I. Elementay ideas (commonalities occurring through religions)
A. Bastion
(
1. Same images and scenes through myth
2. Different applications and interpretations
3. Differences: folk/ethic ideas
a. People’s thoughts
b. Historians and etnologists loved differences
c. Psychology: why are elementary ideas everywhere?
d. 8th and 9th century BC: Oriental shift in accent; interpretation
e. Oriental philosophy: discourse in interpretation of ideas
4. West after Aristotle: myths and elementary ideas were attacked
a. Perennial Philosophy: by: Huxley
i. verbal discourse in mythic images
ii. mystic philosophy: same ideas
iii. look at thoughts behind practices and dialects
b. Wisdom Body
i. Myth from same place as dream (Jung!!)
ii. Matter of consciousness different in head and body
iii. Wisdom of vision in perennial philosophy
iv. Waking consciousness: dream
v. Distinction between axioms of perennial philosophy and rational system
II. Extracting the elementary
A.
1. you can get lost in the symbols
2. Problem: don’t lose message of symbol=message of the spirit
B. Went
to
1. God is a fact and a symbol
2. Anything with form is a symbol
3. All transitory references are void because you can’t reach them
4. Ethnic opens to elementary
5. Aristotle: rational versus biblical (ethnic references to mythical symbol)
C.
1. accompany act w/ meditation
D. Sacred
City:
1. come here to die
2. close to Ganges: divine grace and
heaven (
3. pilgrimage: physical act as move toward inward life
4. bath: baptism: absorb miraculous gift
5. Phinian on
6. naming and claiming your holy land
7. Joyce:
8.
a. Bathing place
b. Dravidian/Harappas= Mahenjo-Daro civilizations
c. #1 building: public bathing place
i. Religious
value: continuity in the
9. Mesopotamia (Tigres
and
a. MI civilizations reflect this source
b. High civilization: writing, math, astronomy (planetary cycles through constellations)
c. Planets transform consciousness
d.
III. Modern Mentality: the causes of myth
A. Myths relate the human to the environment
B. Before planets, related to animals (respected them, but still killed and ate them)
1. Miracle of life: kill and consume
2. plant life: eat
3. like
4. Planets relate society with cycles
a. Seasonal festivals: Dionysus!! In accord with nature, so get bounty
b. Ecology movement: cut off source of living: live right, foster vitality of environment and accord w/ nature
c. Heavenly signs order world
d. Separate spirit and environment
C. Nomads: Indo-European/Aryans (nobles)
1. Vedic barriers:
2. Spiritual crisis after arrival: mytIi—’~philosophy
3. Veda (vidknowledge) manifestation (shruti [heard])
a. R.ishis, saints, heard hymns (write out of inspiration)
b. Recite hymns to evoke gods to do your will
4. warrior leader versus magician (twin heroes)
a. Moses and Aaron up
b. Ritual=grind golden bull for communion
c. Kaliffs of Islam: spirit and society unite
d. Hebrews: box of covenant=fetish-concrete symbol where invest power (Torah, Koran, Bible)
5. sacred grove: worship where you live
6. Hindu altars: symbolic of order and form of universe
a. Agri=mouth (pour into fire and feed all gods)
b. Greeks: altars and rituals too!!!
7. Vedas known orally from 10000 BC: stage of myth and ritual
D. Brabmins
1. Brahmin: priest related to Brahma (divine energy)
a. Deities are personifications of all aspects of Brahma
b. Interpreters
c. What is the nature of the sacrifice?
i. Brahmins operate sacrifice like console of organization
ii. Nature of sacrifice: pour offering into fire; heat of body cooks toad
d. Passion for priestly sacrifices
i. Jungle and agriculturists
ii. Life comes out of death: create death—’create life
iii. Myth—’philosophy!!!
2. 2nd stage=Upanishads (800 BC shift)
a. Shad=sit; upani=close in
b. Fire (agni) is in you- don’t need Brahmins
c. Source of gods in own heart
d. Perennial philosophy: YOU ARE THAT OF WHICH GOD(S) IS/ARE BORN
e. Sankha philosophy: analyze psychology
f. Gurus-one that has found self with fire and teaches
g. Like Jesus, identify self with fire
3. Zoroaster
a. Hymns
in Sanskrit
b. Source of Western tradition
c. No sacrifice: don’t put self in harmony with universe (Hinduism)
d. 2 Gods: Life (Ahura Mazda) versus darkness/hypocrisy/deception — Angra Manu
e. Good versus evil in universe in conflict and can’t be in harmony with universe
f. Good god makes good world: align self with good
g. Savior to accent good and restore
4. Buddhism
a. All life is sorrowful: good and evil mixed
b. Cure to suffering=Nirvana
i. Psychological stance to be indifferent to suffering
ii. Desire and fear invoke sorrow and suffering (come to great delight)
c. Jainism (
i. Physically achieve Nirvana release with yoga
ii. Soul is infected with karma and toga cleans black/action
iii. Die one moment before release of desire
iv. Secular versus monks and nuns (try to die)
-vegetarianism: no to way of life
-don’t want to kill animals
v. Buddhism: die to desire and fear