the sentence in Deuteronomy xxx. 12, "Who shall go up for us to heaven?" in Hebrew the initial letters of each word are taken from "circumcision," and the finals to form "Jehovah;" hence it is concluded that Jehovah hath shown circumcision to be the way to heaven. Again: the six letters of the first word in Genesis, "in the beginning," are made use of to form the initials of six words which constitute a sentence signifying that "In the beginning God saw that Israel would accept the law."

3. Temura is a rabbinical word which signifies permutation. Hence temura is a Kabbalistic result produced by a change of permutation of the letters of a word. Sometimes the letters, are transposed to from another word, as in the modern anagram; and sometimes the letters are changed for others, according to certain fixed rules of alphabetical permutation, the 1st letter being placed for the 22d, the 2d for the 21st, the 3d for the 20th, and so on. It is this way the Babel is made out of Sheshach and hence the Kabbalists say that when Jeremiah used the word Sheshach (xxv. 26) he referred to Babel.

An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: By Albert Mackey, M.D. 1894 (pg. 389 - 392)


Amazonian ants make males redundant to become world’s first all-female species

Daily Mail

An Amazonian ant has evolved into the world’s first all-female species, scientists have discovered.

Instead of traditional intercourse, the ants reproduce by cloning; a colony’s queen ant will reproduce genetically identical daughters.

The ants became physically incapable of mating after their reproductive ‘mussel organ’ degenerated.

mycocepurus smithii

A bug’s life: The mycocepurus smithii is the first animal to reproduce without sex

Instead, the female ant species - Mycocepurus smithii - developed a fungus which enables them to reproduce asexually.

Scientists found that members of the species were clones of the colony’s queen ant after studying their DNA.

Dr Anna Himler, biologist at the University of Arizona who led the research, called the process ‘exceedingly rare’.

She said: ‘In social insects, there are a number of different types of reproduction … But this species has evolved its own unusual mode.’

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that social insects, such as ants, may be well-suited to an asexual life, as it affords the queen greater control.

Researchers noted advantages to life without sex, such as conservation of energy and increased births of reproductive females.

The team are planning further research into the species’ evolution in a bid to discover how long ago the degeneration of the mussel organ occurred.

mycocepurus smithii big

Girl power: Scientists say there may be advantages to an asexual life, such as saving energy

Laurent Keller, an expert in social insects from the University of Lausanne, said that the Amazonian ants’ evolution was particularly rare, as asexual species are usually more prone to illness due to their lack of genetic diversity.

She explained: ‘In a colony of clones, if one ant is susceptible to a parasite, they will all be susceptible. So if you’re asexual, you normally don’t last very long.

‘But in ants we’re seeing more and more reports of unusual methods of reproduction.’

Amazon

Exceedingly rare: The rare ants are native to the Amazon

The Mycocepurus ants attracted the attention of Dr Himler’s team for their ability to cultivate a greater number of crops than other ants - a task they have been performing for 80 million years.

Dr Himler said: ‘When we started to study this species more closely, we just weren’t finding any males. That’s when we started to look at them in a different way.

‘We’re quite excited about the direction this research might take us, and its implications.’

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A look into Zen philosophy (360 circle thinking)

By P.S. Wasu

Zen Stories that illustrate the foundation of Zen philosophy

A says he is not afraid. B says he is not afraid and he is also not afraid of being afraid. The first statement comes from a mind that is tight and assertive—a mind that clings to fixed viewpoints. The second statement comes from a mind that is nimble and free-flowing—a mind that does not cling to fixed viewpoints. The first type of mind is an 180º mind, represented by a half circle. The second is a 360º mind, represented by a full circle.

The 360º mind does not have any preconceived notions—not even the preconceived notion that there should not be any preconceived notions. The 360º mind is open, flexible and uncontrived. It is without blocks and always change-ready.

BREAKING FREE
A spiritual seeker felt suffocated in the world. Wanting to break free, he renounced the world (tarke duniya). As a reward, he was taken to heaven. It was nice and cozy up there but, after a while, he was tired of the good things. So he renounced the heaven (tarke ukba). As a bigger reward, he was taken to God. He liked being with God, but a time came when he had had enough of God's company. So, he renounced even God (tarke maula).

Now there was nothing more to renounce. Yet the freedom that he had been seeking was nowhere in sight. After some uncertainty, he had a flash of insight and he renounced renouncing (tarke tark). And he was back into the world from where he had sought freedom in the first place. Free from being free, he had come full circle.

WHITE BELT
When a novice starts learning martial arts, he wears a white belt, symbolic of innocence. After months of practice, the white belt gets dirty and turns brown, symbolic of the first degree of attainment. After more practice, the belt gets soiled and eventually turns black, symbolic of full attainment.

If the practitioner does not stop learning even after full attainment, the black belt starts getting frayed, turning almost white, symbolic of return to innocence. The frayed white belt represents technical competence of an experienced martial artist, combined with the innocence and receptivity of a beginner. It signifies going beyond technique and embracing no-technique—coming full circle.

PICASSO'S CHILD
Once Picasso said: "I used to draw like Raphael. But it has taken me a lifetime to draw like a child."

Picasso was a competent artist when he drew like Raphael. He became a great artist only when he awakened the child in him and started drawing without any pre-determined technique.

The same is true of every art. For example, the contribution of technique in the work of a competent musician is 100 per cent. But the contribution of technique in the work of a great musician is only 10 per cent or so—the remaining 90 per cent being contributed by the child in the musician. Only when you transcend technique, you become great in your field. You come full circle.

KABIR'S COMPLAINT
Kabir never accepted any gift from his disciples. But his son Kamal never refused anything that his disciples brought to him. This made Kabir unhappy.

One day, he reproached his son: "I do not accept any gift because gifts mean nothing to me. But it pains me to know that you grab all that your disciples bring to you."

Kamal said: "Father, if gifts mean nothing to you, why are you bothered whether I accept them or reject them?" Here, Kabir had an 180º mind, and Kamal a 360º one.

THE VIRTUOUS KING
When Boddhidharma visited China in the sixth century, he was invited to the King's court. The king was proud of his spirituality and the good deeds he had done for his people. He narrated what all he had done to promote religion and then asked Boddhidharma's opinion about the merit he earned.

Boddhidharma's reply was blunt: "No merit."

Obviously, being virtuous was not a great virtue in Boddhidharma's scheme of things. The king had an 180º mind. Boddhidharma had a 360º mind. You can't be spiritual as long as you wear the badge of spirituality. Taking off the badge is coming full circle.

NOTHING GREAT
Once there was a conference of religions to which all faiths sent their representatives. Every representative stated forcefully that his religion was great. When it was the turn of Zen's representative, he stated truthfully: "There is nothing great in Zen."

A member of the audience with a deep understanding of Zen got up and said: "Your saying that there is nothing great in Zen actually makes Zen sound as something great. So you should not have said there is nothing great in Zen."

The Zen representative had an 180º mind. The member of the audience had a 360º mind.

A GOB OF SPIT
For years, Henry Miller lived the life of a would-be writer. He was 45 when he wrote his first book Tropic of Cancer in 1934. Here is what he writes in the opening page:

"I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive. A year ago, six months ago, I thought that I was an artist. I no longer think about it, I am (author's italic). Everything that was literature has fallen from me. There are no more books to be written, thank God. "This then? This is not a book. This is libel, slander, and defamation of character. This is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants of God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty. what you will. I am going to sing for you, a little off-key perhaps, but I will sing. I will sing while you croak, I will dance over your dirty corpse."

Henry Miller could not have written such a powerful book if he had not got over his romanticized visions of becoming a writer. He could write the book he did precisely because there were "no more books to be written."

With the transition from "I thought that I was an artist" to "I am", he had come full circle. As a result, he went beyond mere writing to "singing"—not to mention the funny things he did to God and the like in the process.

THE MUMBAI SCHOOL
Do you have free will? If you believe you do, then you have an 180º mind. The alternative seems to be the view that there is no free will.

A well-meaning, emerging school of thought in Mumbai, India, has been hammering into people's minds that free will is an illusion and without God's will you can't make the slightest move. This viewpoint is also indicative of an 180º mind.

Insisting that it is all God's will is as much a concept as insisting that you have free will. When something happens, it just happens. Sometimes it seems that you made it happen. Some other times it seems that it happened by itself or God (or the totality) made it happen. How you view the happening is more a question of perspective than of fact. Which means that the so-called your will and God's will are both labels. Taking off the labels is to come full circle.

THE MIRROR EFFECT
Certain things in the world appeal to you. Certain other things don't. You have your considered opinions about different issues. You may believe there is a benign power somewhere that cares for you. You may believe it's a chaotic world without any rhyme or reason.

How you perceive the world not only tells about the world, but it is also a reflection of how your mind works. Seeing your own mind in how the world appears to you is to come full circle.

ONE THING
When you strive for enlightenment, it's an 180º vision. When enlightenment happens, it's nothing like what you believed it to be. Then enlightenment and unenlightenment don't seem to be two things.

Saying that they are two things and saying that they are one thing also don't appear to be two things. With that realization, you come full circle. The core of this piece does not lie in what has been stated but in what has not been stated. When you see that, you'll come full circle.

With that hint, it is time for this piece to come full circle as well.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Aaron

Hebrew אהרֹן, Aharon, a word of doubtful etymology, but generally supposed to signify a mountaineer. He was the brother of Moses, and the first high priest under the Mosaic dispensation, whence the priesthood established by that lawgiver is known as the "Aaronic." He is alluded to in the English lectures of the second degree, in reference to a certain sign which is said to have taken its origin from the fact that Aaron and Hur were present on the hill from which Moses surveyed the battle which Joshua was waging with the Amalekites, when these two supported the weary arms of moses in an upright posture, because upon his uplifted hands the fate of the battle depended. (See Exodus xvii. 10-12.) Aaron is also referred to in the latter section of the Royal Arch degree in connection with the memorials that were deposited in the ark of the covenant. In the degree of "Chief of the Tabernacle," which is the 23rd of the Ancient and Accepted Rite, the presiding officer represents Aaron, and is styled "Most Excellent High Priest." In the 24th degree of the same Rite, or "Prince of the Tabernacle," the second or Senior Warden also personates Aaron.

Taken From: An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: By Albert Mackey, M.D. 1894 (Pg. 1)

Aaron

From Wikipedia


The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin

In the Bible, Aaron (Hebrew: אַהֲרֹןAhāron, Arabic: هارونHārūn), or Aaron the Levite (אהרֹן הלוי), was the brother of Moses. He was the great-grandson of Levi (Exodus 6:16-20)[1] and represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Hebrews. While Moses was receiving his education at the Egyptian royal court and during his exile among the Midianites, Aaron and his sister remained with their kinsmen in the eastern border-land of Egypt (Goshen). He there gained a name for eloquent and persuasive speech; so that when the time came for the demand upon the Pharaoh to release Israel from captivity, Aaron became his brother’s "nabi", or spokesman, to his own people (Exodus 4:16)[2] and, after their unwillingness to hear, to the Pharaoh himself (Exodus 7:9).[3] He is said to have flourished about 1200 BC (traditionally 1597 BC).


Etymology

The meaning of the name "Aaron" is unclear. Possible meanings are:

  1. Pregnancy - In Hebrew - הריון. In Ancient Egyptian herr is to conceive and hrara is conception.[4]
  2. From the mountain - In Hebrew הר - 'HAR', which may refer to place of his death. [5]
  3. High mountain - In Arabic هارون - 'HAROUN' or 'HARUN'.
  4. One of light [6]


Genealogy

Abraham/Isaac/Jacob(Israel);Great-Grandfather: Levi, third of 12 sons and tribes of Israel; Grandfather: Kohath; Father: Amram; Mother: Jochebed; Sister: Miriam; Brother: Mosheh (Moses)Uncles: Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel; Sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar,Ithamar; Grandson, Phineas

Function

Aaron’s function included the duties of speaker and implied personal dealings with the Egyptian royal court on behalf of Moses, who was always the central moving figure. The part played by Aaron in the events that preceded the Exodus was, therefore, ministerial, and not directive. He, along with Moses, performed “signs” before his people which impressed them with a belief in the reality of the divine mission of the brothers (Exodus 4:15-16).

At the command of Moses he stretched out his rod in order to bring on the first three plagues (Exodus 7:19, 8:1,12). In the infliction of the remaining plagues he appears to have acted merely as the attendant of Moses, whose outstretched rod drew the divine wrath upon the Pharaoh and his subjects (Exodus 9:23, 10:13,22). The potency of Aaron’s rod had already been demonstrated by its victory over the rods of the Egyptian magicians, which it swallowed after all the rods alike had been turned into serpents (Exodus 7:9). During the journey in the wilderness, Aaron is not always prominent or active; and he sometimes appears guilty of rebellious or treasonable conduct. At the battle with Amalek, he is chosen with Hur to support the hand of Moses that held the “rod of God” (Exodus 17:9). When the revelation was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, he headed the elders of Israel who accompanied Moses on the way to the summit. Joshua, however, was admitted with his leader to the very presence of the Lord, while Aaron and Hur remained below to look after the people Exodus 24:9-14. It was during the prolonged absence of Moses that Aaron yielded to the clamors of the people, and made a Golden Calf as a visible image of the divinity who had delivered them from Egypt (Exodus 32:1-6) (it should be noted that in the account given of the same events, in the Qur'an, Aaron is not the idol-maker and upon Moses' return begged his pardon as he had felt mortally threatened by the Israelites (Quran 7:142-152)) At the intercession of Moses, Aaron was saved from the plague which smote the people (Deuteronomy 9:20, Exodus 32:35), although it was to Aaron’s tribe of Levi that the work of punitive vengeance was committed (Exodus 32:26).

Priesthood

18th-century Dutch oak statue portraying the high priest

At the time when the tribe of Levi was set apart for the priestly service, Aaron was anointed and consecrated to the priesthood, arrayed in the robes of his office, and instructed in its manifold duties (Exodus 28 KJV, Exodus 29 KJV).

On the very day of his consecration, his sons; Nada and Abidjan, were consumed by fire from the Lord for having offered incense in an unlawful manner (Leviticus 10 KJV).

Scholarly consensus is that in Aaron's High Priesthood the sacred writer intended to describe a model, the prototype, so to say, of the Jewish High Priest, "phod". God, on Mount Sinai instituting a worship, and also instituted an order of priests.

According to the patriarchal customs, the First Born son in every family used to perform the functions connected with God's worship, "phod". It might have been expected, consequently, that Rueben's family would be chosen by God for the ministry of the new altar. However, according to the biblical narrative it was Aaron who was the object of God's choice. To what jealousies this gave rise later, has been indicated above. The office of the Aaronites was at first merely to take care of the lamp that should ever burn before the veil of the tabernacle Exodus 27:21. A more formal calling soon followed (Exodus 28:1). Aaron and his sons, distinguished from the Common People by their sacred functions, were likewise to receive holy vestments suitable to their office.

Aaron offered the different sacrifices and performed the many ceremonies of the consecration of the new priests, according to the divine instructions (Exodus 29), and repeated these rites for seven days, during which Aaron and his sons were entirely separated from the rest of the people. When, on the eighth day, the High Priest had inaugurated his office of sacrifice by killing the animals, he blessed the people (very likely according to the prescriptions of Numbers 6:24-26)[7], and, with Moses, entered into the tabernacle so as to take possession thereof. As they "came forth and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the multitude: And behold a fire, coming forth from the Lord, devoured the holocaust, and the fat that was upon the altar: which when the multitude saw, they praised the Lord, falling on their faces" (Leviticus 9:23-24). So was the institution of the Aaronic priesthood inaugurated and solemnly ratified by the Lord.

Rebellion of Korah

From the time of the sojourn at Mount Sinai, where he became the anointed priest of Israel, Aaron ceased to be the minister of Moses, his place being taken by Joshua. He is mentioned in association with Miriam in a jealous complaint against the exclusive claims of Moses as the Lord’s prophet. The presumption of the murmurers was rebuked, and Miriam was smitten with tzara'as. Aaron entreated Moses to intercede for her, at the same time confessing the sin and folly that prompted the uprising. Aaron himself was not struck with the plague on account of sacerdotal immunity; and Miriam, after seven days’ quarantine, was healed and restored to favor Numbers 12, Micah (6:4) a prophet in Judaism, mentions Moses, Aaron, and Miriam as the leaders of Israel after the Exodus (a judgment wholly in accord with the tenor of the narratives). In the present instance it is made clear by the express words of the oracle (Numbers 12:6-8) that Moses was unique among men as the one with whom the Lord spoke face to face. The failure to recognize or concede this prerogative of their brother was the sin of Miriam and Aaron.

The validity of the exclusive priesthood of the family of Aaron was attested after the ill-fated rebellion of Korah, who was a first cousin of Aaron. When the earth had opened and swallowed up the leaders of the insurgents (Numbers 16:25-35). Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was commissioned to take charge of the censers of the dead priests. And when the plague had broken out among the people who had sympathized with the rebels, Aaron, at the command of Moses, took his censer and stood between the living and the dead till the plague was stayed (Numbers 17:1-15, 16:36-50).

Another memorable transaction followed. Each of the tribal princes of Israel took a rod and wrote his name upon it, and the twelve rods were laid up over night in the tent of meeting. On the morrow Aaron’s rod was found to have budded and blossomed and borne ripe almonds (Numbers 17:8). The miracle proved merely the prerogative of the tribe of Levi; but now a formal distinction was made in perpetuity between the family of Aaron and the other Levites. While all the Levites (and only Levites) were to be devoted to sacred services, the special charge of the sanctuary and the altar was committed to the Aaronites alone (Numbers 18:1-7). The scene of this enactment is unknown, nor is the time mentioned.

Death

Aaron, like Moses, was not permitted to enter Canaan with the others.[8] The reason alleged is that the two brothers showed impatience at Meribah (Kadesh) in the last year of the desert pilgrimage (Numbers 20:12-13), when they, or rather Moses, brought water out of a rock to quench the thirst of the people.[8] The action was construed as displaying a want of deference to the Lord, since they had been commanded to speak to the rock, whereas Moses struck it with the wonder-working rod (Numbers 20:7-11).[8] Of the death of Aaron we have two accounts.[8] The principal one gives a detailed statement to the effect that, soon after the above incident, Aaron, with his son Eleazar and Moses, ascended Mount Hor.[8] There Moses stripped him (Aaron) of his priestly garments, and transferred them to Eleazar.[8] Aaron died on the summit of the mountain, and the people mourned for him thirty days (Numbers 20:22-29; compare 33:38-39).[8] The other account is found in Deut. x. 6, where Moses is reported as saying that Aaron died at Mosera and was buried there.[8] Mosera is not on Mount Hor, since the itinerary in Numbers 33:31-37 records seven stages between Moseroth (Mosera) and Mount Hor.[8]

Typical signification in rabbinical literature

The older prophets and prophetical writers beheld in their priests the representatives of a religious form inferior to the prophetic truth; men without the spirit of God and lacking the will-power requisite to resist the multitude in its idolatrous proclivities.[9] Thus Aaron, the first priest, ranks below Moses: he is his mouthpiece, and the executor of the will of God revealed through Moses, although it is pointed out[10] that it is said fifteen times in the Pentateuch that “the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron.” Under the influence of the priesthood which shaped the destinies of the nation under Persian rule, a different ideal of the priest was formed, as is learned from Malachi 2:4-7; and the prevailing tendency was to place Aaron on a footing equal with Moses.[9] “At times Aaron, and at other times Moses, is mentioned first in Scripture—this is to show that they were of equal rank,” says Mekilta בא, 1;[9] expressly infers this when introducing in his record of renowned men the glowing description of Aaron’s ministration.[9]

Death of Aaron in rabbinic literature

In fulfilment of the promise of peaceful life, symbolized by the pouring of oil upon his head (Leviticus Rabbah x., Midrash Teh. cxxxiii. 1), Aaron's death, as described in the Haggadah, was of a wonderful tranquillity.[11] Accompanied by Moses, his brother, and by Eleazar, his son, Aaron went to the summit of Mount Hor, where the rock suddenly opened before him and a beautiful cave lit by a lamp presented itself to his view.[11] "Take off thy priestly raiment and place it upon thy son Eleazar!" said Moses; "and then follow me."[11] Aaron did as commanded; and they entered the cave, where was prepared a bed around which angels stood.[11] "Go lie down upon thy bed, my brother," Moses continued; and Aaron obeyed without a murmur.[11] Then his soul departed as if by a kiss from God.[11] The cave closed behind Moses as he left; and he went down the hill with Eleazar, with garments rent, and crying: "Alas, Aaron, my brother! thou, the pillar of supplication of Israel!"[11] When the Israelites cried in bewilderment, "Where is Aaron?" angels were seen carrying Aaron's bier through the air.[11] A voice was then heard saying: "The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips: he walked with me in righteousness, and brought many back from sin" (Malachi 2:6).[11] He died, according to Seder Olam Rabbah ix., R. H. 2, 3a, on the first of Ab."[11] The pillar of cloud which proceeded in front of Israel's camp disappeared at Aaron's death (see Seder 'Olam, ix. and R. H. 2b-3a).[11] The seeming contradiction between Numbers 20:22 et seq. and Deutronomy 10:6 is solved by the rabbis in the following manner: Aaron's death on Mount Hor was marked by the defeat of the people in a war with the king of Arad, in consequence of which the Israelites fled, marching seven stations backward to Mosera, where they performed the rites of mourning for Aaron; wherefore it is said: "There [at Mosera] died Aaron."[11] [11][12]

The rabbis also dwell with special laudation on the brotherly sentiment which united Aaron and Moses.[11] When the latter was appointed ruler and Aaron high priest, neither betrayed any jealousy; instead they rejoiced in one another's greatness.[11] When Moses at first declined to go to Pharaoh, saying: "O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send" (Exodus 4:13), he was unwilling to deprive Aaron, his brother, of the high position the latter had held for so many years; but the Lord reassured him, saying: "Behold, when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart" (Exodus 4:14).[11] Indeed, Aaron was to find his reward, says Simon bar Yochai; for that heart which had leaped with joy over his younger brother's rise to glory greater than his was decorated with the Urim and Thummim, which were to "be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before the Lord" (Canticles Rabbah i. 10).[11] Moses and Aaron met in gladness of heart, kissing each other as true brothers (Exodus 4:27; compare Song of Songs 8:1), and of them it is written: "Behold how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psalms 133:1).[11] Of them it is said: "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed [each other]" (Psalms 85:10); for Moses stood for righteousness, according to Deuteronomy 33:21, and Aaron for peace, according to Malachi 2:6. Again, mercy was personified in Aaron, according to Deuteronomy xxxiii. 8, and truth in Moses, according to Numbers xii. 7 [13].[11]

When Moses poured the oil of anointment upon the head of Aaron, Aaron modestly shrank back and said: "Who knows whether I have not cast some blemish upon this sacred oil so as to forfeit this high office."[11] Then the Shekhinah spake the words: "Behold the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard of Aaron, that even went down to the skirts of his garment, is as pure as the dew of Hermon" (Psalm 133:2-3) [14].[11]

Moses and Aaron compared in rabbinic literature

According to Tanhuma,[15] Aaron’s activity as a prophet began earlier than that of Moses.[16] Hillel held Aaron up as an example, saying: “Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace; love your fellow creatures and draw them nigh unto the Law!”[16][17] This is further illustrated by the tradition preserved in Abot de-Rabbi Natan 12, Sanhedrin 6b, and elsewhere, according to which Aaron was an ideal priest of the people, far more beloved for his kindly ways than was Moses.[16] While Moses was stern and uncompromising, brooking no wrong, Aaron went about as peacemaker, reconciling man and wife when he saw them estranged, or a man with his neighbor when they quarreled, and winning evil-doers back into the right way by his friendly intercourse.[16] The mourning of the people at Aaron’s death was greater, therefore, than at that of Moses; for whereas, when Aaron died the whole house of Israel wept, including the women. Numbers 20:29[16][18] Moses was bewailed by “the sons of Israel” only (Deuteronomy 34:8).[16] Even in the making of the Golden Calf the rabbis find extenuating circumstances for Aaron.[16][19] His fortitude and silent submission to the will of God on the loss of his two sons are referred to as an excellent example to men how to glorify God in the midst of great affliction.[16][20] Especially significant are the words represented as being spoken by God after the princes of the Twelve Tribes had brought their dedication offerings into the newly reared Tabernacle: “Say to thy brother Aaron: Greater than the gifts of the princes is thy gift; for thou art called upon to kindle the light, and, while the sacrifices shall last only as long as the Temple lasts, thy light shall last forever.”[16][21]

Genetics

Recently, the tradition that Kohanim are actually descended from a single patriarch, Aaron, was found to be apparently consistent with genetic testing.[22] The majority of Kohanim, but not all, share a direct male lineage with a common Y chromosome, testing was done across sectors of the Jewish population to see if there was any commonality between the Y chromosomes of Kohanim. The results were found to cluster rather closely around a specific DNA signature, found in the Semitic Haplogroup J1, which the researchers named the Cohen modal haplotype, implying that many of the Kohanim do share a distinctive common ancestry. This information was also used to support the claim that the Lemba (a sub-Saharan tribe) are in fact descendant from a group of Jewish Priests.

The Cohen Modal Haplotype or CMH is found in haplogroup J1, which geneticists estimate originated in the Southern Levant (modern day Israel, Jordan; biblical Canaan) or North Africa (Egypt) approximately 10,000 - 15,000 years ago.[23] Biblical tradition holds that Abraham and his ancestors, the Semitic tribes, originated from Southern Arabia or East Africa (Genesis 10); Aaron and Moses were 7th generation descendants from Abraham (Exodus 6). An estimated 20% of the modern Jewish community fall into haplogroup J1. The traditional date for Abraham is circa 2200-2000 BCE. Behar, et al., found Cohenim in a variety of haplogroups (E3b, G2, H, I1b, J, K2, Q, R1a1, R1b), which included those which originated in the Levant (J1, J2) and those from Southern Arabia, East Africa, or another geographic region.[24]

Descendants

The sons of Aaron were Eleazar, Ithamar, Nadab and Abihu[25]. A descendant of Aaron is an Aaronite, or Kohen, meaning Priest[26][27]. A Levite is a non-Aaronic descendant of Levi[28] assigned to assist the Levitical priests of the family of Aaron in the care of the tabernacle and later of the temple.[29]

Aaron in Christianity

Russian icon of Aaron (18th century, Iconostasis of Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia).

Aaron is considered a type of Christ, the high priest of the new dispensation. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Maronite Church he is venerated as a saint, with a feast day celebrated on September 4, together with Moses (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, September 4 falls on September 17 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). He is also commemorated, together with other righteous saints from the Old Testament on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (the Sunday before Christmas).

He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30. He is commemorated on July 1 in the modern Latin calendar and in the Syriac Calendar.

Aaron in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS)

In the LDS church, the Aaronic order is the lesser order of priesthood, comprising the grades (from lowest to highest) of deacon, teacher and priest. The chief office of the Aaronic priesthood is the presiding bishopric; the head of the priesthood is the bishop. Each ward has one or more quorums of each office of the Aaronic priesthood.[30]

Aaron in Islam

Aaron is believed to be a Prophet in Islam and is known as Harun, which is the Arabic name for Aaron. His role also found an analogue in the person of Ali, to whom Muhammad said: Will you not be pleased that you will be to me like Aaron was to Moses? [31]

A significant difference in the Quran is the fact that Aaron was not involved with the creation of the Golden Calf and made efforts to dissuade the Israelites from worshiping it. [32]

  1. ^ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%206:16-20;&version=31;9;15;
  2. ^ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%204:16;&version=31;9;15;
  3. ^ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%207:9;&version=31;9;15;
  4. ^ Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary , Vol. 1, Budge, E. A., Dover publications, New York, P.450.
  5. ^ Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, Gesenius'
  6. ^ Scofield Reference Bible, Proper Names
  7. ^ http://www.claudemariottini.com/blog/2006/03/priestly-benediction-numbers-624-26.html
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Jewish Encyclopedia
  9. ^ a b c d JewishEncyclopedia.com - AARON
  10. ^ Sifra, Wa-yiḳra, 1
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u JewishEncyclopedia.com - AARON
  12. ^ See Mek., Beshallaḥ, Wayassa', i.; Tan., Huḳḳat, 18; Yer. Soṭah, i. 17c, and Targum Yer. Num. and Deut. on the abovementioned passages.
  13. ^ (Tan., Shemot, ed. Buber, 24-26)
  14. ^ (Sifra, Shemini, Milluim; Tan., Korah, ed. Buber, 14)
  15. ^ ed. Buber, 2:12
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i JewishEncyclopedia.com - AARON
  17. ^ Abot, 1:12
  18. ^ Numbers 20:29
  19. ^ Sanhedrin 7a
  20. ^ Zebahim 115b
  21. ^ Tanhuma, ed. Buber, בהעלותך, 6
  22. ^ Skorecki et al., 1997.
  23. ^ https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html; Semino, et al, “Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area.” Am J Hum Genet. 2004 May; 74(5).
  24. ^ Behar, DM; Thomas MG, Skorecki K, Hammer MF, Bulygina E, Rosengarten D, Jones AL, Held K, Moses V, Goldstein D, Bradman N, Weale ME (2003). "Multiple Origins of Ashkenazi Levites: Y Chromosome Evidence for Both Near Eastern and European Ancestries". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 73: 768–779.
  25. ^ 1 Chronicles 24:1 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
  26. ^ [1]
  27. ^ [2]
  28. ^ http://www.bgct.org/TexasBaptists/Document.Doc?&id=1832
  29. ^ [[According to Samaritan sources a civil War broke out between the Sons of Itamar {Eli (Bible)} and the Sons of Phineas-which resulted in the division of those who followed Eli and those who followed High Priest Uzzi ben Bukki at Mount Gerizim Bethel {A third group followed neither}. Ironically likewise according to Samaritan sources the high Priests line of the sons of Phineas died out in 1624 C.E. with the death of the 112th High Priest Shlomyah ben Pinhas when the priesthood was transferred to the sons of Itamar; see article Samaritan for list of High Priests from from 1613 to 2004-the 131st High priest of the Samaritans is Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq} See article Samaritan]]
  30. ^ LDS.org - Aaronic Priesthood Table of Contents - Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders, Part A. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  31. ^ Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 57, Number 56
  32. ^ Quran Chp.20 vr.89

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