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> THE TWELVE AGES THE TWELVE
AGES OF A CYCLE It is surprisingly to see
that the measure for the divine Time in the Qur'an is "a day whereof
the measure is fifty thousand years" (70.4) which equates two cycles
of 25,000 years each, which means a deviation of only 0.8% from the
precession of the equinoxes computed by the contemporary astronomers! One cycle corresponds to
the diurnal period when the Divinity is manifested in the Creation'
and the other cycle covers the nocturnal period when Brahman remains
unmanifested (deus otiosus). According to the ancient Persian belief,
Zurvan akarana (Eternity) precedes and follows the 12,000 years of "limited
time" [1]. In their turn' the Laws of Manu [2] and the Mahabharata
[3] indicate for a mahayuga a duration of 12,000 years (the sum total
of the four yugas: 4800+3600+2400+1200 years). By adding an equal period
of unmanifestation (Zurvan akarana) one gets 24,000 years. As it was
shown above, at the end of the cycle, a Virgin (representing Purity,
Nirmala, Sanskr.) will enter the waters of a mystic lake. The Light
of Glory (manifestation of the Kundalini) will be immanent in her body.
She will bring up "one who will master all the evil deeds of demons
and men" [4]. Considering the situation
from this perspective, to each age (named after the respective constellation)
it will correspond the manifestation of a different aeon, the revelation
of a new divine attribute at the same time with the incarnation of a
new Avatar. A Midrash written in the 3rd century AD admitted that the
history of this world is divided in periods of 2000 years, and the last
one will be that of Messiah's. The previous periods were supposed to
be the time of the Law, and a void period (without the Law). According
to this calculation, Jesus lived precisely at the end of the 4th millennium
(computed from the origin of the biblical years)' after which ensued
the 2000 years of the Messiah [5]. In his book on the Primitive Christian
Symbols, Cardinal Jean Dani*lou dedicated an entire chapter to "the
twelve Apostles and the Zodiac" [6], where he quotes Hippolytus.
In our opinion, that might throw a new light upon the connection of
the zodiacal signs and the divine aspects governing each of them. Eliade
held that the Buddhism and the Jainism compare the cyclic time to a
wheel with twelve spokes [7]' image used as early as the Vedic texts
[8]. We think that the twelve sectors composing the wheel of the time
depicted the revolution during the precession along the celestial circle
divided into twelve zodiacal houses, signs or constellations corresponding
to the twelve ages constituting the complete temporal cycle. According
to the Romans, the cycle duration was connected to number twelve revealed
through the twelve eagles seen by Romulus [9]. During the time of Muhammad, according to Arabic tradition ghosts were allowed to ascend to the signs of the zodiac, could listen to the secrets of the heavens and afterwards they could impart them to the mortals. From Muhammad onwards, ghosts were driven away by blazing fire as soon as they attempted to go near the zodiac; the Qu'ran students regarded them to be simple meteorites or falling stars. The Qur'anic text refers to "every accursed Satan... pursued by a manifest flame" (15.18)' and a hadith speaks of Abu Qatada who mentioned Allah's statement ("We adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and made things to stone Satans"; 67.5) and said: "the creation of these stars is for three purposes, i.e. as decoration of the (lower) heaven, as missiles to hit the devils, and as signs to guide travellers" [10]. Nevertheless, we think that the "stars" or the blazing fires were rather the luminous manifestation of the divine power intended to destroy negative tendencies. Albertus Magnus' Thomas Aquinas'
Roger Bacon' Dante Alighieri [11] and many others thought that the celestial
bodies influence the cosmic cycles. Now, let us make a short
survey. According to the ratio of cosmic ages duration (4:3:2:1)' a
whole cycle turning round the twelve zodiacal houses would require 4'8-3'6-2'4-1'2
eras for Krita-Treta-Dvapara-Kali Yuga' respectively. As expected, the
remotest periods of mankind existence left only vague and incomplete
echoes. Hence, the far away ages of Capricornus (Goat)' Sagittarius
(Archer) and Scorpio (Scorpion) left no traces in our memory but we
can suppose that they corresponded to the golden age' the Krita Yoga'
together with the age of Libra (Balance) and that of Virgo (Virgin)
amounting at about 4.8 eras. The age of Leo (Lion) or royal fight against
the evil together with that of Cancer (Crab, a well-known retrograde
creature) and of Gemini (Twins) continuing the battle against the demons,
were accompanied by the steady decay of the Dharma that started in the
Treta Yuga. The age of Taurus (Bull) and of Aries (Ram) composed the
Dvapara Yuga' while the age of Pisces (Fishes) corresponds to the Kali
Yuga. At the end of the cycle, the Aquarian (Water-Bearer) age witnesses
the opening of the Satya Yuga. Now we would analyse the nearest ages, named after the corresponding constellations in their sequence (backwards in comparison with the apparent movement of the Sun). We shall continue in our next issue. The Age of Libra (c.14000
- c.12000 BC) named after the constellation sending to the perfect balance'
the paradisiacal state, seems to have been included into the Golden
Age of mankind-like the three preceding ages and the one that follows.
The Age of Virgo (c.12000 - c.10000 BC) is connected to the Great Goddess
(Maha Devi' Sanskr.) whose names The Age of Leo (c.10000 -
c.8000 BC) which belongs to the prehistory' too, sends to the manifestation
of the Great Goddess under the shape of Durga' who is riding a lion
(Sinha-rathi' Sanskr) in close relationship with the name of the age.
Many goddesses had the lion (royal beast conferring the goddess the
status of sovereignty) or other related felines as their vehicles. The Age of Cancer (c.8000
- c.6000 BC). About this age there are not enough records to allow us
the identification of the equivalent divine manifestation. However,
because of the regressive character of the crab we can infer that humanity
was faced to the spiritual decline that will prepare the future rising
of the patriarchal power. Indeed, the peaceful matriarchal tribal societies
suffered afterwards a mutation into human communities dominated by aggressors,
warriors (kshatriyas' Sanskr.). The most famous kshatryia was Parashurama
who prepared the coming of the next Avatar, Rama. The Age of Gemini (c.6000
- c.4000 BC) corresponded to the flourishing period of early Hinduism.
It was under this sign that Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu
was manifested by the birth of two pairs of brothersregarded as twin
souls: Rama and Lakshmana on the one hand, Satrughna and Bharata on
the other. Rama himself had twin sons: Lav and Kush (in harmony with
the name of the constellation where the Sun was at that epoch). Lav
went to Russia (ego of the world), and from him we get the name of Slav.
The other son, Kush went to China (superego of the world), hence we
get the name Kushan attributed in ancient times to the inhabitants of
that great empire. These two divine principles were also incarnated
as the Buddha Gautama and Mahavira, then as Shankaracharya and Gnyaneshwara.
In other aeon, they were al-Hasan and al-Husayn, the sons of Fatima
and Hazrat 'Ali, the latter being the manifestation of Brahmadeva, the
Principle of action ruling the right channel (channel of action). In
fact, 'Ali was regarded as "the Prophet's right arm". During
the period of the Vedas people used to worship the twin gods Nasatyas
or Ashwins (horsemen; from ashwa' horse' Sanskr.) echoed afterwards
in Roman mythology through Castor and Pollux (dioskoœros' Zeus'
sons; from koœros' son' Gr.) riding winged horses. The Mazdaean
tradition had the couple of goddesses with assonant names, Hauravat
and Amaratat. According to the tradition,
Rama incarnated during the Treta Yuga and lived 8000 years ago. Then,
the fourth chakra (Adi Anahatha) was opened in the Virata. Anahatha is an important
centre of the human being The central aspect is the seat of courage,
fearlessness, confidence in God, in the own Self, in the others and
in the future; it is the subtle aspect that is mobilised for fighting
the aggressions. It secures the victory of the individual against all
kinds of attacks as, for instance, the generating of antibodies to fight
the pathogenic agents (we have written about the relationship of this
chakra to the thymus; ch. II). This explains the relationship of the
central aspect with the goddess Durga' the destroyer of the enemies. The right aspect manifests
the qualities of Rama who was the perfect son, brother, husband, father
and monarch, in complete observance of the existing rules (maryadas'
Sanskr.). On the left side, on the
level of the anatomic heart there is the seat of the Self (Atman' Sanskr.)'
thereflection of the divine Father (Shiva) as written in the Bhagavad-Gita:
"The Lord abides in the hearts of all beings". "He is
seated in the hearts of all" [15]. Then, the Supreme Being says:
"Abandoning all duties, come to Me alone for shelter" [16]'
thus rejecting all the cults known as religions (since they are external)'
while the true and unique religion is the inner one because only it
enables the integration with the Divine in Its inner manifestation. The Upanishads said: "In
the heart resides the Atman, the Self. It is in the centre of a hundred
and one little channels... In these moves... the breath" [17].
The Zohar reads: "The Faithful Shepherd says: "... God leaves
His throne... which is the Brain and sits on the throne of compassion
that is the Heart, without which the world could not subsist""
[18]. And indeed, the correspondent of the Anahatha chakra on the head
is the center of the opening of Brahman (Brahmarandhra' Sanskr.). Besides,
all the chakras have their specific projections on the head, this fact
being well illustrated in the case of Samson through the seven locks
of hair containing the power (shakti' Sanskr.) that was granted to him
when the Spirit of God descended upon him (Judges 14:6'19; 16:17,19).
On the subtle field the Anahatha controls the heart and lungs. This
is confirmed by the Chinese, which believe that the heart organ follows
the orders given by the central heart, while the lung is though to exist
only as a result of central heart commandment [19]. However, scarlet
is the colour of the Anahatha chakra similar to the blood colour. The
graphic sign for Atman is a flame located in the heart. A biographer
of the prominent Chinese alchemist Lii Ten (8th century AD) wrote: "the
heart fire is red as the cinnabar" [20]. Or' the cinnabar (mercury
sulphide) is scarlet and through the fire it releases mercury which
in alchemy is characteristic for the left channel. We Consequently, in the spiritual
doctrine of the old Church the heart is the dwelling of the "soul".
This subtle center is the seat of love (in its purest form, i.e. divine
love), fact that, otherwise, is generally acknowledged. The epistles read about homo
interior (Lat.)' "the inward man" (Romans 7:22)' about "inwardly...
of the heart, in spirit" (2:29) and "the hidden man of the
heart ' in the incorruptible of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the
sight of God is of great price" (1 Peter 3:4). The end of the sentence
points very clearly towards the pure relation between Atman and the
meek, maternal, and most pure Kundalini, the Holy Spirit. All the biblicists
agreed upon the fact that the mentioned epistle was never written by
Peter. With Isaiah' the Self is "the hidden God". The New
Testament also read: "The God... does not dwell in temples made
with hands" (Acts 17:24; cf. 7:48; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 2:6;
6:18; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:22). This God who does not dwell
in buildings intended for cults is the reflection of Godhead in man,
of the Self (Atman) to whom the Greeks erected altars bearing the inscription
quoted in the verse (Acts 17:23) preceding the above one: "To the
Unknown God" (Agn—stos Theoœs' Gr.). Once more we are
guided towards the deep significance of the ancient Greek urge expressed
through the slogan: gn—thi seaut—n' Man, know thy Self-discover
in you the Self, the God unknown to you! He will remain unknown as long
as we would look for Him outside us. Furthermore, other exegetes believe
that the inscription in the temple conveyed by Peter was, actually,
Agn—stai Theai' that is "to the Unknown Goddess" [21]'
which reveals the urge to discover within us the manifestation of the
Divine Mother as the Kundalini. Afterwards, Origen maintained
that the Christian ideal is "to become an inner unified man"
[22]. However, the true union can be attained only through the Self
Realisation. Bonaventure
(1217-1274) believed that we would find God's image reflected "in
our own inner world" [23]. When the Christian goes down into the
depths of his own Self, he would be "transported in ecstasy above
the intellect" [24]. The human spiritual condition
will not evolve to its climax (Self Realisation) unless man's participation
as the Qur'an stressed it: "God changes not what is in a people,
until they change what is in themselves" (13.12), i.e. realise
their inner Selves. Also in Islam there is the saying: "Whoso knoweth
himself knoweth his Lord" [25]. The quest for the inner Self is
compared with the circumambulation of Ka'ba seen as the Supreme Reality:
"Circumambulating around Allah, you will soon forget yourself...
You have been transformed into a particle that is gradually melting
and disappearing. This is absolute love and its peak" [26]. The
Aquarian Gospel read: "God's meeting place with man is in the heart...
And the people said: "Teach us to know the Holy One who speaks
within the heart" [27]. The Buddhist texts gathered
by Notovitch under the title: The Life of Saint Issa (Jesus) showed
that "Issa furthermore taught the pagans that they should not endeavour
to see the eternal Spirit with their eyes, but to perceive Him with
their hearts" [28]. The quotation appears again in the Tibetan
manuscript seen by Roerich, in the variant: "Issa taught that men
should not strive to behold the Eternal Spirit with one's own eyes but
to feel it with the heart, and to become a pure and worthy soul"
[29]. The Gospel of Truth wrote:
"in you dwells the light that does not fail" [30]. And the
Gnostic teacher Monoimus stated in his letter to Theophrastus: "Omitting
to seek after God... seek for Him from (out of) thyself, and learn who
it is that absolutely appropriates (unto Himself) all things in thee...
And learn from whence are sorrow, and joy, and love, and hatred... ;
and if you accurately investigate these (points), you will discover
(God) Himself, unity and plurality, in thyself" [31]. "Enter
into yourself, and find there God, the angels, and the Kingdom",
said the masters of the spiritual life". And Anthony the Great
(d. 356) urged: "Know thyself", for "no one can know
God unless he knows himself first". After centuries, Seraphim of
Sarov called the heart: "the altar of God", the place of His
presence [32]. Jerome pointed out that "Plato
located the soul in the head; Christ located it in the heart" [33].
In spite of this statement, when narrating in his Timaeus how man was
created by the gods, the Greek philosopher really wrote: "That
part of the inferior soul which is endowed with courage and passion
and loves contention they settled near the head, midway between the
midriff and the neck" [34]. Or' between the midriff and the neck
there is the heart' and the courage and the passion and love for combat
against enemies define precisely the Anahatha chakra as it was shown
above. An ancient Christian manuscripts
found in Turfan read: "If a man wants to see the manifestation
of the one God, he has only to be pure in heart, for then he can see
God. You should consider well what is taught in these words" [35].
Indeed, this supreme goal aiming at uniting human being with its Creator
is achieved through Self Realisation (Yoga) that is the knowledge of
the Self' or-since this is located in the heart - through the knowledge
of the heart (gn—sis kard’as, Gr.): "wisdom of the understanding
heart". And a Gnostic text even wrote: "You are the children
of the understanding heart" [36]. The German Pietist, Count
Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760) believed that "faith
was not in thoughts nor in the head, but in the heart, a light illuminated
in the heart" [37]. Schuon explained: "in the teaching of
every... initiatory tradition, the organ of the spirit, or the main
center of the spiritual life, is the heart" [38]. Also Lossky wrote that "For
the ascetic tradition of the Christian East, the heart (kard’a,
Gr.) is the centre of the human being... the point from which the whole
of the spiritual life proceeds, and upon which it converges" [39].
The author regarded the spirit (nous, Gr.) as "the highest part
of human creature". "The most personal part of man, the principle
of his conscience and of his freedom, the spirit in human nature corresponds
most nearly to the person... This is why the Greek Fathers are often
ready to identify the nous with the image of God in man" [40].
Jung mentioned the Middle Ages concept about "the secrets of the
heart, which are wholly hidden from all men's understanding" [41].
Johann Daniel Mylius believed that philosopher's stone (i. e. the Self)
is located in punctum cordis (heart centre' Lat.) [42]. A hadith qudsi
(direct revelation' in which God Himself talks through the Prophet)
acknowledges God's presence in the heart: "Heaven and earth cannot
contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant containeth Me"
[43]. The Prophet said: "Protect God in According to the Iranian
Sufi Alaud-dawleh Semnani "the subtle organ of the heart (latifa
qalbiya, Arab.) contains the embryo of a mystical progeny which is in
this latifa like a pearl in a conch; this pearl, or this progeny, is
none other than the subtle organ which will be the real Self (latifa
ana'iya, Arab.), i.e. the true personality". A few lines later,
in the description of the "seventh subtle organ (latifa haqqiya,
Arab.), which is the eternal "seal" of the person, the Real
Self, the one that houses the "rare pearl", it is again stated
that the embryo of this Real Self started taking shape in the subtle
centre of the heart" [48]. The Sikh scripture read:
"There is beautiful place within the cave of the heart" (Is
gufaa mahi ik thaan suhaaiaa) [49]. "My beloved lives in the cave
of my heart" (Pritam basat rid mahi khor) [50]. "Like the
fragrance which remains in the flower, and like the reflection in the
mirror, the Lord dwells deep within; search for Him within your own
heart" (Puhap madh jiyu baas hai mukar mahi jaise shaayee) [51].
"The Lord is in the soul, and the soul is in the Lord. This is
realised through the Guru's Teachings" (Aatam mahi Ram ram mahi
aatam cheenas Gur beechaaraa) [52]. "Through Self Realisation,
one dwells within the home of his inner being (heart); egotism and desire
depart" (Aap pachhaanai ghar vasai haumai trisnaa jaai) [53]. Guru
Nanak also wrote: "A pure heart is the golden vesselto fill the
Divine Nectar which is to be sucked from the Dasham Dwar through the
two channels Ida and Pingala" [54]. Meister Eckhart (c.1260-1328)
wrote: "there is a Something in the soul in which God dwells"
[55]. Besides, he thought that this site - centre of the being (light
of the spirit)' uncreated and uncreatable (increatus et increabilis,
Lat.) [56] - is the place where man can realise union with God: "When
the soul receives a kiss of the Godhead, it attains to its greatest
perfection and its greatest bliss" [57]. The concept is ancient' since
an Egyptian text from the time of the New Empire says that "man's
heart is his God" [58]. However, the most precious sources are,
of course the Indian ones, whom often we resort to. For the time being we would
notice a possible connection between Atman (Self' Sanskr.) and the Egyptian
god Ammon' having also a close spelling. "The "dogmas"
of the Theban theocracy, after the great triad had been set in the respective
center... said: "Three are all the gods: Ammon' Ra and Ptah' that
are matchless. (Their) name (that is the soul) is hidden as it is Ammon"
[59]. The quoted text reminds Erman' who wrote: "Hidden is his
name as Ammon' Ra belongs to him as face (?) and Ptah is his body"
[60]. Amun actually means the Hidden One (amun' to hide' Egypt.) [61].
Leaving aside the god associated to the material body' we notice that
the Theban theologians merged the other trinity members into the supreme
divinity Ammon-Ra. Likewise it is worth noticing the identity Ammon-Amen
(either alone or in compound names as that of Pharaoh Amenemhet meaning
"Ammon was in the beginning") [62]. Ammon's paredre' Amaunet
was depicted as the goddess of the wind, the sweet breeze (even the
god himself) [63]. Last but not least, in Iran people believed that
Vohu Manah lived in man's heart [64]. It was already explained
(ch. II) that the Anahatha chakra is located on the thymus level. Or
thymus is etymologically related with thym—s (spirit' Gr.). References: [1] Mircea Eliade' The Myth of the Eternal Return, (transl. by Willard R. Trask), Bollingen Series XLVI, Princeton University Press' Princeton 1991' p.125. [2] The Laws of Manu 1.71 (transl. by G. Buhler), in The Sacred Books of the East, vol.25, book 1, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1886. [3] The Mahabharata 3.12.826. [4] Henry Corbin, Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth, From Mazdean Iran to Shiite Iran (transl. by Nancy Pearson), Princeton University Press, Princeton 1977, p.49. [5] Tanna debe Eliyahu, ch. II. [6] Jean Dani*lou, Les Symboles chr*tiens primitif, Seuil, Paris 1961, ch. VIII: Les douze ap™tres et le zodiaque. [7] Eliade' The Myth... ' p.115. [8] The Rig-Veda 1.164.115 passim; The Atharva-Veda 10.8.4. [9] Jean Hubaux' Les grands mythes de Rome'
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