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# Tao: The Great Mother
"In religious Taoism the interior of the body is inhabited by the same gods as those of the macrocosm. An adept often searches for his divine teacher in all the holy mountains of China until he finally discovers him in one of the “palaces” inside his head... The affinities of Taoism with other Asian religions are numerous. If one distinguishes between universal religions of salvation, such as Buddhism and Islam, and the older, more culture-bound, such as Japanese Shinto and Hinduism, Taoism undoubtedly belongs to the second category." Encyclopaedia Britannica
Tao Te Ching (the Classic of the Way and its Power), according to tradition written by Lao-Tzu.
Key concepts: the Tao, introduced in the Tao Te Ching is as follows:
"The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be defined is not the unchanging name...There is a thing inherent and natural, which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, it stands alone and never changes; it pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted; it may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it supreme... Man follows the laws of earth; earth follows the laws of heaven; heaven follows the laws of the Tao; and Tao follows the laws of its intrinsic nature."
What is this Tao? The concept transcends the powers of reason and must be grasped intuitively, it is beyond words, beyond all differences and distinction, it is the unchanging, permanent reality of constant change, it is the ground of being and nonbeing, it is akin to the Hindu concept of the Brahman.
Tao: The Great Mother
The Tao literally means a Path. It has been severally translated as the Way, the Absolute, the Law, Nature, Supreme Reason, the Mode. These renderings are not incorrect, for the use of the term by the Taoists differs according to the subject-matter of the inquiry. Laotse himself spoke of it thus: "There is a thing which is all- containing, which was born before the existence of Heaven and Earth. How silent! How solitary! It stands alone and changes not. It revolves without danger to itself and is the mother of the universe. I do not know its name and so call it the Path. With reluctance I call it the Infinite. Infinity is the Fleeting, the Fleeting is the Vanishing, the Vanishing is the Reverting." The Tao is in the Passage rather than the Path. It is the spirit of Cosmic Change, – the eternal growth which returns upon itself to produce new forms. It recoils upon itself like the dragon, the beloved symbol of the Taoists. It folds and unfolds as do the
clouds. The Tao might be spoken of as the Great Transition. Subjectively it is the Mood of the Universe. Its Absolute is the Relative. (Taoism and Zennism)
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
Tao Teh Ching 1
When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.
Tao Teh Ching 2
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.
The Master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.
Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place.
Tao Teh Ching 3
The Tao is like a well:
used but never used up.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.
It is hidden but always present.
I don't know who gave birth to it.
It is older than God.
Tao Teh Ching 4
The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.
The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to the center.
Tao Teh Ching 5
The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.
It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.
Tao Teh Ching 6
The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings.
The Master stays behind;
that is why she is ahead.
She is detached from all things;
that is why she is one with them.
Because she has let go of herself,
she is perfectly fulfilled.
Tao Teh Ching 7
Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!
Other people are excited,
as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.
Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.
Other people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Other people are sharper;
I alone am dull.
Other people have a purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.
I am different from ordinary people.
I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.
Tao Teh Ching 20
The Master keeps her mind
always at one with the Tao;
that is what gives her her radiance.
The Tao is ungraspable.
How can her mind be at one with it?
Because she doesn't cling to ideas.
The Tao is dark and unfathomable.
How can it make her radiant?
Because she lets it.
Since before time and space were,
the Tao is.
It is beyond is and is not.
How do I know this is true?
I look inside myself and see.
Tao Teh Ching 21
There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty. Solitary.
Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the Mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao.
It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.
The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great.
Man is great.
These are the four great powers.
Man follows the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao.
The Tao follows only itself.
Tao Teh Ching 25
The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.
Thus the Master travels all day
without leaving home.
However splendid the views,
she stays serenely in herself.
Why should the lord of the country
flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.
Tao Teh Ching 26
Every being in the universe
is an expression of the Tao.
It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.
That is why every being
spontaneously honors the Tao.
The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering.
That is why love of the Tao
is in the very nature of things.
Tao Teh Ching 51
In the beginning was the Tao.
All things issue from it;
all things return to it.
To find the origin,
trace back the manifestations.
When you recognize the children
and find the mother,
you will be free of sorrow.
If you close your mind in judgements
and traffic with desires,
your heart will be troubled.
If you keep your mind from judging
and aren't led by the senses,
your heart will find peace.
Seeing into darkness is clarity.
Knowing how to yield is strength.
Use your own light
and return to the source of light.
This is called practicing eternity.
Tao Teh Ching 52
Whoever is planted in the Tao
will not be rooted up.
Whoever embraces the Tao
will not slip away.
Her name will be held in honor
from generation to generation.
Let the Tao be present in your life
and you will become genuine.
Let it be present in your family
and your family will flourish.
Let it be present in your country
and your country will be an example
to all countries in the world.
Let it be present in the universe
and the universe will sing.
How do I know this is true?
By looking inside myself.
Tao Teh Ching 54
Tao Te Ching
translated by Stephen Mitchell
Essential Ideas Of Taoism
"The two essential ideals of the Taoist religion are individual longevity or immortality, and social harmony and peace..." -- Liu Xiaogan, "Taoism" (in Our Religions, pp. 274, 233.)
Taoist belief draws from indigenous Chinese religion and incorporates that thought into its schema. Visiting scholar Liu Xiaogan of Princeton University writes concerning the Taoist system.
"In its popular forms it is represented by a pantheon of gods, spirits, and ghosts, and it has absorbed almost every ancient practice known to the Chinese people, such as offering sacrifices to ancestors, praying for favorable weather, and dispelling evil spirits." (Our Religions, p. 284.).
This foundation explains the popularity, on an individual level, of the religion. To understand Taoism is to appreciate the alternative world view it offered to Confucianism.
Confucianism--classical, socially oriented, geared to public functions of Chinese families and the state, accepting of social duty and responsibility with an influx of rules, laws, ceremonies and traditions--soon became a system of social and psychological pressure. A diversion was needed. With romantic simplicity, openness and artistic wisdom.
Taoism offered a departure. Withdraw from the endless struggle and conflict...prize the individual life. Seek unity with nature. Obtain inner space and peace, freed from the excesses of confining Confucian practicality.
Major Themes
Tao, as the "path" or "way," emphasizes major themes. a. Transcendence Taoism seeks to surpass the limits of the ordinary. It seeks an ultimate reality which is behind all, a mystical insight which is beyond the scope of words.
"As a thing the way is Shadowy, indistinct. Indistinct and shadowy, Yet within it is an image; Shadowy and indistinct, Yet within it is a substance." -- Tao Te Ching, XXI:49 (trans. D.C. Law, p. 78.)
Way of the Universe. Taoist thought identifies the way of the universe, the pattern, rhythm, driving power, the ordering principle behind all life. In this sense, Tao (and the Taoist religion), becomes the integrating principle behind all of life.
"In his every moment a [person] of great virtue Follows the way and the way only." Tao Te Ching, XXI:48, XI:27 (trans. D.C. Law, p. 78.)
Way of Life
Tao means the way of human life, that is, the way life should be. Tao is the natural guiding force which enables all things to realize their full potential...to be fulfilled.
Long Life
Quest for long life became a Taoist goal. Stemming from the focus on nature, with its rhythm of constant renewal, and trying to emulate that rhythm, Taoism focused on techniques to prolong life. In the Classic of Great Peace, an expression of the common values of the Chinese people, long life became a most important goal between heaven and earth. Taoist thought sought to conserve life in many ways. In keeping harmony within the spirit and material forces within the body, a life inducing heart, mind and will ensued.
Meditation
Focusing one's spirit and so avoiding dissipation--became a valued technique. Consolidation of vital powers so as to resist death became the ideal--not nirvana or release. People die early not because of fate but because their way of living hurts their spirits or bodies. Moderation in the desires and emotions preserved body and soul. Gods become identified with specific body parts-- heart, liver, spleen--and homage to these gods becomes a focus of devotional exercises." (World Religions, Taosim)
Lao Tze's "Palaces inside the Head", Jesus' "Kingdom of God" and the Adi Shakti's "Sahasrara" are one and the same. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica Taoism believes that “man is a microcosm (small universe) correspondingly rigorously to this macrocosm (large universe); his body reproduces the plan of the universe . . . This originally magical feeling of the integral unity of mankind and the natural order has always characterized the Chinese mentality, and the Taoists especially have elaborated upon it . . . In religious Taoism the interior of the body is inhabited by the same gods as those of the macrocosm. An adept often searches for his divine teacher in all the holy mountains of China until he finally discovers him in one of the “palaces” inside his head . . . The affinities of Taoism with other Asian religions are numerous. If one distinguishes between universal religions of salvation, such as Buddhism and Islam, and the older, more
culture-bound, such as Japanese Shinto and Hinduism, Taoism undoubtedly belongs to the second category.”
I deem that Lao-Tze was a great mystic who differed from Confucius in a number of ways, especially emphasizing enlightenment and being thoughtlessly aware as a means to attain immortality. Shawn Ford, in his book The Core of Taoism and Confucianism states:
"Lao Tsu said, "The more you know, the less you understand." He also said, "Not-knowing is true knowledge..." How can this be? It would seem that Lao Tsu was telling us not to think. On the other hand, Confucius once said, "If one learns but does not think, one is lost; if one thinks but does not learn, one is in danger." Again, these two traditions seem to contradict one another until we take a deeper look at how each philosophy regards education.
In the Western world, when we think of education, we generally think of schools and universities. These are the institutions through which we achieve our learning. In the Taoist tradition, institutions are regarded with suspicion. They are looked at as going against nature by forcing people to be what they truly are not. However, education for the Taoist is a solo quest, without walls and boundaries.
The Taoist seeks to understand the naturalness of everything as it exists in the present. Instead of trying to know each separate piece, the Taoist tries to understand the whole, for the whole is the Tao. We can say that we know someone, but we do not understand them. But to say that we understand someone, is that not better than saying that we know them? In Taoism, the key is not to know something; the key is to understand it. One goes about this through self education and transformation. This kind of education is also natural; it just needs to be recognized. In addition, the Taoist is an educator in a sense. The Taoist teaches by example. Lao Tsu said, "The Master, by residing in the Tao, sets an example for all beings." Naturally, when others see one who is enlightened, they will realize it, and they will learn.
In Confucianism, too, it is self , and not institutional education, that is important. This may seem to contradict the stereotype of the Confucian scholar who studies the classics for years, takes the exams, and works on society; and it does. However, according to Confucius, people must first recognize themselves and their potential. This is at the heart of Confucian education. Confucius believed that in order to know about anything else in the world, we must first know ourselves. People must educate themselves as to how they fit into the world around them. This is Confucian knowledge; it is obtained by both the learning and thinking processes working together.
The Confucian master, like the Taoist master, is also a role model for society. By knowing his place in the world around him, and by following the way of the chun-tzu, the Confucian teaches by example. Others recognize him as such and will learn from being around him.
Therefore, when we look at the deeper meaning of education, we see that Taoism and Confucianism are very close in thought. We must know the importance of self realization and understand how we fit into the whole. We must teach others by example. This is a very important form of education. In this way, we will be better prepared for the greater education that is life itself.
Regarding the last main point, enlightenment, it may again seem that Taoist thought and Confucian thought differ greatly. For the Taoist, enlightenment is a process of realizing, following, and becoming one with the great Tao. On the other hand, Confucianism is generally thought to not deal with anything that is not concretely in this world; its concern is humanity. When we take a deeper look at what it means to be enlightened, we find that these two philosophies are seeing eye to eye. In taking this deeper look, let us look at transformation as a way to enlightenment.
To the Taoist, enlightenment is a continual, constant process. This enlightenment is first obtained by gradual transformation of the self until the Tao can be realized. Gradual transformation is obtained by following the way of the Taoist as passed down from generation to generation. The same is true in the Confucian context. Confucianism is not a static, unyielding philosophy concerned only with human interactions and the workings of good government. These are merely aspects of that which lies at the center of Confucian philosophy. At the center you will find that transformation of the self gives rise to all other Confucian ideas and, ultimately, to enlightenment. In Book I of The Analects, Confucius says, "It is upon the trunk that the gentleman works. When that is firmly set up, the Way grows." This "Way" is the same Taoist "Way": the Tao. Confucius himself recognized that the attainment of the Tao is the ultimate enlightenment. Therefore, both Taoist
thought and Confucian thought place the Tao at the center of their philosophy and as their goal. The difference between Taoism and Confucianism is seen in the words chosen to express enlightenment."
The Tao of Laozi (Lao Tzi)
Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 43 No. 1, Winter 2003
`Tao' is a Chinese word meaning `way', `way of Heaven', `Path' or `road' or `method'. It indicates a line or principle of conduct. There is no proper English term for `Tao'. It means the `Eternal Being'.
The Founder of Taoism was Lao-Tze. Lao-Tze was born in 604 B.C. in the village of Chu-Jhren, in Li country, belonging to the Ku province of the State Chu. He was born under the plum tree (in Chinese `Li'). He adopted it as his surname. The hair of the head was white when he was born. Hence he was called Lao-Tze (old boy) or philosopher, one who is child-like even when old.
He was popularly called Lao-Tze. His name was Er (ear). He was called Tan after his death. `Tan' means `long lobe'. He had peculiar long ears. His appellation was `Po Yang' or "count of positive principle". He was a keeper or recorder of the secret Archives in the Royal court of Chore. He was a State Historian.
Lao-Tze says: Tao is one. It was in the beginning. It will remain for ever. It is impersonal, eternal, immutable, omnipresent, bodiless, immaterial. It cannot be perceived by the senses. It is nameless. It is indescribable.
It is the first cause from which all substances take their origin and all phenomena flow. The great Tao is all-pervading. All things depend on it for life. It is the mother of all phenomena, of heaven and earth. It existed before the Personal God. It is the father of God. It is the producer of God. It is the originator of heaven and earth. It is the mother of all things.
You will find that there is an aroma of Indian Vedantic philosophy in the teachings of Lao-Tze.
Tao is everywhere. It is in the ant. It is in the grass. It is in the earthen-ware vessel. It is in excrement. It is in the highest place but is not high. It is in the, lowest place, but is not low. It is in ancient times, but itself is not ancient. It is in old age but itself is not old. It is everywhere, but appears to be nowhere.
Tao is the sanctuary where all things find refuge. It is the good man's priceless treasure. It is the guardian and saviour of him who is not good. (Sri Swami Sivananda)
Laozi believed that females are the mothers of all things and all human beings. In accordance with Dao, which generates everything, females are those that produce all things. Without females or mothers, there is nothing else in the world.
The mystery of the valley is immortal;
It is known as the Subtle Female.
The gateway of the Subtle Female
Is the source of the Heaven and Earth. (Chapter 6)
In another chapter, Laozi observed:
The beginning of the world
May be regarded as the Mother of the world.
To apprehend the Mother,
Know the offspring.
To know the offspring
Is to remain close to the mother,
And free from harm throughout life. (Chapter 52)
As per Daoist humanism, females, instead of males, are usually highly regarded in his writing:
Know the male
Hold to the female;
Become the world's stream.
By being the world's stream
The Permanent De (or humanism) will never leave.
This is returning to Infancy. (Chapter 28)
From this perspective, it is easy to see that femininity and mothering were highly valued by Laozi. Simply speaking, nothing in the world is as important as women and mothers. If many philosophical and religious ideas tend to maintain male superiority or dominance, directly or indirectly (e.g., Confucianism; Hinduism; Christianity, including Mormonism; Islam; Chauvinism; or Freudianism), Daoism differs because females play a more important role in humanism than males. This point may not have been well understood in modern feminist research (see Laughlin & Wong, 1999). Perhaps philosophically or religiously, Laozi could be seen as one of the first proponents of feminism in human history.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 43 No. 1, Winter 2003 64-85
The extraordinary parallels between ancient Indian and Chinese Taoism in its various forms and Hinduism (Vedanta and yoga) do not appear to have been documented by historians.
"Taoism was originally an esoteric philosophy, concerned with the unity underlying the opposites and diversity of the phenomenal world. Taoism taught union with the law of the universe through wisdom and detached action. The union of cosmic and individual energies is reminiscent of the Vedanta teachings of India.
As central to the Taoist tradition as the concepts of yin and yang are the ideas of Tao and Te ("the power"). Like yin, Tao is often identified with the passive (or wu wei); because the way is often given preeminence over the power. It is said a real seeker of wisdom knows the power (Te) but seeks the way (Tao). One should not strive for wealth or prestige and that aggression is to be avoided.
As part of the Taoists' practice, followers have incorporated lifestyle rituals, such as vegetarianism, herbal and tactile medicinal approaches, good moral conduct, and the use of appropriate incantations, amulets, and charms. T'ai Chi Ch'uan, with its fusion of energetic and relaxed exercise, has provided a means of increasing and enhancing ch'i (or Qi), the vital force of life. The overall goal of Taoists' life is to attain harmony with the Tao. This means one must desire nothing, live simply, and act by not acting. It is a practice where solitude and individualism is cherished and where the "upper classes" of social standing are rejected.
Taoism has also developed its own yoga techniques, which parallel the ancient Hindu system of kundalini yoga. These involved control of ch'i, the force believed to stand behind sexual activity, but which could also be diverted into different channels in the body for blissful expansion of consciousness. The circulation of this generative force in the body, aided by breathing techniques, corresponds with Indian yoga techniques involving pranayama breathing, and the ascent of kundalini energy through the chakras or vital centers of the body. This individual alchemy was variously known as k'ai men (open door), ho ping (unity), or ho hsieh (harmony).
The extraordinary parallels between ancient Indian and Chinese Taoism in its various forms and Hinduism (Vedanta and yoga) do not appear to have been documented by historians. The yoga teachings of China descended from teacher to pupil; it is only in recent times that basic texts have been translated into English. There are now teachers of Chinese yoga in Western countries and centers for instruction. There are also many translations with commentaries of the earlier Tao teachings in the Tao-te-Ching."
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Tuesday 11 May 2010
Sofia
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Is Lady Sofia the Holy Spirit?
CONTENTS:
Sophia: Lost Goddess of Wisdom
Wisdom Speaks For Herself
On retaining the integrity of the original texts regarding Sophia
What Became of God the Mother?
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
The Holy Spirit: The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead
On the Nature of the Divine Mother or Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
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# Sophia: Lost Goddess of Wisdom
Once patriarchy infected the Christian church, the Sophia tradition was lost…but not entirely, if you know what to look for.
In Search of the Lost Christian Goddess
Sophia means wisdom.
Philosophy, first used by Pythagoras, means "lover of Sophia."
The Sophia tradition is found in the Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible.
For the earliest Christians:
Divine masculine = Jesus
Divine feminine = Sophia
The Sophia Tradition
Once patriarchy infected the Christian church, the Sophia tradition was lost…but not entirely, if you know what to look for.
When passages in the Hebrew Bible (OT) or New Testament use "wisdom," they are referring to the lost Sophia tradition.
Logos, the "word" of God, is the Greek masculine form of Sophia = WISDOM; God's creative energy; mediator between God & creation.
Searching for the Sophia Tradition
John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being."
Is "the Word" actually SHE, not HE, the feminine principle of Being?
Is the "Word" a Goddess?
Greek philosophy saw Sophia, goddess of Wisdom, as the creative power that formed the cosmos out of original chaos.
Hebrew biblical tradition, in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, see Wisdom as Sophia and Sophia as Yahweh's companion in creation.
Proverbs 8: 22-31
Proverbs is part of the Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible, including Job and Ecclesiastes.
Wisdom (Sophia) is Yahweh's (God) intimate companion in creating the world.
Sophia serves as God's channel of communication with humanity.
The "Holy Spirit" of Christianity? Apocryphal Literature
Apocryphal books are later Hebrew writings not included in most Protestant Bibles.
Ecclesiasticus 24; Wisdom of Solomon 6:12 – 9:18.
Sophia becomes both the agent or means of creation and the revealer of the Divine Mind.
Genesis 1:3
God first creates by uttering "the word"; "Then God said 'Let there be light'; and there was light."
"The Word" = "Sophia" = Wisdom = the creative force of God.
Philo Judaeus (a 1st century Jewish scholar) uses the masculine "logos" for "the word" instead of the feminine "Sophia" – PATRIARCHAL THINKING!
Clues in the New Testament: 1 Corinth: 2:6-16
Paul speaks of the Wisdom of God that is revealed to humanity through the Spirit.
The Wisdom of God is only revealed through the Spirit of God.
Here is the "lost goddess" of Christianity: the Holy Spirit!
The Gospel of Q
Scholars posit the existence of the lost Gospel of Q to explain similar passages found in Matthew and Luke not found in Mark.
Q portrays Jesus and John the Baptist as messengers sent by Sophia. (See Luke 11:49).
Q may have been destroyed by the "Patriarchal Establishment" that took over the Church.
The Advocate in John
The Advocate = the Holy Spirit that Jesus bestows on his followers after his death (John 14: 12-26).
The Sophia tradition, the Lost Goddess of Christianity, lives on as the Holy Spirit described in John.
Patriarchal authors use the masculine pronoun, but the Holy Spirit is Sophia described in earlier Hebrew literature (see Proverbs 8).
Holy Spirit in John
Only by being "born in the Spirit" can Christians "enter the kingdom of Heaven" (John: 3:4-9)
The Holy Spirit continues to reveal Jesus' cosmic splendour after his departure (16: 12-15)
The Holy Spirit answers prayers for knowledge and power (14: 12-26)
Sophia Lost
The patriarchal Roman Church eradicated the Christian Goddess.
Original Christians valued men and women equally as expressions of God and the Goddess.
The mystical marriage of Jesus and Sophia brought believers into the bliss of Christ Consciousness.
Patriarchal Christianity
Longs for the divine feminine; Mary worship, the "Da Vinci Code," the work of reconstructionists and reformers in the church.
Historic Christianity is linked to violence and hatred even as it professes love for all.
Without the recovery of Sophia, Christ consciousness evades Christian believers.
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# Wisdom Speaks For Herself:
Does not Wisdom call, and understanding lift up Her voice? On top of the heights beside the way where the paths meet, She takes Her stand. Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, at the entrance of the doors, She cries out:
"To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O naive ones; discern prudence and O fools; discern wisdom. Listen, for I shall speak noble things and the opening of my lips will produce right things. For my mouth will utter truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. They are all straightforward to him who understands and right to those who find knowledge. Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels and all desirable things cannot compare with her.
I, Wisdom, dwell with providence and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth; i hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. Power is mine. By me kings reign and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles; All who judge rightly.
I love those who love me, and those who diligently seek Me will find Me. Riches and honour are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold and my yield than choicest silver. I walk in the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of justice, to endow those who love Me with wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.
The Lord possessed Me at the beginning of His way before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no springs abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world when He established the heavens, I was there. When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when He set for the sea its boundary so that the water should not trangress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him, as a Master Workman, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His earth and having my delight in the sons of men.
Now therefore O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep My ways. Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds Me finds Life, and obtains favour from the Lord. But he who sins against Me injures himself. All those who hate Me love death. (Proverbs 8)
Wisdom's Invitation To All:
Wisdom has built Her house. She has hewn out Her seven pillars. She has mixed Her wine. She has also set Her table. She has sent out Her maidens. She calls from the tops of the heights of the city: "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks understanding, She says: "Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding."
Proverbs 9:1-6
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# On retaining the integrity of the original texts regarding Sophia
"The fullest development of her is in the so-called "Wisdom Books" of the apocryphia in the Greek Pentateuch that were canonized into Christian Scripture and are still used by the Roman Catholic and English Orthodox churches. Sophia dominates the first nine chapters of Proverbs and is found in both the Old and New Testaments.
There was no attempt in the West to maintain the integrity of the original texts until Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate at the request of the papacy in the fourth century. Zuntz, by using the standard practice of textual comparison, in his detailed analysis of the oldest Pauline manuscript, notes, in his book, The Text of the Epistles, numerous places where the text has been altered. Jerome, himself, in letters to his colleagues, bewails the fact that he has so many variant texts to select from for the compilation of a standardized version. At one point before him he has the old Hieronymian text and its revision. He says, "The differences throughout are clear and striking." In his writings he does leave us a clue to the subject at hand. At one point he has before him the gospel of the Hebrews used by the Syrian Christians which, as some now say, predated the four canonical gospels. In it, Jerome says that the Holy Spirit is expressed in the feminine gender and is considered the mother in law of the soul. (Library 11, commentary in Isaiah, chapter 11: Library 2, commentary. in Micah 7.6:) So here is some additional external evidence from an unrelated source that the Holy Spirit was originally considered feminine. In Judaism, the medieval writers of the Kaballah concentrated on the masculine aspects of the sefiroth (the 13 aspects of God) and relegated Sophia to an inferior sphere than that she had heretofore occupied. Roman Catholicism explicitly associated Old Testament Sophia texts with Mary or the Mother Church. In the Eastern Church, Sophia survives and is often associated liturgically with the Holy Spirit and sometimes with Christ, himself. Further, the church fathers of the Patristic Age preferred the male "Logos" when describing Christ in order to avoid gender confusion. Philo, who at first equated Sophia with Logos, "substituted Logos for Sophia, until the masculine person of the Logos has taken over most of Sophia's divine roles including the firstborn image of God, the principle of order and the intermediary between God and humanity. Sophia's powers are restricted and she is limited to Heaven.
In both Greek and English, "Spirit" is a neuter noun. And we think of a neuter noun as an "it" rather than a he or she. Thus we think of the Holy Trinity of orthodox theology in a peculiar way. God the Father we visualize in warm, personal terms. God the Word (i.e., Logos) we more often speak of as God the Son and think of personal images ranging from Bethlehem to Nazareth to Jerusalem. Not so, however, with the Holy Spirit. Both the neuter noun and the biblical images of fire and anointing tend us away from personal to impersonal imagery, from Spirit as divine personality to Spirit as divine emanation. How unfortunate. In the Gospel of John, Jesus invites us to know about, expect, and experience the Holy Spirit. And he speaks of the third member of the divine family in terms that are personal. In fact, he challenged his original followers to think of the Holy Spirit in the same personal ways they had experienced him."
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# What Became of God the Mother?
Elaine H.Pagels
[Elaine H. Pagels received her PhD from Harvard University. She teaches at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is author of The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis and The Gnostic Paul. Her articles have appeared in Harvard Theological Review, Journal for Biblical Literature, and Journal of the American Academy of Religion.]
Unlike many of his contemporaries among the deities of the ancient Near East, the God of Israel shares his power with no female divinity, nor is he the divine Husband or Lover of any.(l) He scarcely can be characterized in any but masculine epithets: King, Lord, Master, Judge, and Father.
Conflicting Images of God in Early Christianity
Unlike many of his contemporaries among the deities of the ancient Near East, the God of Israel shares his power with no female divinity, nor is he the divine Husband or Lover of any. He scarcely can be characterized in any but masculine epithets: King, Lord, Master, Judge, and Father. Indeed, the absence of feminine symbolism of God marks Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in striking contrast to the world's other religious traditions, whether in Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, and Rome or Africa, Polynesia, India, and North America. Jewish, Christian, and Islamic theologians, however, are quick to point out that God is not to be considered in sexual terms at all. Yet the actual language they use daily in worship and prayer conveys a different message and gives the distinct impression that God is thought of in exclusively masculine terms. And while it is true that Catholics revere Mary as the mother of Jesus, she cannot be identified as divine in her own right: if she is "mother of God," she is not "God the Mother" on an equal footing with God the Father.
Christianity, of course, added the trinitarian terms to the Jewish description of God. And yet of the three divine "Persons," two—the Father and Son—are described in masculine terms, and the third—the Spirit—suggests the sexlessness of the Greek neuter term pneuma. This is not merely a subjective impression. Whoever investigates the early development of Christianity—the field called "patristics," that is, study of "the fathers of the church"—may not be surprised by the passage that concludes the recently discovered, secret Gospel of Thomas: "Simon Peter said to them [the disciples], `Let Mary be excluded from among us, for she is a woman, and not worthy of Life.' Jesus said, `Behold I will take Mary, and make her a male, so that she may become a living spirit, resembling you males. For I tell you truly, that every female who makes herself male will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'" Strange as it sounds, this only states explicitly what religious rhetoric often assumes: that the men form the legitimate body of the community, while women will be allowed to participate only insofar as their own identity is denied and assimilated to that of the men.
Further exploration of the texts which include this Gospel—written on papyrus, hidden in large clay jars nearly 1,600 years ago—has identified them as Jewish and Christian gnostic works which were attacked and condemned as "heretical" as early as A.D. 100—150. What distinguishes these "heterodox" texts from those that are called "orthodox" is at least partially clear: they abound in feminine symbolism that is applied, in particular, to God. Although one might expect, then, that they would recall the archaic pagan traditions of the Mother Goddess, their language is to the contrary specifically Christian, unmistakably related to a Jewish heritage. Thus we can see that certain gnostic Christians diverged even more radically from the Jewish tradition than the early Christians who described God as the "three Persons" or the Trinity. For, instead of a monistic and masculine God, certain of these texts describe God as a dyadic being, who consists of both masculine and feminine elements. One such group of texts, for example, claims to have received a secret tradition from Jesus through James, and significantly, through Mary Magdalene. Members of this group offer prayer to both the divine Father and Mother: "From Thee, Father, and through Thee, Mother, the two immortal names, Parents of the divine being, and thou, dweller in heaven, mankind of the mighty name." Other texts indicate that their authors had pondered the nature of the beings to whom a single, masculine God proposed, "Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). Since the Genesis account goes on to say that mankind was created "male and female" (1:27), some concluded, apparently, that the God in whose image we are created likewise must be both masculine and feminine—both Father and Mother.
The characterization of the divine Mother in these sources is not simple since the texts themselves are extraordinarily diverse. Nevertheless, three primary characterizations merge. First, a certain poet and teacher, Valentinus, begins with the premise that God is essentially indescribable. And yet he suggests that the divine can be imagined as a Dyad consisting of two elements: one he calls the Ineffable, the Source, the Primal Father; the other, the Silence, the Mother of all things. Although we might question Valentinus's reasoning that Silence is the appropriate complement of what is Ineffable, his equation of the former with the feminine and the latter with the masculine may be traced to the grammatical gender of the Greek words. Followers of Valentinus invoke this feminine power, whom they also call "Grace" (in Greek, the feminine term charis), in their own private celebration of the Christian eucharist: they call her "divine, eternal Grace, She who is before all things." At other times they pray to her for protection as the Mother, "Thou enthroned with God, eternal, mystical Silence." Marcus, a disciple of Valentinus, contends that "when Moses began his account of creation, he mentioned the Mother of all things at the very beginning, when he said, `In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,' " for the word beginning (in Greek, the feminine arche) refers to the divine Mother, the source of the cosmic elements. When they describe God in this way, different gnostic writers have different interpretations. Some maintain that the divine is to be considered masculo-feminine—the "great male-female power." Others insist that the terms are meant only as metaphors—for, in reality, the divine is neither masculine nor feminine. A third group suggests that one can describe the Source of all things in either masculine or feminine terms, depending on which aspect one intends to stress. Proponents of these diverse views agree, however, that the divine is to be understood as consisting of a harmonious, dynamic relationship of opposites—a concept that may be akin to the eastern view of yin and yang but remains antithetical to orthodox Judaism and Christianity.
A second characterization of the divine Mother describes her as Holy Spirit. One source, the Secret Book of John, for example, relates how John, the brother of James, went out after the crucifixion with "great grief," and had a mystical vision of the Trinity: "As I was grieving . . . the heavens were opened, and the whole creation shone with an unearthly light, and the universe was shaken. I was afraid . . . and behold . . . a unity in three forms appeared to me, and I marvelled: how can a unity have three forms?" To John's question, the vision answers: "It said to me, `John, John, why do you doubt, or why do you fear? . . . I am the One who is with you always: I am the Father; I am the Mother; I am the Son.' John's interpretation of the Trinity—as Father, Mother, and Son—may not at first seem shocking but is perhaps the more natural and spontaneous interpretation. Where the Greek terminology for the Trinity, which includes the neuter term for the spirit (pneuma), virtually requires that the third "Person" of the Trinity be asexual, the author of the Secret Book looks to the Hebrew term for spirit, ruah—a feminine word. He thus concludes, logically enough, that the feminine "Person" conjoined with Father and Son must be the Mother! Indeed, the text goes on to describe the Spirit as Mother: "the image of the invisible virginal perfect spirit.... She became the mother of the all, for she existed before them all, the mother-father [matropater]." This same author, therefore, alters Genesis 1:2 ("the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep") to say, "the Mother then was moved." The secret Gospel to the Hebrews likewise has Jesus speak of "my Mother, the Spirit." And in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus contrasts his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, with his divine Father—the Father of Truth—and his divine Mother, the Holy Spirit. The author interprets a puzzling saying of Jesus in the New Testament ("whoever does not hate his father and mother is not worthy of me") by adding: "Whoever does not love his father and his mother in my way cannot be my disciple; for my [earthly] mother gave me death but my true Mother gave me the Life." Another secret gnostic gospel, the Gospel of Phillip, declares that whoever becomes a Christian "gains both a father and a mother." The author refers explicitly to the feminine Hebrew term to describe the Spirit as "Mother of many."
If these sources suggest that the Spirit constitutes the maternal element of the Trinity, the Gospel of Phillip makes an equally radical suggestion concerning the doctrine that later developed as the virgin birth. Here again the Spirit is praised as both Mother and Virgin, the counterpart—and consort—of the Heavenly Father: "If I may utter a mystery, the Father of the all united with the Virgin who came down" —that is,.with the Holy Spirit. Yet because this process is to be understood symbolically, and not literally, the Spirit remains a virgin! The author explains that "for this reason, Christ was `born of a virgin'"—that is, of the Spirit, his divine Mother. But the author ridicules those "literal-minded" Christians who mistakenly refer the virgin birth to Mary, Jesus' earthly mother, as if she conceived apart from Joseph: "Such persons do not know what they are saying; for when did a female ever impregnate a female?" Instead, he argues, virgin birth refers to the mysterious union of the two divine powers, the Father of the All with the Holy Spirit.
Besides the eternal, mystical Silence, and besides the Holy Spirit, certain gnostics suggest a third characterization of the divine Mother as Wisdom. Here again the Greek feminine term for wisdom, sophia, like the term for spirit, ruah, translates a Hebrew feminine term, hokhmah. Early interpreters had pondered the meaning of certain biblical passages, for example, Proverbs: "God made the world in Wisdom." And they wondered if Wisdom could be the feminine power in which God's creation is "conceived"? In such passages, at any rate, Wisdom bears two connotations: first, she bestows the Spirit that makes mankind wise; second, she is a creative power. One gnostic source calls her the "first universal creator"; another says that God the Father was speaking to her when he proposed to "make mankind in our image." The Great Announcement, a mystical writing, explains the Genesis account in the following terms: "One Power that is above and below, self-generating, self-discovering, its own mother; its own father; its own sister; its own son: Father, Mother, unity, Root of all things." The same author explains the mystical meaning of the Garden of Eden as a symbol of the womb: "Scripture teaches us that this is what is meant when Isaiah says, `I am he that formed thee in thy mother's womb' [Isaiah 44:2]. The Garden of Eden, then, is Moses' symbolic term for the womb, and Eden the placenta, and the river which comes out of Eden the navel, which nourishes the fetus." This teacher claims that the Exodus, consequently, symbolizes the exodus from the womb, "and the crossing of the Red Sea, they say, refers to the blood." Evidence for this view, he adds, comes directly from "the cry of the newborn," a spontaneous cry of praise for "the glory of the primal being, in which all the powers above are in harmonious embrace."
The introduction of such symbolism in gnostic texts clearly bears implications for the understanding of human nature. The Great Announcement, for example, having described the Source as a masculo- feminine being, a "bisexual Power," goes on to say that "what came into being from that Power, that is, humanity, being one, is found to be two: a male-female being that bears the female within it." This refers to the story of Eve's "birth" out of Adam's side (so that Adam, being one, is "discovered to be two," an androgyne who "bears the female within him"). Yet this reference to the creation story of Genesis 2—an account which inverts the biological birth process, and so effectively denies the creative function of the female—proves to be unusual in gnostic sources. More often, such sources refer instead to the first creation account in Genesis 1:26-27. ("And God said, let us make mankind in Our image, after Our image and likeness . . . in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them"). Rabbis in Talmudic times knew a Greek version of the passage, one that suggested to Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman that "when the Holy One . . . first created mankind, he created him with two faces, two sets of genitals, four arms, and legs, back to back: Then he split Adam in two, and made two backs, one on each side." Some Jewish teachers (perhaps influenced by the story in Plato's Symposium) had suggested that Genesis 1:26-27 narrates an androgynous creation—an idea that gnostics adopted and developed. Marcus (whose prayer to the Mother is given above) not only concludes from this account that God is dyadic ("Let us make mankind") but also that "mankind, which was formed according to the image and likeness of God [Father and Mother] was masculo-feminine." And his contemporary, Theodotus, explains: "the saying that Adam was created `male and female' means that the male and female elements together constitute the finest production of the Mother, Wisdom." We can see, then, that the gnostic sources which describe God in both masculine and feminine terms often give a similar description of human nature as a dyadic entity, consisting of two equal male and female components.
All the texts cited above—secret "gospels," revelations, mystical teachings—are among those rejected from the select list of twenty-six that comprise the "New Testament" collection As these and other writings were sorted and judged by various Christian communities, every one of these texts which gnostic groups revered and shared was rejected from the canonical collection as "heterodox" by those who called themselves "orthodox" (literally, straight-thinking) Christians. By the time this process was concluded, probably as late as the year A.D. 200, virtually all the feminine imagery for God (along with any suggestion of an androgynous human creation) had disappeared from "orthodox" Christian tradition.
What is the reason for this wholesale rejection ? The gnostics themselves asked this question of their "orthodox" attackers and pondered it among themselves. Some concluded that the God of Israel himself initiated the polemics against gnostic teaching which his followers carried out in his name. They argued that he was a derivative, merely instrumental power, whom the divine Mother had created to administer the universe, but who remained ignorant of the power of Wisdom, his own Mother: "They say that the creator believed that he created everything by himself, but that, in reality, he had made them because his Mother, Wisdom, infused him with energy, and had given him her ideas. But he was unaware that the ideas he used came from her: he was even ignorant of his own Mother." Followers of Valentinus suggested that the Mother herself encouraged the God of Israel to think that he was acting autonomously in creating the world; but, as one teacher adds, "It was because he was foolish and ignorant of his Mother that he said, `I am God; there is none beside me.' " Others attribute to him the more sinister motive of jealousy, among them the Secret Book of John: "He said, `I am a jealous God, and you shall have no other God before me,' already indicating that another god does exist. For if there were no other god, of whom would he be jealous? Then the Mother began to be distressed." A third gnostic teacher describes the Lord's shock, terror, and anxiety "when he discovered that he was not the God of the universe." Gradually his shock and fear gave way to wonder, and finally he came to welcome the teaching of Wisdom. The gnostic teacher concluded: "This is the meaning of the saying, `The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' "
# What Became of God the Mother? [Part 2]
Further research might disclose how social and cultural forces converged to suppress feminine symbolism—and women's participation— from western Christian tradition. Given such research, the history of Christianity never could be told in the same way again.
All of these are, of course, mythical explanations. To look for the actual, historical reasons why these gnostic writings were suppressed is an extremely difficult proposition, for it raises the much larger question of how (i.e., by what means and what criteria) certain ideas, including those expressed in the texts cited above, came to be classified as heretical and others as orthodox by the beginning of the third century. Although the research is still in its early stages, and this question is far from being solved, we may find one clue if we ask whether these secret groups derived any practical, social consequences from their conception of God—and of mankind—that included the feminine element? Here again the answer is yes and can be found in the orthodox texts themselves. Irenaeus, an orthodox bishop, for example, notes with dismay that women in particular are attracted to heretical groups—especially to Marcus's circle, in which prayers are offered to the Mother in her aspects as Silence, Grace, and Wisdom; women priests serve the eucharist together with men; and women also speak as prophets, uttering to the whole community what "the Spirit" reveals to them. Professing himself to be at a loss to understand the attraction that Marcus's group holds, he offers only one explanation: that Marcus himself is a diabolically successful seducer, a magician who compounds special aphrodisiacs to "deceive, victimize, and defile" these "many foolish women!" Whether his accusation has any factual basis is difficult, probably impossible, to ascertain. Nevertheless, the historian notes that accusations of sexual license are a stock-in-trade of polemical arguments. The bishop refuses to admit the possibility that the group might attract Christians—especially women—for sound and comprehensible reasons. While expressing his own moral outrage, Tertullian, another "father of the church," reveals his fundamental desire to keep women out of religion: "These heretical women—how audacious they are! They have no modesty: they are bold enough to teach, to engage in argument, to enact exorcisms, to undertake cures, and, it may be, even to baptize!" Tertullian directs yet another attack against "that viper"—a woman teacher who led a congregation in North Africa. Marcion had, in fact, scandalized his "orthodox" contemporaries by appointing women on an equal basis with men as priests and bishops among his congregations. The teacher Marcillina also traveled to Rome to represent the Carpocratian group, an esoteric circle that claimed to have received secret teaching from Mary, Salome, and Martha.(38) And among the Montanists, a radical prophetic circle, the prophet Philumene was reputed to have hired a male secretary to transcribe her inspired oracles.
Other secret texts, such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the Wisdom of Faith, suggest that the activity of such women leaders challenged and therefore was challenged by the orthodox communities who regarded Peter as their spokesman. The Gospel of Mary relates that Mary tried to encourage the disciples after the crucifixion and to tell them what the Lord had told her privately. Peter, furious at the suggestion, asks, "Did he then talk secretly with a woman, instead of to us? Are we to go and learn from her now? Did he love her more than us?" Distressed at his rage, Mary then asks Peter: "What do you think? Do you think I made this up in my heart? Do you think I am lying about the Lord?" Levi breaks in at this point to mediate the dispute: "Peter, you are always irascible. You object to the woman as our enemies do. Surely the Lord knew her very well, and indeed, he loved her more than us." Then he and the others invite Mary to teach them what she knows. Another argument between Peter and Mary occurs in Wisdom of Faith. Peter complains that Mary is dominating the conversation, even to the point of displacing the rightful priority of Peter himself and his brethren; he urges Jesus to silence her—and is quickly rebuked. Later, however, Mary admits to Jesus that she hardly dares to speak freely with him, because "Peter makes me hesitate: I am afraid of him, because he hates the female race." Jesus replies that whoever receives inspiration from the Spirit is divinely ordained to speak, whether man or woman.
As these texts suggest, then, women were considered equal to men, they were revered as prophets, and they acted as teachers, traveling evangelists, healers, priests, and even bishops. In some of these groups, they played leading roles and were excluded from them in the orthodox churches, at least by A.D. 150-200. Is it possible, then, that the recognition of the feminine element in God and the recognition of mankind as a male and female entity bore within it the explosive social possibility of women acting on an equal basis with men in positions of authority and leadership? If this were true, it might lead to the conclusion that these gnostic groups, together with their conception of God and human nature, were suppressed only because of their positive attitude toward women. But such a conclusion would be a mistake—a hasty and simplistic reading of the evidence. In the first place, orthodox Christian doctrine is far from wholly negative in its attitude toward women. Second, many other elements of the gnostic sources diverge in fundamental ways from what came to be accepted as orthodox Christian teaching. To examine this process in detail would require a much more extensive discussion than is possible here. Nevertheless, the evidence does indicate that two very different patterns of sexual attitudes emerged in orthodox and gnostic circles. In simplest form, gnostic theologians correlate their description of God in both masculine and feminine terms with a complementary description of human nature. Most often they refer to the creation account of Genesis 1, which suggests an equal (or even androgynous) creation of mankind. This conception carries the principle of equality between men and women into the practical social and political structures of gnostic communities. The orthodox pattern is strikingly different: it describes God in exclusively masculine terms and often uses Genesis 2 to describe how Eve was created from Adam and for his fulfillment. Like the gnostic view, the orthodox also translates into sociological practice: by the late second century, orthodox Christians came to accept the domination of men over women as the proper, God-given order—not only for the human race, but also for the Christian churches. This correlation between theology, anthropology, and sociology is not lost on the apostle Paul. In his letter to the disorderly Corinthian community, he reminds them of a divinely ordained chain of authority: As God has authority over Christ, so the man has authority over the woman, argues Paul, citing Genesis 2: "The man is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man; and besides, the man was not created for the woman's sake, but the woman for the sake of the man." Here the three elements of the orthodox pattern are welded into one simple argument: the description of God corresponds to a description of human nature which authorizes the social pattern of male domination.
A striking exception to this orthodox pattern occurs in the writings of one revered "father of the church," Clement of Alexandria. Clement identifies himself as orthodox, although he knows members of gnostic groups and their writings well; some scholars suggest that he was himself a gnostic initiate. Yet his own works demonstrate how all three elements of what we have called the "gnostic pattern" could be worked into fully "orthodox" teaching. First, Clement characterizes God not only in masculine but also in feminine terms: "The Word is everything to the child, both father and mother, teacher and nurse.... The nutriment is the milk of the father. . . and the Word alone supplies us children with the milk of love, and only those who suck at this breast are truly happy.... For this reason seeking is called sucking; to those infants who seek the Word, the Father's loving breasts supply milk. Second, in describing human nature, he insists that "men and women share equally in perfection, and are to receive the same instruction and discipline. For the name `humanity' is common to both men and women; and for us `in Christ there is neither male nor female.'" Even in considering the active participation of women with men in the Christian community Clement offers a list—unique in orthodox tradition—of women whose achievements he admires. They range from ancient examples, like Judith, the assassin who destroyed Israel's enemy, to Queen Esther, who rescued her people from genocide, as well as others who took radical political stands. He speaks of Arignole the historian, of Themisto the Epicurean philosopher, and of many other women philosophers, including two who studied with Plato and one trained by Socrates. Indeed, he cannot contain his praise: "What shall I say? Did not Theano the Pythagoran make such progress in philosophy that when a man, staring at her, said, `Your arm is beautiful,' she replied, `Yes, but it is not on public display.'" Clement concludes his list with famous women poets and painters.
If the work of Clement, who taught in Egypt before the lines of orthodoxy and heresy were rigidly drawn (ca. A.D. 160-80) demonstrates how gnostic principles could be incorporated even into orthodox Christian teaching, the majority of communities in the western empire headed by Rome did not follow his example. By the year A.D. 200, Roman Christians endorsed as "canonical" the pseudo-Pauline letter to Timothy, which interpreted Paul's views: "Let a woman learn in silence with full submissiveness. I do not allow any woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain silent, for [note Gen. 2!] Adam was formed first, then Eve and furthermore, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was utterly seduced and came into sin." How are we to account for this irreversible development? The question deserves investigation which this discussion can only initiate. For example, one would need to examine how (and for what reasons) the zealously patriarchal traditions of Israel were adopted by the Roman (and other) Christian communities. Further research might disclose how social and cultural forces converged to suppress feminine symbolism—and women's participation— from western Christian tradition. Given such research, the history of Christianity never could be told in the same way again.
["What Became of God the Mother?", Elaine H. Pagels 1976
"Womanspirit Rising" Carol P.Christ and Judith Plaskow 1979]
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# The Idea of the Holy Ghost
As such, the various Christian perspectives view the Holy Spirit as God himself or the Breath of God, a form of God, or a manifestation of God. The word "Spirit" commonly translates the Greek New Testament word pneuma. It is important to remember that Scripture on the Holy Spirit can be viewed by different sects of Christians in different ways. In Christianity, following the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is the One who guides a person to correctly interpret the word of God and He helps each person reach new levels of understanding.
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
To try to comprehend the Holy Ghost let us first classify its various names and characteristics drawn from the gospels and epistles of the Christian bible. It shows that scarcely any two references to it agree in assigning it the same character or attributes.
John 14:26, the Holy Ghost is a person or personal God.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost assumes the form of a dove.
Matt. 13:16, the Holy Ghost is a spirit.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is an inanimate, senseless object.
John 5:7, the Holy Ghost is a God—the third member of the Trinity.
Acts 2:1; the Holy Ghost is a mighty, rushing wind.
Acts 10:38, the Holy Ghost, from its mode of application, is an ointment.
John 20:22, the Holy Ghost is the breath, by its being breathed into the mouth of the recipient after the ancient oriental custom.
Acts 2:3, the Holy Ghost sat upon each of them, probably in the form of a bird, as at Jesus' baptism.
Acts 2:1, the Holy Ghost appears as cloven tongues of fire.
Luke 2:26, the Holy Ghost is the author of a revelation or inspiration.
Acts 8:17, the Holy Ghost is a magnetic aura imparted by the laying on of hands.
Mark 1:8, the Holy Ghost is a medium or element for baptism.
Acts 28:25, the Holy Ghost appears with vocal organs, and speaks.
Heb. 6:4, the Holy Ghost is dealt out or imparted by measure.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost appears with a tangible body.
Luke 1:5, and many other texts, people are filled with the Holy Ghost.
Matt. 11:15, the Holy Ghost falls upon the people as a ponderable substance.
Luke 4:1, the Holy Ghost is a God within a God, Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 21:11, the Holy Ghost is a being of the masculine or feminine gender—Thus saith the Holy Ghost.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is of the neuter gender, it (the Holy Ghost) abode upon him.
Matt. 1:18, the Holy Ghost, this third member of the Trinity aids the first member (the Father) in the creation of the second member of the trinity of bachelor Gods—the Word, or Saviour, or Son of God.
The Holy Ghost surpasses the fabulous changes of the classical gods and genii. Indeed many of these fabulous conceptions were drawn from mythological sources.
The Christian's Holy Ghost descended as a dove and alighted on Christ's head at his baptism (Luke 3:22). The Holy Ghost in the shape of a bird – a dove or a pigeon – is a very ancient pagan tradition. In India, a dove was uniformly the emblem of the Holy Spirit or Spirit of God. A dove stood for a third member of the Trinity, and was the regenerator or regeneratory power. Compare this with Titus (3:5): regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. A person being baptized under the Brahminical theocracy was said to be regenerated and born again, or, they were born into the spirit, or the spirit into them—the dove into or upon them.
In Rome a dove or pigeon was a legendary spirit, the accompaniment of Venus, the emblem of female procreative energy. It is therefore appropriately shown as descending at baptism in the character of the third member of the Trinity. The dove also fills the Grecian oracles with their spirit and power. A dove was, in several ancient religions, the Spirit of God (Holy Ghost) moving on the face of the waters at creation (Gen. 1:2), though a pigeon was often substituted. The dove and the pigeon were used interchangeably.
In the ancient Syrian temple of Hierapolis, Semiramis is shown with a dove on her head, the prototype of the dove on the head of the Christian messiah at baptism. At the feast of Whitsuntide, the descent of the Holy Ghost was symbolised in London by a pigeon being let fly out of a hole in the midst of the roof of the great aisle of St Paul's Cathedral. It is more than likely that this continues an ancient tradition. On solemn occasions when the Holy Ghost was expected or invited to descend, it was more than likely that originally no one in the congregation noticed that it did. The custom therefore arose of liberating pigeons or doves at the appropriate moment.
Naturally, these doves would have been actually ascending, having realised that they were no longer constrained, but that would not have bothered the faithful who eventually came to understand the symbolism. In any case, the doves would most likely have been tame ones bred for the purpose and possibly made no great effort to escape, like the pigeons in crowded city plazas. So, it is quite possible that sometimes one of the tame birds did alight on the priest – perhaps they were trained to do just that. The pictures of priests or gods with a dove on their head might be depictions of actual rituals.
The Holy Ghost was the third member of the Trinity in several Eastern religions as well as the Gothic and Celtic nations. This notion of a third person in the godhead was diffused among all the nations of the earth. Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or Father, Word and Holy Ghost (1 John 5:7) express the divine triad of which the Holy Ghost was the third member. The Holy Spirit and the Evil Spirit were, each in their turn, third member of the Trinity.
In these triads the third member was not of equal rank with the other two. In the Theban Trinity, Khonso was inferior to Arion and Mant. In the Hindu triad, Siva was subordinate to Brahma and Vishnu. The Holy Ghost conception of the Christian world is an exact correspondence with these older ideas. It has always stood third in rank after the Father and the Son or the Word, a slave doing all the hard work and getting little worship for it. Today it is still seldom addressed in Christian devotion, but perhaps that is because it was so badly treated that it was not too diligent in its tasks. It was not too good, for example, at making the holy book of Christianity infallible.
The Holy Ghost was the Holy Breath, which, in the Hindu traditions, moved on the face of the waters at creation, and imparted vitality into everything created. A similar conception appears in the scriptures. In Psalms 33:6 the Word of the Lord made the heavens, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. The Brahminical conception of creation by the Divine Breath, the Holy Ghost, which was breathed into Adam to make him a living soul. The Prana or principle of life of the Hindus is the breath of life by which the Brahma, the Creator, animates the clay to make man a living soul.
Holy Ghost, Holy Breath and Holy Wind were equivalent terms for the sigh from the mouth of the Supreme God, as laid down in pagan traditions. The Holy Wind is suggested by the mighty rushing wind from heaven, which filled the house on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2). The Holy Wind is an accepted term for the Holy Ghost in ancient religions. The doxology, reported by a missionary, in the religious service of the Syrian church runs thus:
Praise to the Holy Spiritual Wind, which is the Holy Ghost; Praise to the three persons which are one true God.
The Hebrew Ruh Elohim, translated Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2) in our version, is literally, Wind of the Gods. The word Pneuma, of the Greek New Testament, is sometimes translated Ghost and sometimes Wind, as suited the fancy of the translators. In John 3:5 the word is Spirit, in verse eight both Wind and Spirit, and in Luke 1:35 the term is Holy Ghost—all translated from the same word. In the Greek Testament the word Pneuma is used for Spirit, Holy Ghost, breath and Wind so that in the Christian Scriptures they are synonymous. An unwarranted license has been assumed by translators in rendering the same word different ways.
The Holy Ghost appears also as a tongue of fire, which sat upon each of the apostles in Acts 2:3.
Buddha, an incarnate God of the Hindus over two thousand years ago, is often seen with a glory or tongue of fire upon his head. The visible form of the Holy Ghost as fire was accepted among the Buddhists, Druids and Etrurians. The Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit when visible, was in the form of fire or a bird and was always accompanied with wisdom and power. The Hindus, Persians and Chaldeans made offerings to fire, emblem of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit as the solar fire.
Holy men of God, like some of the prophets, are considered inspired by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21; Acts 28:25). The ancient Celts were moved by the Holy Ghost and also claimed that their Salic laws (seventy-two in number) were inspired by the Salo Ghost or Holy Ghost, known also as the Wisdom of the Spirit, or the Voice of the Spirit.
The Holy Ghost imparted by the laying on of hands is also an ancient custom. By the putting hands on the head of the candidate, the Celts conveyed the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.
Baptism by or into the Holy Ghost accompanied with fire (Mt 3:2) is also traceable to a very ancient period. The Tuscans, or Etrurians, baptized with fire, wind (ghost) and water. Baptism into the first member of the Trinity, the Father, was with fire: baptism into the second member of the Trinity, the Word, was with water: baptism into the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, was with breath, gas, gast, ghost, wind, or spirit. In ancient countries, the child was taken to the priest, who named him before the sacred fire. Then he was sprinkled with holy water from a vessel made of the sacred tree known as the Holme. To impart the Holy Ghost by breathing (John 20:22), the priest blew his breath upon the child to transfer the Holy Ghost, thus baptising the child by air, spiritus sanctus or ghost. The practice of breathing in or upon was quite common among the ancient heathen.
The Holy Ghost as the agent in divine conception, or the procreation of other Gods. Jesus is said to have been conceived by the Holy Ghost (Mt 1:18), and we find similar claims of divine procreation via the Holy Ghost in the old religions. In the Hindu myths, Sakya was conceived by the Holy Ghost Nara-an.
Sesostris of Egypt, according to Manetho, asked the oracle: Tell me, O thou strong in fire! who before me could subjugate all things, and who shall after me? The oracle rebuked him, saying, First God, then the Word, and with them the Spirit. And Plutarch, in his Life of Numa, confirms that the incarnation of the Holy Spirit was known both to the ancient Romans and Egyptians. The doctrine was nearly universal.
The origin of the tradition of the Holy Ghost is easily traced to the Brahminical trifold conception of God. First is the god of power or might, Brahma or Brahm, the Father, second is the god of creation, the Word, answering to John's creative Word (John 1:3), third is the god of generation and regeneration, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. Under the Brahminical theocracy, the Holy Ghost was the living, vital, active, life-imparting agent.
The Holy Ghost in the Christian Scripture is the agent of Christ's conception, because, as Matthew declares, he was conceived by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was also the regenerating agent at his baptism, although Luke, who relates it, does not say why the Holy Spirit in the form of a bird, alighted and sat upon his head. The reason is nevertheless fully disclosed in the older mythical religions. Christians claim baptism imparts a new spiritual life—they are born again. This new spirit appeared as a dove or a pigeon.
The spirit was originally female so that the Trinity consisted of two masculine principles and a feminine one, the latter being the procreative or regenerative principle. At the imposition of Patriarchy the sex of the Holy Ghost altered from female to neuter.
The primary windy idea of the Holy Ghost is traceable to that early period of society when the untutored people of the earth in their ignorance of nature easily believed that movement signified the passage of a god.
The Buddhists had their god Vasus, who manifested himself as fire, wind, storms, gas, ghosts, gusts, and the breath, thus being nearly a counterpart of the Christian Holy Ghost. This god sprang from the supreme, primordial God, who was to Brahmins and Buddhists a fine, spiritual substance—aura, anima, wind, ether, igneous fluid, or electrical fire or fire from the sun, giving rise to baptism by fire. The third member of the Trinity, subsequently seems to have arisen from this being and had the same properties.
What was a sin against the Holy Ghost and why was it unpardonable? It was refusing to allow the Holy Ghost to effect the second birth. Since baptism by whatever means into the Holy Ghost was the only means of redeeming sins against the Father or the Son, the refusal or prevention of baptism meant there could be no forgiveness. It was the only route so could not be avoided if sin was to be pardoned. An offence committed against the third limb of the Godhead barred the door to forgiveness, in this life or that to come. To sin against the Holy Ghost was to block the path by which the door of heaven was to be reached.
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# The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
So Elohim created man in his own image,
in the image of Elohim he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
It is my intention in this article to uncover and expose the semantic, historical, and theological truth behind this third divine person of the Christian Trinity. I am aided in this by scriptural and semantic evidence, as well as sound theology. I will first refute Mary's conception 'by the spirit' and my arguments behind this stance; I will then present a more accurate (meaning, gendered) depiction of the Holy Ghost than the traditional one based on the historical Jesus' teachings and scriptural, historical and mythological evidence.
Get it Right! Ruach is not a Boy's Name! (Good News according to Phillip)
The idea that the Holy Ghost intervened in Jesus' virgin birth is met with open hostility in the gospels of the Nag Hammadi collection, where Phillip the Apostle even says: "when did a woman ever conceive of another woman?", which is a clear reference to the Ruach, or Holy Spirit. This is the one time in the Christian scriptures where the Holy Ghost is referred to clearly and directly as a 'woman'. It is no wonder that Phillip's gospel is excluded from the patriarchal canon, which was organized by the Pauline School.
The term 'Ruach', which is the word used by Jesus to refer to the Spirit, is a feminine Aramaic term translated as the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost in English, which came through Latin as the Spiritus Sanctus. The (Pauline influenced) Romanization of Christianity brought about the masculinization of the Ruach, whose feminine gender is CENTRAL to the Christian mystery, and I will explain why later in my article.
In Romance languages, words have gender, that is, they are grammatically considered either masculine (as in EL hombre: the man, or EL carro: the car) or feminine (as in LA mujer: the woman, or LA casa: the house). The same applies to the Latin language. The Latin word spiritus is a masculine word. But the original, Semitic word that was used by Yeshua, the rabbi we know as Jesus, was Ruach, and this is a feminine gendered word. Ruach is the (female) Spirit, the Soul, the accurately gendered Latin translation of which should have probably been Anima. This is the term that Jungians are now using to refer to the inner feminine, or the Divine Feminine. In translating Ruach as spiritus, the association remained between soul and breath, but the original gender of the divine being that Jesus referred to as Ruach was changed.
Phillip, who walked with the historical Jesus, was in fact adamantly rejecting the view of the Pauline School and other Christians on the Holy Ghost and the fathering of Jesus by this agent, because Ruach is a female.
Keep in mind that Paul never met Jesus or heard his teachings in person. For this reason, Paul's teachings, particularly where they entirely divorce themselves from Jewish tradition, may have been an affront to many traditional Jewish followers who were more familiar than him with the teachings of the historical Jesus and knew Paul's theology to be contradictory to that of their Messiah.
Paul's view reflects a strong gentile influence, particularly where he constructed a Christian theology almost identical to Orpheic Dionysian religion, which is a Greek Mystery Tradition. Anyone who knows about the Orpheic tradition will agree with me that the Christian theology that the Pauline School produced was a new form of Orpheism: a mortal is born of a virgin, performs superhuman feats, dies and is miraculously reborn, and becomes a Man-God. He is the new Dionysus, the Son of God (Theos, or Zeus), the God of wine who initiates mortals in the mysteries of wine, and the one who brings, with his mysteries, a promise of a better lot in the afterlife. Jesus himself said: I am the Vine. Jesus himself established his identity within the context of a Dionysian mystery.
The religions of Dionysus and the Christ are even observed similarly, via mysteries known as sacraments. In the Old Testament, and in Jewish tradition, the idea of 'mysteries' apparently does not exist. Mysteries were central to Greek paganism, and they're defined as sacraments, or ritual events, often of an initiatory nature, that produce an ineffable experience. It's only when belief in Jesus' salvific religion is proclaimed that we read of mysteries in the Bible. Before the idea of salvation, there were no mysteries in the Essenean form of Judaism that Jesus and John the Baptist practiced.
The Christian sacraments clearly derive from the Greek Mysteries, and share some similarities with the Dionysian and even the Eleusinian mysteries. We need only look at the Dionysian and Orpheic consumption of goat meat or bread and wine in order to attain communion with the Son of God (Dionysus) to see a clear pattern which all salvific religions share: the consumption of the sacrificial victim implies one's participation in his salvation and grace, and this is how one benefits from the man-god's sacrificial merit.
Having lived among gentiles his whole life, Paul must have been familiar with their theologies and beliefs, and was quite brilliant in his retelling of the Jesus myth in line with the more familiar tradition of Greek heroes and men-gods, which was an appealing theme to Greeks and other gentiles. In fact, mystery religions were in the process of replacing traditional, classical paganism throughout the Mediterranean.
The Pauline salvific faith is, therefore, not entirely contradictory to the Essene Jewish teachings of Jesus, but Paul's mysteries or sacraments erase the memory of an important early Christian person: the Holy Ghost. And it is here that Phillip takes a stand against Christians who don't understand the true, original Christian teachings, and are perpetuating false doctrines.
Keeping in mind that Phillip (unlike Paul) walked with the historical Jesus and heard the teachings directly from his mouth, we have to interpret Phillip's remark in his gospel as meaning that the Pauline School was teaching a false doctrine that contradicted what Jesus taught while alive. This means that there is a Goddess, which is hidden or silenced in the Christian tradition, and that the Holy Ghost is a woman. It also means that there is another explanation, other than our familiar immaculate conception, for Mary's virgin birth. The theological implications of this for Christians are many. Let's look within the Bible for references of the Holy Ghost.
The Waters of Life
Jesus hints at the Holy Ghost's gender when he refers to his 'mother' in heaven, and compares her in the Nag Hammadi gospels to his earthly mother, saying his earthly mother gave him death but his heavenly mother gave him life. He also mentions that his followers are to be born again of the Ruach or Anima, and he speaks of baptism as a ritual of rebirthing, where we are BORN again of the water. Everyone knows there is no birth without a womb, without a mother. Jesus explains this so that the gender of the Ruach is not only incidental, but central and crucial to the mystery of baptism, and the one being baptised is reborn as a child of the Holy Ghost, he or she is born again of the Holy Ghost, a son of the Goddess. I have presented all these facts to conclude that Jesus, and his rabbi John the Baptist, both of whom were Essenes, were beyond a shadow of a doubt teaching a form of Goddess spirituality and a Goddess mystery tradition WITHIN Judaism, and that the Ruach's status as a Divine WOMAN was central to the true mystery and meaning of baptism (3).
Like all initiations, in the baptism performed by John the Baptist and the Essenes, the old self must die and one is reborn again. The Gospel of Phillip sheds light on this mystery when it teaches us that 'a horse can only beget a horse, a man can only beget a human, and a god can only beget a god'. This further illuminates what it means to be 'born of the Ruach'. If the Ruach is spirit, then one reborn from Her becomes spirit and shares her divine, immortal nature, and receives the Holy Ghost as his mother. This new relationship between humans and the Ruach is one of the things that identifies the new Christian community and Christian mysticism.
The mystery of baptism is clearly a Goddess mystery, where the sacred waters grant us new life just as they did in Genesis. In fact, the creation myth that we find in Genesis is based on an earlier, Sumerian myth where the Sumerian Father God (El) and Mother Goddess (Asherah) (1) copulate [are in union] at the beginning of creation. We know of the identity between the God of Abraham and the Heavenly King in Sumerian myth from the name: El. Most prophets and angels in Jewish traditions have names that end in -el, such as Daniel, Gabriel, Mikael, etc. This is a reference to El, the Sumerian God, with whom Abraham believed to have made a pact or covenant that extended to all his descendants. Abraham came from Ur, where El was the main God, even if one among many.
We also know of the identity between the Holy Ghost and the Asherah because both are the waters of life. Lady Wisdom, in the Bible, says that She existed before creation and witnessed it, which means that She is non-created, and therefore her nature is divine. In the Sumerian myth, the spirit of El is hovering over the Asherah, and they are copulating [in union]. In the Genesis myth, the waters of life are no longer personified, and we see a plain sea where the Sumerians saw a watery primal Goddess. But the myth, otherwise, is almost identical. Asherah is the consort of the God of Abraham, the co-Creator, and this must have been the reason why Jewish women used to commit transgressions against the prophets' warnings and pray to Her during early Judaism, because they saw their pagan cousins and neighbors praying to her alongside their more familiar God, and they knew that they had a spiritual Mother who had been stolen from them by patriarchal Jewish religious authorities. Lynn Gottlieb makes the point that had Jewish women - as opposed to Jewish men - written the Bible, the story of the evolution of their religious thinking would have been told very differently.
In the African Yoruba tradition, known as Santeria in the diaspora, there is a type of once in a lifetime initiation where a mortal becomes a priest of an Orisha, which resonates with the Christian baptismal Goddess mystery. One of the many rituals that has to take place before initiation is, as in Eleusis, a ritual bath. This takes place in the river, as Oshun is the Goddess of the sweet waters of life, of fertility, and of the rivers. Oshun's name means 'source', and like Asherah She is a water Goddess. She is therefore identical to the pre-Biblical the Sea Goddess hinted in Genesis only as a de-personified metaphor in her role as the initiator in a new spiritual dispensation. Once the initiate has bathed in Oshun's waters and once he has been cleansed of his past crimes, he is fit for rebirth. In Eleusis, the ritual bath and sacrifices also took place before the initiates entered the Telesterion and underwent the more important secret rites. I won't get into any more details as it's not within the scope of this article, but Yoruba religion is the only pagan mystery religion, which has existed consistently and without interruption since pagan times.
Then have them make a sanctuary for me, that my Shekinah may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8
The Jewish Holy Ghost is known as Shekinah. Her name means 'presence', and according to Lynn Gottlieb (2), her descent among the Jews seems to have been the fulfilment of the terms of the alliance between the God of Abraham and the Jewish people. Hence, the Ark of the Alliance was built so that She may dwell among them.
In the Christian tradition, some of the boons of the Holy Ghost include creativity, inspiration, counsel, and the transformation of both the individual and the culture by its grace. These are all attributes of Divinity that are associated with the Shekinah, and these have become evident in the modern Goddess movement, which accentuates the importance of intuition and creativity. They also are in line with the Jungian concept of Anima as the Inspirer, and with scriptural references to Sophia, or Divine Wisdom in Proverbs, Wisdom, and other books of the Bible. In her attributes and roles, the Ruach, the Shekinah, Sophia and the modern pagan Goddess seem to be one and the same.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. Proverbs 8:23
In the scriptures, Wisdom (Sophia, in Greek) is the Lady that inspires men to be good, righteous, and wise, and to perform virtuous deeds. She is the Goddess of philosophers (literally, 'lovers of Wisdom'), King Salomon seems to have been inebriated with Her beauty and power, and the eighth chapter of Proverbs is the one chapter in all of the Bible where She speaks for herself, in the first person.
In our day, the Ecclesia Gnostica and Essene reconstructionist groups are celebrating Christian tradition in a way that is truer to the original form than the orthodox, more familiar forms of Christianity. Other, more mainstream churches have also stepped in and, mainly with insights from the Nag Hammadi library and the Dead Sea scrolls, are revisioning Christianity in a way that will help it stay true to the original spirit in which these mysteries were taught. They also are coming to terms with the fact that there were various original forms of Christianity and that there was a struggle for power between these different schools, which is only normal in all human institutions. This may indicate a need for research beyond the politics and the egos involved in the process of distilling a Bible and a Christian tradition that was acceptable to all. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide these efforts to retell Her story and revitalize the culture. Peace,
Saadaya
The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
Notes:
1. The descent of the Holy Ghost upon Jesus is described in Matthew 3:16, where the 'signal' that is given is a dove. Anyone familiar with Sumerian, Phoenician, and Canaanite religions will be reminded - and surely Jews in those days were - of Asherah, the Mother Goddess, whose sacred symbol is a dove, and who was worshipped alongside the Father God El as his consort by the neighbors of the Jews. Unfortunately whenever a (usually feminist) theologian dares look beyond the Judeo Christian tradition in her work, she's usually considered an anthropologist instead of a theologian, but in the case of the Asherah the evidence linking her and the Divine Feminine in the Jewish and Christian traditions is strong enough that it's almost impossible to miss.
2. Lynn Gottlieb is a brilliant feminist theologian who wrote 'She Who Dwells Within'.
3. The Catholic and other churches that perform baptism shortly after birth have forgotten the true nature of the baptismal mystery. The person being baptised must be mature in order to experience transformation. There is another, also important, ritual which has replaced the true baptismal mystery in the Christian tradition: that of naming a newborn and welcoming him into the community. It is important that a newborn be presented to the elders in a community in order to ensure that they will take an interest in him and protect and guide him. Freya Aswynn, in fact, mentions that there seemed to be a form of 'baptism' in Northern Europe * before * Christianity was officialized. The Havamal contains the instructions for this ritual, where water is sprinkled on the child and the rune EIHWAZ is chanted. This is a protective rune. The ritual of welcoming a child into the community by sprinkling of water also exists among the Yoruba, so that it seems to exist in several cultures that engage in ancestor reverence. While this is an important ceremony, it serves quite a different purpose from the baptism that we see in the Bible. Jesus himself was not baptised until he was 30, and baptism was only performed if the person made a decision to enter the New Covenant.
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# The Holy Spirit: The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead
"A new response to the "image" of the Holy Spirit is taking shape quietly in scholarly circles throughout the world, as the result of new findings in the Dead Sea Scriptures, the Coptic Nag Hammadi and intertestamental texts of Jewish mystics found side-by-side the writings of the early Christian church. Scholars are recognizing the Holy Spirit as the "female vehicle" for the outpouring of higher teaching and spiritual rebirth. The Holy Spirit plays varied roles in Judeo-Christian traditions: acting in Creation, imparting wisdom, and inspiring Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament She is the presence of God in the world and a power in the birth and life of Jesus... The Holy Spirit was also a source for Divine guidance and as the indwelling Comforter." - J. J. Hurtak
The Holy Spirit:
The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead
J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science
"There is currently much talk of "feminine issues," particularly in social and political contexts. This growing awareness of gender- related matters was not something ignored by the early Church and the writers of ancient religious texts. As we see in this article by Dr. Hurtak, the notion of femininity played an extremely important and significant role in the thinking and belief system of the intertestamental authors. Far from being the overbearing patriarchal advocates as they are often portrayed, more recent findings reveal an innate sensitivity and appreciation for the feminine aspect of Divinity than has been previously suspected. For this reason, this particular article becomes a meaningful and insightful contribution to the current discussion of the role of the female in modern times. Once more we find a rich and profound history reshaping the future even as it unfolds before our eyes.
A new response to the "image" of the Holy Spirit is taking shape quietly in scholarly circles throughout the world, as the result of new findings in the Dead Sea Scriptures, the Coptic Nag Hammadi and intertestamental texts of Jewish mystics found side-by-side the writings of the early Christian church. Scholars are recognizing the Holy Spirit as the "female vehicle" for the outpouring of higher teaching and spiritual rebirth. The Holy Spirit plays varied roles in Judeo-Christian traditions: acting in Creation, imparting wisdom, and inspiring Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament She is the presence of God in the world and a power in the birth and life of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit became well-established as part of a circumincession, a partner in the Trinity with the Father and Son after doctrinal controversies of the late 4th century AD solidified the position of the Western Church. Although all Christian Churches accept the union of three persons in one Godhead, the Eastern Church, particularly the communities of the Greek, Ethiopian, Armenian, and Russian, do not solidify a strong union of personalities, but see the figures uniquely differentiated, but still in union. Moreover, the Eastern Church places the Holy Spirit as the Second Person of the Trinity with Christ as the Third, whereas the Western Church places the Son before the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls the Holy Spirit was known as the Ruach or Ruach Ha Kodesh (Psalm 51:11). In the New Testament as Pneuma (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit was not rendered as "Holy Ghost" until the appearance of the 1611 Protestant King James Version of the Bible. For the most part, Ruach or Pneuma have been considered the spiritual force or presence of God. The power of this force can be seen in the Christian church as the "gifts of the Spirit" (especially in today's tongues-speaking Pentecostals). The Holy Spirit was also a source for Divine guidance and as the indwelling Comforter.
Likewise in Hebrew thought, Ruach Ha Kodesh was considered a voice sent from on high to speak to the Prophet. Thus, in the Old Testament language of the prophets, She is the Divine Spirit of indwelling sanctification and creativity and is considered as having a feminine power. "He" as a reference to Spirit has been used in theology to match the pronoun for God, yet the Hebrew word ruach is a noun of feminine gender. Thus, referring to the Holy Spirit as "she" has some linguistic justification. Denoting Spirit as a feminine principle, the creative principle of life, makes sense when considering the Trinity aspect where Father plus Spirit leads to the Divine Extension of Divine Sonship.
The Spirit is not called "it" despite the fact that pneuma in Greek is a neuter noun. Church doctrine regards the Holy Spirit as a person, not a force like magnetism. The writings of the Catholic fathers, in fact, preserve the vision of the Spirit encapsulating the "peoplehood of Christ" as the Bride or as the "Mother Church." Both are feminine aspects of the Divine. In the Eastern Church, Spirit was always considered to have a feminine nature. She was the life-bearer of the faith. Clement of Alexandria states that "she" is an indwelling Bride. Amongst the Eastern Church communities there is none more clear about the feminine aspect of the Holy Spirit as the corpus of the Coptic-Gnostics. One such document records that Jesus says, "Even so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my hairs and carry me away to the great mountain Tabor [in Galilee]."
The 3rd century scroll of mystical Coptic Christianity, The Acts of Thomas, gives a graphic account of the Apostle Thomas' travels to India, and contains prayers invoking the Holy Spirit as "the Mother of all creation" and "compassionate mother," among other titles. The most profound Coptic Christian writings definitely link the "spirit of Spirit" manifested by Christ to all believers as the "Spirit of the Divine Mother." Most significant are the new manuscript discoveries of recent decades which have demonstrated that more early Christians than previously thought regarded the Holy Spirit as the Mother of Jesus.
One text is the Gospel of Thomas which is part of the newly discovered Nag Hammadi texts (discovered 1945-1947). Most are composed about the same time as the Biblical gospels in the 1st and 2nd century AD. In this gospel, Jesus declares that his disciples must hate their earthly parents (as in Luke 14:26) but love the Father and Mother as he does, "for my mother (gave me falsehood), but (my) true Mother gave me life." In another Nag Hammadi discovery, The Secret Book of James, Jesus refers to himself as "the son of the Holy Spirit." These two sayings do not identify the Holy Spirit as the mothering vehicle of Jesus, but more than one scholar has interpreted them to mean that the maternal Holy Spirit is intended.
So far in Western traditional theology, the voices advocating a feminine Holy Spirit are scattered and subtle. But for them, it is a view theologically defensible and accompanied by psychological, sociological, and scientific benefits of recognizing "the new supernature" developing within vast consciousness changes happening in the human evolution.
The German theologian Jürgen Moltmann, a well-known thinker in mainline Protestantism, says "monotheism is monarchism." He says a traditional idea of God's absolute power "generally provides the justification for earthly domination"- - -from the emperors and despots of history to 20th century dictators. Moltmann argues for a new appreciation of the "persons" of the Trinity and the community or family model it presents for human relations.
According to Professor Neil Q. Hamilton at Drew University School of Theology, the Gospel of John shows us how "the Holy Spirit begins to perform a mothering role for us that is unconditional acceptance, love and caring." God then begins to parent us in father and mother modes.
A Catholic scholar, Franz Mayr, a philosophy professor at the University of Portland, also favors the recognition of the Holy Spirit as feminine. He contends that the traditional unity of God would not have to be watered down in order for scholars to accept the feminine side of God . Mayr, who studied under the renown German theologian Karl Rahner, said he came to his view during his study of the writings of St. Augustine (AD 354-430) who saw that a significant number of early Christians must have accepted a feminine aspect of the Holy Spirit such that the influential church father of North Africa castigated this view. St. Augustine claimed that the acceptance of the Holy Spirit as the "mother of the Son of God and wife-consort of the Father" was merely a pagan outlook. But Mayr contends that Augustine "skipped over the social and maternal aspect of God," which Mayr thinks is best seen in the Holy Spirit, the Divine Ruach Ha Kodesh. St. Jerome, a contemporary of Augustine's, and two church fathers of an earlier period, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, quoted from the pseudopigraphic Gospel of the Hebrews, which depicted the Holy Spirit as a "mother figure."
A 14th Century fresco in a small Catholic Church southeast of Munich, Germany depicts a female Spirit as part of the Holy Trinity, according to Leonard Swidler of Temple University. The woman and two bearded figures flanking her appear to be wrapped in a single cloak and joined in their lower halves showing a union of old and new bodies of birth and rebirth.
In conclusion, we are living at a time of profound and revelatory discoveries of archaeology and ancient spiritual texts that point the way to the future. Christ, himself, was said to have female disciples as disclosed in Gnostic literature and recent archeological findings of early Christian tombs in Italy. A beginning has been made to reclaim "the Spirit" of the Ruach found in the mountain of newly discovered pre-Christian texts and Coptic-Egyptian texts of the early Church . It is becoming clear in re-examining the first 100 years of Christianity that an earlier Christianity was closer to the "Feminine Spirit" of the Old Testament, the Ruach or the beloved Shekinah. The Shekinah, distinct from the Ruach, was seen as the indwelling Divine Presence that activated the "birth of miracles" or the anointed self. Accordingly, the growth of traditional Christianity made alternative adjustments of the original position of the "birth of gifts" as Christendom compromised for the privilege of becoming an establishment.
The new directions of spiritual and scientific studies are showing that it is now possible that the Holy Spirit, Ruach Ha Kodesh, can be portrayed as feminine as the indwelling presence of God, the Shekinah, nurturing and bringing to birth souls for the kingdom. Spiritual insights recorded in the Book of Knowledge: Keys of Enoch carefully remind us that we are being prepared to understand that just as the Old Testament was the Age of the Father, the New Testament the Age of the Son, so this coming Age where gifts are poured forth will be the Age of the Holy Spirit."
J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science
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# On the Nature of the Divine Mother or Holy Spirit?
The spiritual Phenomenon called the Divine Mother has always been deeply interesting to spiritual seekers. Known to sages and saints throughout history, it is the Divine Mother whom we in the West address as the Holy Spirit and Mother Nature. In India, Hindus address Her as Shakti, Maya, Kali, and Durga. She is also known as Wisdom, Aum, Amen, the Word of God. By whatever name we refer to Her, She is an actual Entity that exists and can be directly experienced. In this paper, I present a number of conjectures about Her identity based on the recorded experiences of these saints and sages. The Mother's nature is one of the unfathomable mysteries of life. Nothing can be said about Her directly or positively. Almost everything that can be said of Her must be couched in metaphors; She is described in terms of waves, clouds, lights, fire, voices, music, though She is none of these. I know of no other way to discuss Her than metaphorically.
Her existence preceded language. Therefore it stands to reason that She operates without recourse to or dependence on words. As I am led to believe, no amount of intellectual understanding can substitute for a direct and personal experience of Her.
The subject of the Mother's identity can be very dense. Even arriving at the generalities presented here required the matching of many pieces of a large and complex spiritual puzzle. In the end, all of it must remain guesswork on my part.
If we mean to follow the case as set out here, we will have to suspend disbelief, at least until the full argument has been stated. Every name used in this essay, unless otherwise stated, is a name by which the Mother has been known to an enlightened master. Towards the end of the essay, a list of these names is given. Because all refer to the same Entity, I could have chosen any one of them as definitive. In fact, I have chosen to follow Sri Ramakrishna's practice and refer to this high power as the "Divine Mother." If, after finishing this article, you wish to pursue the subject further, the best source to turn to is the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, the recorded conversations of the Mother's greatest devotee. While most sages knew a single facet of the Mother, the Avatar of Dakshineswar scaled the lofty peaks of enlightenment by several routes and displayed a sublime, multi-faceted knowledge of the Mother which offers a standard of comparison for other accounts.
The Mother is neither a female nor a person
To arrive at a notion of the Mother, we must first put aside our anthropocentric ways of thinking and realize that She is not a person, and not a female either, but an agency, a power in the universe which can only be understood as it is.
Avatars and enlightened saints and sages, who refer to the Holy Father and Divine Mother, find themselves in a position of needing to speak about entities which are one at the absolute level of existence and apparently too at the relative. To differentiate between them, they draw upon a metaphor of gender, as Kabir and Lao Tzu illustrate:
Kabir: "The formless Absolute is my Father, and God with form is my
Mother." (1)
Lao Tzu: "Nameless indeed is the source of creation [i.e., the Father],
But things have a mother and she has a name." (2)
Both Kabir and Lao Tzu are differentiating between an absolute realm where name and form are not to be found and a relative plane where they are. The former is designated the Father; the latter, the Mother.
However, down through the centuries, using the gender metaphor has given rise to a difficulty. We ordinary people, lacking the knowledge that accompanies enlightenment, project onto these two high powers stereotypes and conclusions, likes and dislikes proper to actual males and females and improper to these genderless sublime entities. The Divine Mother becomes anthropomorphized into a woman, leading us to distort Her true nature and enmeshing us in a web of imprisoning thoughts.
Not a female, the Mother is nonetheless the necessary cause of gender; not a male, the Father is its sufficient cause. Not a person Herself, the Mother is the source of personhood; not a person Himself, the Father is the source of existence itself.
If we truly wish to approach an understanding of Her Nature that may help us realize Her, we must be vigilant against taking the gender metaphor farther than its usefulness permits.
The term "Mother" refers to the relative plane of existence; the term "Father" refers to the absolute
Understanding some basic distinctions about Her will require us to think in vast terms. Sri Ramakrishna hinted at this to his devotees: "The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the Mother's womb. Now do you see how vast She is?" (3)
One of Sri Ramakrishna's translators and biographers, Swami Nikhilananda, explains: reality has two levels, one of which may be called the absolute, acosmic, or transcendental level and the other the relative, cosmic, or phenomenal. (4) It was these two levels of Reality that saints and sages wished to speak about by using the metaphor of a cosmic male and female.
According to Swami Nikhilananda, at the phenomenal level, one perceives the universe of diversity and is aware of one's own individual personality or ego, whereas at the transcendental level, differences merge into an inexplicable non-dual consciousness. Both these levels of experience are real from their respective standpoints, though what is perceived at one level may be negated at the other. (5)
Thus, the Mother, coterminous with this relative plane of existence, includes all things, all creation, all manifestation, all matter. The Father, the source of creation, remains ever no-thing, un-created, un- manifest, im-material.
On the relative plane, the Divine Mother creates all there is, preserves it for a time, and then dissolves it into the formless Father again.
According to the saints and sages we shall hear from, it is the Mother who operates the world; that is, who creates, preserves, and destroys everything there is.
As Swami Nikhilananda observes, She is "Procreatrix [cf. Prakriti], Nature, the Destroyer, the Creator.” (6) His remarks echo ancient texts. Of Her the Upanishads declared: “Thou art the creator; thou art the destroyer by thy prowess; and thou art the protector.” (7)
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Krishna addresses Her as Maya.
Maya makes all things: what moves, what is unmoving.
O son of Kunti, that is why the world spins,
Turning its wheel through birth and through destruction. (8)
This knowledge is not privy to Hindus alone. The avatar Zarathustra taught that the Mother was in sole charge of "the management of the bodily and spiritual worlds." (9) Solomon also knew that wisdom "operates everything." (10)
Swami Nikhilananda used various metaphors to suggest how She operates:
She projects the world and again withdraws it. She spins it as the spider spins its web. She is the Mother of the Universe, identical with the Brahman of Vedanta, and with the Atman of Yoga. As eternal Lawgiver, She makes and unmakes laws; it is by Her imperious will that karma yields its fruit. She ensnares men with illusion and again releases them from bondage with a look of Her benign eyes. She is the Supreme Mistress of the cosmic play, and all objects, animate and inanimate, dance by Her will. Even those who realize the Absolute in nirvikalpa samadhi are under Her jurisdiction as long as they live on the relative plane. (11)
She is metaphorically called the Voice in the Wilderness in the Bible because no law, no principle of organization, no structure can apply to the formless God. Only the Mother has form; as such She gives Voice to God and cries in the "wilderness" that the Father is.
The Mother made the body
Having created the universe, the Divine Mother dwells within it, as King Solomon, an enlightened devotee of the Mother, suggests: "Wisdom [Solomon's name for the Divine Mother] ... penetrates and permeates everything that is, every material thing." (12) Sri Ramakrishna agrees: "After the creation the Primal Power [the Mother] dwells in the universe itself. She brings forth this phenomenal world and then pervades it." (13) The Avatar of Dakshineswar confided to his devotees that "the Divine Mother revealed to me that it is She Herself who has become man." (14)
She made the five material bodies (or pancha kosas) by which we act and know. Solomon cryptically comments that: "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn her seven pillars." (15) It is my impression that the "seven pillars" are the seven chakras. St. Paul too was referring to Her role as the body's creator and in-dweller when he said: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God [the Mother] dwelleth in you?" (16) In Sri Krishna's words: "Every human being is essentially a soul [the Child of God or Atman, one with the Father], covered with a veil of maya [the Mother]." (17)
Let us pause with this mention of the immortal soul. We now have three eternal actors in our divine play. We have the Father without form, the Mother with form, and the immortal soul, their offspring, which the prophet Amos called "a firebrand plucked out of the burning." (19) What is the divine drama in which all three are engaged?
If we look at events from the standpoint of the immortal soul, then it could be said, as I have done elsewhere, (18) that the purpose of life is enlightenment. The purpose of life is that the undying soul should travel out from God, into the world, where, after eons of spiritual evolution and enlightenment, it will learn that it and God are one. The purpose of life, viewed from the Creator's standpoint, is that God should meet God, and, through that meeting, enjoy His own bliss. (20) The Father created the Mother, who went on to create trillions of forms – prodigal children, embodied souls - which left the Father and traveled in the realm of matter, until every form comes to know itself as God.
These three actors could be called the Transcendental (the Holy Father), the Phenomenal (the Divine Mother), and the Transcendental in the Phenomenal (the immortal soul or Child of God). If we alter their order, we have what Christians call the "Trinity" – the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We explore the Father and Mother in this article. The immortal soul is the unrealized "Son of God," (21) the treasure buried in a field, the Pearl of great price, the Prince of peace, and the mustard seed that, upon realization, grows into a great tree. (22) The point at which Christianity and Hinduism intersect is right here, at exactly this same Trinity, which Hindus know as Brahman, Atman, and Shakti.
The Divine Mother made the body and the Holy Father hid a fragment of Himself within its heart (the Child of God), which the Mother has raised and educated until the divine spark realizes its true identity.
The Mother arises from the Father and merges in Him again.
The Mother arises from the Father and falls back into Him again. She is like the clouds in the sky; the Father is the sky from which the clouds emerge and into which they melt again. Sri Ramakrishna tried to convey Their relationship by using the metaphor of impermanent waves forming on the ocean of Satchidananda:
These waves [arise] from the Great Ocean and merge again into the Great Ocean. From the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute. (23)
It has been revealed to me that there exists an Ocean of "Consciousness" without limit [i.e., the Father]. From it come all things of the relative plane [i.e., the Mother], and in it they merge again. (24)
Paramahansa Yogananda also used a wave metaphor to describe the Mother: "The storm-roar [the Mother] of the sea [the Father] creates the waves [materiality] – preserves them for some time as larger or smaller waves -- and then dissolves them." (25)
While the great ocean of consciousness is formless, the waves, which are a part of it, have form. Nonetheless waves and ocean are one. "That which has form," Sri Ramakrishna asserted, "again, is without form. That which has attributes, again, has no attributes." (26) "Water is water whether it is calm or full of waves. The Absolute alone is the Primordial Energy, which creates, preserves, and destroys." (27)
Sri Ramakrishna describes how the relative plane emerges from the absolute and falls back into it again.
Brahman [the Father] may be compared to an infinite ocean, without beginning or end. Just as, through intense cold, some portions of the ocean freeze into ice and formless water appears to have form, so through intense love of the devotee, Brahman appears to take on form and personality. But the form melts away again as the Sun of Knowledge rises. Then the universe [the Mother] also disappears, and there is seen to be nothing but Brahman. (28)
She is energy, movement, vibration; the Father is an inactive, unknowable void
According to Swami Nikhilananda, the essence of the Divine Mother is shakti or energy; in fact, adyashakti or the primordial energy. "Maya, the mighty weaver of [the mysterious garb of name and form]," he said, "is none other than Kali, the Divine Mother, She is the primordial Divine Energy, Sakti." (29)
What is Shakti and what is Brahman? What is the Mother and what is the Father? Sri Ramakrishna says the distinction between the two is the same as distinction between the static and the dynamic:
When inactive He is called Brahman, the Purusha [i.e., the Supreme Person]. He is called Sakti, or Prakriti [the Primordial Energy], when engaged in creation, preservation, and destruction. These are the two aspects of Reality: Purusha and Prakriti. He who is the Purusha is also the Prakriti. (30)
He equates the static Father with the impersonal God, Nirguna Brahman (or the Father without attributes), and the dynamic Mother with the personal God, Saguna Brahman (the Father with attributes):
When the Godhead [the Father] is thought of as creating, preserving, and destroyinq, It is known as the Personal God, Saguna Brahman, or the Primal Energy, Adyasakti [the Mother]. Again, when It is thought of as beyond the three gunas [the three qualities of the phenomenal world – sattwa, rajas, and thamas, or balance, energy, and sloth], then It is called the Attributeless Reality, Nirguna Brahman, beyond speech and thought; this is the Supreme Brahman, Parabrahman. (31)
Sri Ramakrishna revealed the secret meaning behind the statues of Shakti and Shiva that show Shiva lying recumbent while Shakti dances on His body.
Kali stands on the bosom of Siva; Siva lies under Her feet like a corpse; Kali looks at Siva. All this denotes the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is inactive; therefore Siva lies on the ground like a corpse. Prakriti performs all Her activities in conjunction with Purusha. Thus She creates, preserves, and destroys. (32)
Thus the Father is "immoveable and actionless" (33), a profound stillness in which we discover Sat-Chit-Ananda, or Being, Awareness, and Bliss Absolute. The Mother is the movement in this stillness, the voice in the silence, the primordial, active energy in the eternal tranquillity of the Father. It is this relationship between the dynamic and the static that Jesus hinted at when he called the totality of God "a movement and a rest." (34)
Bernadette Roberts stressed the Father's stillness when she called him "the 'still-point' at the center of being." (35) Lao Tzu emphasized it when he asserted that: "The Way [the Tao or the Father] is a Void." (36)
Empty of name and form, qualities and attributes, and quintessentially tranquil and still, the Father is in the end inconceivable. "What Brahman is cannot be described," declared the Godman of Dakshineswar. (37) Because ego is subdued for a time upon attaining the Father, leaving no observer to observe, no thinker to think, "no one has ever been able to say what Brahman is." (38)
The essence of the Mother is a universal creative vibration, symbolized by the sacred syllable 'Aum,' which calls matter into being, sustains it for a while, and then releases it back into the general dissolution of the Father
Hindus symbolize the primal power - the Mother as vibration or energy - by the sacred syllable – or rather vibration - 'Aum.' Sri Ramakrishna makes this connection when he equates Aum with the Divine Mother, exclaiming: "O Mother! O Embodiment of `Om.'" (39)
Paramahansa Yogananda identifies "Aum," or "Amen," with the Holy Spirit: Christians are familiar with the Amen from Revelation: "These things saith the Amen [the Mother], the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." (40)
The ancients, not versed in the polished language of modern times, used "Holy Ghost" and "Word" for Intelligent Cosmic Vibration, which is the first materialization of God the Father in matter [i.e., the Mother]. The Hindus speak of this Holy Ghost as the "Aum." (41) Holy Ghost, Aum of the Hindus, the Mohammedan Amin, the Christian Amen, Voice of Many Waters, Word, are the same thing. (42)
Yogananda links "Aum" and the "Holy Ghost" to the primordial energy:
"The Bible refers to Aum as the Holy Ghost or invisible life force that divinely upholds creation. `What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which we have of God, and ye are not your own?' (I Corinthians 6:19.)" (43)
Now we know the Mother, Shakti, the Holy Ghost, as Aum. Aum creates, preserves and destroys.
The cosmic sound of Aum creates all things as Nebulae, preserves them in the forms of the present cosmos and worlds, and ultimately will dissolve all things in the bosom-sea of God. (44)
Nature is an objectification of Aum, the Primal Sound or Vibratory Word. (45)
Sage Vasistha made the same point in the Yoga Vasistha. The form of his teaching is similar to Sri Ramakrishna's, that waves or vibrations arise out of the Ocean of Sathchidananda.
When the infinite vibrates, the worlds appear to emerge. When it does not vibrate, the worlds appear to submerge, even as when a firebrand is whirled fast a circle appears. And when it is held steady, the circle vanishes. Vibrating or not vibrating, it is the same everywhere at all times. (46)
Theosophist Annie Besant propagated this view as well:
The source from which a universe proceeds is a manifested Divine Being, to whom in the modern form of the Ancient Wisdom the name of Logos, or Word, has been given. The name is drawn from Greek philosophy, but perfectly expresses the ancient idea, the Word which emerges from the Silence, the Voice, the sound, by which the worlds come into being. (47)
Have we any representations of the birth of the Mother? A recent article in What is Enlightenment? magazine relates a vision of the author, Maura O'Connor, a student of the Kabbalah. In it she was taught by a rabbi, Moses de Leon, the following:
Emptiness, what the kabbalists call ayin, exists far beyond concepts or language. It is like a pure ether that can never be grasped by the mind. ... Emptiness is the ultimate mystery, the secret of the Cause of Causes, and it brought everything into being. ...
I must tell you of the great rabbi, Isaac Luria. Luria was a visionary like none other: he lived during the fifteenth century in the holy town of Galilee.... He spent his life ceaselessly contemplating the source of the universe, the primordial emptiness we call ayin.... He recognized that in order for the latent divinity of ayin to manifest its glorious potential for life, a cataclysmic contraction had to take place. ...
Luria understood that the absolute nature of this emptiness meant that it was so pervasive, nothing else but it could exist. In order for life to become manifest, a seismic contraction of emptiness in on itself had to occur, creating a space in which divine emanation was possible. ...
Following this immense contraction, God's first cosmic act was the emission of a single perfect ray of light. This beam pierced through the void and then expanded in all directions. Think of it as God's first breath ["spirit" = "breath"] exhaling into the abyss after eons of slumber and filling it with His divinity. This is how the universe was born. (48)
This first perfect ray of Light is the Holy Spirit or Divine Mother. Its expansion in all directions is the birth of the universe. What we may be hearing is a vision of the creation of the universe -- what scientists call "the Big Bang."
Ultimately, She is one with the Father
This Light, this vibration called "Aum," the Divine Mother, is one with the vibrationless Father. Patanjali states: "The Word which expresses [God] is "Om" (49) "Oh, Lord, dweller within," says Shankara, " "Om is your very self." (50) Or the Upanishads: "Om is Brahman, both the conditioned [Mother] and the unconditioned [Father], the personal [Mother] and the impersonal [Father]." (51)
Krishna, speaking as God, declares:
I am …
Om in all the Vedas,
The word that is God. (52)
Three Hindu masters – Swami Yukestwar Giri, Swami Sivananda, and Paramahansa Ramakrishna explain the relationship between Brahman and Shakti, or Father and Mother, by using a fire metaphor.
Swami Yukteswar Giri, guru to Paramahansa Yogananda
[The] manifestation of the Word (becoming flesh, the external material) created this visible world. So the Word, Amen, Aum [the Mother], being the manifestation of the Eternal Nature of the Almighty Father or His own Self, is inseparable from and nothing but God Himself; as the burning power is inseparable from and nothing but the fire itself. (53)
Swami Sivananda
Just as one cannot separate heat from fire, so also one cannot separate Sakti [Mother] from Sakta [Father]. Sakti and Sakta are one. They are inseparable. (54)
Paramahansa Ramakrishna
Brahman and Sakti are identical. If you accept the one, you must accept the other. It is like fire and its power to burn. If you see the fire, you must recognize its power to burn also. ... One cannot think of the Absolute without the Relative, or the Relative without the Absolute. (55)
"Sakti is Brahman itself," concludes Swami Sivananda. (56) Sri Ramaskrishna agrees: "Brahman is Sakti; Sakti is Brahman. They are not two." (57) "[Brahman and Sakti] are only two aspects, male and female, of the same Reality, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute." (58)
When we speak to the Divine Mother, we are speaking to the Holy Father. Sri Ramakrishna teaches: "It is Brahman whom I address as Sakti or Kali." (59)
She plays a central role in enlightenment
As we have seen, the Mother is portrayed as leading the Sons and Daughters of God to a final meeting with the Father, in what is the culminating event of many lives. As Jesus did, so have we all come from the Father into the world. We are all prodigal children wandering in the domain of matter (mater, Mother), until we realize our true nature. Many metaphors are used to suggest how this realization of true identity happens. The Mother is depicted as withdrawing Her veil of phenomenal reality and revealing the Father. She is portrayed as leading the Child of God to the Father.
Hindus, like Swami Sivananda, advise us to beseech the Mother's help in our attempts to reach the Father.
It behooves ... the aspirant [to] approach the Mother first, so that She may introduce Her spiritual child to the Father for its illumination or Self-realization." (60)
The knowledge of God as the Child, the Mother, and the Father constitutes three discrete levels of enlightenment. When we know this Trinity in full, we have completed the human leg of our journey back to God.
Let us examine the Mother as bringer of enlightenment and object of enlightenment.
There is a passage in Proverbs where the Mother (as "Wisdom") is represented as speaking directly. Her words are consistent with what we've learned about Her so far:
Doth not wisdom cry...
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting [that is, before time], from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. (61)
Why are they blessed who keep Her ways? Because God the Mother will enlighten those who follow Her commands.
We see evidence of this throughout the Bible, as the Mother enlightens those who "keep Her ways." Hebrew kings and prophets were baptized with the Holy Spirit . Here She brings enlightenment to the disciples of Jesus upon the Day of Pentecost, after his death.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all of one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (62)
Sri Yukteswar explains the significance of this event. "Being baptized in the sacred stream of Pranava (the Holy Aum vibration)" the spiritual aspirant "comprehends the "Kingdom of God." (63)
For many years I believed that Islam recognized only Allah, the Father. But recently I have found a passage in the Koran which demonstrates that its author acknowledges the Mother or Holy Spirit as well. The passage concerns the Holy Spirit enlightening the worthy in the penultimate experience of illumination, immediately prior to God-Realization, symbolically preparing the Child of God for meeting the Father. The Koran says:
Exalted and throned on high, [Allah] lets the Spirit descend at His behest on those of His servants whom He chooses, that He may warn them of the day when they shall meet Him. (64)
The Divine Mother or Holy Ghost enlightened the 12th-Century German saint Hildegard of Bingen, who testified:
When I was forty-two years and seven months old, a burning light of tremendous brightness coming from heaven poured into my entire mind. Like a flame that does not burn but enkindles, it inflamed my entire heart and my entire breast, just like the sun that warms an object with its rays. (65)
Following this experience, Hildegard could not stop from singing the praises of the Holy Spirit or Divine Mother:
Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is a Burning Spirit. It kindles the hearts of humankind. Like tympanum and lyre it plays them, gathering volumes in the temple of the soul. The Holy Spirit resurrects and awakens everything that is. (66)
The Mother manifested to Sri Ramakrishna as clouds of consciousness and bliss:
Suddenly I had the wonderful vision of the Mother and fell down unconscious. (67)
It was as if houses, doors, temples, and everything else vanished from my sight, leaving no trace whatsoever. However far and in whatever direction I looked I saw a continuous succession of effulgent waves madly rushing at me from all sides, with great speed. I was caught in the rush, and panting for breath I collapsed, unconscious. (68)
I did not know what happened then in the external world -- how that day and the next slipped away. But in my heart of hearts there was flowing a current of intense bliss, never experienced before, and I had the immediate knowledge of the liqht that was Mother. (69)
And She appeared to Ramakrishna's doubting non-dualistic guru Totapuri, who until that moment refused to accept Her reality:
Suddenly, in one dazzling moment, [Totapuri, saw] on all sides the presence of the Divine Mother. She is in everything; She is everything. She is in the water; She is on land. She is the body. She is the mind. She is pain; She is comfort. She is is life; She is death. She is everything that one sees, hears, or imagines. She turns "yea" into "nay", and "nay" into "yea". Without Her grace no embodied being can go beyond Her realm. Man has no free will. He is not even free to die. Yet, again, beyond the body and mind She resides in Her Transcendental, Absolute aspect. She is the Brahman that Totapuri had been worshipping all his life. (70)
She is the kundalini energy in the body and, when that energy rises from the muladhara chakra to the sahasrara, Shakti is said to merge with Shiva. This is another way in which the Mother can lead the aspirant to the Father. Swami Sivananda says: Shakti "leads the individual from Cakra to Cakra, from plane to plane and unifies him with Lord Siva in the Sahasrara." (71)
Sri Ramakrishna and his disciples used to sing a song whose aim was to invoke the kundalini to rise, so that Shakti would meet Shiva at the sahasrara.
Awake, Mother! Awake! How long Thou hast been asleep
In the lotus of the Muladhara!
Fulfil Thy secret function, Mother:
Rise to the thousand-petalled lotus within the head,
Where mighty Siva has His dwelling;
Swiftly pierce the six lotuses
And take away my grief, O Essence of Consciousness! (72)
As each chakra awakens under the influence of our growing spirituality, the Mother is heard to "knock at the door," in Paramahansa Yogananda's words.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock (sound through Om vibration): If any man hear my voice (listen to Om), and open the door, I will come in to him." (Revelation 3:20). (73)
Many aspirants, prominent among them Franklin Merrell-Wolff and Da Free John, were led to Brahmajnana (or God-realization attendant upon the spiritual energy reaching the seventh chakra) by the kundalini. Here is how Dr. Wolff described it:
The Current is clearly a subtle, fluid-like substance which brings the sense of well-being already described. Along with It, a more than earthly Joy suffuses the whole nature. To myself, I called It a Nectar. Now, I recognize It under several names. It is ... the 'Soma,' the 'Ambrosia of the Gods,' the 'Elixir of Life,' the 'Water of Life' of Jesus, and the 'Baptism of the Spirit' of St. Paul. It is more than related to Immortality; in fact it is Identical with Immortality. (74)
Da Free John called it this "current of immortal joy." (75) His energetic experiences with the Divine Energy or the Shakti are unusual. His process, which ended in God-realization, began one day when:
I could feel and hear little clicking pulses in the base of my head and neck, indicating the characteristic Presence of the Mother Shakti. (76) ...
Withdrawing Her veils, moving us onward by her evolutionary coaxings, teaching us in Her school of matter, liberating us through the rising of the kundalini – there are many ways that the Mother leads the prodigal child to the Father.
No other spiritual agency has received the attention She has, under such a variety of names, and yet has been so little understood
The Divine Mother has been known to sages throughout the centuries, around the world, in religions from Advaita to Zarathustreanism. But the myriad names She has been called and the lack of integrated studies of Her have sometimes proved confusing.
I'd like to summarize the names I've found linked to the Mother. I've given one or two references for each use, though many more could have been given. This list has been derived by starting with undoubted epithets like "Holy Spirit," "Divine Mother," and "Shakti," and then noting what other synonymous terms are used by the same enlightened source.
These are full or partial synonyms for the Divine Mother:
Adyasakti (or Ancient Power) (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 218 and 460.) Ahunavairya (Zarathustra in GZ, 8-9.)
Amen (Revelation 3:14; Shankara, CJD, I; Sri Yukteswar Giri, HS, 23 and 24; Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 237n and 363n and SCC, 1, 17 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Amin (Paramahansa Yogananda in, 237n.)
Aum or Om (UPAN 50 and 53; Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 299; Sri Yukteswar Giri, HS, 24; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 143-4, 237n, 363n, 484, and 487n and SCC, 1, 15-6 and 19 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Breath of God (Job 33:4; Solomon in APO, 191.)
Comforter or Comforter Spirit (Zarathustra in GZ, 217; Jesus in John 14:16 and 14:26 and 15:26; Hildegard of Bingen in IHB, 9; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 144n and 363n and SCC, 1, 19.)
Cosmic Power or Energy (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 116; Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 2, 22; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25.)
Cosmic Sound (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 237, SCC, 1, 15 and 17 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Cosmic Vibration (Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 1, 15-6, 17, and 56 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer (UPAN, 37; Zarathustra, GZ, 187, 227 and 240; Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 32, 107, 135, and 653; Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 1, 15-6.)
Divine Mother (Lao Tzu in WOL, 53, 72, and 105; Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 32, 107, 136, 200, and 299; Swami Sivananda Sarasvati in KYW, 25; Nikhilananda in VIV, 24; Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, LAS, 1, 15, 21, 22, and 28; Da Free John in KOL, 132; etc.)
Divine Power (Sister Vandana, NJ, 190-1.)
Durga (Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 216.)
Embodiment of Om (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 299.)
The Fashioner of all things (Solomon in APO, 191.)
Holy Ghost (Jesus in Matthew 12: 31-2; John 14:26 and 20:21-2; Paramhansa Yogananda, AY, 143-4, 363n, and 487n and SCC, 1, 15-6 and 19 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Holy Spirit (Solomon in APO, 195; Zarathustra, 217 and 227; Luke 11:13.)
Holy Vibration (Paramahansa Yogananda in SCC, 1, 56.)
Hum (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 237n.)
Kali (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 107 and 634; Nikhilananda, "Introduction," to GSR, 9-10; Nikhilananda, "Vivekananda" in VIV, 24; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 10, 40n, and 41.)
Kundalini (Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25 and 30; GSR, 182.)
Logos (Annie Besant, AW, 44; Vivekananda in Nikhilananda, VIV, 422.)
Matrix (Lao Tzu in WOL, 105; Sri Aurobindo, SOY, 3.)
Maya (Sri Krishna in BG, 80; Shankara in CJD, 49; Sri Aurobindo, UP, 27; Nikhilananda, HIN, 42-3 and 45; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26.)
Mother - See Divine Mother.
Mother Nature, Mother of nature (Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 10 and 41; Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, CML, 19; Nikhilananda in GSR, 9-10.)
Mother of the universe (Nikhilananda, "Vivekananda" in VIV, 24.)
Natural Law (Solomon in Proverbs 1:8-9, 3:1, and 6:20; Jesus in Matthew 12:31-2; St. Paul in Romans 8:2; Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, CML, 18-9; Krishnamurti, AFM, 25.)
Nature (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY,40n and 41 and SCC, 1, 33; John Redtail Freesoul, BI, 11-2.)
Noise of many waters (David in Psalm 93:3-4; Ezekiel 43:1-2.)
Personal God or Saguna Brahman (Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 32, 149, 218 and 277.)
Power of God, Power of the Lord (Solomon in APO, 191; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25.)
Prakriti/Procreatrix (Sri Krishna in BG, 103, 104, and 106; Sri Aurobindo, UP, 27; Ramakrishnananda, GDI, 1 and 8: Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26; Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 32 and123; Nikhilananda, "Introduction" to GSR, 9-10; Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 1, 33.)
Prana (UPAN , 35-8; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 484; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26.)
Primal Energy, Primal Power (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 116 and 135; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25.)
Primordial/Primal Energy (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 107 and 242.)
Relative Plane (Sri Ramakrishna, GSR, 653.)
Saguna Brahman See Personal God or Saguna Brahman.
Shakti Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 116; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25-6.)
Sound-Brahman, Shabda Brahman, or Pranava (PR in GSR, 263; Swami Vivekananda in Nikhilananda, VIV, 422; Sister Vandana, NJ, 190-1.)
Sound of many waters (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 267-8.)
Sphota (Swami Vivekananda in Nikhilananda, VIV, 422; Usha, RVW, 74.)
Spirit of the Bridegroom (St. John of the Cross, CWSJC, 580.)
Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord (Genesis 1:2; Exodus 35:31; Isaiah 11:2; Ibn Arabi, KK, 15-6; Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 142 and 143.)
Spirit of Truth (Jesus in John 14:17.)
Spirit of Wisdom (Zarathushtra, GZ, 13 and 187; Exodus 28:3 and 35:31; Deuteronomy 34:9; Isaiah 11:2; St. Paul in Ephesians 1:15-7.)
Spouse (St. John of the Cross in CWSJC, 75.)
Syama (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 271.)
Voice in the Silence (Annie Besant, AW, 44; Mabel Collins, LOP, 22.)
Voice of many waters (St. John in Revelation 14:2; Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 17n and SCC, 1, 19.)
Voice of one that crieth in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3.)
Wisdom or Sophia (Zarathustra, GZ, 187 and 227; Solomon in Proverbs 3:19 and 9:1 and APO, 191 and 195; Isaiah 11:2; .Jesus in Matthew 11:19; John of the Cross in CWSJC, 75.)
Witness (St. John in Revelation 3:14 and Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 143-4 and 237 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Womb of God, Womb of Brahman, womb of wombs; Brahmayoni (Sri Krishna in BG, 106; Sri Ramakrishna, GSR, 870; Yogeshananda in VSR, 41; Sri Aurobindo, SOY, 3.)
Word (Hermes, DPH, 8 and 17; Zarathustra in GZ, 8-9; John 1:1 and 1:3; Annie Besant, AW, 44; Sri Yukteswar Giri, HS, 23 and 24; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 143-4, 237n, and 363n, SCC, 1, 19 and SCC, 2, 22.)
The Mother will always be incomprehensible and Her significance will remain immeasurable
One day we shall be able to say with Solomon: "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom... She is more precious than rubies; and all things thou canst desire are not to be compared with her." (79) But though we merge with Her and reap all the rewards of doings so, we can never know Her as long as we are human.
Only those who have achieved what Jesus called everlasting life, the immortality that the experience of vijnana, (80) or stable and permanent realization, confers reach a high enough vantage point even to begin to inquire into, let alone understand, Her mystery. Even then, they can only marvel and say, with Shankara:
[The Mother] is neither being nor non-being, nor a mixture of both. She is neither divided nor undivided, nor a mixture of both. She is neither an indivisible whole, nor composed of parts, nor a mixture of both. She is most strange. Her nature is inexplicable. (81)
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# The Holy Spirit
"And in the Holy Spirit." Here, as in the first part of the Creed, Divinity is the subject. Having considered the Father and the Son, we are now ready to complete the picture of Godhead with the inclusion of the Holy Spirit, the Agia Pneuma.
"Holy" (agia) tells us that we are speaking of God, Who alone is holy. The word pneuma means "breath," which to the ancients of both the Near and Far East was always equated with spirit.
Literally the expression Agia Pneuma means "Holy Breath" or "Holy Out- breathing." Why? Because breath is not independent but comes from a source. By using this symbolic expression the framers of the Creed convey to us that, just as the Only-begotten Son is an emanation from the transcendent Godhead, the Father, so also is the Holy Spirit. This is borne out by Jesus' saying that the Holy Spirit "proceedeth from the Father."1 Thereby we come to understand that the Father is the transcendent God, whereas the Son and the Holy Spirit together are the immanent God.
"The Lady"
The next term set forth to describe the Holy Spirit is "Lady," not "Lord," as was later used to designate the Holy Spirit. In both Hebrew and Aramaic the word translated "Spirit" is always feminine. In the fifth century the Aramaic text of the Bible (the Peshitta) was falsified to make the Holy Spirit into a male to suit the Byzantine Emperors who had appointed themselves theologians for their state church. (Some of them were even called "Vicar of Christ"!)
As we have already stated, the Father is the transcendent Unity, beyond all polarization. For that very reason He in no way interacts with the realm of relative existence which is based on duality. Therefore, whenever God wishes to produce and interact with an objective creation, He first emanates, from His Transcendent Being, His own Self as the Immanent Godhead, Which by its very nature must be dual: eternal Male and Female. The Male aspect of the Immanent Godhead we call "the Son" and "the Lord." We call the Feminine aspect "the Holy Spirit" and "the Lady." These Two are the Father and Mother of all creation. From this polarized Divinity emanates the polarized creation, from the worlds of the Seraphim and Cherubim to the worlds of the physically-embodied beings.
Divine Duality
The Immanent Godhead is also divided into the moving and the unmoving, the dynamic and the static. The Son is unmoving Consciousness, and the Holy Spirit, the "Holy Breathing," is dynamic, conscious divine Energy. The Son is unchanging, but the Holy Spirit, as cosmic "breath," is ever modifying and cycling Herself as energy. Actually, the Holy Spirit, the Mother, is the creation, the infinite sea of light-power manifesting as the relative universes, subtle and gross.
Eternity of the Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit Herself speaks, saying: "Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."2
This is reminiscent of the verses relating to the Son, when He Himself says through the Psalmist: "The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."3 Also, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."4
In both instances we are speaking of Divinity, but a Divinity "shaped" by the Father in Their emanating from Him. The first part of the verses just quoted show that the Holy Spirit existed in eternity before all time or relative existence, a quality possible only to God.
If we analyze matter, we shall find that all things, from specks of dust to planets, are in their fundamental existence simply light. The entire universe itself is a single wave of light within which there are infinite variations. And that Light is the Holy Spirit. Although God the Son, Who is also being described in these verses, alone is Creator in the sense of directing the creation, it is the Holy Spirit Who "was with Him, forming all things" out of Her infinite Light.
In Eastern philosophy it is common to speak of "the dance of creation." The same idea is conveyed in the Holy Spirit's statement that She was "playing before Him at all times, playing in the world."5 This verse also shows that She never acts independently of the Creator-Son, but that together They accomplish all things. These verses have been attributed to the Virgin Mary by the Fathers of the Church, since She is the Incarnation of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus is the Incarnation of the Only-begotten Son.
True Nature Of Creation
Just as a sculptor takes clay and gives it form according to his inspired idea, so God, according to the divine pattern, forms the creation out of the ever-existing Light of the Holy Spirit, implanting therein, as in a womb, the sparks of divine consciousness, the spirits. The ever-existing God alone IS, and no other entity can come into existence besides Him. Just as a spider spins its web from its own body, so God weaves the universe from the fabric of His own Self. All creation is but an eternal dance of God with Himself, by Himself, and for Himself. "By Him, with Him, and in Him" says the ancient prayer attributed to Saint Peter the Apostle.
The Holy Breath
"Breath" is an excellent symbol of the Holy Spirit, for when we breathe out we produce sound. She is Herself the primal Sound, the Word, which shapes Her formless primal Light into the semblance of relative creation. Just as when we breathe on water it is shaped into waves, so the Son, the Word, causes the Holy Spirit to manifest all names and forms that exist momentarily in the great dance of creation. The universe emerges from Her Light and melts back into It at the end of the creation cycles, which are perpetual.
The Two Words
As has been said, there are two "Words" that are divine, just as in human speech there are also two forms of the word. First, there is the silent word in the mind which arises before we produce the second word, the spoken word. The first, inner word is the silent concept- pattern. The second word is the outer word, the sound "clothing" of the inner word. So also the Only-begotten Son is the silent Word, the directing, inner, universal Consciousness. And the Holy Spirit is the "spoken" Word, the projected, moving power which is characterized in the Scriptures as "a mighty rushing wind," "the sound of many waters," "the sound of harpers harping on their harps," "the voice of a great trumpet," "the Amen." In the Odes of Solomon we find the words: "Open unto me the harp of Thine Holy Spirit."
Light and Sound, the dual aspects of the Holy Spirit, are the basis for all relative existence. All forms are but patterns of light, and sound is the force which produces the patterns. In Hindu scriptures we read of Aum, "the Word that is God."
The Masculine And Feminine In God
As we have already said, the Holy Spirit is the Great Mother, the Feminine Power, the great Womb of light-energy into which the seeds of the individual consciousnesses are cast by the Only-begotten Son. He, in a sense, impregnates Her. We find in ancient mythology the idea of the divine brother and sister who are married and have divine children. Such symbology usually does not please society because on the physical level that would be incest. But what we are speaking of is far beyond the human plane or any tinge of sexuality. The inexpressible mystery of this divine Duality is well portrayed by the Taoist symbol of Yin-Yang, which has already been described and discussed.
Dual Light
Another reference to this divine dualism is given in the New Testament where two "Lights" are spoken of: (1) the Light that "shineth in the darkness,"6 Which is the Only-begotten, the unspoken Word, and (2) the Light that "shine[s] out of darkness,"7 Which is the Holy Spirit, the communicating medium between us and the Only-begotten, Who "hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."8 It is this deifying uniting of Christ to us that is referred to by the Celebrant in some of the Eastern Christian liturgies when he uses the expression: "the communication of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Iconography
In Eastern Christian iconography the Mother is nearly always shown carrying the Child Christ. The original depictions, such as those found in the Catacombs, show the Mother with Her arms uplifted in prayer ("the Spirit itself [Herself] maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered"9). Within the circle of Her heart in the midst of Her chest there appears the divine Son as a child. The idea conveyed by such icons is that the potential Christ, in the form of every spirit, is to be found in the womb of the Great Mother, which is this creation of vibratory energy. Because the vehicles through which we evolve are formed of Her divine energy, it is also appropriate to depict Her as carrying the Christ Child in Her arms. It is the power and grace of the Holy Spirit that carries us upward through the entire scale of evolution to the final attainment of perfect union with Christ the Son, Who in turn will unite us with the Father.
Evolution
Although we use the term "spiritual evolution" to speak of our unfolding spiritual awareness as we pass from stage to stage, evolution does not really take place on the level of the spirit; for the spirit, like God, is ever perfect and never changes. What, then, does evolve? The vehicles of our spirits: our bodies, minds, intellects, and wills, all of which are grosser or subtler forms of energy. They are actually what we experience as "evolving" as they become more and more refined and receptive to the light of our pure Self. These "layers" in which our spirit is wrapped are themselves formed of divine power.
Except for the physical body and its grosser magnetic fields, we retain these layers from life to life. In each incarnation we bring them back with us and form around them the type of body which reflects their state and destiny. If nothing hinders, in each life they increase in their capacity to more perfectly reflect and act as vehicles for our consciousness. They become more sensitive instruments through which our spirit can function, rather than blocks to higher consciousness, which they are in the earlier stages of incarnation.
"Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul," wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes in his poem, The Chambered Nautilus. As the nautilus in the sea outgrows its shell, it extrudes a substance which hardens and forms another "chamber" larger than the one in which it presently lives. Then it moves outward into that larger area and seals off the old living quarters. It carries on its back, in the form of its curved shell, all of its former abodes. If the shell is sawn in half, we find a spiral of ever-larger chambers, each of them having been at one time the house of the nautilus until it was outgrown.
This is exactly what we are doing. In our subconscious mind we retain all the lives and experiences that lie behind us. From life to life we make a new body-shell in which to manifest, and it is the shells that grow and evolve. It is the dance of the Mother around us, the "sons of God," just as She dances the dance of universal evolution before the Only-begotten Son.
Our consciousness being drawn outward from our spirit, we "fall" into awareness of the dance alone and identify with our "clothing," forgetting completely who we really are. In this deluded condition we believe that we have been born and are destined to die, although it is the body alone that undergoes the changes of birth and death. We see ourselves as constantly changing, never coming to any true rest or stability, when in reality it is the energies surrounding us that are ever changing while we, as pure consciousness, never change. This great folly is the root of "sin" (amartano), the great "falling short." On the other hand, true righteousness is knowing who we really are, not in theory but in actual experience.
Mother And Child
Returning to the symbology of the icon of the Virgin and Child, the Virgin represents the Holy Spirit as creation, and the Christ Child represents the spirit of each being evolving within creation. Just as a child that cannot walk is carried wherever the mother wishes, in the same way the spirit, though divine, is carried about by the tides and currents of material life, usually against its conscious will. As the infant depends totally upon the mother for the support of its life, so the spirit experiences apparent helplessness and total dependency upon material forces.
In most icons, the Child is looking with complete absorption at the face of the Mother. This symbolizes the self-forgetfulness of the spirit as it becomes fascinated, even hypnotized, by the ever- changing face of creation. Yet, as the babe grows all the time toward maturity and independence, so does the spirit progress at all times toward self-realization.
Suffering
Another aspect of the Mother's care for us is suffering and discontent, though many do not know it.
When the female eagle makes her nest, she first puts in thorns and sharp stones and then lines it with down so it is very soft and comfortable. After the little ones have grown large enough to fly, the mother discards the down and stirs up all the sharp objects, forcing the little eaglets to hop up on to the edge of the nest. She then pushes them off into the air…and they fly! This is one of the reasons evolving spirits are often spoken of in the Bible as "eagles."
Suffering and discontent with this world is the Mother's prodding to get us out of the nest and into our true element of divinity. With us, too, there comes a time when Mother stirs the nest to unsettle us and get us to move up higher. Eventually we come to understand that real or lasting happiness, peace, and security are not possible in this world, nor can we draw them from individuals, however close to us they might be. With that awakening, we are pushed off into the realm of spirit and there must learn to "fly," no longer seeking for peace or solace in this world, but setting about our real work of transcending this relative sphere of time and space.
"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts,"10 that is, at the voice of the Mother, the "sound of many waters," we are drawn upward, homeward. Those who are wise answer Her right away while it is relatively easy. Foolish ones, thinking they are being "independent" and "exploring life," ignore and even despise Her call. Some even deny it is there. Then, when they have drifted far into the negative current and decide to turn toward the call, it is often no longer there. An entire lifetime is simply gone. To hear Her call again, many must wait for dozens of lives, and some for hundreds.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."11 Those who sow deafness and indifference to God will, when they finally do begin their spiritual searching, at first reap nothing but silence and spiritual void to the exact measure that they have ignored Her. She is not punishing them; they are simply reaping what they have sown. Having wanted God to be quiet and leave them alone, to an equal degree they must now yearn for Her to speak and come to them.
Sometimes such people are given a glimpse of spiritual realities and for a brief period of time seem to soar into the heights of spiritual experience. Then suddenly "the honeymoon is over" and they experience emptiness and spiritual dryness until they reap the force of their former indifference. Many fail that test. For some it is delayed for quite a while, and after years of spiritual contact they must undergo "the dark night of the soul." All is meted out to us mercifully by the Mother, who will never "suffer you to be tempted [tested] above that ye are able;…that ye may be able to bear it."12
Those who fail, do so by choice, being shallow of heart, as Jesus indicated in the Parable of the Sower.13 When we begin the long path back homeward, it is as laborious as the sliding away from spiritual consciousness was effortless. But Mother never stops calling, and eventually we are "born" from Her womb back into the eternal Bosom of God.
Divine Light
The Son is the "lightless light," the Light that can only be seen by the one eye of spirit in divine union, whereas the Mother in Her objective manifestation is the light that is seen by the two eyes of duality. Her creation is like two opposing mirrors in which we see an endless chain of mirrors. By identifying with that illusion, we fall into the infinite labyrinth of the creation, the countless chain of worlds that each mirror the one above and below it. The Hermetic principle, "As above, so below," is both wisdom and illusion, for if we but take away one mirror, that is, attain the vision of the "single eye," it all vanishes in a moment. But until then we are subject to the law of duality. In all the worlds, from the highest to the lowest, all objects consist of a positive and a negative pole around which their constituent elements revolve. In the same way, the separated consciousnesses circle around the Son and the Holy Spirit, the positive and negative polarizations of the divine consciousness. From there we must ascend back into the "unapproachable Light"14 of Unity, from the divine Immanence into the divine Transcendence.
Consciousness And Evolution
Because our spiritual eye is undeveloped, we see the Light of the Holy Spirit as matter, though in reality it is Her Presence, enfolding and directing our growth from life to life.
It is not matter that is our spirit's prison, but our deluded consciousness which sees the divine Light as matter. Once our consciousness is changed, we are free. And that freedom is effected by the Mother Herself. Through our involvement with Her as matter, we are impelled to transcend matter and become awakened children of God.
Saint Paul wrote about this, saying: "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.…For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."15 Here Saint Paul reveals that the creation is a conscious entity, not dead matter. Not only is it conscious, its entire purpose is to travail and give birth to sons of God. Impelling us upward along the ladder of evolution, which is creation, the power of the Mother ultimately brings us to the final birth of perfect freedom and union with the Son, as Saint Paul further confirms: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. …shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"16
What a different, dynamic understanding of life we have when these things are known!
Our Choice
There is also an important point implied here. If we relate to the Mother as though She were lifeless matter for us to seize and exploit, to claim as "me" and "mine," we are drawn deeper and deeper into bondage under Her dream-power of spiritual hypnosis, the cosmic illusion called maya in Indian philosophy. But if we understand that this creation, including our own gross and subtle bodies, is really the Light of the Holy Spirit, the energy of our divine Mother, and we revere everything as Her manifestation, the whole situation changes. That which heretofore bound us and weighed us down is seen to be the very force which uplifts us to the Highest. How is this?
As we have already considered at some length, in the ocean of power which is the Mother's manifestation, there are two distinct currents, sometimes called in the scriptures the right and left "hands" of God. One current impels the entities therein downward and outward to the utmost regions of relative existence, to the grossest materiality and (spiritual) unconsciousness. The other current draws the entities therein inexorably upward and inward to the subtlest and highest levels of awareness, impelling them to transcend that current and merge into pure Consciousness Itself.
Everything depends on how we relate to the Mother. If we are not in the right current of Her life, then all the prayers, repentances, and religious actions will mean nothing. As Jesus said: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."17 That is, if we are not "born" from and enlivened by the Holy Spirit, we cannot enter the kingdom of God because we are still in the downward current of relative existence. It is through Her only that we are switched from the left-hand to the right-hand path of spiritual evolution. All the sincerity and "faith" in the world means nothing of itself. It is our relation to the Mother, "the Holy Spirit, the Lady," that tells the true story.
The Giver Of Life
The next phrase of the Creed, still speaking of the Holy Spirit, is: "The Giver of Life." There are two kinds of life, the higher and the lower, and Mother gives both kinds. She wraps us in the swaddling clothes of the will, the intellect, the senses, the biomagnetic energies, and the physical body. Through these means we function in the external world, which is really Her. Through Her and in Her we live, sowing and reaping through many bodies. We call that life, which it is, but of the lesser type.
When we "ripen" and are ready for the higher life, we honor and worship the Mother, calling on Her personally as our Mother. Then She gives us that higher life, opening the passage to spiritual realization. Finally, She brings us to the gate of freedom and we step out from Her realm into the realm of the Only-begotten, the realm of pure spirit.
All life, the life of bondage as well as the life of freedom, comes from Her, indeed is Her. It is pointless to ask the Father or the Son to deliver us from bondage or to give us freedom, for She alone has the franchise from the Father to bind or free us. She alone must we seek. When we find Her, nothing shall be lacking to us.
The Great Illusionist
It is not amiss to say that the Mother is the Great Illusionist. She produces this vast drama of creation by Her Light alone, and all the spirits within Her cosmic theatre are swept up into identification with it although it is nothing but an appearance, a dream. As the audience is distracted by the magician when he works his sleight of hand, so the spirits with their attentions drawn from inner reality to the outer dance of the Mother are utterly engulfed in the drama, suffering, rejoicing, laughing, crying, being born, and dying–and none of it is real. Those who do not love and worship the Mother are deluded. Those who see through Her play, who end the game of spiritual Hide and Seek by touching the home base within and recognizing themselves as Her children, have nothing to fear.
As we see and seek Her, so will She respond. If we see Her as blinding materiality and seek for that, then we shall have only that. But if we seek Her as our Mother, longing to be taken by Her back to our eternal home, She will be our deliverer, unerringly taking us to the Only-begotten. When Ivan the Terrible made a silver cover for an icon of the Virgin Mary painted by Saint Luke, he had engraved at the top: "O Lady, hear our prayers and bring us to Thy Son."
Whatever we want Her to be, that She will be. Mother will cooperate with our bondage, and Mother will cooperate with our freedom. The choice is ours. We make many excuses for our lack of spiritual life and progress, but it is really a matter of our choice. By choice, I mean a desire that is acted upon. A lot of people would be willing or would like to be spiritually perfect if it took no effort on their part, and if it could be done without their having to undergo any significant change. So when they play religious and spiritual, it is just that: a play. Mother is not fooled, and She leaves them alone. The real desire to find God is an active striving for that attainment, not the mere "no objection" attitude that many people have toward spiritual life.
So long as we want Her delusion and materiality, just so long will we have it. We need not blame others or "the devil." The decision is ours. She is not keeping us bound. We are. It is our will that She does at all times. According to the Law of Sowing and Reaping we set the universe in motion to effect certain things we want. And Who responds? The Mother. Every time we come back again into the earth plane, She has the stage already set according to our prior demands. We alone have written the script, yet we wail and cry: "Oh, how could God do this to me?" when She is only carrying out our directions to the letter. When we change the script, She will set things up accordingly.
The Supreme Life
In the highest sense, She is the Giver of the Life that is God. She is the great Power that operates throughout incarnations without number all to unite us with God. She is the one Who reshapes and empowers all the bodies in which we evolve. She then brings God unto us in a mode which we can receive–She gives birth to Him in us and gives birth to us in Him. This is the great Mystery of Godliness.
The Cosmos is the domain of the Holy Spirit, Her effectual, spiritual "womb" through which She gives us birth.
The Source Of The Holy Spirit
Next, the Creed tells us the origin of the Holy Spirit: "Who proceedeth from the Father." She and the Son have the same origin, being equal in all things. And, just as there is no "second God," anything which has its origin in the Father must in the final analysis be the Father. The Holy Spirit is just as much the Father as is the Son. When all is said and done, there can remain but the One. The Father is the origin and the essence of the Son and the Holy Spirit, for He is the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is a great mystery.
The Holy Spirit is in truth the one God that has no parts and yet is Triune. She proceeds from the Father as the Son is begotten from the Father, showing that there is a difference in manner of manifestation between the Son and the Holy Spirit as the Father and Mother, the positive and negative poles of creation. This was imaged in Adam and Eve. First there was Adam, and out of his side came forth Eve. One became two. So the Father emanated His own unitary Life, and it polarized, separated, and became the Two that together are required to accomplish anything outside the transcendental Being of the Father.
One Of The Trinity
"Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified." This statement not only affirms Her identity with the Father and the Son as God, it makes it clear that we do not worship the true God if we do not worship a God that is both transcendent and incommunicable and at the same time immanent and communicable in the dual form of Father and Mother (or Son and Mother). They must be worshipped together, equally. That alone is Catholic–kata holos, all- embracing–worship. We worship Three, realizing that they are at all times really One.
Prophetic Power
"Who spoke by the prophets." It was the Mother Who rested upon the prophets and inspired them. For that reason also is She called "breath." For as we vibrate our breath to form our voice in communicating with one another, so She is the vibrating medium through which the divine message is communicated from the transcendental to the human level. All spiritual powers which were manifested through the prophets are called "gifts of the Spirit," not gifts of the Father or the Son. Where the authentic exercise of those gifts are found, it is the working of the Mother. She is the source of the oracles of God, for She is the Wisdom of God, as the prophets named Her. She is the language in the mouth of the illumined. The "just men made perfect" are made perfect in Her, the Mother. By their mouths She speaks Her truth. It should be evident, then, that the only way to spiritual knowledge and illumination is the way of the Holy Spirit Mother.
[The Holy Spirit - by Swami Nirmalananda Giri.]
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# The Idea of the Holy Ghost
As such, the various Christian perspectives view the Holy Spirit as God himself or the Breath of God, a form of God, or a manifestation of God. The word "Spirit" commonly translates the Greek New Testament word pneuma. It is important to remember that Scripture on the Holy Spirit can be viewed by different sects of Christians in different ways. In Christianity, following the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is the One who guides a person to correctly interpret the word of God and He helps each person reach new levels of understanding.
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
To try to comprehend the Holy Ghost let us first classify its various names and characteristics drawn from the gospels and epistles of the Christian bible. It shows that scarcely any two references to it agree in assigning it the same character or attributes.
John 14:26, the Holy Ghost is a person or personal God.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost assumes the form of a dove.
Matt. 13:16, the Holy Ghost is a spirit.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is an inanimate, senseless object.
John 5:7, the Holy Ghost is a God—the third member of the Trinity.
Acts 2:1; the Holy Ghost is a mighty, rushing wind.
Acts 10:38, the Holy Ghost, from its mode of application, is an ointment.
John 20:22, the Holy Ghost is the breath, by its being breathed into the mouth of the recipient after the ancient oriental custom.
Acts 2:3, the Holy Ghost sat upon each of them, probably in the form of a bird, as at Jesus' baptism.
Acts 2:1, the Holy Ghost appears as cloven tongues of fire.
Luke 2:26, the Holy Ghost is the author of a revelation or inspiration.
Acts 8:17, the Holy Ghost is a magnetic aura imparted by the laying on of hands.
Mark 1:8, the Holy Ghost is a medium or element for baptism.
Acts 28:25, the Holy Ghost appears with vocal organs, and speaks.
Heb. 6:4, the Holy Ghost is dealt out or imparted by measure.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost appears with a tangible body.
Luke 1:5, and many other texts, people are filled with the Holy Ghost.
Matt. 11:15, the Holy Ghost falls upon the people as a ponderable substance.
Luke 4:1, the Holy Ghost is a God within a God, Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 21:11, the Holy Ghost is a being of the masculine or feminine gender—Thus saith the Holy Ghost.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is of the neuter gender, it (the Holy Ghost) abode upon him.
Matt. 1:18, the Holy Ghost, this third member of the Trinity aids the first member (the Father) in the creation of the second member of the trinity of bachelor Gods—the Word, or Saviour, or Son of God.
The Holy Ghost surpasses the fabulous changes of the classical gods and genii. Indeed many of these fabulous conceptions were drawn from mythological sources.
The Christian's Holy Ghost descended as a dove and alighted on Christ's head at his baptism (Luke 3:22). The Holy Ghost in the shape of a bird – a dove or a pigeon – is a very ancient pagan tradition. In India, a dove was uniformly the emblem of the Holy Spirit or Spirit of God. A dove stood for a third member of the Trinity, and was the regenerator or regeneratory power. Compare this with Titus (3:5): regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. A person being baptized under the Brahminical theocracy was said to be regenerated and born again, or, they were born into the spirit, or the spirit into them—the dove into or upon them.
In Rome a dove or pigeon was a legendary spirit, the accompaniment of Venus, the emblem of female procreative energy. It is therefore appropriately shown as descending at baptism in the character of the third member of the Trinity. The dove also fills the Grecian oracles with their spirit and power. A dove was, in several ancient religions, the Spirit of God (Holy Ghost) moving on the face of the waters at creation (Gen. 1:2), though a pigeon was often substituted. The dove and the pigeon were used interchangeably.
In the ancient Syrian temple of Hierapolis, Semiramis is shown with a dove on her head, the prototype of the dove on the head of the Christian messiah at baptism. At the feast of Whitsuntide, the descent of the Holy Ghost was symbolised in London by a pigeon being let fly out of a hole in the midst of the roof of the great aisle of St Paul's Cathedral. It is more than likely that this continues an ancient tradition. On solemn occasions when the Holy Ghost was expected or invited to descend, it was more than likely that originally no one in the congregation noticed that it did. The custom therefore arose of liberating pigeons or doves at the appropriate moment.
Naturally, these doves would have been actually ascending, having realised that they were no longer constrained, but that would not have bothered the faithful who eventually came to understand the symbolism. In any case, the doves would most likely have been tame ones bred for the purpose and possibly made no great effort to escape, like the pigeons in crowded city plazas. So, it is quite possible that sometimes one of the tame birds did alight on the priest – perhaps they were trained to do just that. The pictures of priests or gods with a dove on their head might be depictions of actual rituals.
The Holy Ghost was the third member of the Trinity in several Eastern religions as well as the Gothic and Celtic nations. This notion of a third person in the godhead was diffused among all the nations of the earth. Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or Father, Word and Holy Ghost (1 John 5:7) express the divine triad of which the Holy Ghost was the third member. The Holy Spirit and the Evil Spirit were, each in their turn, third member of the Trinity.
In these triads the third member was not of equal rank with the other two. In the Theban Trinity, Khonso was inferior to Arion and Mant. In the Hindu triad, Siva was subordinate to Brahma and Vishnu. The Holy Ghost conception of the Christian world is an exact correspondence with these older ideas. It has always stood third in rank after the Father and the Son or the Word, a slave doing all the hard work and getting little worship for it. Today it is still seldom addressed in Christian devotion, but perhaps that is because it was so badly treated that it was not too diligent in its tasks. It was not too good, for example, at making the holy book of Christianity infallible.
The Holy Ghost was the Holy Breath, which, in the Hindu traditions, moved on the face of the waters at creation, and imparted vitality into everything created. A similar conception appears in the scriptures. In Psalms 33:6 the Word of the Lord made the heavens, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. The Brahminical conception of creation by the Divine Breath, the Holy Ghost, which was breathed into Adam to make him a living soul. The Prana or principle of life of the Hindus is the breath of life by which the Brahma, the Creator, animates the clay to make man a living soul.
Holy Ghost, Holy Breath and Holy Wind were equivalent terms for the sigh from the mouth of the Supreme God, as laid down in pagan traditions. The Holy Wind is suggested by the mighty rushing wind from heaven, which filled the house on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2). The Holy Wind is an accepted term for the Holy Ghost in ancient religions. The doxology, reported by a missionary, in the religious service of the Syrian church runs thus:
Praise to the Holy Spiritual Wind, which is the Holy Ghost; Praise to the three persons which are one true God.
The Hebrew Ruh Elohim, translated Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2) in our version, is literally, Wind of the Gods. The word Pneuma, of the Greek New Testament, is sometimes translated Ghost and sometimes Wind, as suited the fancy of the translators. In John 3:5 the word is Spirit, in verse eight both Wind and Spirit, and in Luke 1:35 the term is Holy Ghost—all translated from the same word. In the Greek Testament the word Pneuma is used for Spirit, Holy Ghost, breath and Wind so that in the Christian Scriptures they are synonymous. An unwarranted license has been assumed by translators in rendering the same word different ways.
The Holy Ghost appears also as a tongue of fire, which sat upon each of the apostles in Acts 2:3.
Buddha, an incarnate God of the Hindus over two thousand years ago, is often seen with a glory or tongue of fire upon his head. The visible form of the Holy Ghost as fire was accepted among the Buddhists, Druids and Etrurians. The Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit when visible, was in the form of fire or a bird and was always accompanied with wisdom and power. The Hindus, Persians and Chaldeans made offerings to fire, emblem of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit as the solar fire.
Holy men of God, like some of the prophets, are considered inspired by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21; Acts 28:25). The ancient Celts were moved by the Holy Ghost and also claimed that their Salic laws (seventy-two in number) were inspired by the Salo Ghost or Holy Ghost, known also as the Wisdom of the Spirit, or the Voice of the Spirit.
The Holy Ghost imparted by the laying on of hands is also an ancient custom. By the putting hands on the head of the candidate, the Celts conveyed the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.
Baptism by or into the Holy Ghost accompanied with fire (Mt 3:2) is also traceable to a very ancient period. The Tuscans, or Etrurians, baptized with fire, wind (ghost) and water. Baptism into the first member of the Trinity, the Father, was with fire: baptism into the second member of the Trinity, the Word, was with water: baptism into the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, was with breath, gas, gast, ghost, wind, or spirit. In ancient countries, the child was taken to the priest, who named him before the sacred fire. Then he was sprinkled with holy water from a vessel made of the sacred tree known as the Holme. To impart the Holy Ghost by breathing (John 20:22), the priest blew his breath upon the child to transfer the Holy Ghost, thus baptising the child by air, spiritus sanctus or ghost. The practice of breathing in or upon was quite common among the ancient heathen.
The Holy Ghost as the agent in divine conception, or the procreation of other Gods. Jesus is said to have been conceived by the Holy Ghost (Mt 1:18), and we find similar claims of divine procreation via the Holy Ghost in the old religions. In the Hindu myths, Sakya was conceived by the Holy Ghost Nara-an.
Sesostris of Egypt, according to Manetho, asked the oracle: Tell me, O thou strong in fire! who before me could subjugate all things, and who shall after me? The oracle rebuked him, saying, First God, then the Word, and with them the Spirit. And Plutarch, in his Life of Numa, confirms that the incarnation of the Holy Spirit was known both to the ancient Romans and Egyptians. The doctrine was nearly universal.
The origin of the tradition of the Holy Ghost is easily traced to the Brahminical trifold conception of God. First is the god of power or might, Brahma or Brahm, the Father, second is the god of creation, the Word, answering to John's creative Word (John 1:3), third is the god of generation and regeneration, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. Under the Brahminical theocracy, the Holy Ghost was the living, vital, active, life-imparting agent.
The Holy Ghost in the Christian Scripture is the agent of Christ's conception, because, as Matthew declares, he was conceived by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was also the regenerating agent at his baptism, although Luke, who relates it, does not say why the Holy Spirit in the form of a bird, alighted and sat upon his head. The reason is nevertheless fully disclosed in the older mythical religions. Christians claim baptism imparts a new spiritual life—they are born again. This new spirit appeared as a dove or a pigeon.
The spirit was originally female so that the Trinity consisted of two masculine principles and a feminine one, the latter being the procreative or regenerative principle. At the imposition of Patriarchy the sex of the Holy Ghost altered from female to neuter.
The primary windy idea of the Holy Ghost is traceable to that early period of society when the untutored people of the earth in their ignorance of nature easily believed that movement signified the passage of a god.
The Buddhists had their god Vasus, who manifested himself as fire, wind, storms, gas, ghosts, gusts, and the breath, thus being nearly a counterpart of the Christian Holy Ghost. This god sprang from the supreme, primordial God, who was to Brahmins and Buddhists a fine, spiritual substance—aura, anima, wind, ether, igneous fluid, or electrical fire or fire from the sun, giving rise to baptism by fire. The third member of the Trinity, subsequently seems to have arisen from this being and had the same properties.
What was a sin against the Holy Ghost and why was it unpardonable? It was refusing to allow the Holy Ghost to effect the second birth. Since baptism by whatever means into the Holy Ghost was the only means of redeeming sins against the Father or the Son, the refusal or prevention of baptism meant there could be no forgiveness. It was the only route so could not be avoided if sin was to be pardoned. An offence committed against the third limb of the Godhead barred the door to forgiveness, in this life or that to come. To sin against the Holy Ghost was to block the path by which the door of heaven was to be reached.
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Is Lady Sofia the Holy Spirit?
CONTENTS:
Sophia: Lost Goddess of Wisdom
Wisdom Speaks For Herself
On retaining the integrity of the original texts regarding Sophia
What Became of God the Mother?
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
The Holy Spirit: The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead
On the Nature of the Divine Mother or Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
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# Sophia: Lost Goddess of Wisdom
Once patriarchy infected the Christian church, the Sophia tradition was lost…but not entirely, if you know what to look for.
In Search of the Lost Christian Goddess
Sophia means wisdom.
Philosophy, first used by Pythagoras, means "lover of Sophia."
The Sophia tradition is found in the Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible.
For the earliest Christians:
Divine masculine = Jesus
Divine feminine = Sophia
The Sophia Tradition
Once patriarchy infected the Christian church, the Sophia tradition was lost…but not entirely, if you know what to look for.
When passages in the Hebrew Bible (OT) or New Testament use "wisdom," they are referring to the lost Sophia tradition.
Logos, the "word" of God, is the Greek masculine form of Sophia = WISDOM; God's creative energy; mediator between God & creation.
Searching for the Sophia Tradition
John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being."
Is "the Word" actually SHE, not HE, the feminine principle of Being?
Is the "Word" a Goddess?
Greek philosophy saw Sophia, goddess of Wisdom, as the creative power that formed the cosmos out of original chaos.
Hebrew biblical tradition, in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, see Wisdom as Sophia and Sophia as Yahweh's companion in creation.
Proverbs 8: 22-31
Proverbs is part of the Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible, including Job and Ecclesiastes.
Wisdom (Sophia) is Yahweh's (God) intimate companion in creating the world.
Sophia serves as God's channel of communication with humanity.
The "Holy Spirit" of Christianity? Apocryphal Literature
Apocryphal books are later Hebrew writings not included in most Protestant Bibles.
Ecclesiasticus 24; Wisdom of Solomon 6:12 – 9:18.
Sophia becomes both the agent or means of creation and the revealer of the Divine Mind.
Genesis 1:3
God first creates by uttering "the word"; "Then God said 'Let there be light'; and there was light."
"The Word" = "Sophia" = Wisdom = the creative force of God.
Philo Judaeus (a 1st century Jewish scholar) uses the masculine "logos" for "the word" instead of the feminine "Sophia" – PATRIARCHAL THINKING!
Clues in the New Testament: 1 Corinth: 2:6-16
Paul speaks of the Wisdom of God that is revealed to humanity through the Spirit.
The Wisdom of God is only revealed through the Spirit of God.
Here is the "lost goddess" of Christianity: the Holy Spirit!
The Gospel of Q
Scholars posit the existence of the lost Gospel of Q to explain similar passages found in Matthew and Luke not found in Mark.
Q portrays Jesus and John the Baptist as messengers sent by Sophia. (See Luke 11:49).
Q may have been destroyed by the "Patriarchal Establishment" that took over the Church.
The Advocate in John
The Advocate = the Holy Spirit that Jesus bestows on his followers after his death (John 14: 12-26).
The Sophia tradition, the Lost Goddess of Christianity, lives on as the Holy Spirit described in John.
Patriarchal authors use the masculine pronoun, but the Holy Spirit is Sophia described in earlier Hebrew literature (see Proverbs 8).
Holy Spirit in John
Only by being "born in the Spirit" can Christians "enter the kingdom of Heaven" (John: 3:4-9)
The Holy Spirit continues to reveal Jesus' cosmic splendour after his departure (16: 12-15)
The Holy Spirit answers prayers for knowledge and power (14: 12-26)
Sophia Lost
The patriarchal Roman Church eradicated the Christian Goddess.
Original Christians valued men and women equally as expressions of God and the Goddess.
The mystical marriage of Jesus and Sophia brought believers into the bliss of Christ Consciousness.
Patriarchal Christianity
Longs for the divine feminine; Mary worship, the "Da Vinci Code," the work of reconstructionists and reformers in the church.
Historic Christianity is linked to violence and hatred even as it professes love for all.
Without the recovery of Sophia, Christ consciousness evades Christian believers.
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# Wisdom Speaks For Herself:
Does not Wisdom call, and understanding lift up Her voice? On top of the heights beside the way where the paths meet, She takes Her stand. Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, at the entrance of the doors, She cries out:
"To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O naive ones; discern prudence and O fools; discern wisdom. Listen, for I shall speak noble things and the opening of my lips will produce right things. For my mouth will utter truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. They are all straightforward to him who understands and right to those who find knowledge. Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels and all desirable things cannot compare with her.
I, Wisdom, dwell with providence and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth; i hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. Power is mine. By me kings reign and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles; All who judge rightly.
I love those who love me, and those who diligently seek Me will find Me. Riches and honour are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold and my yield than choicest silver. I walk in the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of justice, to endow those who love Me with wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.
The Lord possessed Me at the beginning of His way before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no springs abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world when He established the heavens, I was there. When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when He set for the sea its boundary so that the water should not trangress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him, as a Master Workman, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His earth and having my delight in the sons of men.
Now therefore O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep My ways. Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds Me finds Life, and obtains favour from the Lord. But he who sins against Me injures himself. All those who hate Me love death. (Proverbs 8)
Wisdom's Invitation To All:
Wisdom has built Her house. She has hewn out Her seven pillars. She has mixed Her wine. She has also set Her table. She has sent out Her maidens. She calls from the tops of the heights of the city: "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks understanding, She says: "Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding."
Proverbs 9:1-6
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# On retaining the integrity of the original texts regarding Sophia
"The fullest development of her is in the so-called "Wisdom Books" of the apocryphia in the Greek Pentateuch that were canonized into Christian Scripture and are still used by the Roman Catholic and English Orthodox churches. Sophia dominates the first nine chapters of Proverbs and is found in both the Old and New Testaments.
There was no attempt in the West to maintain the integrity of the original texts until Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate at the request of the papacy in the fourth century. Zuntz, by using the standard practice of textual comparison, in his detailed analysis of the oldest Pauline manuscript, notes, in his book, The Text of the Epistles, numerous places where the text has been altered. Jerome, himself, in letters to his colleagues, bewails the fact that he has so many variant texts to select from for the compilation of a standardized version. At one point before him he has the old Hieronymian text and its revision. He says, "The differences throughout are clear and striking." In his writings he does leave us a clue to the subject at hand. At one point he has before him the gospel of the Hebrews used by the Syrian Christians which, as some now say, predated the four canonical gospels. In it, Jerome says that the Holy Spirit is expressed in the feminine gender and is considered the mother in law of the soul. (Library 11, commentary in Isaiah, chapter 11: Library 2, commentary. in Micah 7.6:) So here is some additional external evidence from an unrelated source that the Holy Spirit was originally considered feminine. In Judaism, the medieval writers of the Kaballah concentrated on the masculine aspects of the sefiroth (the 13 aspects of God) and relegated Sophia to an inferior sphere than that she had heretofore occupied. Roman Catholicism explicitly associated Old Testament Sophia texts with Mary or the Mother Church. In the Eastern Church, Sophia survives and is often associated liturgically with the Holy Spirit and sometimes with Christ, himself. Further, the church fathers of the Patristic Age preferred the male "Logos" when describing Christ in order to avoid gender confusion. Philo, who at first equated Sophia with Logos, "substituted Logos for Sophia, until the masculine person of the Logos has taken over most of Sophia's divine roles including the firstborn image of God, the principle of order and the intermediary between God and humanity. Sophia's powers are restricted and she is limited to Heaven.
In both Greek and English, "Spirit" is a neuter noun. And we think of a neuter noun as an "it" rather than a he or she. Thus we think of the Holy Trinity of orthodox theology in a peculiar way. God the Father we visualize in warm, personal terms. God the Word (i.e., Logos) we more often speak of as God the Son and think of personal images ranging from Bethlehem to Nazareth to Jerusalem. Not so, however, with the Holy Spirit. Both the neuter noun and the biblical images of fire and anointing tend us away from personal to impersonal imagery, from Spirit as divine personality to Spirit as divine emanation. How unfortunate. In the Gospel of John, Jesus invites us to know about, expect, and experience the Holy Spirit. And he speaks of the third member of the divine family in terms that are personal. In fact, he challenged his original followers to think of the Holy Spirit in the same personal ways they had experienced him."
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# What Became of God the Mother?
Elaine H.Pagels
[Elaine H. Pagels received her PhD from Harvard University. She teaches at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is author of The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis and The Gnostic Paul. Her articles have appeared in Harvard Theological Review, Journal for Biblical Literature, and Journal of the American Academy of Religion.]
Unlike many of his contemporaries among the deities of the ancient Near East, the God of Israel shares his power with no female divinity, nor is he the divine Husband or Lover of any.(l) He scarcely can be characterized in any but masculine epithets: King, Lord, Master, Judge, and Father.
Conflicting Images of God in Early Christianity
Unlike many of his contemporaries among the deities of the ancient Near East, the God of Israel shares his power with no female divinity, nor is he the divine Husband or Lover of any. He scarcely can be characterized in any but masculine epithets: King, Lord, Master, Judge, and Father. Indeed, the absence of feminine symbolism of God marks Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in striking contrast to the world's other religious traditions, whether in Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, and Rome or Africa, Polynesia, India, and North America. Jewish, Christian, and Islamic theologians, however, are quick to point out that God is not to be considered in sexual terms at all. Yet the actual language they use daily in worship and prayer conveys a different message and gives the distinct impression that God is thought of in exclusively masculine terms. And while it is true that Catholics revere Mary as the mother of Jesus, she cannot be identified as divine in her own right: if she is "mother of God," she is not "God the Mother" on an equal footing with God the Father.
Christianity, of course, added the trinitarian terms to the Jewish description of God. And yet of the three divine "Persons," two—the Father and Son—are described in masculine terms, and the third—the Spirit—suggests the sexlessness of the Greek neuter term pneuma. This is not merely a subjective impression. Whoever investigates the early development of Christianity—the field called "patristics," that is, study of "the fathers of the church"—may not be surprised by the passage that concludes the recently discovered, secret Gospel of Thomas: "Simon Peter said to them [the disciples], `Let Mary be excluded from among us, for she is a woman, and not worthy of Life.' Jesus said, `Behold I will take Mary, and make her a male, so that she may become a living spirit, resembling you males. For I tell you truly, that every female who makes herself male will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'" Strange as it sounds, this only states explicitly what religious rhetoric often assumes: that the men form the legitimate body of the community, while women will be allowed to participate only insofar as their own identity is denied and assimilated to that of the men.
Further exploration of the texts which include this Gospel—written on papyrus, hidden in large clay jars nearly 1,600 years ago—has identified them as Jewish and Christian gnostic works which were attacked and condemned as "heretical" as early as A.D. 100—150. What distinguishes these "heterodox" texts from those that are called "orthodox" is at least partially clear: they abound in feminine symbolism that is applied, in particular, to God. Although one might expect, then, that they would recall the archaic pagan traditions of the Mother Goddess, their language is to the contrary specifically Christian, unmistakably related to a Jewish heritage. Thus we can see that certain gnostic Christians diverged even more radically from the Jewish tradition than the early Christians who described God as the "three Persons" or the Trinity. For, instead of a monistic and masculine God, certain of these texts describe God as a dyadic being, who consists of both masculine and feminine elements. One such group of texts, for example, claims to have received a secret tradition from Jesus through James, and significantly, through Mary Magdalene. Members of this group offer prayer to both the divine Father and Mother: "From Thee, Father, and through Thee, Mother, the two immortal names, Parents of the divine being, and thou, dweller in heaven, mankind of the mighty name." Other texts indicate that their authors had pondered the nature of the beings to whom a single, masculine God proposed, "Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). Since the Genesis account goes on to say that mankind was created "male and female" (1:27), some concluded, apparently, that the God in whose image we are created likewise must be both masculine and feminine—both Father and Mother.
The characterization of the divine Mother in these sources is not simple since the texts themselves are extraordinarily diverse. Nevertheless, three primary characterizations merge. First, a certain poet and teacher, Valentinus, begins with the premise that God is essentially indescribable. And yet he suggests that the divine can be imagined as a Dyad consisting of two elements: one he calls the Ineffable, the Source, the Primal Father; the other, the Silence, the Mother of all things. Although we might question Valentinus's reasoning that Silence is the appropriate complement of what is Ineffable, his equation of the former with the feminine and the latter with the masculine may be traced to the grammatical gender of the Greek words. Followers of Valentinus invoke this feminine power, whom they also call "Grace" (in Greek, the feminine term charis), in their own private celebration of the Christian eucharist: they call her "divine, eternal Grace, She who is before all things." At other times they pray to her for protection as the Mother, "Thou enthroned with God, eternal, mystical Silence." Marcus, a disciple of Valentinus, contends that "when Moses began his account of creation, he mentioned the Mother of all things at the very beginning, when he said, `In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,' " for the word beginning (in Greek, the feminine arche) refers to the divine Mother, the source of the cosmic elements. When they describe God in this way, different gnostic writers have different interpretations. Some maintain that the divine is to be considered masculo-feminine—the "great male-female power." Others insist that the terms are meant only as metaphors—for, in reality, the divine is neither masculine nor feminine. A third group suggests that one can describe the Source of all things in either masculine or feminine terms, depending on which aspect one intends to stress. Proponents of these diverse views agree, however, that the divine is to be understood as consisting of a harmonious, dynamic relationship of opposites—a concept that may be akin to the eastern view of yin and yang but remains antithetical to orthodox Judaism and Christianity.
A second characterization of the divine Mother describes her as Holy Spirit. One source, the Secret Book of John, for example, relates how John, the brother of James, went out after the crucifixion with "great grief," and had a mystical vision of the Trinity: "As I was grieving . . . the heavens were opened, and the whole creation shone with an unearthly light, and the universe was shaken. I was afraid . . . and behold . . . a unity in three forms appeared to me, and I marvelled: how can a unity have three forms?" To John's question, the vision answers: "It said to me, `John, John, why do you doubt, or why do you fear? . . . I am the One who is with you always: I am the Father; I am the Mother; I am the Son.' John's interpretation of the Trinity—as Father, Mother, and Son—may not at first seem shocking but is perhaps the more natural and spontaneous interpretation. Where the Greek terminology for the Trinity, which includes the neuter term for the spirit (pneuma), virtually requires that the third "Person" of the Trinity be asexual, the author of the Secret Book looks to the Hebrew term for spirit, ruah—a feminine word. He thus concludes, logically enough, that the feminine "Person" conjoined with Father and Son must be the Mother! Indeed, the text goes on to describe the Spirit as Mother: "the image of the invisible virginal perfect spirit.... She became the mother of the all, for she existed before them all, the mother-father [matropater]." This same author, therefore, alters Genesis 1:2 ("the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep") to say, "the Mother then was moved." The secret Gospel to the Hebrews likewise has Jesus speak of "my Mother, the Spirit." And in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus contrasts his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, with his divine Father—the Father of Truth—and his divine Mother, the Holy Spirit. The author interprets a puzzling saying of Jesus in the New Testament ("whoever does not hate his father and mother is not worthy of me") by adding: "Whoever does not love his father and his mother in my way cannot be my disciple; for my [earthly] mother gave me death but my true Mother gave me the Life." Another secret gnostic gospel, the Gospel of Phillip, declares that whoever becomes a Christian "gains both a father and a mother." The author refers explicitly to the feminine Hebrew term to describe the Spirit as "Mother of many."
If these sources suggest that the Spirit constitutes the maternal element of the Trinity, the Gospel of Phillip makes an equally radical suggestion concerning the doctrine that later developed as the virgin birth. Here again the Spirit is praised as both Mother and Virgin, the counterpart—and consort—of the Heavenly Father: "If I may utter a mystery, the Father of the all united with the Virgin who came down" —that is,.with the Holy Spirit. Yet because this process is to be understood symbolically, and not literally, the Spirit remains a virgin! The author explains that "for this reason, Christ was `born of a virgin'"—that is, of the Spirit, his divine Mother. But the author ridicules those "literal-minded" Christians who mistakenly refer the virgin birth to Mary, Jesus' earthly mother, as if she conceived apart from Joseph: "Such persons do not know what they are saying; for when did a female ever impregnate a female?" Instead, he argues, virgin birth refers to the mysterious union of the two divine powers, the Father of the All with the Holy Spirit.
Besides the eternal, mystical Silence, and besides the Holy Spirit, certain gnostics suggest a third characterization of the divine Mother as Wisdom. Here again the Greek feminine term for wisdom, sophia, like the term for spirit, ruah, translates a Hebrew feminine term, hokhmah. Early interpreters had pondered the meaning of certain biblical passages, for example, Proverbs: "God made the world in Wisdom." And they wondered if Wisdom could be the feminine power in which God's creation is "conceived"? In such passages, at any rate, Wisdom bears two connotations: first, she bestows the Spirit that makes mankind wise; second, she is a creative power. One gnostic source calls her the "first universal creator"; another says that God the Father was speaking to her when he proposed to "make mankind in our image." The Great Announcement, a mystical writing, explains the Genesis account in the following terms: "One Power that is above and below, self-generating, self-discovering, its own mother; its own father; its own sister; its own son: Father, Mother, unity, Root of all things." The same author explains the mystical meaning of the Garden of Eden as a symbol of the womb: "Scripture teaches us that this is what is meant when Isaiah says, `I am he that formed thee in thy mother's womb' [Isaiah 44:2]. The Garden of Eden, then, is Moses' symbolic term for the womb, and Eden the placenta, and the river which comes out of Eden the navel, which nourishes the fetus." This teacher claims that the Exodus, consequently, symbolizes the exodus from the womb, "and the crossing of the Red Sea, they say, refers to the blood." Evidence for this view, he adds, comes directly from "the cry of the newborn," a spontaneous cry of praise for "the glory of the primal being, in which all the powers above are in harmonious embrace."
The introduction of such symbolism in gnostic texts clearly bears implications for the understanding of human nature. The Great Announcement, for example, having described the Source as a masculo- feminine being, a "bisexual Power," goes on to say that "what came into being from that Power, that is, humanity, being one, is found to be two: a male-female being that bears the female within it." This refers to the story of Eve's "birth" out of Adam's side (so that Adam, being one, is "discovered to be two," an androgyne who "bears the female within him"). Yet this reference to the creation story of Genesis 2—an account which inverts the biological birth process, and so effectively denies the creative function of the female—proves to be unusual in gnostic sources. More often, such sources refer instead to the first creation account in Genesis 1:26-27. ("And God said, let us make mankind in Our image, after Our image and likeness . . . in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them"). Rabbis in Talmudic times knew a Greek version of the passage, one that suggested to Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman that "when the Holy One . . . first created mankind, he created him with two faces, two sets of genitals, four arms, and legs, back to back: Then he split Adam in two, and made two backs, one on each side." Some Jewish teachers (perhaps influenced by the story in Plato's Symposium) had suggested that Genesis 1:26-27 narrates an androgynous creation—an idea that gnostics adopted and developed. Marcus (whose prayer to the Mother is given above) not only concludes from this account that God is dyadic ("Let us make mankind") but also that "mankind, which was formed according to the image and likeness of God [Father and Mother] was masculo-feminine." And his contemporary, Theodotus, explains: "the saying that Adam was created `male and female' means that the male and female elements together constitute the finest production of the Mother, Wisdom." We can see, then, that the gnostic sources which describe God in both masculine and feminine terms often give a similar description of human nature as a dyadic entity, consisting of two equal male and female components.
All the texts cited above—secret "gospels," revelations, mystical teachings—are among those rejected from the select list of twenty-six that comprise the "New Testament" collection As these and other writings were sorted and judged by various Christian communities, every one of these texts which gnostic groups revered and shared was rejected from the canonical collection as "heterodox" by those who called themselves "orthodox" (literally, straight-thinking) Christians. By the time this process was concluded, probably as late as the year A.D. 200, virtually all the feminine imagery for God (along with any suggestion of an androgynous human creation) had disappeared from "orthodox" Christian tradition.
What is the reason for this wholesale rejection ? The gnostics themselves asked this question of their "orthodox" attackers and pondered it among themselves. Some concluded that the God of Israel himself initiated the polemics against gnostic teaching which his followers carried out in his name. They argued that he was a derivative, merely instrumental power, whom the divine Mother had created to administer the universe, but who remained ignorant of the power of Wisdom, his own Mother: "They say that the creator believed that he created everything by himself, but that, in reality, he had made them because his Mother, Wisdom, infused him with energy, and had given him her ideas. But he was unaware that the ideas he used came from her: he was even ignorant of his own Mother." Followers of Valentinus suggested that the Mother herself encouraged the God of Israel to think that he was acting autonomously in creating the world; but, as one teacher adds, "It was because he was foolish and ignorant of his Mother that he said, `I am God; there is none beside me.' " Others attribute to him the more sinister motive of jealousy, among them the Secret Book of John: "He said, `I am a jealous God, and you shall have no other God before me,' already indicating that another god does exist. For if there were no other god, of whom would he be jealous? Then the Mother began to be distressed." A third gnostic teacher describes the Lord's shock, terror, and anxiety "when he discovered that he was not the God of the universe." Gradually his shock and fear gave way to wonder, and finally he came to welcome the teaching of Wisdom. The gnostic teacher concluded: "This is the meaning of the saying, `The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' "
# What Became of God the Mother? [Part 2]
Further research might disclose how social and cultural forces converged to suppress feminine symbolism—and women's participation— from western Christian tradition. Given such research, the history of Christianity never could be told in the same way again.
All of these are, of course, mythical explanations. To look for the actual, historical reasons why these gnostic writings were suppressed is an extremely difficult proposition, for it raises the much larger question of how (i.e., by what means and what criteria) certain ideas, including those expressed in the texts cited above, came to be classified as heretical and others as orthodox by the beginning of the third century. Although the research is still in its early stages, and this question is far from being solved, we may find one clue if we ask whether these secret groups derived any practical, social consequences from their conception of God—and of mankind—that included the feminine element? Here again the answer is yes and can be found in the orthodox texts themselves. Irenaeus, an orthodox bishop, for example, notes with dismay that women in particular are attracted to heretical groups—especially to Marcus's circle, in which prayers are offered to the Mother in her aspects as Silence, Grace, and Wisdom; women priests serve the eucharist together with men; and women also speak as prophets, uttering to the whole community what "the Spirit" reveals to them. Professing himself to be at a loss to understand the attraction that Marcus's group holds, he offers only one explanation: that Marcus himself is a diabolically successful seducer, a magician who compounds special aphrodisiacs to "deceive, victimize, and defile" these "many foolish women!" Whether his accusation has any factual basis is difficult, probably impossible, to ascertain. Nevertheless, the historian notes that accusations of sexual license are a stock-in-trade of polemical arguments. The bishop refuses to admit the possibility that the group might attract Christians—especially women—for sound and comprehensible reasons. While expressing his own moral outrage, Tertullian, another "father of the church," reveals his fundamental desire to keep women out of religion: "These heretical women—how audacious they are! They have no modesty: they are bold enough to teach, to engage in argument, to enact exorcisms, to undertake cures, and, it may be, even to baptize!" Tertullian directs yet another attack against "that viper"—a woman teacher who led a congregation in North Africa. Marcion had, in fact, scandalized his "orthodox" contemporaries by appointing women on an equal basis with men as priests and bishops among his congregations. The teacher Marcillina also traveled to Rome to represent the Carpocratian group, an esoteric circle that claimed to have received secret teaching from Mary, Salome, and Martha.(38) And among the Montanists, a radical prophetic circle, the prophet Philumene was reputed to have hired a male secretary to transcribe her inspired oracles.
Other secret texts, such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the Wisdom of Faith, suggest that the activity of such women leaders challenged and therefore was challenged by the orthodox communities who regarded Peter as their spokesman. The Gospel of Mary relates that Mary tried to encourage the disciples after the crucifixion and to tell them what the Lord had told her privately. Peter, furious at the suggestion, asks, "Did he then talk secretly with a woman, instead of to us? Are we to go and learn from her now? Did he love her more than us?" Distressed at his rage, Mary then asks Peter: "What do you think? Do you think I made this up in my heart? Do you think I am lying about the Lord?" Levi breaks in at this point to mediate the dispute: "Peter, you are always irascible. You object to the woman as our enemies do. Surely the Lord knew her very well, and indeed, he loved her more than us." Then he and the others invite Mary to teach them what she knows. Another argument between Peter and Mary occurs in Wisdom of Faith. Peter complains that Mary is dominating the conversation, even to the point of displacing the rightful priority of Peter himself and his brethren; he urges Jesus to silence her—and is quickly rebuked. Later, however, Mary admits to Jesus that she hardly dares to speak freely with him, because "Peter makes me hesitate: I am afraid of him, because he hates the female race." Jesus replies that whoever receives inspiration from the Spirit is divinely ordained to speak, whether man or woman.
As these texts suggest, then, women were considered equal to men, they were revered as prophets, and they acted as teachers, traveling evangelists, healers, priests, and even bishops. In some of these groups, they played leading roles and were excluded from them in the orthodox churches, at least by A.D. 150-200. Is it possible, then, that the recognition of the feminine element in God and the recognition of mankind as a male and female entity bore within it the explosive social possibility of women acting on an equal basis with men in positions of authority and leadership? If this were true, it might lead to the conclusion that these gnostic groups, together with their conception of God and human nature, were suppressed only because of their positive attitude toward women. But such a conclusion would be a mistake—a hasty and simplistic reading of the evidence. In the first place, orthodox Christian doctrine is far from wholly negative in its attitude toward women. Second, many other elements of the gnostic sources diverge in fundamental ways from what came to be accepted as orthodox Christian teaching. To examine this process in detail would require a much more extensive discussion than is possible here. Nevertheless, the evidence does indicate that two very different patterns of sexual attitudes emerged in orthodox and gnostic circles. In simplest form, gnostic theologians correlate their description of God in both masculine and feminine terms with a complementary description of human nature. Most often they refer to the creation account of Genesis 1, which suggests an equal (or even androgynous) creation of mankind. This conception carries the principle of equality between men and women into the practical social and political structures of gnostic communities. The orthodox pattern is strikingly different: it describes God in exclusively masculine terms and often uses Genesis 2 to describe how Eve was created from Adam and for his fulfillment. Like the gnostic view, the orthodox also translates into sociological practice: by the late second century, orthodox Christians came to accept the domination of men over women as the proper, God-given order—not only for the human race, but also for the Christian churches. This correlation between theology, anthropology, and sociology is not lost on the apostle Paul. In his letter to the disorderly Corinthian community, he reminds them of a divinely ordained chain of authority: As God has authority over Christ, so the man has authority over the woman, argues Paul, citing Genesis 2: "The man is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man; and besides, the man was not created for the woman's sake, but the woman for the sake of the man." Here the three elements of the orthodox pattern are welded into one simple argument: the description of God corresponds to a description of human nature which authorizes the social pattern of male domination.
A striking exception to this orthodox pattern occurs in the writings of one revered "father of the church," Clement of Alexandria. Clement identifies himself as orthodox, although he knows members of gnostic groups and their writings well; some scholars suggest that he was himself a gnostic initiate. Yet his own works demonstrate how all three elements of what we have called the "gnostic pattern" could be worked into fully "orthodox" teaching. First, Clement characterizes God not only in masculine but also in feminine terms: "The Word is everything to the child, both father and mother, teacher and nurse.... The nutriment is the milk of the father. . . and the Word alone supplies us children with the milk of love, and only those who suck at this breast are truly happy.... For this reason seeking is called sucking; to those infants who seek the Word, the Father's loving breasts supply milk. Second, in describing human nature, he insists that "men and women share equally in perfection, and are to receive the same instruction and discipline. For the name `humanity' is common to both men and women; and for us `in Christ there is neither male nor female.'" Even in considering the active participation of women with men in the Christian community Clement offers a list—unique in orthodox tradition—of women whose achievements he admires. They range from ancient examples, like Judith, the assassin who destroyed Israel's enemy, to Queen Esther, who rescued her people from genocide, as well as others who took radical political stands. He speaks of Arignole the historian, of Themisto the Epicurean philosopher, and of many other women philosophers, including two who studied with Plato and one trained by Socrates. Indeed, he cannot contain his praise: "What shall I say? Did not Theano the Pythagoran make such progress in philosophy that when a man, staring at her, said, `Your arm is beautiful,' she replied, `Yes, but it is not on public display.'" Clement concludes his list with famous women poets and painters.
If the work of Clement, who taught in Egypt before the lines of orthodoxy and heresy were rigidly drawn (ca. A.D. 160-80) demonstrates how gnostic principles could be incorporated even into orthodox Christian teaching, the majority of communities in the western empire headed by Rome did not follow his example. By the year A.D. 200, Roman Christians endorsed as "canonical" the pseudo-Pauline letter to Timothy, which interpreted Paul's views: "Let a woman learn in silence with full submissiveness. I do not allow any woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain silent, for [note Gen. 2!] Adam was formed first, then Eve and furthermore, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was utterly seduced and came into sin." How are we to account for this irreversible development? The question deserves investigation which this discussion can only initiate. For example, one would need to examine how (and for what reasons) the zealously patriarchal traditions of Israel were adopted by the Roman (and other) Christian communities. Further research might disclose how social and cultural forces converged to suppress feminine symbolism—and women's participation— from western Christian tradition. Given such research, the history of Christianity never could be told in the same way again.
["What Became of God the Mother?", Elaine H. Pagels 1976
"Womanspirit Rising" Carol P.Christ and Judith Plaskow 1979]
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# The Idea of the Holy Ghost
As such, the various Christian perspectives view the Holy Spirit as God himself or the Breath of God, a form of God, or a manifestation of God. The word "Spirit" commonly translates the Greek New Testament word pneuma. It is important to remember that Scripture on the Holy Spirit can be viewed by different sects of Christians in different ways. In Christianity, following the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is the One who guides a person to correctly interpret the word of God and He helps each person reach new levels of understanding.
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
To try to comprehend the Holy Ghost let us first classify its various names and characteristics drawn from the gospels and epistles of the Christian bible. It shows that scarcely any two references to it agree in assigning it the same character or attributes.
John 14:26, the Holy Ghost is a person or personal God.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost assumes the form of a dove.
Matt. 13:16, the Holy Ghost is a spirit.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is an inanimate, senseless object.
John 5:7, the Holy Ghost is a God—the third member of the Trinity.
Acts 2:1; the Holy Ghost is a mighty, rushing wind.
Acts 10:38, the Holy Ghost, from its mode of application, is an ointment.
John 20:22, the Holy Ghost is the breath, by its being breathed into the mouth of the recipient after the ancient oriental custom.
Acts 2:3, the Holy Ghost sat upon each of them, probably in the form of a bird, as at Jesus' baptism.
Acts 2:1, the Holy Ghost appears as cloven tongues of fire.
Luke 2:26, the Holy Ghost is the author of a revelation or inspiration.
Acts 8:17, the Holy Ghost is a magnetic aura imparted by the laying on of hands.
Mark 1:8, the Holy Ghost is a medium or element for baptism.
Acts 28:25, the Holy Ghost appears with vocal organs, and speaks.
Heb. 6:4, the Holy Ghost is dealt out or imparted by measure.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost appears with a tangible body.
Luke 1:5, and many other texts, people are filled with the Holy Ghost.
Matt. 11:15, the Holy Ghost falls upon the people as a ponderable substance.
Luke 4:1, the Holy Ghost is a God within a God, Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 21:11, the Holy Ghost is a being of the masculine or feminine gender—Thus saith the Holy Ghost.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is of the neuter gender, it (the Holy Ghost) abode upon him.
Matt. 1:18, the Holy Ghost, this third member of the Trinity aids the first member (the Father) in the creation of the second member of the trinity of bachelor Gods—the Word, or Saviour, or Son of God.
The Holy Ghost surpasses the fabulous changes of the classical gods and genii. Indeed many of these fabulous conceptions were drawn from mythological sources.
The Christian's Holy Ghost descended as a dove and alighted on Christ's head at his baptism (Luke 3:22). The Holy Ghost in the shape of a bird – a dove or a pigeon – is a very ancient pagan tradition. In India, a dove was uniformly the emblem of the Holy Spirit or Spirit of God. A dove stood for a third member of the Trinity, and was the regenerator or regeneratory power. Compare this with Titus (3:5): regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. A person being baptized under the Brahminical theocracy was said to be regenerated and born again, or, they were born into the spirit, or the spirit into them—the dove into or upon them.
In Rome a dove or pigeon was a legendary spirit, the accompaniment of Venus, the emblem of female procreative energy. It is therefore appropriately shown as descending at baptism in the character of the third member of the Trinity. The dove also fills the Grecian oracles with their spirit and power. A dove was, in several ancient religions, the Spirit of God (Holy Ghost) moving on the face of the waters at creation (Gen. 1:2), though a pigeon was often substituted. The dove and the pigeon were used interchangeably.
In the ancient Syrian temple of Hierapolis, Semiramis is shown with a dove on her head, the prototype of the dove on the head of the Christian messiah at baptism. At the feast of Whitsuntide, the descent of the Holy Ghost was symbolised in London by a pigeon being let fly out of a hole in the midst of the roof of the great aisle of St Paul's Cathedral. It is more than likely that this continues an ancient tradition. On solemn occasions when the Holy Ghost was expected or invited to descend, it was more than likely that originally no one in the congregation noticed that it did. The custom therefore arose of liberating pigeons or doves at the appropriate moment.
Naturally, these doves would have been actually ascending, having realised that they were no longer constrained, but that would not have bothered the faithful who eventually came to understand the symbolism. In any case, the doves would most likely have been tame ones bred for the purpose and possibly made no great effort to escape, like the pigeons in crowded city plazas. So, it is quite possible that sometimes one of the tame birds did alight on the priest – perhaps they were trained to do just that. The pictures of priests or gods with a dove on their head might be depictions of actual rituals.
The Holy Ghost was the third member of the Trinity in several Eastern religions as well as the Gothic and Celtic nations. This notion of a third person in the godhead was diffused among all the nations of the earth. Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or Father, Word and Holy Ghost (1 John 5:7) express the divine triad of which the Holy Ghost was the third member. The Holy Spirit and the Evil Spirit were, each in their turn, third member of the Trinity.
In these triads the third member was not of equal rank with the other two. In the Theban Trinity, Khonso was inferior to Arion and Mant. In the Hindu triad, Siva was subordinate to Brahma and Vishnu. The Holy Ghost conception of the Christian world is an exact correspondence with these older ideas. It has always stood third in rank after the Father and the Son or the Word, a slave doing all the hard work and getting little worship for it. Today it is still seldom addressed in Christian devotion, but perhaps that is because it was so badly treated that it was not too diligent in its tasks. It was not too good, for example, at making the holy book of Christianity infallible.
The Holy Ghost was the Holy Breath, which, in the Hindu traditions, moved on the face of the waters at creation, and imparted vitality into everything created. A similar conception appears in the scriptures. In Psalms 33:6 the Word of the Lord made the heavens, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. The Brahminical conception of creation by the Divine Breath, the Holy Ghost, which was breathed into Adam to make him a living soul. The Prana or principle of life of the Hindus is the breath of life by which the Brahma, the Creator, animates the clay to make man a living soul.
Holy Ghost, Holy Breath and Holy Wind were equivalent terms for the sigh from the mouth of the Supreme God, as laid down in pagan traditions. The Holy Wind is suggested by the mighty rushing wind from heaven, which filled the house on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2). The Holy Wind is an accepted term for the Holy Ghost in ancient religions. The doxology, reported by a missionary, in the religious service of the Syrian church runs thus:
Praise to the Holy Spiritual Wind, which is the Holy Ghost; Praise to the three persons which are one true God.
The Hebrew Ruh Elohim, translated Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2) in our version, is literally, Wind of the Gods. The word Pneuma, of the Greek New Testament, is sometimes translated Ghost and sometimes Wind, as suited the fancy of the translators. In John 3:5 the word is Spirit, in verse eight both Wind and Spirit, and in Luke 1:35 the term is Holy Ghost—all translated from the same word. In the Greek Testament the word Pneuma is used for Spirit, Holy Ghost, breath and Wind so that in the Christian Scriptures they are synonymous. An unwarranted license has been assumed by translators in rendering the same word different ways.
The Holy Ghost appears also as a tongue of fire, which sat upon each of the apostles in Acts 2:3.
Buddha, an incarnate God of the Hindus over two thousand years ago, is often seen with a glory or tongue of fire upon his head. The visible form of the Holy Ghost as fire was accepted among the Buddhists, Druids and Etrurians. The Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit when visible, was in the form of fire or a bird and was always accompanied with wisdom and power. The Hindus, Persians and Chaldeans made offerings to fire, emblem of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit as the solar fire.
Holy men of God, like some of the prophets, are considered inspired by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21; Acts 28:25). The ancient Celts were moved by the Holy Ghost and also claimed that their Salic laws (seventy-two in number) were inspired by the Salo Ghost or Holy Ghost, known also as the Wisdom of the Spirit, or the Voice of the Spirit.
The Holy Ghost imparted by the laying on of hands is also an ancient custom. By the putting hands on the head of the candidate, the Celts conveyed the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.
Baptism by or into the Holy Ghost accompanied with fire (Mt 3:2) is also traceable to a very ancient period. The Tuscans, or Etrurians, baptized with fire, wind (ghost) and water. Baptism into the first member of the Trinity, the Father, was with fire: baptism into the second member of the Trinity, the Word, was with water: baptism into the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, was with breath, gas, gast, ghost, wind, or spirit. In ancient countries, the child was taken to the priest, who named him before the sacred fire. Then he was sprinkled with holy water from a vessel made of the sacred tree known as the Holme. To impart the Holy Ghost by breathing (John 20:22), the priest blew his breath upon the child to transfer the Holy Ghost, thus baptising the child by air, spiritus sanctus or ghost. The practice of breathing in or upon was quite common among the ancient heathen.
The Holy Ghost as the agent in divine conception, or the procreation of other Gods. Jesus is said to have been conceived by the Holy Ghost (Mt 1:18), and we find similar claims of divine procreation via the Holy Ghost in the old religions. In the Hindu myths, Sakya was conceived by the Holy Ghost Nara-an.
Sesostris of Egypt, according to Manetho, asked the oracle: Tell me, O thou strong in fire! who before me could subjugate all things, and who shall after me? The oracle rebuked him, saying, First God, then the Word, and with them the Spirit. And Plutarch, in his Life of Numa, confirms that the incarnation of the Holy Spirit was known both to the ancient Romans and Egyptians. The doctrine was nearly universal.
The origin of the tradition of the Holy Ghost is easily traced to the Brahminical trifold conception of God. First is the god of power or might, Brahma or Brahm, the Father, second is the god of creation, the Word, answering to John's creative Word (John 1:3), third is the god of generation and regeneration, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. Under the Brahminical theocracy, the Holy Ghost was the living, vital, active, life-imparting agent.
The Holy Ghost in the Christian Scripture is the agent of Christ's conception, because, as Matthew declares, he was conceived by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was also the regenerating agent at his baptism, although Luke, who relates it, does not say why the Holy Spirit in the form of a bird, alighted and sat upon his head. The reason is nevertheless fully disclosed in the older mythical religions. Christians claim baptism imparts a new spiritual life—they are born again. This new spirit appeared as a dove or a pigeon.
The spirit was originally female so that the Trinity consisted of two masculine principles and a feminine one, the latter being the procreative or regenerative principle. At the imposition of Patriarchy the sex of the Holy Ghost altered from female to neuter.
The primary windy idea of the Holy Ghost is traceable to that early period of society when the untutored people of the earth in their ignorance of nature easily believed that movement signified the passage of a god.
The Buddhists had their god Vasus, who manifested himself as fire, wind, storms, gas, ghosts, gusts, and the breath, thus being nearly a counterpart of the Christian Holy Ghost. This god sprang from the supreme, primordial God, who was to Brahmins and Buddhists a fine, spiritual substance—aura, anima, wind, ether, igneous fluid, or electrical fire or fire from the sun, giving rise to baptism by fire. The third member of the Trinity, subsequently seems to have arisen from this being and had the same properties.
What was a sin against the Holy Ghost and why was it unpardonable? It was refusing to allow the Holy Ghost to effect the second birth. Since baptism by whatever means into the Holy Ghost was the only means of redeeming sins against the Father or the Son, the refusal or prevention of baptism meant there could be no forgiveness. It was the only route so could not be avoided if sin was to be pardoned. An offence committed against the third limb of the Godhead barred the door to forgiveness, in this life or that to come. To sin against the Holy Ghost was to block the path by which the door of heaven was to be reached.
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# The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
So Elohim created man in his own image,
in the image of Elohim he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
It is my intention in this article to uncover and expose the semantic, historical, and theological truth behind this third divine person of the Christian Trinity. I am aided in this by scriptural and semantic evidence, as well as sound theology. I will first refute Mary's conception 'by the spirit' and my arguments behind this stance; I will then present a more accurate (meaning, gendered) depiction of the Holy Ghost than the traditional one based on the historical Jesus' teachings and scriptural, historical and mythological evidence.
Get it Right! Ruach is not a Boy's Name! (Good News according to Phillip)
The idea that the Holy Ghost intervened in Jesus' virgin birth is met with open hostility in the gospels of the Nag Hammadi collection, where Phillip the Apostle even says: "when did a woman ever conceive of another woman?", which is a clear reference to the Ruach, or Holy Spirit. This is the one time in the Christian scriptures where the Holy Ghost is referred to clearly and directly as a 'woman'. It is no wonder that Phillip's gospel is excluded from the patriarchal canon, which was organized by the Pauline School.
The term 'Ruach', which is the word used by Jesus to refer to the Spirit, is a feminine Aramaic term translated as the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost in English, which came through Latin as the Spiritus Sanctus. The (Pauline influenced) Romanization of Christianity brought about the masculinization of the Ruach, whose feminine gender is CENTRAL to the Christian mystery, and I will explain why later in my article.
In Romance languages, words have gender, that is, they are grammatically considered either masculine (as in EL hombre: the man, or EL carro: the car) or feminine (as in LA mujer: the woman, or LA casa: the house). The same applies to the Latin language. The Latin word spiritus is a masculine word. But the original, Semitic word that was used by Yeshua, the rabbi we know as Jesus, was Ruach, and this is a feminine gendered word. Ruach is the (female) Spirit, the Soul, the accurately gendered Latin translation of which should have probably been Anima. This is the term that Jungians are now using to refer to the inner feminine, or the Divine Feminine. In translating Ruach as spiritus, the association remained between soul and breath, but the original gender of the divine being that Jesus referred to as Ruach was changed.
Phillip, who walked with the historical Jesus, was in fact adamantly rejecting the view of the Pauline School and other Christians on the Holy Ghost and the fathering of Jesus by this agent, because Ruach is a female.
Keep in mind that Paul never met Jesus or heard his teachings in person. For this reason, Paul's teachings, particularly where they entirely divorce themselves from Jewish tradition, may have been an affront to many traditional Jewish followers who were more familiar than him with the teachings of the historical Jesus and knew Paul's theology to be contradictory to that of their Messiah.
Paul's view reflects a strong gentile influence, particularly where he constructed a Christian theology almost identical to Orpheic Dionysian religion, which is a Greek Mystery Tradition. Anyone who knows about the Orpheic tradition will agree with me that the Christian theology that the Pauline School produced was a new form of Orpheism: a mortal is born of a virgin, performs superhuman feats, dies and is miraculously reborn, and becomes a Man-God. He is the new Dionysus, the Son of God (Theos, or Zeus), the God of wine who initiates mortals in the mysteries of wine, and the one who brings, with his mysteries, a promise of a better lot in the afterlife. Jesus himself said: I am the Vine. Jesus himself established his identity within the context of a Dionysian mystery.
The religions of Dionysus and the Christ are even observed similarly, via mysteries known as sacraments. In the Old Testament, and in Jewish tradition, the idea of 'mysteries' apparently does not exist. Mysteries were central to Greek paganism, and they're defined as sacraments, or ritual events, often of an initiatory nature, that produce an ineffable experience. It's only when belief in Jesus' salvific religion is proclaimed that we read of mysteries in the Bible. Before the idea of salvation, there were no mysteries in the Essenean form of Judaism that Jesus and John the Baptist practiced.
The Christian sacraments clearly derive from the Greek Mysteries, and share some similarities with the Dionysian and even the Eleusinian mysteries. We need only look at the Dionysian and Orpheic consumption of goat meat or bread and wine in order to attain communion with the Son of God (Dionysus) to see a clear pattern which all salvific religions share: the consumption of the sacrificial victim implies one's participation in his salvation and grace, and this is how one benefits from the man-god's sacrificial merit.
Having lived among gentiles his whole life, Paul must have been familiar with their theologies and beliefs, and was quite brilliant in his retelling of the Jesus myth in line with the more familiar tradition of Greek heroes and men-gods, which was an appealing theme to Greeks and other gentiles. In fact, mystery religions were in the process of replacing traditional, classical paganism throughout the Mediterranean.
The Pauline salvific faith is, therefore, not entirely contradictory to the Essene Jewish teachings of Jesus, but Paul's mysteries or sacraments erase the memory of an important early Christian person: the Holy Ghost. And it is here that Phillip takes a stand against Christians who don't understand the true, original Christian teachings, and are perpetuating false doctrines.
Keeping in mind that Phillip (unlike Paul) walked with the historical Jesus and heard the teachings directly from his mouth, we have to interpret Phillip's remark in his gospel as meaning that the Pauline School was teaching a false doctrine that contradicted what Jesus taught while alive. This means that there is a Goddess, which is hidden or silenced in the Christian tradition, and that the Holy Ghost is a woman. It also means that there is another explanation, other than our familiar immaculate conception, for Mary's virgin birth. The theological implications of this for Christians are many. Let's look within the Bible for references of the Holy Ghost.
The Waters of Life
Jesus hints at the Holy Ghost's gender when he refers to his 'mother' in heaven, and compares her in the Nag Hammadi gospels to his earthly mother, saying his earthly mother gave him death but his heavenly mother gave him life. He also mentions that his followers are to be born again of the Ruach or Anima, and he speaks of baptism as a ritual of rebirthing, where we are BORN again of the water. Everyone knows there is no birth without a womb, without a mother. Jesus explains this so that the gender of the Ruach is not only incidental, but central and crucial to the mystery of baptism, and the one being baptised is reborn as a child of the Holy Ghost, he or she is born again of the Holy Ghost, a son of the Goddess. I have presented all these facts to conclude that Jesus, and his rabbi John the Baptist, both of whom were Essenes, were beyond a shadow of a doubt teaching a form of Goddess spirituality and a Goddess mystery tradition WITHIN Judaism, and that the Ruach's status as a Divine WOMAN was central to the true mystery and meaning of baptism (3).
Like all initiations, in the baptism performed by John the Baptist and the Essenes, the old self must die and one is reborn again. The Gospel of Phillip sheds light on this mystery when it teaches us that 'a horse can only beget a horse, a man can only beget a human, and a god can only beget a god'. This further illuminates what it means to be 'born of the Ruach'. If the Ruach is spirit, then one reborn from Her becomes spirit and shares her divine, immortal nature, and receives the Holy Ghost as his mother. This new relationship between humans and the Ruach is one of the things that identifies the new Christian community and Christian mysticism.
The mystery of baptism is clearly a Goddess mystery, where the sacred waters grant us new life just as they did in Genesis. In fact, the creation myth that we find in Genesis is based on an earlier, Sumerian myth where the Sumerian Father God (El) and Mother Goddess (Asherah) (1) copulate [are in union] at the beginning of creation. We know of the identity between the God of Abraham and the Heavenly King in Sumerian myth from the name: El. Most prophets and angels in Jewish traditions have names that end in -el, such as Daniel, Gabriel, Mikael, etc. This is a reference to El, the Sumerian God, with whom Abraham believed to have made a pact or covenant that extended to all his descendants. Abraham came from Ur, where El was the main God, even if one among many.
We also know of the identity between the Holy Ghost and the Asherah because both are the waters of life. Lady Wisdom, in the Bible, says that She existed before creation and witnessed it, which means that She is non-created, and therefore her nature is divine. In the Sumerian myth, the spirit of El is hovering over the Asherah, and they are copulating [in union]. In the Genesis myth, the waters of life are no longer personified, and we see a plain sea where the Sumerians saw a watery primal Goddess. But the myth, otherwise, is almost identical. Asherah is the consort of the God of Abraham, the co-Creator, and this must have been the reason why Jewish women used to commit transgressions against the prophets' warnings and pray to Her during early Judaism, because they saw their pagan cousins and neighbors praying to her alongside their more familiar God, and they knew that they had a spiritual Mother who had been stolen from them by patriarchal Jewish religious authorities. Lynn Gottlieb makes the point that had Jewish women - as opposed to Jewish men - written the Bible, the story of the evolution of their religious thinking would have been told very differently.
In the African Yoruba tradition, known as Santeria in the diaspora, there is a type of once in a lifetime initiation where a mortal becomes a priest of an Orisha, which resonates with the Christian baptismal Goddess mystery. One of the many rituals that has to take place before initiation is, as in Eleusis, a ritual bath. This takes place in the river, as Oshun is the Goddess of the sweet waters of life, of fertility, and of the rivers. Oshun's name means 'source', and like Asherah She is a water Goddess. She is therefore identical to the pre-Biblical the Sea Goddess hinted in Genesis only as a de-personified metaphor in her role as the initiator in a new spiritual dispensation. Once the initiate has bathed in Oshun's waters and once he has been cleansed of his past crimes, he is fit for rebirth. In Eleusis, the ritual bath and sacrifices also took place before the initiates entered the Telesterion and underwent the more important secret rites. I won't get into any more details as it's not within the scope of this article, but Yoruba religion is the only pagan mystery religion, which has existed consistently and without interruption since pagan times.
Then have them make a sanctuary for me, that my Shekinah may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8
The Jewish Holy Ghost is known as Shekinah. Her name means 'presence', and according to Lynn Gottlieb (2), her descent among the Jews seems to have been the fulfilment of the terms of the alliance between the God of Abraham and the Jewish people. Hence, the Ark of the Alliance was built so that She may dwell among them.
In the Christian tradition, some of the boons of the Holy Ghost include creativity, inspiration, counsel, and the transformation of both the individual and the culture by its grace. These are all attributes of Divinity that are associated with the Shekinah, and these have become evident in the modern Goddess movement, which accentuates the importance of intuition and creativity. They also are in line with the Jungian concept of Anima as the Inspirer, and with scriptural references to Sophia, or Divine Wisdom in Proverbs, Wisdom, and other books of the Bible. In her attributes and roles, the Ruach, the Shekinah, Sophia and the modern pagan Goddess seem to be one and the same.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. Proverbs 8:23
In the scriptures, Wisdom (Sophia, in Greek) is the Lady that inspires men to be good, righteous, and wise, and to perform virtuous deeds. She is the Goddess of philosophers (literally, 'lovers of Wisdom'), King Salomon seems to have been inebriated with Her beauty and power, and the eighth chapter of Proverbs is the one chapter in all of the Bible where She speaks for herself, in the first person.
In our day, the Ecclesia Gnostica and Essene reconstructionist groups are celebrating Christian tradition in a way that is truer to the original form than the orthodox, more familiar forms of Christianity. Other, more mainstream churches have also stepped in and, mainly with insights from the Nag Hammadi library and the Dead Sea scrolls, are revisioning Christianity in a way that will help it stay true to the original spirit in which these mysteries were taught. They also are coming to terms with the fact that there were various original forms of Christianity and that there was a struggle for power between these different schools, which is only normal in all human institutions. This may indicate a need for research beyond the politics and the egos involved in the process of distilling a Bible and a Christian tradition that was acceptable to all. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide these efforts to retell Her story and revitalize the culture. Peace,
Saadaya
The Holy Spirit: the Christian Goddess
Notes:
1. The descent of the Holy Ghost upon Jesus is described in Matthew 3:16, where the 'signal' that is given is a dove. Anyone familiar with Sumerian, Phoenician, and Canaanite religions will be reminded - and surely Jews in those days were - of Asherah, the Mother Goddess, whose sacred symbol is a dove, and who was worshipped alongside the Father God El as his consort by the neighbors of the Jews. Unfortunately whenever a (usually feminist) theologian dares look beyond the Judeo Christian tradition in her work, she's usually considered an anthropologist instead of a theologian, but in the case of the Asherah the evidence linking her and the Divine Feminine in the Jewish and Christian traditions is strong enough that it's almost impossible to miss.
2. Lynn Gottlieb is a brilliant feminist theologian who wrote 'She Who Dwells Within'.
3. The Catholic and other churches that perform baptism shortly after birth have forgotten the true nature of the baptismal mystery. The person being baptised must be mature in order to experience transformation. There is another, also important, ritual which has replaced the true baptismal mystery in the Christian tradition: that of naming a newborn and welcoming him into the community. It is important that a newborn be presented to the elders in a community in order to ensure that they will take an interest in him and protect and guide him. Freya Aswynn, in fact, mentions that there seemed to be a form of 'baptism' in Northern Europe * before * Christianity was officialized. The Havamal contains the instructions for this ritual, where water is sprinkled on the child and the rune EIHWAZ is chanted. This is a protective rune. The ritual of welcoming a child into the community by sprinkling of water also exists among the Yoruba, so that it seems to exist in several cultures that engage in ancestor reverence. While this is an important ceremony, it serves quite a different purpose from the baptism that we see in the Bible. Jesus himself was not baptised until he was 30, and baptism was only performed if the person made a decision to enter the New Covenant.
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# The Holy Spirit: The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead
"A new response to the "image" of the Holy Spirit is taking shape quietly in scholarly circles throughout the world, as the result of new findings in the Dead Sea Scriptures, the Coptic Nag Hammadi and intertestamental texts of Jewish mystics found side-by-side the writings of the early Christian church. Scholars are recognizing the Holy Spirit as the "female vehicle" for the outpouring of higher teaching and spiritual rebirth. The Holy Spirit plays varied roles in Judeo-Christian traditions: acting in Creation, imparting wisdom, and inspiring Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament She is the presence of God in the world and a power in the birth and life of Jesus... The Holy Spirit was also a source for Divine guidance and as the indwelling Comforter." - J. J. Hurtak
The Holy Spirit:
The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead
J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science
"There is currently much talk of "feminine issues," particularly in social and political contexts. This growing awareness of gender- related matters was not something ignored by the early Church and the writers of ancient religious texts. As we see in this article by Dr. Hurtak, the notion of femininity played an extremely important and significant role in the thinking and belief system of the intertestamental authors. Far from being the overbearing patriarchal advocates as they are often portrayed, more recent findings reveal an innate sensitivity and appreciation for the feminine aspect of Divinity than has been previously suspected. For this reason, this particular article becomes a meaningful and insightful contribution to the current discussion of the role of the female in modern times. Once more we find a rich and profound history reshaping the future even as it unfolds before our eyes.
A new response to the "image" of the Holy Spirit is taking shape quietly in scholarly circles throughout the world, as the result of new findings in the Dead Sea Scriptures, the Coptic Nag Hammadi and intertestamental texts of Jewish mystics found side-by-side the writings of the early Christian church. Scholars are recognizing the Holy Spirit as the "female vehicle" for the outpouring of higher teaching and spiritual rebirth. The Holy Spirit plays varied roles in Judeo-Christian traditions: acting in Creation, imparting wisdom, and inspiring Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament She is the presence of God in the world and a power in the birth and life of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit became well-established as part of a circumincession, a partner in the Trinity with the Father and Son after doctrinal controversies of the late 4th century AD solidified the position of the Western Church. Although all Christian Churches accept the union of three persons in one Godhead, the Eastern Church, particularly the communities of the Greek, Ethiopian, Armenian, and Russian, do not solidify a strong union of personalities, but see the figures uniquely differentiated, but still in union. Moreover, the Eastern Church places the Holy Spirit as the Second Person of the Trinity with Christ as the Third, whereas the Western Church places the Son before the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls the Holy Spirit was known as the Ruach or Ruach Ha Kodesh (Psalm 51:11). In the New Testament as Pneuma (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit was not rendered as "Holy Ghost" until the appearance of the 1611 Protestant King James Version of the Bible. For the most part, Ruach or Pneuma have been considered the spiritual force or presence of God. The power of this force can be seen in the Christian church as the "gifts of the Spirit" (especially in today's tongues-speaking Pentecostals). The Holy Spirit was also a source for Divine guidance and as the indwelling Comforter.
Likewise in Hebrew thought, Ruach Ha Kodesh was considered a voice sent from on high to speak to the Prophet. Thus, in the Old Testament language of the prophets, She is the Divine Spirit of indwelling sanctification and creativity and is considered as having a feminine power. "He" as a reference to Spirit has been used in theology to match the pronoun for God, yet the Hebrew word ruach is a noun of feminine gender. Thus, referring to the Holy Spirit as "she" has some linguistic justification. Denoting Spirit as a feminine principle, the creative principle of life, makes sense when considering the Trinity aspect where Father plus Spirit leads to the Divine Extension of Divine Sonship.
The Spirit is not called "it" despite the fact that pneuma in Greek is a neuter noun. Church doctrine regards the Holy Spirit as a person, not a force like magnetism. The writings of the Catholic fathers, in fact, preserve the vision of the Spirit encapsulating the "peoplehood of Christ" as the Bride or as the "Mother Church." Both are feminine aspects of the Divine. In the Eastern Church, Spirit was always considered to have a feminine nature. She was the life-bearer of the faith. Clement of Alexandria states that "she" is an indwelling Bride. Amongst the Eastern Church communities there is none more clear about the feminine aspect of the Holy Spirit as the corpus of the Coptic-Gnostics. One such document records that Jesus says, "Even so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my hairs and carry me away to the great mountain Tabor [in Galilee]."
The 3rd century scroll of mystical Coptic Christianity, The Acts of Thomas, gives a graphic account of the Apostle Thomas' travels to India, and contains prayers invoking the Holy Spirit as "the Mother of all creation" and "compassionate mother," among other titles. The most profound Coptic Christian writings definitely link the "spirit of Spirit" manifested by Christ to all believers as the "Spirit of the Divine Mother." Most significant are the new manuscript discoveries of recent decades which have demonstrated that more early Christians than previously thought regarded the Holy Spirit as the Mother of Jesus.
One text is the Gospel of Thomas which is part of the newly discovered Nag Hammadi texts (discovered 1945-1947). Most are composed about the same time as the Biblical gospels in the 1st and 2nd century AD. In this gospel, Jesus declares that his disciples must hate their earthly parents (as in Luke 14:26) but love the Father and Mother as he does, "for my mother (gave me falsehood), but (my) true Mother gave me life." In another Nag Hammadi discovery, The Secret Book of James, Jesus refers to himself as "the son of the Holy Spirit." These two sayings do not identify the Holy Spirit as the mothering vehicle of Jesus, but more than one scholar has interpreted them to mean that the maternal Holy Spirit is intended.
So far in Western traditional theology, the voices advocating a feminine Holy Spirit are scattered and subtle. But for them, it is a view theologically defensible and accompanied by psychological, sociological, and scientific benefits of recognizing "the new supernature" developing within vast consciousness changes happening in the human evolution.
The German theologian Jürgen Moltmann, a well-known thinker in mainline Protestantism, says "monotheism is monarchism." He says a traditional idea of God's absolute power "generally provides the justification for earthly domination"- - -from the emperors and despots of history to 20th century dictators. Moltmann argues for a new appreciation of the "persons" of the Trinity and the community or family model it presents for human relations.
According to Professor Neil Q. Hamilton at Drew University School of Theology, the Gospel of John shows us how "the Holy Spirit begins to perform a mothering role for us that is unconditional acceptance, love and caring." God then begins to parent us in father and mother modes.
A Catholic scholar, Franz Mayr, a philosophy professor at the University of Portland, also favors the recognition of the Holy Spirit as feminine. He contends that the traditional unity of God would not have to be watered down in order for scholars to accept the feminine side of God . Mayr, who studied under the renown German theologian Karl Rahner, said he came to his view during his study of the writings of St. Augustine (AD 354-430) who saw that a significant number of early Christians must have accepted a feminine aspect of the Holy Spirit such that the influential church father of North Africa castigated this view. St. Augustine claimed that the acceptance of the Holy Spirit as the "mother of the Son of God and wife-consort of the Father" was merely a pagan outlook. But Mayr contends that Augustine "skipped over the social and maternal aspect of God," which Mayr thinks is best seen in the Holy Spirit, the Divine Ruach Ha Kodesh. St. Jerome, a contemporary of Augustine's, and two church fathers of an earlier period, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, quoted from the pseudopigraphic Gospel of the Hebrews, which depicted the Holy Spirit as a "mother figure."
A 14th Century fresco in a small Catholic Church southeast of Munich, Germany depicts a female Spirit as part of the Holy Trinity, according to Leonard Swidler of Temple University. The woman and two bearded figures flanking her appear to be wrapped in a single cloak and joined in their lower halves showing a union of old and new bodies of birth and rebirth.
In conclusion, we are living at a time of profound and revelatory discoveries of archaeology and ancient spiritual texts that point the way to the future. Christ, himself, was said to have female disciples as disclosed in Gnostic literature and recent archeological findings of early Christian tombs in Italy. A beginning has been made to reclaim "the Spirit" of the Ruach found in the mountain of newly discovered pre-Christian texts and Coptic-Egyptian texts of the early Church . It is becoming clear in re-examining the first 100 years of Christianity that an earlier Christianity was closer to the "Feminine Spirit" of the Old Testament, the Ruach or the beloved Shekinah. The Shekinah, distinct from the Ruach, was seen as the indwelling Divine Presence that activated the "birth of miracles" or the anointed self. Accordingly, the growth of traditional Christianity made alternative adjustments of the original position of the "birth of gifts" as Christendom compromised for the privilege of becoming an establishment.
The new directions of spiritual and scientific studies are showing that it is now possible that the Holy Spirit, Ruach Ha Kodesh, can be portrayed as feminine as the indwelling presence of God, the Shekinah, nurturing and bringing to birth souls for the kingdom. Spiritual insights recorded in the Book of Knowledge: Keys of Enoch carefully remind us that we are being prepared to understand that just as the Old Testament was the Age of the Father, the New Testament the Age of the Son, so this coming Age where gifts are poured forth will be the Age of the Holy Spirit."
J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science
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# On the Nature of the Divine Mother or Holy Spirit?
The spiritual Phenomenon called the Divine Mother has always been deeply interesting to spiritual seekers. Known to sages and saints throughout history, it is the Divine Mother whom we in the West address as the Holy Spirit and Mother Nature. In India, Hindus address Her as Shakti, Maya, Kali, and Durga. She is also known as Wisdom, Aum, Amen, the Word of God. By whatever name we refer to Her, She is an actual Entity that exists and can be directly experienced. In this paper, I present a number of conjectures about Her identity based on the recorded experiences of these saints and sages. The Mother's nature is one of the unfathomable mysteries of life. Nothing can be said about Her directly or positively. Almost everything that can be said of Her must be couched in metaphors; She is described in terms of waves, clouds, lights, fire, voices, music, though She is none of these. I know of no other way to discuss Her than metaphorically.
Her existence preceded language. Therefore it stands to reason that She operates without recourse to or dependence on words. As I am led to believe, no amount of intellectual understanding can substitute for a direct and personal experience of Her.
The subject of the Mother's identity can be very dense. Even arriving at the generalities presented here required the matching of many pieces of a large and complex spiritual puzzle. In the end, all of it must remain guesswork on my part.
If we mean to follow the case as set out here, we will have to suspend disbelief, at least until the full argument has been stated. Every name used in this essay, unless otherwise stated, is a name by which the Mother has been known to an enlightened master. Towards the end of the essay, a list of these names is given. Because all refer to the same Entity, I could have chosen any one of them as definitive. In fact, I have chosen to follow Sri Ramakrishna's practice and refer to this high power as the "Divine Mother." If, after finishing this article, you wish to pursue the subject further, the best source to turn to is the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, the recorded conversations of the Mother's greatest devotee. While most sages knew a single facet of the Mother, the Avatar of Dakshineswar scaled the lofty peaks of enlightenment by several routes and displayed a sublime, multi-faceted knowledge of the Mother which offers a standard of comparison for other accounts.
The Mother is neither a female nor a person
To arrive at a notion of the Mother, we must first put aside our anthropocentric ways of thinking and realize that She is not a person, and not a female either, but an agency, a power in the universe which can only be understood as it is.
Avatars and enlightened saints and sages, who refer to the Holy Father and Divine Mother, find themselves in a position of needing to speak about entities which are one at the absolute level of existence and apparently too at the relative. To differentiate between them, they draw upon a metaphor of gender, as Kabir and Lao Tzu illustrate:
Kabir: "The formless Absolute is my Father, and God with form is my
Mother." (1)
Lao Tzu: "Nameless indeed is the source of creation [i.e., the Father],
But things have a mother and she has a name." (2)
Both Kabir and Lao Tzu are differentiating between an absolute realm where name and form are not to be found and a relative plane where they are. The former is designated the Father; the latter, the Mother.
However, down through the centuries, using the gender metaphor has given rise to a difficulty. We ordinary people, lacking the knowledge that accompanies enlightenment, project onto these two high powers stereotypes and conclusions, likes and dislikes proper to actual males and females and improper to these genderless sublime entities. The Divine Mother becomes anthropomorphized into a woman, leading us to distort Her true nature and enmeshing us in a web of imprisoning thoughts.
Not a female, the Mother is nonetheless the necessary cause of gender; not a male, the Father is its sufficient cause. Not a person Herself, the Mother is the source of personhood; not a person Himself, the Father is the source of existence itself.
If we truly wish to approach an understanding of Her Nature that may help us realize Her, we must be vigilant against taking the gender metaphor farther than its usefulness permits.
The term "Mother" refers to the relative plane of existence; the term "Father" refers to the absolute
Understanding some basic distinctions about Her will require us to think in vast terms. Sri Ramakrishna hinted at this to his devotees: "The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the Mother's womb. Now do you see how vast She is?" (3)
One of Sri Ramakrishna's translators and biographers, Swami Nikhilananda, explains: reality has two levels, one of which may be called the absolute, acosmic, or transcendental level and the other the relative, cosmic, or phenomenal. (4) It was these two levels of Reality that saints and sages wished to speak about by using the metaphor of a cosmic male and female.
According to Swami Nikhilananda, at the phenomenal level, one perceives the universe of diversity and is aware of one's own individual personality or ego, whereas at the transcendental level, differences merge into an inexplicable non-dual consciousness. Both these levels of experience are real from their respective standpoints, though what is perceived at one level may be negated at the other. (5)
Thus, the Mother, coterminous with this relative plane of existence, includes all things, all creation, all manifestation, all matter. The Father, the source of creation, remains ever no-thing, un-created, un- manifest, im-material.
On the relative plane, the Divine Mother creates all there is, preserves it for a time, and then dissolves it into the formless Father again.
According to the saints and sages we shall hear from, it is the Mother who operates the world; that is, who creates, preserves, and destroys everything there is.
As Swami Nikhilananda observes, She is "Procreatrix [cf. Prakriti], Nature, the Destroyer, the Creator.” (6) His remarks echo ancient texts. Of Her the Upanishads declared: “Thou art the creator; thou art the destroyer by thy prowess; and thou art the protector.” (7)
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Krishna addresses Her as Maya.
Maya makes all things: what moves, what is unmoving.
O son of Kunti, that is why the world spins,
Turning its wheel through birth and through destruction. (8)
This knowledge is not privy to Hindus alone. The avatar Zarathustra taught that the Mother was in sole charge of "the management of the bodily and spiritual worlds." (9) Solomon also knew that wisdom "operates everything." (10)
Swami Nikhilananda used various metaphors to suggest how She operates:
She projects the world and again withdraws it. She spins it as the spider spins its web. She is the Mother of the Universe, identical with the Brahman of Vedanta, and with the Atman of Yoga. As eternal Lawgiver, She makes and unmakes laws; it is by Her imperious will that karma yields its fruit. She ensnares men with illusion and again releases them from bondage with a look of Her benign eyes. She is the Supreme Mistress of the cosmic play, and all objects, animate and inanimate, dance by Her will. Even those who realize the Absolute in nirvikalpa samadhi are under Her jurisdiction as long as they live on the relative plane. (11)
She is metaphorically called the Voice in the Wilderness in the Bible because no law, no principle of organization, no structure can apply to the formless God. Only the Mother has form; as such She gives Voice to God and cries in the "wilderness" that the Father is.
The Mother made the body
Having created the universe, the Divine Mother dwells within it, as King Solomon, an enlightened devotee of the Mother, suggests: "Wisdom [Solomon's name for the Divine Mother] ... penetrates and permeates everything that is, every material thing." (12) Sri Ramakrishna agrees: "After the creation the Primal Power [the Mother] dwells in the universe itself. She brings forth this phenomenal world and then pervades it." (13) The Avatar of Dakshineswar confided to his devotees that "the Divine Mother revealed to me that it is She Herself who has become man." (14)
She made the five material bodies (or pancha kosas) by which we act and know. Solomon cryptically comments that: "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn her seven pillars." (15) It is my impression that the "seven pillars" are the seven chakras. St. Paul too was referring to Her role as the body's creator and in-dweller when he said: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God [the Mother] dwelleth in you?" (16) In Sri Krishna's words: "Every human being is essentially a soul [the Child of God or Atman, one with the Father], covered with a veil of maya [the Mother]." (17)
Let us pause with this mention of the immortal soul. We now have three eternal actors in our divine play. We have the Father without form, the Mother with form, and the immortal soul, their offspring, which the prophet Amos called "a firebrand plucked out of the burning." (19) What is the divine drama in which all three are engaged?
If we look at events from the standpoint of the immortal soul, then it could be said, as I have done elsewhere, (18) that the purpose of life is enlightenment. The purpose of life is that the undying soul should travel out from God, into the world, where, after eons of spiritual evolution and enlightenment, it will learn that it and God are one. The purpose of life, viewed from the Creator's standpoint, is that God should meet God, and, through that meeting, enjoy His own bliss. (20) The Father created the Mother, who went on to create trillions of forms – prodigal children, embodied souls - which left the Father and traveled in the realm of matter, until every form comes to know itself as God.
These three actors could be called the Transcendental (the Holy Father), the Phenomenal (the Divine Mother), and the Transcendental in the Phenomenal (the immortal soul or Child of God). If we alter their order, we have what Christians call the "Trinity" – the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We explore the Father and Mother in this article. The immortal soul is the unrealized "Son of God," (21) the treasure buried in a field, the Pearl of great price, the Prince of peace, and the mustard seed that, upon realization, grows into a great tree. (22) The point at which Christianity and Hinduism intersect is right here, at exactly this same Trinity, which Hindus know as Brahman, Atman, and Shakti.
The Divine Mother made the body and the Holy Father hid a fragment of Himself within its heart (the Child of God), which the Mother has raised and educated until the divine spark realizes its true identity.
The Mother arises from the Father and merges in Him again.
The Mother arises from the Father and falls back into Him again. She is like the clouds in the sky; the Father is the sky from which the clouds emerge and into which they melt again. Sri Ramakrishna tried to convey Their relationship by using the metaphor of impermanent waves forming on the ocean of Satchidananda:
These waves [arise] from the Great Ocean and merge again into the Great Ocean. From the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute. (23)
It has been revealed to me that there exists an Ocean of "Consciousness" without limit [i.e., the Father]. From it come all things of the relative plane [i.e., the Mother], and in it they merge again. (24)
Paramahansa Yogananda also used a wave metaphor to describe the Mother: "The storm-roar [the Mother] of the sea [the Father] creates the waves [materiality] – preserves them for some time as larger or smaller waves -- and then dissolves them." (25)
While the great ocean of consciousness is formless, the waves, which are a part of it, have form. Nonetheless waves and ocean are one. "That which has form," Sri Ramakrishna asserted, "again, is without form. That which has attributes, again, has no attributes." (26) "Water is water whether it is calm or full of waves. The Absolute alone is the Primordial Energy, which creates, preserves, and destroys." (27)
Sri Ramakrishna describes how the relative plane emerges from the absolute and falls back into it again.
Brahman [the Father] may be compared to an infinite ocean, without beginning or end. Just as, through intense cold, some portions of the ocean freeze into ice and formless water appears to have form, so through intense love of the devotee, Brahman appears to take on form and personality. But the form melts away again as the Sun of Knowledge rises. Then the universe [the Mother] also disappears, and there is seen to be nothing but Brahman. (28)
She is energy, movement, vibration; the Father is an inactive, unknowable void
According to Swami Nikhilananda, the essence of the Divine Mother is shakti or energy; in fact, adyashakti or the primordial energy. "Maya, the mighty weaver of [the mysterious garb of name and form]," he said, "is none other than Kali, the Divine Mother, She is the primordial Divine Energy, Sakti." (29)
What is Shakti and what is Brahman? What is the Mother and what is the Father? Sri Ramakrishna says the distinction between the two is the same as distinction between the static and the dynamic:
When inactive He is called Brahman, the Purusha [i.e., the Supreme Person]. He is called Sakti, or Prakriti [the Primordial Energy], when engaged in creation, preservation, and destruction. These are the two aspects of Reality: Purusha and Prakriti. He who is the Purusha is also the Prakriti. (30)
He equates the static Father with the impersonal God, Nirguna Brahman (or the Father without attributes), and the dynamic Mother with the personal God, Saguna Brahman (the Father with attributes):
When the Godhead [the Father] is thought of as creating, preserving, and destroyinq, It is known as the Personal God, Saguna Brahman, or the Primal Energy, Adyasakti [the Mother]. Again, when It is thought of as beyond the three gunas [the three qualities of the phenomenal world – sattwa, rajas, and thamas, or balance, energy, and sloth], then It is called the Attributeless Reality, Nirguna Brahman, beyond speech and thought; this is the Supreme Brahman, Parabrahman. (31)
Sri Ramakrishna revealed the secret meaning behind the statues of Shakti and Shiva that show Shiva lying recumbent while Shakti dances on His body.
Kali stands on the bosom of Siva; Siva lies under Her feet like a corpse; Kali looks at Siva. All this denotes the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is inactive; therefore Siva lies on the ground like a corpse. Prakriti performs all Her activities in conjunction with Purusha. Thus She creates, preserves, and destroys. (32)
Thus the Father is "immoveable and actionless" (33), a profound stillness in which we discover Sat-Chit-Ananda, or Being, Awareness, and Bliss Absolute. The Mother is the movement in this stillness, the voice in the silence, the primordial, active energy in the eternal tranquillity of the Father. It is this relationship between the dynamic and the static that Jesus hinted at when he called the totality of God "a movement and a rest." (34)
Bernadette Roberts stressed the Father's stillness when she called him "the 'still-point' at the center of being." (35) Lao Tzu emphasized it when he asserted that: "The Way [the Tao or the Father] is a Void." (36)
Empty of name and form, qualities and attributes, and quintessentially tranquil and still, the Father is in the end inconceivable. "What Brahman is cannot be described," declared the Godman of Dakshineswar. (37) Because ego is subdued for a time upon attaining the Father, leaving no observer to observe, no thinker to think, "no one has ever been able to say what Brahman is." (38)
The essence of the Mother is a universal creative vibration, symbolized by the sacred syllable 'Aum,' which calls matter into being, sustains it for a while, and then releases it back into the general dissolution of the Father
Hindus symbolize the primal power - the Mother as vibration or energy - by the sacred syllable – or rather vibration - 'Aum.' Sri Ramakrishna makes this connection when he equates Aum with the Divine Mother, exclaiming: "O Mother! O Embodiment of `Om.'" (39)
Paramahansa Yogananda identifies "Aum," or "Amen," with the Holy Spirit: Christians are familiar with the Amen from Revelation: "These things saith the Amen [the Mother], the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." (40)
The ancients, not versed in the polished language of modern times, used "Holy Ghost" and "Word" for Intelligent Cosmic Vibration, which is the first materialization of God the Father in matter [i.e., the Mother]. The Hindus speak of this Holy Ghost as the "Aum." (41) Holy Ghost, Aum of the Hindus, the Mohammedan Amin, the Christian Amen, Voice of Many Waters, Word, are the same thing. (42)
Yogananda links "Aum" and the "Holy Ghost" to the primordial energy:
"The Bible refers to Aum as the Holy Ghost or invisible life force that divinely upholds creation. `What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which we have of God, and ye are not your own?' (I Corinthians 6:19.)" (43)
Now we know the Mother, Shakti, the Holy Ghost, as Aum. Aum creates, preserves and destroys.
The cosmic sound of Aum creates all things as Nebulae, preserves them in the forms of the present cosmos and worlds, and ultimately will dissolve all things in the bosom-sea of God. (44)
Nature is an objectification of Aum, the Primal Sound or Vibratory Word. (45)
Sage Vasistha made the same point in the Yoga Vasistha. The form of his teaching is similar to Sri Ramakrishna's, that waves or vibrations arise out of the Ocean of Sathchidananda.
When the infinite vibrates, the worlds appear to emerge. When it does not vibrate, the worlds appear to submerge, even as when a firebrand is whirled fast a circle appears. And when it is held steady, the circle vanishes. Vibrating or not vibrating, it is the same everywhere at all times. (46)
Theosophist Annie Besant propagated this view as well:
The source from which a universe proceeds is a manifested Divine Being, to whom in the modern form of the Ancient Wisdom the name of Logos, or Word, has been given. The name is drawn from Greek philosophy, but perfectly expresses the ancient idea, the Word which emerges from the Silence, the Voice, the sound, by which the worlds come into being. (47)
Have we any representations of the birth of the Mother? A recent article in What is Enlightenment? magazine relates a vision of the author, Maura O'Connor, a student of the Kabbalah. In it she was taught by a rabbi, Moses de Leon, the following:
Emptiness, what the kabbalists call ayin, exists far beyond concepts or language. It is like a pure ether that can never be grasped by the mind. ... Emptiness is the ultimate mystery, the secret of the Cause of Causes, and it brought everything into being. ...
I must tell you of the great rabbi, Isaac Luria. Luria was a visionary like none other: he lived during the fifteenth century in the holy town of Galilee.... He spent his life ceaselessly contemplating the source of the universe, the primordial emptiness we call ayin.... He recognized that in order for the latent divinity of ayin to manifest its glorious potential for life, a cataclysmic contraction had to take place. ...
Luria understood that the absolute nature of this emptiness meant that it was so pervasive, nothing else but it could exist. In order for life to become manifest, a seismic contraction of emptiness in on itself had to occur, creating a space in which divine emanation was possible. ...
Following this immense contraction, God's first cosmic act was the emission of a single perfect ray of light. This beam pierced through the void and then expanded in all directions. Think of it as God's first breath ["spirit" = "breath"] exhaling into the abyss after eons of slumber and filling it with His divinity. This is how the universe was born. (48)
This first perfect ray of Light is the Holy Spirit or Divine Mother. Its expansion in all directions is the birth of the universe. What we may be hearing is a vision of the creation of the universe -- what scientists call "the Big Bang."
Ultimately, She is one with the Father
This Light, this vibration called "Aum," the Divine Mother, is one with the vibrationless Father. Patanjali states: "The Word which expresses [God] is "Om" (49) "Oh, Lord, dweller within," says Shankara, " "Om is your very self." (50) Or the Upanishads: "Om is Brahman, both the conditioned [Mother] and the unconditioned [Father], the personal [Mother] and the impersonal [Father]." (51)
Krishna, speaking as God, declares:
I am …
Om in all the Vedas,
The word that is God. (52)
Three Hindu masters – Swami Yukestwar Giri, Swami Sivananda, and Paramahansa Ramakrishna explain the relationship between Brahman and Shakti, or Father and Mother, by using a fire metaphor.
Swami Yukteswar Giri, guru to Paramahansa Yogananda
[The] manifestation of the Word (becoming flesh, the external material) created this visible world. So the Word, Amen, Aum [the Mother], being the manifestation of the Eternal Nature of the Almighty Father or His own Self, is inseparable from and nothing but God Himself; as the burning power is inseparable from and nothing but the fire itself. (53)
Swami Sivananda
Just as one cannot separate heat from fire, so also one cannot separate Sakti [Mother] from Sakta [Father]. Sakti and Sakta are one. They are inseparable. (54)
Paramahansa Ramakrishna
Brahman and Sakti are identical. If you accept the one, you must accept the other. It is like fire and its power to burn. If you see the fire, you must recognize its power to burn also. ... One cannot think of the Absolute without the Relative, or the Relative without the Absolute. (55)
"Sakti is Brahman itself," concludes Swami Sivananda. (56) Sri Ramaskrishna agrees: "Brahman is Sakti; Sakti is Brahman. They are not two." (57) "[Brahman and Sakti] are only two aspects, male and female, of the same Reality, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute." (58)
When we speak to the Divine Mother, we are speaking to the Holy Father. Sri Ramakrishna teaches: "It is Brahman whom I address as Sakti or Kali." (59)
She plays a central role in enlightenment
As we have seen, the Mother is portrayed as leading the Sons and Daughters of God to a final meeting with the Father, in what is the culminating event of many lives. As Jesus did, so have we all come from the Father into the world. We are all prodigal children wandering in the domain of matter (mater, Mother), until we realize our true nature. Many metaphors are used to suggest how this realization of true identity happens. The Mother is depicted as withdrawing Her veil of phenomenal reality and revealing the Father. She is portrayed as leading the Child of God to the Father.
Hindus, like Swami Sivananda, advise us to beseech the Mother's help in our attempts to reach the Father.
It behooves ... the aspirant [to] approach the Mother first, so that She may introduce Her spiritual child to the Father for its illumination or Self-realization." (60)
The knowledge of God as the Child, the Mother, and the Father constitutes three discrete levels of enlightenment. When we know this Trinity in full, we have completed the human leg of our journey back to God.
Let us examine the Mother as bringer of enlightenment and object of enlightenment.
There is a passage in Proverbs where the Mother (as "Wisdom") is represented as speaking directly. Her words are consistent with what we've learned about Her so far:
Doth not wisdom cry...
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting [that is, before time], from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. (61)
Why are they blessed who keep Her ways? Because God the Mother will enlighten those who follow Her commands.
We see evidence of this throughout the Bible, as the Mother enlightens those who "keep Her ways." Hebrew kings and prophets were baptized with the Holy Spirit . Here She brings enlightenment to the disciples of Jesus upon the Day of Pentecost, after his death.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all of one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (62)
Sri Yukteswar explains the significance of this event. "Being baptized in the sacred stream of Pranava (the Holy Aum vibration)" the spiritual aspirant "comprehends the "Kingdom of God." (63)
For many years I believed that Islam recognized only Allah, the Father. But recently I have found a passage in the Koran which demonstrates that its author acknowledges the Mother or Holy Spirit as well. The passage concerns the Holy Spirit enlightening the worthy in the penultimate experience of illumination, immediately prior to God-Realization, symbolically preparing the Child of God for meeting the Father. The Koran says:
Exalted and throned on high, [Allah] lets the Spirit descend at His behest on those of His servants whom He chooses, that He may warn them of the day when they shall meet Him. (64)
The Divine Mother or Holy Ghost enlightened the 12th-Century German saint Hildegard of Bingen, who testified:
When I was forty-two years and seven months old, a burning light of tremendous brightness coming from heaven poured into my entire mind. Like a flame that does not burn but enkindles, it inflamed my entire heart and my entire breast, just like the sun that warms an object with its rays. (65)
Following this experience, Hildegard could not stop from singing the praises of the Holy Spirit or Divine Mother:
Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is a Burning Spirit. It kindles the hearts of humankind. Like tympanum and lyre it plays them, gathering volumes in the temple of the soul. The Holy Spirit resurrects and awakens everything that is. (66)
The Mother manifested to Sri Ramakrishna as clouds of consciousness and bliss:
Suddenly I had the wonderful vision of the Mother and fell down unconscious. (67)
It was as if houses, doors, temples, and everything else vanished from my sight, leaving no trace whatsoever. However far and in whatever direction I looked I saw a continuous succession of effulgent waves madly rushing at me from all sides, with great speed. I was caught in the rush, and panting for breath I collapsed, unconscious. (68)
I did not know what happened then in the external world -- how that day and the next slipped away. But in my heart of hearts there was flowing a current of intense bliss, never experienced before, and I had the immediate knowledge of the liqht that was Mother. (69)
And She appeared to Ramakrishna's doubting non-dualistic guru Totapuri, who until that moment refused to accept Her reality:
Suddenly, in one dazzling moment, [Totapuri, saw] on all sides the presence of the Divine Mother. She is in everything; She is everything. She is in the water; She is on land. She is the body. She is the mind. She is pain; She is comfort. She is is life; She is death. She is everything that one sees, hears, or imagines. She turns "yea" into "nay", and "nay" into "yea". Without Her grace no embodied being can go beyond Her realm. Man has no free will. He is not even free to die. Yet, again, beyond the body and mind She resides in Her Transcendental, Absolute aspect. She is the Brahman that Totapuri had been worshipping all his life. (70)
She is the kundalini energy in the body and, when that energy rises from the muladhara chakra to the sahasrara, Shakti is said to merge with Shiva. This is another way in which the Mother can lead the aspirant to the Father. Swami Sivananda says: Shakti "leads the individual from Cakra to Cakra, from plane to plane and unifies him with Lord Siva in the Sahasrara." (71)
Sri Ramakrishna and his disciples used to sing a song whose aim was to invoke the kundalini to rise, so that Shakti would meet Shiva at the sahasrara.
Awake, Mother! Awake! How long Thou hast been asleep
In the lotus of the Muladhara!
Fulfil Thy secret function, Mother:
Rise to the thousand-petalled lotus within the head,
Where mighty Siva has His dwelling;
Swiftly pierce the six lotuses
And take away my grief, O Essence of Consciousness! (72)
As each chakra awakens under the influence of our growing spirituality, the Mother is heard to "knock at the door," in Paramahansa Yogananda's words.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock (sound through Om vibration): If any man hear my voice (listen to Om), and open the door, I will come in to him." (Revelation 3:20). (73)
Many aspirants, prominent among them Franklin Merrell-Wolff and Da Free John, were led to Brahmajnana (or God-realization attendant upon the spiritual energy reaching the seventh chakra) by the kundalini. Here is how Dr. Wolff described it:
The Current is clearly a subtle, fluid-like substance which brings the sense of well-being already described. Along with It, a more than earthly Joy suffuses the whole nature. To myself, I called It a Nectar. Now, I recognize It under several names. It is ... the 'Soma,' the 'Ambrosia of the Gods,' the 'Elixir of Life,' the 'Water of Life' of Jesus, and the 'Baptism of the Spirit' of St. Paul. It is more than related to Immortality; in fact it is Identical with Immortality. (74)
Da Free John called it this "current of immortal joy." (75) His energetic experiences with the Divine Energy or the Shakti are unusual. His process, which ended in God-realization, began one day when:
I could feel and hear little clicking pulses in the base of my head and neck, indicating the characteristic Presence of the Mother Shakti. (76) ...
Withdrawing Her veils, moving us onward by her evolutionary coaxings, teaching us in Her school of matter, liberating us through the rising of the kundalini – there are many ways that the Mother leads the prodigal child to the Father.
No other spiritual agency has received the attention She has, under such a variety of names, and yet has been so little understood
The Divine Mother has been known to sages throughout the centuries, around the world, in religions from Advaita to Zarathustreanism. But the myriad names She has been called and the lack of integrated studies of Her have sometimes proved confusing.
I'd like to summarize the names I've found linked to the Mother. I've given one or two references for each use, though many more could have been given. This list has been derived by starting with undoubted epithets like "Holy Spirit," "Divine Mother," and "Shakti," and then noting what other synonymous terms are used by the same enlightened source.
These are full or partial synonyms for the Divine Mother:
Adyasakti (or Ancient Power) (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 218 and 460.) Ahunavairya (Zarathustra in GZ, 8-9.)
Amen (Revelation 3:14; Shankara, CJD, I; Sri Yukteswar Giri, HS, 23 and 24; Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 237n and 363n and SCC, 1, 17 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Amin (Paramahansa Yogananda in, 237n.)
Aum or Om (UPAN 50 and 53; Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 299; Sri Yukteswar Giri, HS, 24; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 143-4, 237n, 363n, 484, and 487n and SCC, 1, 15-6 and 19 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Breath of God (Job 33:4; Solomon in APO, 191.)
Comforter or Comforter Spirit (Zarathustra in GZ, 217; Jesus in John 14:16 and 14:26 and 15:26; Hildegard of Bingen in IHB, 9; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 144n and 363n and SCC, 1, 19.)
Cosmic Power or Energy (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 116; Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 2, 22; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25.)
Cosmic Sound (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 237, SCC, 1, 15 and 17 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Cosmic Vibration (Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 1, 15-6, 17, and 56 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer (UPAN, 37; Zarathustra, GZ, 187, 227 and 240; Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 32, 107, 135, and 653; Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 1, 15-6.)
Divine Mother (Lao Tzu in WOL, 53, 72, and 105; Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 32, 107, 136, 200, and 299; Swami Sivananda Sarasvati in KYW, 25; Nikhilananda in VIV, 24; Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, LAS, 1, 15, 21, 22, and 28; Da Free John in KOL, 132; etc.)
Divine Power (Sister Vandana, NJ, 190-1.)
Durga (Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 216.)
Embodiment of Om (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 299.)
The Fashioner of all things (Solomon in APO, 191.)
Holy Ghost (Jesus in Matthew 12: 31-2; John 14:26 and 20:21-2; Paramhansa Yogananda, AY, 143-4, 363n, and 487n and SCC, 1, 15-6 and 19 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Holy Spirit (Solomon in APO, 195; Zarathustra, 217 and 227; Luke 11:13.)
Holy Vibration (Paramahansa Yogananda in SCC, 1, 56.)
Hum (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 237n.)
Kali (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 107 and 634; Nikhilananda, "Introduction," to GSR, 9-10; Nikhilananda, "Vivekananda" in VIV, 24; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 10, 40n, and 41.)
Kundalini (Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25 and 30; GSR, 182.)
Logos (Annie Besant, AW, 44; Vivekananda in Nikhilananda, VIV, 422.)
Matrix (Lao Tzu in WOL, 105; Sri Aurobindo, SOY, 3.)
Maya (Sri Krishna in BG, 80; Shankara in CJD, 49; Sri Aurobindo, UP, 27; Nikhilananda, HIN, 42-3 and 45; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26.)
Mother - See Divine Mother.
Mother Nature, Mother of nature (Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 10 and 41; Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, CML, 19; Nikhilananda in GSR, 9-10.)
Mother of the universe (Nikhilananda, "Vivekananda" in VIV, 24.)
Natural Law (Solomon in Proverbs 1:8-9, 3:1, and 6:20; Jesus in Matthew 12:31-2; St. Paul in Romans 8:2; Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, CML, 18-9; Krishnamurti, AFM, 25.)
Nature (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY,40n and 41 and SCC, 1, 33; John Redtail Freesoul, BI, 11-2.)
Noise of many waters (David in Psalm 93:3-4; Ezekiel 43:1-2.)
Personal God or Saguna Brahman (Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 32, 149, 218 and 277.)
Power of God, Power of the Lord (Solomon in APO, 191; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25.)
Prakriti/Procreatrix (Sri Krishna in BG, 103, 104, and 106; Sri Aurobindo, UP, 27; Ramakrishnananda, GDI, 1 and 8: Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26; Paramahansa Ramakrishna in GSR, 32 and123; Nikhilananda, "Introduction" to GSR, 9-10; Paramahansa Yogananda, SCC, 1, 33.)
Prana (UPAN , 35-8; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 484; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 26.)
Primal Energy, Primal Power (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 116 and 135; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25.)
Primordial/Primal Energy (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 107 and 242.)
Relative Plane (Sri Ramakrishna, GSR, 653.)
Saguna Brahman See Personal God or Saguna Brahman.
Shakti Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 116; Swami Sivananda in KYW, 25-6.)
Sound-Brahman, Shabda Brahman, or Pranava (PR in GSR, 263; Swami Vivekananda in Nikhilananda, VIV, 422; Sister Vandana, NJ, 190-1.)
Sound of many waters (Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 267-8.)
Sphota (Swami Vivekananda in Nikhilananda, VIV, 422; Usha, RVW, 74.)
Spirit of the Bridegroom (St. John of the Cross, CWSJC, 580.)
Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord (Genesis 1:2; Exodus 35:31; Isaiah 11:2; Ibn Arabi, KK, 15-6; Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 142 and 143.)
Spirit of Truth (Jesus in John 14:17.)
Spirit of Wisdom (Zarathushtra, GZ, 13 and 187; Exodus 28:3 and 35:31; Deuteronomy 34:9; Isaiah 11:2; St. Paul in Ephesians 1:15-7.)
Spouse (St. John of the Cross in CWSJC, 75.)
Syama (Sri Ramakrishna in GSR, 271.)
Voice in the Silence (Annie Besant, AW, 44; Mabel Collins, LOP, 22.)
Voice of many waters (St. John in Revelation 14:2; Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 17n and SCC, 1, 19.)
Voice of one that crieth in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3.)
Wisdom or Sophia (Zarathustra, GZ, 187 and 227; Solomon in Proverbs 3:19 and 9:1 and APO, 191 and 195; Isaiah 11:2; .Jesus in Matthew 11:19; John of the Cross in CWSJC, 75.)
Witness (St. John in Revelation 3:14 and Paramahansa Yogananda in AY, 143-4 and 237 and SCC, 2, 22.)
Womb of God, Womb of Brahman, womb of wombs; Brahmayoni (Sri Krishna in BG, 106; Sri Ramakrishna, GSR, 870; Yogeshananda in VSR, 41; Sri Aurobindo, SOY, 3.)
Word (Hermes, DPH, 8 and 17; Zarathustra in GZ, 8-9; John 1:1 and 1:3; Annie Besant, AW, 44; Sri Yukteswar Giri, HS, 23 and 24; Paramahansa Yogananda, AY, 143-4, 237n, and 363n, SCC, 1, 19 and SCC, 2, 22.)
The Mother will always be incomprehensible and Her significance will remain immeasurable
One day we shall be able to say with Solomon: "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom... She is more precious than rubies; and all things thou canst desire are not to be compared with her." (79) But though we merge with Her and reap all the rewards of doings so, we can never know Her as long as we are human.
Only those who have achieved what Jesus called everlasting life, the immortality that the experience of vijnana, (80) or stable and permanent realization, confers reach a high enough vantage point even to begin to inquire into, let alone understand, Her mystery. Even then, they can only marvel and say, with Shankara:
[The Mother] is neither being nor non-being, nor a mixture of both. She is neither divided nor undivided, nor a mixture of both. She is neither an indivisible whole, nor composed of parts, nor a mixture of both. She is most strange. Her nature is inexplicable. (81)
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# The Holy Spirit
"And in the Holy Spirit." Here, as in the first part of the Creed, Divinity is the subject. Having considered the Father and the Son, we are now ready to complete the picture of Godhead with the inclusion of the Holy Spirit, the Agia Pneuma.
"Holy" (agia) tells us that we are speaking of God, Who alone is holy. The word pneuma means "breath," which to the ancients of both the Near and Far East was always equated with spirit.
Literally the expression Agia Pneuma means "Holy Breath" or "Holy Out- breathing." Why? Because breath is not independent but comes from a source. By using this symbolic expression the framers of the Creed convey to us that, just as the Only-begotten Son is an emanation from the transcendent Godhead, the Father, so also is the Holy Spirit. This is borne out by Jesus' saying that the Holy Spirit "proceedeth from the Father."1 Thereby we come to understand that the Father is the transcendent God, whereas the Son and the Holy Spirit together are the immanent God.
"The Lady"
The next term set forth to describe the Holy Spirit is "Lady," not "Lord," as was later used to designate the Holy Spirit. In both Hebrew and Aramaic the word translated "Spirit" is always feminine. In the fifth century the Aramaic text of the Bible (the Peshitta) was falsified to make the Holy Spirit into a male to suit the Byzantine Emperors who had appointed themselves theologians for their state church. (Some of them were even called "Vicar of Christ"!)
As we have already stated, the Father is the transcendent Unity, beyond all polarization. For that very reason He in no way interacts with the realm of relative existence which is based on duality. Therefore, whenever God wishes to produce and interact with an objective creation, He first emanates, from His Transcendent Being, His own Self as the Immanent Godhead, Which by its very nature must be dual: eternal Male and Female. The Male aspect of the Immanent Godhead we call "the Son" and "the Lord." We call the Feminine aspect "the Holy Spirit" and "the Lady." These Two are the Father and Mother of all creation. From this polarized Divinity emanates the polarized creation, from the worlds of the Seraphim and Cherubim to the worlds of the physically-embodied beings.
Divine Duality
The Immanent Godhead is also divided into the moving and the unmoving, the dynamic and the static. The Son is unmoving Consciousness, and the Holy Spirit, the "Holy Breathing," is dynamic, conscious divine Energy. The Son is unchanging, but the Holy Spirit, as cosmic "breath," is ever modifying and cycling Herself as energy. Actually, the Holy Spirit, the Mother, is the creation, the infinite sea of light-power manifesting as the relative universes, subtle and gross.
Eternity of the Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit Herself speaks, saying: "Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."2
This is reminiscent of the verses relating to the Son, when He Himself says through the Psalmist: "The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."3 Also, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."4
In both instances we are speaking of Divinity, but a Divinity "shaped" by the Father in Their emanating from Him. The first part of the verses just quoted show that the Holy Spirit existed in eternity before all time or relative existence, a quality possible only to God.
If we analyze matter, we shall find that all things, from specks of dust to planets, are in their fundamental existence simply light. The entire universe itself is a single wave of light within which there are infinite variations. And that Light is the Holy Spirit. Although God the Son, Who is also being described in these verses, alone is Creator in the sense of directing the creation, it is the Holy Spirit Who "was with Him, forming all things" out of Her infinite Light.
In Eastern philosophy it is common to speak of "the dance of creation." The same idea is conveyed in the Holy Spirit's statement that She was "playing before Him at all times, playing in the world."5 This verse also shows that She never acts independently of the Creator-Son, but that together They accomplish all things. These verses have been attributed to the Virgin Mary by the Fathers of the Church, since She is the Incarnation of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus is the Incarnation of the Only-begotten Son.
True Nature Of Creation
Just as a sculptor takes clay and gives it form according to his inspired idea, so God, according to the divine pattern, forms the creation out of the ever-existing Light of the Holy Spirit, implanting therein, as in a womb, the sparks of divine consciousness, the spirits. The ever-existing God alone IS, and no other entity can come into existence besides Him. Just as a spider spins its web from its own body, so God weaves the universe from the fabric of His own Self. All creation is but an eternal dance of God with Himself, by Himself, and for Himself. "By Him, with Him, and in Him" says the ancient prayer attributed to Saint Peter the Apostle.
The Holy Breath
"Breath" is an excellent symbol of the Holy Spirit, for when we breathe out we produce sound. She is Herself the primal Sound, the Word, which shapes Her formless primal Light into the semblance of relative creation. Just as when we breathe on water it is shaped into waves, so the Son, the Word, causes the Holy Spirit to manifest all names and forms that exist momentarily in the great dance of creation. The universe emerges from Her Light and melts back into It at the end of the creation cycles, which are perpetual.
The Two Words
As has been said, there are two "Words" that are divine, just as in human speech there are also two forms of the word. First, there is the silent word in the mind which arises before we produce the second word, the spoken word. The first, inner word is the silent concept- pattern. The second word is the outer word, the sound "clothing" of the inner word. So also the Only-begotten Son is the silent Word, the directing, inner, universal Consciousness. And the Holy Spirit is the "spoken" Word, the projected, moving power which is characterized in the Scriptures as "a mighty rushing wind," "the sound of many waters," "the sound of harpers harping on their harps," "the voice of a great trumpet," "the Amen." In the Odes of Solomon we find the words: "Open unto me the harp of Thine Holy Spirit."
Light and Sound, the dual aspects of the Holy Spirit, are the basis for all relative existence. All forms are but patterns of light, and sound is the force which produces the patterns. In Hindu scriptures we read of Aum, "the Word that is God."
The Masculine And Feminine In God
As we have already said, the Holy Spirit is the Great Mother, the Feminine Power, the great Womb of light-energy into which the seeds of the individual consciousnesses are cast by the Only-begotten Son. He, in a sense, impregnates Her. We find in ancient mythology the idea of the divine brother and sister who are married and have divine children. Such symbology usually does not please society because on the physical level that would be incest. But what we are speaking of is far beyond the human plane or any tinge of sexuality. The inexpressible mystery of this divine Duality is well portrayed by the Taoist symbol of Yin-Yang, which has already been described and discussed.
Dual Light
Another reference to this divine dualism is given in the New Testament where two "Lights" are spoken of: (1) the Light that "shineth in the darkness,"6 Which is the Only-begotten, the unspoken Word, and (2) the Light that "shine[s] out of darkness,"7 Which is the Holy Spirit, the communicating medium between us and the Only-begotten, Who "hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."8 It is this deifying uniting of Christ to us that is referred to by the Celebrant in some of the Eastern Christian liturgies when he uses the expression: "the communication of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Iconography
In Eastern Christian iconography the Mother is nearly always shown carrying the Child Christ. The original depictions, such as those found in the Catacombs, show the Mother with Her arms uplifted in prayer ("the Spirit itself [Herself] maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered"9). Within the circle of Her heart in the midst of Her chest there appears the divine Son as a child. The idea conveyed by such icons is that the potential Christ, in the form of every spirit, is to be found in the womb of the Great Mother, which is this creation of vibratory energy. Because the vehicles through which we evolve are formed of Her divine energy, it is also appropriate to depict Her as carrying the Christ Child in Her arms. It is the power and grace of the Holy Spirit that carries us upward through the entire scale of evolution to the final attainment of perfect union with Christ the Son, Who in turn will unite us with the Father.
Evolution
Although we use the term "spiritual evolution" to speak of our unfolding spiritual awareness as we pass from stage to stage, evolution does not really take place on the level of the spirit; for the spirit, like God, is ever perfect and never changes. What, then, does evolve? The vehicles of our spirits: our bodies, minds, intellects, and wills, all of which are grosser or subtler forms of energy. They are actually what we experience as "evolving" as they become more and more refined and receptive to the light of our pure Self. These "layers" in which our spirit is wrapped are themselves formed of divine power.
Except for the physical body and its grosser magnetic fields, we retain these layers from life to life. In each incarnation we bring them back with us and form around them the type of body which reflects their state and destiny. If nothing hinders, in each life they increase in their capacity to more perfectly reflect and act as vehicles for our consciousness. They become more sensitive instruments through which our spirit can function, rather than blocks to higher consciousness, which they are in the earlier stages of incarnation.
"Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul," wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes in his poem, The Chambered Nautilus. As the nautilus in the sea outgrows its shell, it extrudes a substance which hardens and forms another "chamber" larger than the one in which it presently lives. Then it moves outward into that larger area and seals off the old living quarters. It carries on its back, in the form of its curved shell, all of its former abodes. If the shell is sawn in half, we find a spiral of ever-larger chambers, each of them having been at one time the house of the nautilus until it was outgrown.
This is exactly what we are doing. In our subconscious mind we retain all the lives and experiences that lie behind us. From life to life we make a new body-shell in which to manifest, and it is the shells that grow and evolve. It is the dance of the Mother around us, the "sons of God," just as She dances the dance of universal evolution before the Only-begotten Son.
Our consciousness being drawn outward from our spirit, we "fall" into awareness of the dance alone and identify with our "clothing," forgetting completely who we really are. In this deluded condition we believe that we have been born and are destined to die, although it is the body alone that undergoes the changes of birth and death. We see ourselves as constantly changing, never coming to any true rest or stability, when in reality it is the energies surrounding us that are ever changing while we, as pure consciousness, never change. This great folly is the root of "sin" (amartano), the great "falling short." On the other hand, true righteousness is knowing who we really are, not in theory but in actual experience.
Mother And Child
Returning to the symbology of the icon of the Virgin and Child, the Virgin represents the Holy Spirit as creation, and the Christ Child represents the spirit of each being evolving within creation. Just as a child that cannot walk is carried wherever the mother wishes, in the same way the spirit, though divine, is carried about by the tides and currents of material life, usually against its conscious will. As the infant depends totally upon the mother for the support of its life, so the spirit experiences apparent helplessness and total dependency upon material forces.
In most icons, the Child is looking with complete absorption at the face of the Mother. This symbolizes the self-forgetfulness of the spirit as it becomes fascinated, even hypnotized, by the ever- changing face of creation. Yet, as the babe grows all the time toward maturity and independence, so does the spirit progress at all times toward self-realization.
Suffering
Another aspect of the Mother's care for us is suffering and discontent, though many do not know it.
When the female eagle makes her nest, she first puts in thorns and sharp stones and then lines it with down so it is very soft and comfortable. After the little ones have grown large enough to fly, the mother discards the down and stirs up all the sharp objects, forcing the little eaglets to hop up on to the edge of the nest. She then pushes them off into the air…and they fly! This is one of the reasons evolving spirits are often spoken of in the Bible as "eagles."
Suffering and discontent with this world is the Mother's prodding to get us out of the nest and into our true element of divinity. With us, too, there comes a time when Mother stirs the nest to unsettle us and get us to move up higher. Eventually we come to understand that real or lasting happiness, peace, and security are not possible in this world, nor can we draw them from individuals, however close to us they might be. With that awakening, we are pushed off into the realm of spirit and there must learn to "fly," no longer seeking for peace or solace in this world, but setting about our real work of transcending this relative sphere of time and space.
"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts,"10 that is, at the voice of the Mother, the "sound of many waters," we are drawn upward, homeward. Those who are wise answer Her right away while it is relatively easy. Foolish ones, thinking they are being "independent" and "exploring life," ignore and even despise Her call. Some even deny it is there. Then, when they have drifted far into the negative current and decide to turn toward the call, it is often no longer there. An entire lifetime is simply gone. To hear Her call again, many must wait for dozens of lives, and some for hundreds.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."11 Those who sow deafness and indifference to God will, when they finally do begin their spiritual searching, at first reap nothing but silence and spiritual void to the exact measure that they have ignored Her. She is not punishing them; they are simply reaping what they have sown. Having wanted God to be quiet and leave them alone, to an equal degree they must now yearn for Her to speak and come to them.
Sometimes such people are given a glimpse of spiritual realities and for a brief period of time seem to soar into the heights of spiritual experience. Then suddenly "the honeymoon is over" and they experience emptiness and spiritual dryness until they reap the force of their former indifference. Many fail that test. For some it is delayed for quite a while, and after years of spiritual contact they must undergo "the dark night of the soul." All is meted out to us mercifully by the Mother, who will never "suffer you to be tempted [tested] above that ye are able;…that ye may be able to bear it."12
Those who fail, do so by choice, being shallow of heart, as Jesus indicated in the Parable of the Sower.13 When we begin the long path back homeward, it is as laborious as the sliding away from spiritual consciousness was effortless. But Mother never stops calling, and eventually we are "born" from Her womb back into the eternal Bosom of God.
Divine Light
The Son is the "lightless light," the Light that can only be seen by the one eye of spirit in divine union, whereas the Mother in Her objective manifestation is the light that is seen by the two eyes of duality. Her creation is like two opposing mirrors in which we see an endless chain of mirrors. By identifying with that illusion, we fall into the infinite labyrinth of the creation, the countless chain of worlds that each mirror the one above and below it. The Hermetic principle, "As above, so below," is both wisdom and illusion, for if we but take away one mirror, that is, attain the vision of the "single eye," it all vanishes in a moment. But until then we are subject to the law of duality. In all the worlds, from the highest to the lowest, all objects consist of a positive and a negative pole around which their constituent elements revolve. In the same way, the separated consciousnesses circle around the Son and the Holy Spirit, the positive and negative polarizations of the divine consciousness. From there we must ascend back into the "unapproachable Light"14 of Unity, from the divine Immanence into the divine Transcendence.
Consciousness And Evolution
Because our spiritual eye is undeveloped, we see the Light of the Holy Spirit as matter, though in reality it is Her Presence, enfolding and directing our growth from life to life.
It is not matter that is our spirit's prison, but our deluded consciousness which sees the divine Light as matter. Once our consciousness is changed, we are free. And that freedom is effected by the Mother Herself. Through our involvement with Her as matter, we are impelled to transcend matter and become awakened children of God.
Saint Paul wrote about this, saying: "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.…For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."15 Here Saint Paul reveals that the creation is a conscious entity, not dead matter. Not only is it conscious, its entire purpose is to travail and give birth to sons of God. Impelling us upward along the ladder of evolution, which is creation, the power of the Mother ultimately brings us to the final birth of perfect freedom and union with the Son, as Saint Paul further confirms: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. …shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"16
What a different, dynamic understanding of life we have when these things are known!
Our Choice
There is also an important point implied here. If we relate to the Mother as though She were lifeless matter for us to seize and exploit, to claim as "me" and "mine," we are drawn deeper and deeper into bondage under Her dream-power of spiritual hypnosis, the cosmic illusion called maya in Indian philosophy. But if we understand that this creation, including our own gross and subtle bodies, is really the Light of the Holy Spirit, the energy of our divine Mother, and we revere everything as Her manifestation, the whole situation changes. That which heretofore bound us and weighed us down is seen to be the very force which uplifts us to the Highest. How is this?
As we have already considered at some length, in the ocean of power which is the Mother's manifestation, there are two distinct currents, sometimes called in the scriptures the right and left "hands" of God. One current impels the entities therein downward and outward to the utmost regions of relative existence, to the grossest materiality and (spiritual) unconsciousness. The other current draws the entities therein inexorably upward and inward to the subtlest and highest levels of awareness, impelling them to transcend that current and merge into pure Consciousness Itself.
Everything depends on how we relate to the Mother. If we are not in the right current of Her life, then all the prayers, repentances, and religious actions will mean nothing. As Jesus said: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."17 That is, if we are not "born" from and enlivened by the Holy Spirit, we cannot enter the kingdom of God because we are still in the downward current of relative existence. It is through Her only that we are switched from the left-hand to the right-hand path of spiritual evolution. All the sincerity and "faith" in the world means nothing of itself. It is our relation to the Mother, "the Holy Spirit, the Lady," that tells the true story.
The Giver Of Life
The next phrase of the Creed, still speaking of the Holy Spirit, is: "The Giver of Life." There are two kinds of life, the higher and the lower, and Mother gives both kinds. She wraps us in the swaddling clothes of the will, the intellect, the senses, the biomagnetic energies, and the physical body. Through these means we function in the external world, which is really Her. Through Her and in Her we live, sowing and reaping through many bodies. We call that life, which it is, but of the lesser type.
When we "ripen" and are ready for the higher life, we honor and worship the Mother, calling on Her personally as our Mother. Then She gives us that higher life, opening the passage to spiritual realization. Finally, She brings us to the gate of freedom and we step out from Her realm into the realm of the Only-begotten, the realm of pure spirit.
All life, the life of bondage as well as the life of freedom, comes from Her, indeed is Her. It is pointless to ask the Father or the Son to deliver us from bondage or to give us freedom, for She alone has the franchise from the Father to bind or free us. She alone must we seek. When we find Her, nothing shall be lacking to us.
The Great Illusionist
It is not amiss to say that the Mother is the Great Illusionist. She produces this vast drama of creation by Her Light alone, and all the spirits within Her cosmic theatre are swept up into identification with it although it is nothing but an appearance, a dream. As the audience is distracted by the magician when he works his sleight of hand, so the spirits with their attentions drawn from inner reality to the outer dance of the Mother are utterly engulfed in the drama, suffering, rejoicing, laughing, crying, being born, and dying–and none of it is real. Those who do not love and worship the Mother are deluded. Those who see through Her play, who end the game of spiritual Hide and Seek by touching the home base within and recognizing themselves as Her children, have nothing to fear.
As we see and seek Her, so will She respond. If we see Her as blinding materiality and seek for that, then we shall have only that. But if we seek Her as our Mother, longing to be taken by Her back to our eternal home, She will be our deliverer, unerringly taking us to the Only-begotten. When Ivan the Terrible made a silver cover for an icon of the Virgin Mary painted by Saint Luke, he had engraved at the top: "O Lady, hear our prayers and bring us to Thy Son."
Whatever we want Her to be, that She will be. Mother will cooperate with our bondage, and Mother will cooperate with our freedom. The choice is ours. We make many excuses for our lack of spiritual life and progress, but it is really a matter of our choice. By choice, I mean a desire that is acted upon. A lot of people would be willing or would like to be spiritually perfect if it took no effort on their part, and if it could be done without their having to undergo any significant change. So when they play religious and spiritual, it is just that: a play. Mother is not fooled, and She leaves them alone. The real desire to find God is an active striving for that attainment, not the mere "no objection" attitude that many people have toward spiritual life.
So long as we want Her delusion and materiality, just so long will we have it. We need not blame others or "the devil." The decision is ours. She is not keeping us bound. We are. It is our will that She does at all times. According to the Law of Sowing and Reaping we set the universe in motion to effect certain things we want. And Who responds? The Mother. Every time we come back again into the earth plane, She has the stage already set according to our prior demands. We alone have written the script, yet we wail and cry: "Oh, how could God do this to me?" when She is only carrying out our directions to the letter. When we change the script, She will set things up accordingly.
The Supreme Life
In the highest sense, She is the Giver of the Life that is God. She is the great Power that operates throughout incarnations without number all to unite us with God. She is the one Who reshapes and empowers all the bodies in which we evolve. She then brings God unto us in a mode which we can receive–She gives birth to Him in us and gives birth to us in Him. This is the great Mystery of Godliness.
The Cosmos is the domain of the Holy Spirit, Her effectual, spiritual "womb" through which She gives us birth.
The Source Of The Holy Spirit
Next, the Creed tells us the origin of the Holy Spirit: "Who proceedeth from the Father." She and the Son have the same origin, being equal in all things. And, just as there is no "second God," anything which has its origin in the Father must in the final analysis be the Father. The Holy Spirit is just as much the Father as is the Son. When all is said and done, there can remain but the One. The Father is the origin and the essence of the Son and the Holy Spirit, for He is the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is a great mystery.
The Holy Spirit is in truth the one God that has no parts and yet is Triune. She proceeds from the Father as the Son is begotten from the Father, showing that there is a difference in manner of manifestation between the Son and the Holy Spirit as the Father and Mother, the positive and negative poles of creation. This was imaged in Adam and Eve. First there was Adam, and out of his side came forth Eve. One became two. So the Father emanated His own unitary Life, and it polarized, separated, and became the Two that together are required to accomplish anything outside the transcendental Being of the Father.
One Of The Trinity
"Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified." This statement not only affirms Her identity with the Father and the Son as God, it makes it clear that we do not worship the true God if we do not worship a God that is both transcendent and incommunicable and at the same time immanent and communicable in the dual form of Father and Mother (or Son and Mother). They must be worshipped together, equally. That alone is Catholic–kata holos, all- embracing–worship. We worship Three, realizing that they are at all times really One.
Prophetic Power
"Who spoke by the prophets." It was the Mother Who rested upon the prophets and inspired them. For that reason also is She called "breath." For as we vibrate our breath to form our voice in communicating with one another, so She is the vibrating medium through which the divine message is communicated from the transcendental to the human level. All spiritual powers which were manifested through the prophets are called "gifts of the Spirit," not gifts of the Father or the Son. Where the authentic exercise of those gifts are found, it is the working of the Mother. She is the source of the oracles of God, for She is the Wisdom of God, as the prophets named Her. She is the language in the mouth of the illumined. The "just men made perfect" are made perfect in Her, the Mother. By their mouths She speaks Her truth. It should be evident, then, that the only way to spiritual knowledge and illumination is the way of the Holy Spirit Mother.
[The Holy Spirit - by Swami Nirmalananda Giri.]
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# The Idea of the Holy Ghost
As such, the various Christian perspectives view the Holy Spirit as God himself or the Breath of God, a form of God, or a manifestation of God. The word "Spirit" commonly translates the Greek New Testament word pneuma. It is important to remember that Scripture on the Holy Spirit can be viewed by different sects of Christians in different ways. In Christianity, following the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is the One who guides a person to correctly interpret the word of God and He helps each person reach new levels of understanding.
The Idea of the Holy Ghost
To try to comprehend the Holy Ghost let us first classify its various names and characteristics drawn from the gospels and epistles of the Christian bible. It shows that scarcely any two references to it agree in assigning it the same character or attributes.
John 14:26, the Holy Ghost is a person or personal God.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost assumes the form of a dove.
Matt. 13:16, the Holy Ghost is a spirit.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is an inanimate, senseless object.
John 5:7, the Holy Ghost is a God—the third member of the Trinity.
Acts 2:1; the Holy Ghost is a mighty, rushing wind.
Acts 10:38, the Holy Ghost, from its mode of application, is an ointment.
John 20:22, the Holy Ghost is the breath, by its being breathed into the mouth of the recipient after the ancient oriental custom.
Acts 2:3, the Holy Ghost sat upon each of them, probably in the form of a bird, as at Jesus' baptism.
Acts 2:1, the Holy Ghost appears as cloven tongues of fire.
Luke 2:26, the Holy Ghost is the author of a revelation or inspiration.
Acts 8:17, the Holy Ghost is a magnetic aura imparted by the laying on of hands.
Mark 1:8, the Holy Ghost is a medium or element for baptism.
Acts 28:25, the Holy Ghost appears with vocal organs, and speaks.
Heb. 6:4, the Holy Ghost is dealt out or imparted by measure.
Luke 3:22, the Holy Ghost appears with a tangible body.
Luke 1:5, and many other texts, people are filled with the Holy Ghost.
Matt. 11:15, the Holy Ghost falls upon the people as a ponderable substance.
Luke 4:1, the Holy Ghost is a God within a God, Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 21:11, the Holy Ghost is a being of the masculine or feminine gender—Thus saith the Holy Ghost.
John 1:32, the Holy Ghost is of the neuter gender, it (the Holy Ghost) abode upon him.
Matt. 1:18, the Holy Ghost, this third member of the Trinity aids the first member (the Father) in the creation of the second member of the trinity of bachelor Gods—the Word, or Saviour, or Son of God.
The Holy Ghost surpasses the fabulous changes of the classical gods and genii. Indeed many of these fabulous conceptions were drawn from mythological sources.
The Christian's Holy Ghost descended as a dove and alighted on Christ's head at his baptism (Luke 3:22). The Holy Ghost in the shape of a bird – a dove or a pigeon – is a very ancient pagan tradition. In India, a dove was uniformly the emblem of the Holy Spirit or Spirit of God. A dove stood for a third member of the Trinity, and was the regenerator or regeneratory power. Compare this with Titus (3:5): regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. A person being baptized under the Brahminical theocracy was said to be regenerated and born again, or, they were born into the spirit, or the spirit into them—the dove into or upon them.
In Rome a dove or pigeon was a legendary spirit, the accompaniment of Venus, the emblem of female procreative energy. It is therefore appropriately shown as descending at baptism in the character of the third member of the Trinity. The dove also fills the Grecian oracles with their spirit and power. A dove was, in several ancient religions, the Spirit of God (Holy Ghost) moving on the face of the waters at creation (Gen. 1:2), though a pigeon was often substituted. The dove and the pigeon were used interchangeably.
In the ancient Syrian temple of Hierapolis, Semiramis is shown with a dove on her head, the prototype of the dove on the head of the Christian messiah at baptism. At the feast of Whitsuntide, the descent of the Holy Ghost was symbolised in London by a pigeon being let fly out of a hole in the midst of the roof of the great aisle of St Paul's Cathedral. It is more than likely that this continues an ancient tradition. On solemn occasions when the Holy Ghost was expected or invited to descend, it was more than likely that originally no one in the congregation noticed that it did. The custom therefore arose of liberating pigeons or doves at the appropriate moment.
Naturally, these doves would have been actually ascending, having realised that they were no longer constrained, but that would not have bothered the faithful who eventually came to understand the symbolism. In any case, the doves would most likely have been tame ones bred for the purpose and possibly made no great effort to escape, like the pigeons in crowded city plazas. So, it is quite possible that sometimes one of the tame birds did alight on the priest – perhaps they were trained to do just that. The pictures of priests or gods with a dove on their head might be depictions of actual rituals.
The Holy Ghost was the third member of the Trinity in several Eastern religions as well as the Gothic and Celtic nations. This notion of a third person in the godhead was diffused among all the nations of the earth. Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or Father, Word and Holy Ghost (1 John 5:7) express the divine triad of which the Holy Ghost was the third member. The Holy Spirit and the Evil Spirit were, each in their turn, third member of the Trinity.
In these triads the third member was not of equal rank with the other two. In the Theban Trinity, Khonso was inferior to Arion and Mant. In the Hindu triad, Siva was subordinate to Brahma and Vishnu. The Holy Ghost conception of the Christian world is an exact correspondence with these older ideas. It has always stood third in rank after the Father and the Son or the Word, a slave doing all the hard work and getting little worship for it. Today it is still seldom addressed in Christian devotion, but perhaps that is because it was so badly treated that it was not too diligent in its tasks. It was not too good, for example, at making the holy book of Christianity infallible.
The Holy Ghost was the Holy Breath, which, in the Hindu traditions, moved on the face of the waters at creation, and imparted vitality into everything created. A similar conception appears in the scriptures. In Psalms 33:6 the Word of the Lord made the heavens, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. The Brahminical conception of creation by the Divine Breath, the Holy Ghost, which was breathed into Adam to make him a living soul. The Prana or principle of life of the Hindus is the breath of life by which the Brahma, the Creator, animates the clay to make man a living soul.
Holy Ghost, Holy Breath and Holy Wind were equivalent terms for the sigh from the mouth of the Supreme God, as laid down in pagan traditions. The Holy Wind is suggested by the mighty rushing wind from heaven, which filled the house on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2). The Holy Wind is an accepted term for the Holy Ghost in ancient religions. The doxology, reported by a missionary, in the religious service of the Syrian church runs thus:
Praise to the Holy Spiritual Wind, which is the Holy Ghost; Praise to the three persons which are one true God.
The Hebrew Ruh Elohim, translated Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2) in our version, is literally, Wind of the Gods. The word Pneuma, of the Greek New Testament, is sometimes translated Ghost and sometimes Wind, as suited the fancy of the translators. In John 3:5 the word is Spirit, in verse eight both Wind and Spirit, and in Luke 1:35 the term is Holy Ghost—all translated from the same word. In the Greek Testament the word Pneuma is used for Spirit, Holy Ghost, breath and Wind so that in the Christian Scriptures they are synonymous. An unwarranted license has been assumed by translators in rendering the same word different ways.
The Holy Ghost appears also as a tongue of fire, which sat upon each of the apostles in Acts 2:3.
Buddha, an incarnate God of the Hindus over two thousand years ago, is often seen with a glory or tongue of fire upon his head. The visible form of the Holy Ghost as fire was accepted among the Buddhists, Druids and Etrurians. The Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit when visible, was in the form of fire or a bird and was always accompanied with wisdom and power. The Hindus, Persians and Chaldeans made offerings to fire, emblem of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit as the solar fire.
Holy men of God, like some of the prophets, are considered inspired by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21; Acts 28:25). The ancient Celts were moved by the Holy Ghost and also claimed that their Salic laws (seventy-two in number) were inspired by the Salo Ghost or Holy Ghost, known also as the Wisdom of the Spirit, or the Voice of the Spirit.
The Holy Ghost imparted by the laying on of hands is also an ancient custom. By the putting hands on the head of the candidate, the Celts conveyed the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.
Baptism by or into the Holy Ghost accompanied with fire (Mt 3:2) is also traceable to a very ancient period. The Tuscans, or Etrurians, baptized with fire, wind (ghost) and water. Baptism into the first member of the Trinity, the Father, was with fire: baptism into the second member of the Trinity, the Word, was with water: baptism into the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, was with breath, gas, gast, ghost, wind, or spirit. In ancient countries, the child was taken to the priest, who named him before the sacred fire. Then he was sprinkled with holy water from a vessel made of the sacred tree known as the Holme. To impart the Holy Ghost by breathing (John 20:22), the priest blew his breath upon the child to transfer the Holy Ghost, thus baptising the child by air, spiritus sanctus or ghost. The practice of breathing in or upon was quite common among the ancient heathen.
The Holy Ghost as the agent in divine conception, or the procreation of other Gods. Jesus is said to have been conceived by the Holy Ghost (Mt 1:18), and we find similar claims of divine procreation via the Holy Ghost in the old religions. In the Hindu myths, Sakya was conceived by the Holy Ghost Nara-an.
Sesostris of Egypt, according to Manetho, asked the oracle: Tell me, O thou strong in fire! who before me could subjugate all things, and who shall after me? The oracle rebuked him, saying, First God, then the Word, and with them the Spirit. And Plutarch, in his Life of Numa, confirms that the incarnation of the Holy Spirit was known both to the ancient Romans and Egyptians. The doctrine was nearly universal.
The origin of the tradition of the Holy Ghost is easily traced to the Brahminical trifold conception of God. First is the god of power or might, Brahma or Brahm, the Father, second is the god of creation, the Word, answering to John's creative Word (John 1:3), third is the god of generation and regeneration, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. Under the Brahminical theocracy, the Holy Ghost was the living, vital, active, life-imparting agent.
The Holy Ghost in the Christian Scripture is the agent of Christ's conception, because, as Matthew declares, he was conceived by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was also the regenerating agent at his baptism, although Luke, who relates it, does not say why the Holy Spirit in the form of a bird, alighted and sat upon his head. The reason is nevertheless fully disclosed in the older mythical religions. Christians claim baptism imparts a new spiritual life—they are born again. This new spirit appeared as a dove or a pigeon.
The spirit was originally female so that the Trinity consisted of two masculine principles and a feminine one, the latter being the procreative or regenerative principle. At the imposition of Patriarchy the sex of the Holy Ghost altered from female to neuter.
The primary windy idea of the Holy Ghost is traceable to that early period of society when the untutored people of the earth in their ignorance of nature easily believed that movement signified the passage of a god.
The Buddhists had their god Vasus, who manifested himself as fire, wind, storms, gas, ghosts, gusts, and the breath, thus being nearly a counterpart of the Christian Holy Ghost. This god sprang from the supreme, primordial God, who was to Brahmins and Buddhists a fine, spiritual substance—aura, anima, wind, ether, igneous fluid, or electrical fire or fire from the sun, giving rise to baptism by fire. The third member of the Trinity, subsequently seems to have arisen from this being and had the same properties.
What was a sin against the Holy Ghost and why was it unpardonable? It was refusing to allow the Holy Ghost to effect the second birth. Since baptism by whatever means into the Holy Ghost was the only means of redeeming sins against the Father or the Son, the refusal or prevention of baptism meant there could be no forgiveness. It was the only route so could not be avoided if sin was to be pardoned. An offence committed against the third limb of the Godhead barred the door to forgiveness, in this life or that to come. To sin against the Holy Ghost was to block the path by which the door of heaven was to be reached.
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