Yesterday an express parcel arrived from Venezuela. I was surprised, but then remembered: Friends of mine, a couple from Caracas had announced a week ago they would like to send me something. I had met them 2.5 years ago at the marriage of the son of our spiritual teacher in India, and it was a hearty meeting. Though they don’t speak English and I no Spanish, we had some contact from time to time and they like reading our monthly newsletter, El Mensajero Lunar.

The content of the parcel was a beautiful little work of ceramic art inspired by Latin-Indian tradition: A serpent-bird, made out of an involving and evolving line. I was deeply touched by this gift, for it is a profound occult symbolism for the descent of spirit into matter and of the ascent back to the spirit. The Indian symbol of the Feathered Serpent is depicting the same truth and is regarded as a symbol of an initiate. You might like to read here more about the “Mystery of the Serpent” from our Lunar Messengers. The serpent descending the tree in paradise and tempting man with the sensual experience (apple) is half part of the story. As long as we live in matter, we are regarded as creeping snakes. But when we start upon the path of return, we move up again and the serpent becomes a winged serpent, just as you see in the symbol of the Caduceus, the rod of Asclepius which is still used by our modern doctors as a symbol of healing (though the wings are unfortunately missing – a sign of the state of modern medical art?). “The tongues of the serpent become the wings of the eagle” it says in Spiritual Psychology meditations of Dr. E. Krishnamacharya, thus being the symbol of the unfolding Kundalini energy.

I put the picture of the serpent-bird on the wall at the entrance of our apartment, so that it might be a constant inspiration.

The serpent-bird of involving and evolving currents of energy

Asclepius, the great healer-initiate. Photo: Epidaurus, May 2005

I yesterday had the chance of seeing the draft of a website of another country’s group of the spiritual movement with which we are closely connected. It made me think of how different people express their spiritual stances. Whereas I feel more sober and, unlike in earlier years, prefer clear, unemotional and down-to-earth presentations, others have a more flowery or romantic attitude and also prefer for web-design a more baroque depiction (“web-baroque”). I remember times in my life where I myself was attracted to more devotional expressions, but these have faded away and given rise to what I experience as a stronger stringency or consistency.

One of the new year’s greetings I received yesterday was from India, showing 3 photos of white statues covered with flowers from a ritual. I try to keep the stance of an observer to what, in the critical part of my mind, goes into the category of kitsch or overladen imaginations. But I know that judging closes the doors of perception. I have participated in rituals which on the outside seemed to be thus pure devotional emotions, but where for the inner eye there was a strong spiritual energy present magnetizing the whole atmosphere.

How to give an expression to beauty? How to express most sublime energies? Much certainly depends on your own cultural background and / or your projections. If you see just the surface, you easily get lost in your own superficiality.

Angel silently meditating in a shop window

The Million Book Project, an international venture led by Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, Zhejiang University in China, the Indian Institute of Science in India and the Library at Alexandria in Egypt, has just completed the digitization of more than 1.5 million books, which are now available online, as a press release communicated on November 27.

The project was initiated in 2002, and now anyone who can get on the Internet now has access to a collection of books the size of a large university library. The Million Book Project represents the world’s largest, university-based digital library of freely accessible books. At least half of its books are out of copyright, or were digitized with the permission of the copyright holders, so the complete texts are or eventually will be available free. As per the countries engaged in the project, most of the books are in English or in Chinese. However, more than 20 languages are represented among the 1.5 million books, a little more than 1 percent of all of the world’s books.

Though the long-term goal of the Universal Library is to make books, artwork and other published works available online for free, about half of the current collection remains under copyright. Until the permission of the copyright holders can be documented, or copyright laws are amended, only 10 percent or less of those books can be accessed at no cost.

“Knowledge is structured in consciousness”, says an old Eastern wisdom saying. Digitalising is an important step of making books virtually accessible to all, but only what you have integrated into your live becomes part of your living – no matter how many books are the outflow of the mental activity of mankind over the centuries.

A bookshop in Berne. In a virtual library you can’t just take a book into your hands and start turning the pages.

A friend sent me some days ago a powerpoint presentation about a huge beautiful temple in India, near Delhi, which has been constructed from 2000-2005. I forwarded it to another friend in the States remarking that it is better to construct temples of the heart than of stone.

He replied that he had seen the temple last year and that the presentation does not do full justice to the scope and grandeur of the “Swaminarayan Akshardham”, called a spectacular, thematic symbol of eternal life. He added a saying of H.P Blavatsky, from one of her Aquarian axioms, “You cannot build a Temple of Truth by hammering dead stones. Its foundations must precipitate themselves like crystals from the solution of Life.”

Another giant temple called “Sripuram“(: see pictures) and made of 1.5 tons of pure gold has been constructed near Vellore and inaugurated in August, 07. It is now the biggest structure made of gold. You find a description with some photos here. It reminds me of the megalomania of the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, the biggest church of the world at Ivory Coast.

The urge of man to idolize God to aggrandize himself and his own belief-system is much more powerful than the urge to work for silent self-transformation and selfless service for the needy.

For copyright reasons there is no picture of the temples, the picture here is from a friend, of a palace in Northern India.

Today I came across the website of a film called “Mystic India – an incredible journey of inspiration“. The description says:

“Mystic India rediscovers India, a land of many mysteries and fascinations, the one land that all desire to see. Home of the Himalayas, the tallest mountains, India is our world’s largest and oldest democracy, and contains an amazing wealth of wisdom, culture and spirituality. And within this earliest civilization known to mankind, lie hidden mystical secrets. It lies hidden in India’s silent spirituality, making her a mystic land of meditation, contemplation and enlightenment.

From 1792 to 1799, Neelkanth walked alone, barefoot and barebody, 8000 miles for 7 years through the length and breadth of India. Carrying no maps, no food and no clothing, how he crossed the roaring rivers, faced ferocious animals and survived the freezing winter of the Himalayas, is still a mystery. It is a story of struggle, of kindness and of courage even when face to face with a man-eating lion….

Neelkanth became one of the greatest spiritual leaders of India. His lessons continue to inspire millions. His vision, work, and wisdom echoes the essence of Indian culture – its unity in diversity. This is the greatest gift India can offer the world.
Mystic India is an epic journey into the land and soul of India…”

You can see a trailer or hear soundtracks from the film.

Photos: (c) Mystic India

I today came across an article dedicated to “natural architecture“. They were showing pictures of the book “Natural Architecture” by Alessandro Rocca, an architect and a professor at the Milan Polytechnic.

On the site they wrote: “The natural environment still manages to fill us with a sense of awe and amazement. despite the amount of scientific knowledge mankind has gathered, nature still holds great mysteries that we may never be able to unravel…
There is an emerging art movement that is exploring mankind’s desire to reconnect to the earth, through the built environment, referred to as ‘natural architecture’, it aims to create a new, more harmonious, relationship between man and nature by exploring what it means to design with nature in mind….
The movement is characterized by the work of a number of artists, designers and architects that express these principles in their work. the pieces are simple, humble and built using the most basic materials and skills. because of this, the results often resemble indigenous architecture, reflecting the desire to return to a less technological world.”

On the German website “Sanfte Strukturen” (Soft Structures) you find more pictures of an art group, which is constructing living architecture with willow sticks, such as churches, halls, palaces. They adapted their techniques from the Sumerian reed-constructions in Mesopotamia and use it for beautiful constructions.

See also our blogpost on “Transforming Nature“.

‘Weidendom’, by Sanfte Strukturen, 2001, from the book “Natural Architecture” (c)

 An American friend sent me today a link to a beautiful video by Amira Zahra called “Ocean of My Dreams”, with verses of the Persian Sufi poet Rumi, the Arab Muslim mystic Ibn Arabi and Amjid Yaseen. The video is a synthesis of 3 of their poems, the text of them is in a free e-book of a Muslim writer.

My friend wrote: “If one has known true love, this video of the incomparable Rumi and others, will make a deep impression. Its deeper message is that if we love life itself, every moment is an occasion for joy, irrespective of the contents of that moment.”

Picture from the video

On October 9th, Yoko Ono, the wife of late John Lennon has unveiled the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER on Videy Island, Reykjavik, Iceland. It is dedicated to the memory of John Lennon, and the day would have been his 67th birthday. The IMAGINE PEACE TOWER will shine as a beacon for World Peace.

The IMAGINE PEACE TOWER is a work of art conceived by Yoko Ono. It is dedicated to peace and bears the inscription ‘IMAGINE PEACE’ in 24 languages. The work is in the form of a wishing well from which a very strong and tall tower of light emerges. The strength, intensity and brilliance of the light tower continually changes as the particles in the air fluctuate with the prevailing weather and atmospheric conditions unique to Iceland. The electricity for the light comes entirely from the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant. Every year it will light up between October 9th (Lennon’s birthday) and December 8th (the day of his death). In addition the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER will be lit on New Year’s Eve, during the first week of spring and on some rare special occasions agreed between the City and Ono.

At that occasion of the inauguration Yoko Ono said:
“Our work to shift the axis of the world has now begun. From here on, let’s not waste even for a moment on depressing thoughts about our future. Negative thoughts are luxury we can’t afford. The future of the world is in our hands. It’s time for action. Action is love. I love you!”

There were greetings from many around the world. Michael Moore wrote:
“I believe in the basic goodness of all people. I know that inside each one of my fellow human beings there exists an enormous capacity to love and do good for each other. I also know that that goodness can be snuffed out, and that the world can start to look like a dark place. It is up to each of us to create the world we were meant to live in, a decent and just place where all have the oppurtunity to live in peace. This peace can be obtained once every soul has been given a seat at the table, and fruits of this life are shared so that all are nourished and can thrive. Thank you, John Lennon, for living this every day of your life. Happy birthday to you and to all of mankind.”

Imagination is a very powerful instrument to foster good will, so may this initiative of Yoko Ono bring inspiration to action for the well-being of all.

The Peace Tower (c) imaginepeace.com

Today a friend sent me a beautiful powerpoint presentation (not the sound…) about the Giant Crystal Cave in the Naica Mine of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is said that these are the largest natural crystals on Earth. The pictures are awe-inspiring, very impressive. You can read more about the crystal cave here or find more information and links at Wikipedia.

An addition: A friend sent me a comment on the giant crystals from an intellectual colleague:
“You do know this is bullshit. Yes they are ‘actual’, but they are not verídicas (please excuse the bit of show-off pedantry). A clever but still fairly obvious cut-and-paste hoax. Pay careful attention to light angles and shadows, also different levels of focus. And, like all other similar fakes, if they are real why haven’t we already seen them in National Geographic? Still, interesting bullshit.”

It seems that this colleague didn’t read his “National Geographic” bible well enough, for they posted an article on the caves on April 6th, 2006, also with a photo.

This crystal isn’t from the mine, it is in the house of a friend.

The pictures of the Crystal Cave remind me of the famous painting of Nicholas Roerich “Most Sacred – Treasure of the Mountain” of 1933. He is combining in his pictures sublime spirituality with extraordinary beauty.

Courtesy Roerich-Museum, New York

Last Wednesday the team of our division at my office made a works outing to Augusta Raurica, an ancient Roman city located about 20 km east of Basel near the village of Kaiseraugst. It is the oldest known Roman colony on the Rhine. Today there is a large archaeological site with a museum.

It somehow touched me to see how, over a period of about 300 years, from about 40 BCE to 260 CE the city developed to a prosperous place, with a big amphitheatre, numerous temples and commercial centres. Then, after battles with invading German tribes, the upper village was destroyed and a small fort and settlement remained over the centuries. It was the biggest Swiss city until the 19th century. In the last decennies archeology has restored parts of the ruins and tried to reconstruct how people lived at the flourishing times. Many layers of mud had covered the ancient sites, often several meters of debris.

Reconstructing bygone splendour: How did people live in the past? A lot remains speculation. And what about our way of life? How will people think about it in some thousand years?

We often have the impression that the society where we are living in is a stable situation, with all the infrastructures. But things can quickly change, and there have been so many empires coming and going. Also in our lives the qualities of time cycles keep on changing, often without our noticing it.

In Kaiseraugst people had found precious silver plates on fields, without knowing their value, and had even thrown some away into the garbage. It’s not so easy to discover a rare value, when you don’t have the eye to see. Some had taken silver treasures to their homes, but had to give them back, because these are common good. Also a very “normal” human trend of “appropriating” things…

Mercury, the messenger of God – for long periods he was waiting hidden in the earth. Likewise for long centuries the ancient wisdom, symbolised by the statues of Gods, was in the West lying deeply buried under orthodoy and materialism.