Blogpost about sport, art and religion

At the moment, the attention of media and of millions of people is focused on Qatar and the FIFA World Cup. Without a particular interest in football, I therefore have also followed this global phenomenon a little. In meditation this morning I remembered that I had read an article a week ago:

In “Das Magazin“, a weekend supplement of our regional Swiss newspaper, a writer made fun of an installation by the Berlin-based world-class Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Elisasson, who had realised circular mirrors in the Qatar desert. The writer found it “completely ballaballa”, meaning crazy. It somehow caught my attention: In a video presentation about my paintings (Creativity and Originality), I mentioned Elíasson and his work.

I found it interesting: In the past, art and religion have been closely associated. Religion and art have much changed their roles and both have become much more mundane in most of their expressions. For millions of people sport has taken over the role of religion:

Quasi-religious fervour of ascetic aspiration in a hatha-yogic style drives athletes’ and sportsmen’s /sportswomen’s devotion to extreme efforts in their training to strive for their very highest. And huge crowds of people gather in the cathedrals and temples of sport for their quasi-religious devotional celebrations – at the moment, in Qatar’s soccer arenas. There are also very many sects and beliefs among the followers. A gigantic effort was made to hold the big celebrations in a desert state. Many discuss the sense and nonsense of such events. Some avoid them, others travel there to participate.

When Eliásson now says in his artistic and context statements that “There is no artistic connection between my sculpture and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022”, this might be his intention and understanding but the exhibition is financed and organized by the state of Qatar and the opening of the exhibition coincides with the FIFA World Cup – “honni soit qui mal y pense“.

Here are the photos of the circular mirror installations in the desert, reminiscent of the ball religion celebrated nearby in football stadiums. The ball, the sphere, the circle are deeply occult symbols of the world, of creation. May the world’s attention go beyond the mundane levels to understand and practise the deeper spiritual aspiration to the highest and thus gain the experience of bliss, mundanely aspired by sport.

All photos are press material giving installation views of the Northern Heritage sites, Doha, Qatar, 2022. Photos by Iwan Baan, courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles © 2022 Olafur Eliasson.

Sagittarius is a fire sign and it is called the house of initiation. In Sagittarius, we can receive a great push on our path to the light. But every initiation is preceded by a crisis. Therefore, Sagittarius is also the house of crises. Crises are a fiery means to find the path to the light. Therefore, we should not flee from the crises, but face them. In Sanskrit, Sagittarius is also called the month of progress (Margasirsha), the way to the head, the upward path. You find more information about Sagittarius in the book “The Mysteries of Sagittarius” by Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Sagittarius illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Sagittarius paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

In Spiritual Astrology, Sagittarius is considered the messenger of the dawn, and it rules the two hours before sunrise. This time corresponds to the dawn of the day, the first phase after the new moon, the month before the solstice of Capricorn and the preparation of the World Mother for the awakening of a new creation from out of the background of space.

At dawn, a surge of energy rushes through the atmosphere, reviving the bodies of living beings, and the Lords of the Seven Rays prepare the souls on the subconscious levels for the awakening of the Light. Thus, this time before dawn contains highest spiritual potency and is therefore most suitable for spiritual activities.

In the background of the picture there is the photo of a beginning dawn during a flight over India. Overlaying this, there is the photo of large stone statues taken in the car park of the Vietnamese Buddhist monastery Tu Vien Kim Son in Watsonville, California. In the foreground you see Quan Yin as a symbol of the Mother of the World. She holds a staff and an egg-shaped sphere in her hands. She is seated on a lion, suggesting the sign of Leo, ruled by the sun. The Buddha resting in the background evokes representations of Vishnu, resting on the serpent of time in the ocean of space.

The star at the top alludes to the cosmic source of light. Below are the seven stars of the Great Bear, symbol of the seven cosmic rays. The seven different coloured spheres of light in the lower part of the picture indicate the terrestrial reflection of the rays that bring a fresh impulse to life. And the Moon, like the Mother, is a reflector of light.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Sagittarius illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Sagittarius paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

Scorpio presents to us an encounter with our darker sides, which we usually can’t or don’t want to see. The messages of Scorpio often come in the form of pain, conflicts and crises, which we hope to quickly disappear. But should they actually disappear, we would not have understood and integrated Scorpio’s message. In a crisis, events force themselves upon us with intensity, and previously hidden problems come to light. It often takes time to integrate changes into our lives. But if we are willing to open ourselves to a new perspective, we can get beyond the limitations of the old state. Saturn leads us in small steps to transformation and inner growth. The growth of a seed into a plant can never be observed with the naked eye.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Scorpio illustrate the related symbolism. You find there detailed explanations of the paintings in four languages (en/de/es/fr). And you can download print-versions (high resolution) for free. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter.

The wisdom teachings speak of a single pillar around which all is moving. This pillar exists externally as the axis of rotation of the visible space globe around the celestial pole. It exists as the axis of North Pole and South Pole, around which the earth rotates. It has its correspondence in us as our central vertical column, around which all our activity happens.

Inside the central column, we can experience the unchangeable part of our existence around which the mutable life plays. The central vertical vibration enables us to experience the pure consciousness and the different states of existence. Within the column, there is the Light of awareness, which awakens us in the morning. And it is the same Light, which enables the Sun to shine. Reaching that Light is the aim of yoga.

I used extracts of two NASA photos of the Sun for creating the seven globes connected by a central channel of light. They show the central axis and the vibration of the energy. They also indicate the seven centres within the human body and the seven planes of existence. Contemplating on the column of light may reveal further subtle dimensions.

On seeing the image, a friend asked how its topic is linked with Scorpio. When working to bring down the image, I tried different ways to illustrate the descent of spirit into matter but without success. I then realised that the path of descent and ascent is the same, and I fused them in the central vertical column. At the bottom you see a dark semicircle around the two suns at the base indicating the sphere of dense matter.

At the very bottom, there is a little deviation of the central column. It corresponds to the coccyx or to Mula, the constellation between Scorpio and Sagittarius, the bottom point of descent and ascent. Without the question of my friend, this would not have been revealed.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Scorpio illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Scorpio paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

In our body, the Sahasrara or head centre corresponds to the North Pole, while the Muladhara or base centre is the South Pole. The diaphragm, between the solar plexus and the heart centre, is the equator, which corresponds to the equator of the planet and to the zodiacal sign of Libra. The equator is equidistant from the North Pole and the South Pole and the point of balance between the two poles. Libra represents the equilibrium between the outgoing horizontal movement towards objectivity and the inward vertical movement towards subjectivity. When the fulcrum is stable, there is an ascent of consciousness to higher planes.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Libra illustrate the related symbolism. You find there detailed explanations of the paintings in four languages (en/de/es/fr). And you can download print-versions (high resolution) for free. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter.

Libra represents the process of subjectivity coming out into objectivity. Libra is the consciousness that separates the inner from the outer, creating the illusion of the material. When we are disconnected from the light, we feel lost; this is the symbolic fall of the soul into matter.

Libra is the fulcrum principle causing the rotation of the wheel of creation. It is the force radiating from centre to circumference, bringing diversity from out of unity. It is also the blending force bringing diversity back to the unity at the centre.

I created the image by merging seven photos taken from a hotel in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, around sunset time and at night. The sphere around the setting sun indicates the centre and circumference of the wheel. The sphere together with the line of the horizon, accentuated by the Rio-Niteroi bridge, and the lower horizontal line, formed by high-rises, also hint at the symbol of Libra. I had placed the symbol of Libra at the centre; it is now fused with the colours.

In the lower part of the painting, I designed an urban gorge in a vertical direction by mirroring the flow of traffic lights and high-rises. The traffic is seemingly crossing a river created by reflections of streetlights and high-rises in the water of the bay. The light of the traffic flowing through the gorge reminds one of a cataclysmic chasm in the earth.

You might also see the human frame, which I first had in mind when starting to work on the painting, with the Sun as Libra lifted up to Aries in the head, the outstretched arms, the spine of traffic lights and the navel centre, Libra, at the lower crossroad.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Libra illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Libra paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

The earth sign Virgo stands for striving to serve. This means that we take on tasks and responsibilities for the benefit of a group, a larger group, and the entire globe, rather than working for ourselves. That we are willing to spend more time, more energy, and more resources for the benefit of others. And that we follow a good rhythm of inner alignment and are willing to transform ourselves. Only through service we can get the touch of the Hierarchy.

The life and teachings of the Masters are extraordinarily beautiful and all-embracing. They are an example for us to follow. It is a path by which we can become Sons of the Virgin, Sons of God.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Virgo illustrate the related symbolism. You find there detailed explanations of the paintings in four languages (en/de/es/fr). And you can download print-versions (high resolution) for free. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter.

The work of Virgo is that of protection, nurturing and inner maturing so that the soul can shine forth. Virgo represents the World Mother, the universal divine consciousness that expresses itself through the seven colours, seven sounds and seven planes of creation. This Mother of the World is the subtle light behind the material forms. By meditating on the Mother, her light and splendour can radiate through us, and we begin to merge with Her.

The image shows a representation of Goddess Lakshmi pouring out abundance with her right hand and blessing with her left. Instead of lotuses, the Eastern symbol of unfoldment, Lakshmi now holds roses in her other two hands. Her seat was also designed with a rose instead of a lotus.

I placed the divine Mother in a cornfield. The grain is an expression of the principle of abundance and multiplication: Through growth and ripening, numerous grains emerge from one grain and give us nourishment. I created the light of the background with several photos of sunrises. It shines through the figure of the Mother and merges with her.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Virgo illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Virgo paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

With the Lunar Messenger for Leo, there are now 22 years of composing each month a text on the basis of the wisdom teachings mainly of Master EK, E. Krishnamacharya, and Master KPK, Sri Kumar. It is surprising to look back about the variety of topics which came. I feel that the inspirations are coming from a subtle source.

For the “Lunar Messenger” for Leo full moon, I chose the topic of “The 12 Adityas”, see also here. And I would like to let you know how this topic grew.

Over the years, this topic was touched in several Lunar Messengers, but not in greater depth. And it appeared also in various paintings, like the one on “Aditi – the Mother of Light and the Birth of the Twelve Lights”, the 12 Adityas, from 11 September 2011.

Since more than a year, Sri Kumar has been teaching in his online classes about Aditi, the cosmic consciousness, expressing through 12 qualities of the cosmic person, the 12 Adityas, and the way the spiritual Light comes down over different levels up to us, the human being. And in the beginning he said:

“A man who is just mind oriented gathers things, develops some concepts which are confusing, and then confuses others with their expressions.”
And: “Knowledge can be assimilated only when practices are carried out, and all assimilation happens in the buddhic plane, and the mind when it is more and more in association with the buddhic plane only wisdom is retained, not otherwise.”

Although I rediscovered these sentences only now, it is this, which has touched me since a long time. I have listened to all the lectures but was it more than assimilating mental concepts? What did I understand about the Aditya, the cosmic sun?? And the Adityas? I felt – nearly nothing, and the teachings were like escaping from my mind, from my understanding.

I pondered on, What does it have to do with me? How do I use the teachings for self-transformation? How can I integrate something in my life?

Daily in the morning, after some asanas and before meditation, I have been working with certain visualisations to relate to some of the cosmic dimensions and impregnate / align myself.

So, the last weeks, I chose the topic of the 12 Adityas for the Lunar Messenger Leo, which is related to the Sun on the different planes of creation.

I worked on what the Master had said about “Aditya”, collecting all the relevant mentions of the 12 Adityas from transcriptions and books – a big text collection, grouped it, pondered on it to bring the essence down to my understanding and, in text form, to the size of the Lunar Messenger. This helped me very much to gain more clarity.

I was thrilled feeling a cosmic dimension of astrology and of the sources of the zodiac developing like an inkling beyond the mind’s horizon.

I integrated the 12 Adityas into my daily visualisations. It helps me to open a door to a deeper understanding, growing slowly like a flower. And maybe also giving a little deeper understanding of Sri Kumar’s teachings of the last 12 months.

So, may this Lunar Messenger Leo, which has just come out today, be of some help for others as well.