Second Temple period Mysticisms and Mysteries

LONDON - C. L.H. WALLACE, PHILANTHROPIC REFORM PUBLISHER of the WEST OXFORD MANSION , 1887

CONTENTS- CHAPTER 1 Statement of the momentous Problem. Method of Investigation. The Supreme Eternal Being. Our Divine Mother. No " irresponsible " Deity. Theosophia, the Divine Knowledge. The "Martyrs" or "Witnesses" for the Divine Truth. Heaven and Hell within us. Goddenying the cause of Satan's kingdom on Earth. Theosophy the Saviour of all ages Both Saviour and Salvation. Fallacies of Scepticism. The No-God-Idea demands more credulity than the God-Idea. The Manifestation of the Absolute. The testimony of the WorldTeachers. Selfishness the real Evil in Man. The Unity of all Esoteric Doctrine. Occult value of Mathematics. Mathematical Theosophy. Thought is also Prayer. The Absolute Self or Divine Soul. How to attain to Soul Knowledge. Occult Practice. The Rationale of Yoga. The one way to God. The Great Work. Quotation from an old Theosopher 1 CHAPTER II. The Theory and Practice op Theosophy. The Science above all Sciences. Belief an initiatory necessity for final salvation. List of accessible works on varioussystems of Theosophy. The study of Tlieosophy. The Ever-Beginning. Time cannot measure things of Eternity. Power and Love. The Laws of Spirit. The Stream of Existence. A physical and spiritual Death.Soul-Force. The Roscicrucian teaching. Possibility of the One becoming the All and the All becoming the One. Divine Magic. The Female Principle. Spiritual Exercise. " Dwellers on the threshold." The world as seen from above. The primary qualifications of an Adept, quoted from the Private Instructions on the Science and Art of Organic Magnetism, by Mrs. C. Leigh HuntWallace. The Perfection of Christ (quotation from The Perfect Way). "How to attain to 'Power and the Resurrection,' Polarisation of the Divine." Without Knowledge no Salvation. Yoga Practice (selection from "The Arya"). Theosophy based on Anthropology. The Pantheon of Universal Theosophy 20 CHAPTER III. Hermetic Theosophy. Pabt I. The Seceet of Mythology.The origin of man. Ape or Angel ? Pre-historic Hermeticism. Theo-philosophy. Hermetic Language. Mystic Myths. The Great Arcanum. Only Initiates can understand Initiates. How to interpret Occult Soul Allegories. The Eternal Now. Peculiarities of Kabbalists and Hermetists.The Secret of Mythology. The Knowledge which is Power. Two quotations defining what Adepts can do. The Secret of Mythology not astronomical but psvchological and occult. Soul the only thing eternal. Non-existence of Matter. The Soul-World. The Course of Re-birth symbolized by the course of the Sun. The Rule of the Gods. Difference between Myths and Allegories. The great simplicity of the Divine-human and human-Divine Theosophy .46 CHAPTER IV. Part II. Egyptian and Christian Gnosticism. PAGE. God and the gods. Soul-worship and Demon-worship. Man ever the same. Polytheism. Misdirected Religion. Theplace of the " Gods " in ancient Theosophy. Necessity for Occult fables. Unity of Mystic Doctrine. Spiritual Democrats and Aristocrats. The struggle between knowledge and ignorance. A war between the occult and theofficial Church. Continuance of Hierarchic Obscurantism.The most ancient book of Theosophic teachings.The "Book of the Dead." Division of the "Ritual." Gnosticism a revival of Egyptian Theosophy. The Books of Hermes. The " Imperishable " in Egyptian and Hindu Theosophy. Quotations from the ancient Papyri. Osiris, the Spirit of Brahma. The Pantheism ofInitiates. The Egyptian Hierarchy. The Smaragdine Tablet. Selections from the Books of Hermes. The Influence of Hermetic Theosophy upon the Genesis of Christianity. Formulation of the Christian Doctrine at Alexandria. Christian and Pagan Gnostics. Gnosis the Sanctuary of Christianity. " Men are not saved by the historical but by the metaphysical." Christ and Horus. Hermes Trismegistus 63 CHAPTER V. Oriental Theosophy. Part I. The Theosophy of the Brahmins, Magi, and Druids. Whence are the Hindus ? Their ancient " Wisdom-Religion." Indian Caste a reproduction after the Egyptian. A Hiero-aristocracy. Occult Temples and monumental poetry. The Trimurti. The Vedas. Hindu Philosophy. The Darsanas. Many names for the One Being. Selections from the Bhagavata-Purana. " The Practice of Devotion." "Acquisition of Deliverance." " Distinctionof Nature." " The Yoga of Devotion." " Time Infinite which ends all." Text-books of Hindu Theosophy . . 91 The Theosophy of the Magi. All equally pure and each one a priest. Soldiers of Light against powers of darkness.Selections from the " Desatir." An Epitome of Occult knowledge from the Book of the Prophet Jyafram.Theosophical aspect of the Magian System. Magi and Brahmins. The War between Ahura-Mazda and Angra Mainyu purely spiritual and esoteric. Zoroaster. The first translation of the Zend-Avesta by Anquetil du Perron. Zoroaster a contemporary of Abraham. Origin of the Kabbala. The mysterious "Brethren." The Gnostic doctrine according to the Codex Nazarmus. Did the Kabbalists borrow of the Gnostics? En-Soph "the Eternally Boundless One" of the Zend-Avesta. Platonism deduced out of the theosophic dogmas of Zoroaster. Radical Principles of the Kabbalistic doctrine. The practical direction taken by the Magi on the Occult. A journey through Heaven and Hell. Arda Viraf. The Spirit of Zoroastrian Religion. The mystery of the Fire Element. The Logos, the Persian Honover." The advent of the New Dispensation. Our Lady of Light 109 Theososphy of the Druids. Druidism identical with Oriental Theosophy. Druid Monuments. Adepts of Druidism still existing. " Les Homines de la Religion Blanche." The ante-Christian Theosophy of the West. The Bards. Druid Triads and Bardic Aphorisms. Druidic idea of the Spheres of Existence. Similarity to Esoteric Buddhism. Books on Druid Theosophy 133 CHAPTER VI. Oriental Theosophy. Part II. Buddhist Theosophy. The pre-historic Wisdom-Religion a Buddhism. Hierocracy. A New Spiritual Influx. Contemporaries of the Buddha Cycle. Buddhism the first Catholic System historically known. Character of Buddha's teachings. Buddhist Missionaries. The Theosophy of Gotama Buddha. Howto become an Initiate. Karma the law of consequences. The annihilation of Selfhood. Buddhism summarised. Christ and Buddha manifestations of the same Divine Principle. Buddhism a Christ-like Philosophy. Brahminism summarised and contrasted with Buddhism. Yoga and Samadhi. The Spiritual He-birth. The Soulstate an individual Divine gift to each Being. The Meaning of Nirvana defined in a dialogue between Milinda and Nagasena 140 Esoteric Buddhism the ancient Wisdom-Religion. Comparison of the Constitution of Man with the Constitution of the Universe. (Plate.) The figure of the Cross used as a sacred symbol long anterior to the Christian Era. The Mystery of Mysteries represented in the seal of Solomon. The Male brain or Solar Plexus. The Female brain or Cerebro-Spinal System. The seat of Life or fourth Principle. Manas, theffth Principle, or Human Soul. Kama Loca and Kama Rupa. The Seed of the Woman. The seven-fold Nature of the Divine Essence. Separation the cause of Evil. Man the arbiter of his own destiny. Kama Loca or Purgatory. Devachan. The Eternal "Two in One." The ceaseless Chain. New Birth or Regeneration. Jivatma and the Linga Shabiba. The seven degrees of the Masonic Jacob's Ladder. Seven Sephiroth and seven Senses. The Arcanum symbolized by the Great Pyramid. The Will the axis whereon the Seven Principles turn. The Seventh Principle, Atma, or the Divine Spirit. The Law of the lower nature. Spiritual Evolution and Involution. The Planetary Chain. (Diagram.) The Sleep of Worlds. The Rounds of Mankind's Evolution. NOW is the Turning-Point. Note on the Mahatmas. The present the fifth race of the fourth Round. The approaching New Dispensation. Esoteric Buddhism affording a scientific explanation of all the phases ofexistence. Comparison of the Sankkya Philosophy with Esoteric Buddhism. Kapila a Positivist. Purush and Prakriti defined 153 Chinese Theosophy. The System of the Tao-Sse. Directions from the Nan Sua on Occult Practice. Lao-Tse's attempt to systematize the Laws of Fate and Destiny. Selections from the Tao-TeKing. The Manifestation of Virtue. Arriving at the Source. The Abyss of the Absolute Being. Far-Seeing. Confucius and Lao-Tse. A Discussion on the True Way (Tao) 193 CHAPTER VII. Pagan Theosophy. The three great classes of Theosophy. " Heathen " Theosophy. The Divine Masters all one in Doctrine. Characteristic of the Heathen Initiate. Monotheistic Religions. SoulWorship in the midst of Demon-Worship. The Mythos interpreted by Astronomers and Alchemists. Spiritual Science the Sanctuary of the Physical Sciences. Electricity and Magnetism. The Pillars of Hercides. Theosophy the Key to Mythology. The exclusiveness of Pagan Theosophy demolished by two Jews. Initiation to the Mysteries. Autopsia. All ancient Philosophers were Initiates. Selections from the writings of Orpheus, Hesiod, Xenophanes (Note on ekagrata or one-pointed thought), Empedocles, Kleantkes the Stoic and Synesios. A hymn full of fearless love. The " Unknown God." Pallas the Divine Virgin Wisdom. The Phidian Jupiter. Causes producing the dissolution of Paganism. The old lights becoming extinct, new beacons were foimd. Heathen Orthodoxy. Man's mind in a cosmic prison. The Letter which killeth. The Cynics, Grecian Yogis. The Pythagorean System (quotation from Cleobolus). The lost Key to Esoteric Knowledge. Paul declaring the "Unknown God" .. 201 Theosophic Ideas of the Ancient Romans. The mission of the Romans. Their Temples having originally no Statues. Greek influence on Roman Religion. The Roman Cultus. Numa the last of the Adept Kings. Gives the people a settled form of religion and Divine Law. The Etruscans. The Culte of Virtue. The Sybilline Oracles. God's great plan of educating the world. The Roman Cultus formulating Christian Ecclesiasticism 227 CHAPTER VIII. Semitic Theosophy. Pabt I. The Kabbala ob Hebbew Theosophy. Theosophy the Salvation of the Jews. Monotheism th...

Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2023

It is a commonplace of ancient Near Eastern worldviews that temples have cosmic significance. This understanding persists and develops in the Second Temple period, with numerous texts witnessing to a widely held belief that the Jerusalem temple reflected heaven or the universe. Scholars have largely been content either to recognize a basic relationship, or to distinguish temple-in-heaven from templeas-universe, sometimes construing the former as "apocalyptic" and the latter as "Hellenistic." Jonathan Klawans' work represents an important articulation of this distinction. This article summarizes his contribution, and critiques it on the grounds that it remains overly dichotomous and does not do full justice to the evidence. Instead, a fresh taxonomy is proposed with four key categories, each illustrated from Second Temple and biblical texts. None of these categories is discrete, rather they demarcate a spectrum or scale of ways that ancient Jewish and early Christian writers conceptualized the heaven-temple relationship.

Central European University Press eBooks, 2005

During my speech I will illustrate the reformation of four principle esoteric systems: Yoga, Kabbalah, Hesychasm and Sufism - during the 12th and 14th centuries AD. I will explain how distinctly and simultaneously these traditions introduced bodily practices forming the basis for a new way of practitioner’s mystical transformations. I point out three major categories of bodily practices: breathing, postural and concentration techniques. I intend to illustrate the magnitude of esoteric practices development during this period occurred at different sites on territory from India to Spain synchronistic. In my paper I rely on the texts attributed to such authors as Gorakṣa and his Gorakṣaśataka in Yoga, Mevlevi in Sufism, Abulafia in Kabbala and Gregory Palamas in Hesychasm. The significance of this period for esotericism can hardly be overestimated. The innovations they introduced and conceptualization of the mentioned practices have once and for all changed the image with which these esoteric practices are associated today. Body-oriented practices became symbols of identification for mystic communities and served for their consolidation. These patterns have become deeply embedded in mass consciousness, like for example one can hardly imagine modern Yoga without āsanas. This period (12th – 14th century) can be referred to as the “Axial Age” of Somatics in esotericism. Study of the changes that occurred during that period can help us understand the process of development of esoteric teachings.

-Uncorrected- page proof of a survey and discussion of ancient Mediterranean sources pertinent to the study of esotericism and occultism.

Dead Sea Discoveries, 2021

2020

2010

The paper traces the tradition of the heavenly temple and YHWH's heavenly entourage through the Hebrew Bible and Qumran literature.