Post by giovanni on Nov 29, 2005 9:58:28 GMT
GATHERING WHAT IS SCATTERED
Bro. René Guénon
In one of our works (1) we cited with reference to the Ming T'ang and the T'ien Ti’ Huei, a Masonic formula according to which the task of the Masters is 'to spread the light and to gather what is scattered’. In fact, the parallel we drew on that occasion only concerned the first part of this formula; (2) as to the second part, which may appear more enigmatic since it has some very remarkable connection in traditional symbolism, it seems of sufficient interest to warrant some indications on this subject which could not be included on that other occasion.
To understand as completely as possible what is involved, it is worthwhile to refer back first of all to the Vedic tradition, which is particularly explicit in this respect. Indeed, according to the latter, ‘what is scattered' is the dismembered body of the primordial Purusha, who was divided at the first sacrifice accomplished by the Devas in the beginning, and from whom by this very division all manifested beings were born. (3) It is obvious that we have here a symbolic description of the passage from unity to multiplicity, without which there could not effectively be any manifestation whatsoever; and one can already realize from this that the 'gathering of what is scattered', or the reconstitution of Purusha as he was ‘before the beginning', if such an expression be permissible, that is, in the state of non-manifestation, is nothing other than the return to principial unity. This Purusha is identical with Prajāpati, 'the Lord of produced beings', all the latter having issued forth from him and thus considered his `progeny' in a certain sense. (4) He is also Vishvakarma, that is, the 'Great Architect of the Universe', and insofar as he is Vishvakarma it is he himself who accomplishes the sacrifice while at the same time he is its victim; (5) and if it is said that he is sacrificed by the Devas, this makes no difference in reality, for the Devas are after all nothing other than the 'powers' which he carries within himself. (6)
We have already said at various times that every ritual sacrifice must be regarded as an image of this first cosmogonic sacrifice; then too, in every sacrifice, as A. K. Coomaraswamy has remarked, `the Brahmanas abound with evidence that the victim is a representation of the sacrificer himself, or, as the texts express it, is the sacrificer himself.' In accordance with the universal rule that initiation (dīksā) is a death and a rebirth, it is manifest that the 'initiated one is the offering' (Taittiriya Samhita VI.1.4.5), 'the victim is substantially the sacrificer himself' (Aitareya Brāhmana II. 2) (7). This brings us directly back to the Masonic symbolism of the grade of Master, in which the initiate is in fact identified with the victim; moreover, the connection between the legend of Hiram and the myth of Osiris has often been emphasized so that, when it comes to 'gathering what is scattered’, we may think immediately of Isis gathering together the scattered members of Osiris; but fundamentally the scattering of the members of Osiris is precisely the same thing as that of the members of Purusha or of Prajāpati: these are just two versions, one could say, of the description of the same cosmogonic process in two different traditional farms. It is true that in the case of Osiris and in that of Hiram it is no longer a question of a sacrifice, at least not explicitly, but of a murder; but even that does not change anything essentially, for it is really the same thing that is thus envisaged under two complementary aspects: as a sacrifice under its 'devic' aspect, and as a murder under its 'asuric' aspect (8) Suffice it to note this point in passing, for we could not dwell on it further without entering into unduly long discussions irrelevant to the matter presently under consideration.
Similarly, in the Hebraic Kabbalah - although strictly speaking it is here no longer properly a question of either sacrifice or murder but rather of a kind of 'disintegration' of which the consequences are in any case the same - it was from the fragmentation of the body of Adam Kadmon that the Universe was formed with all the beings that it contains, so that these latter are like small fragments of that body, their 'reintegration' into unity corresponding to the very reconstitution of Adam Kadmon, who is 'Universal Man'. Purusha, according to one sense of this word, is also 'Man' par excellence, so that it is thus always exactly the same thing that is involved. Before going further, let us add in this connection that since the grade of Master resents at least virtually the end of the `lesser mysteries', what is to be envisaged in this case is properly speaking the reintegration at the center of the human state; but, as we know, the same symbolism is always applicable to different levels in virtue of the correspondences that exist between them (9) so that it may relate now to a given world, now to universal manifestation as a whole; and reintegration into the 'primordial state; which moreover is also 'Adamic; is as it were an image of the total and final reintegration, although in reality it is still but a stage on the way that leads to it.
In the study cited above, Coomaraswamy says that `the essential, in the sacrifice, is in the first place to divide, and in the second place to reunite.' It includes, therefore, the two complementary phases of 'disintegration' and `reintegration' which constitute the cosmic process in its entirety: Purusha, 'being one, becomes several, and being several, again becomes one! In particular, the reconstitution of Purusha is effected symbolically, in the construction of the Vedic altar, which includes in its different parts a representation of all the worlds;(10) and to be accomplished correctly, the sacrifice demands the cooperation of all the arts, which thereby assimilates the sacrificer to Vishvakarma himself. (11) Moreover, since every ritual action, that is, in sum, every truly normal action that conforms to 'order' (rita), can be regarded as having in a way a 'sacrificial' character according to the etymological meaning of the word (from sacrum facere), what is true for the Vedic altar is also true in a certain way and to some degree for every construction erected in conformity with traditional rules, these latter always proceeding in reality from one same 'cosmic model', as we have explained on other occasions. (12) It is clear that this is directly related to a 'constructive' symbolism such as that of Masonry, and moreover, even in the most immediate sense the builder does in fact gather the scattered materials to form of them an edifice which, if it is truly what it should he, will have an 'organic' unity comparable to that of a living being from the micro-cosmic point of view, or to that of a world from the macrocosmic point of view.
To conclude this study, there remains something to be said about another kind of symbolism, one that may seem very different as to external appearances but which nonetheless has fundamentally an equivalent significance: this is the reconstitution of a word from its literal elements taken initially in isolation. (13) To understand this, it must be recalled that from a traditional point of view the true name of a being is nothing other than the expression of the very essence of that being; the reconstitution of the name is therefore, symbolically, the same thing as the reconstitution of the being itself. The role played by letters in a symbolism like that of the Kabbalah as regards creation or universal manifestation, is also well known; it could be said that manifestation is formed by the separate letters, which correspond to the multiplicity of its elements, and that the reuniting of these letters thereby brings it back to its Principle, if, that is, this reunion is accomplished in such a way as to effectively reconstitute the name of the Principle. 14 From this point of view, 'to gather what is scattered' is the same thing as 'to find the lost Word', for in reality and in its most profound sense this 'lost Word' is nothing other than the true name of the 'Great Architect of the Universe'.
Notes
1. The Great Triad, chap. 16.
2 The motto of the T'ien Ti Huei that was in question is in fact this: "To destroy the darkness (tsing), to restore the light (ming).
3. See Rig Veda, 10.90.
4. The Sanskrit praja is identical to the Latin progenies.
5 In the Christian conception of sacrifice, Christ also is both victim and priest par excellence
6. Commenting on the passage of the hymn of the Rig Veda mentioned above, in which it is said that it is 'by the sacrifice that Devas offered the sacrifice’ Sayana says that the Devas are the forms of the breath (prana-rupa) of Prajapati.- Cf. what we have said on the subject of angels in 'Monotheism and Angelology [See Miscellanea, pt. 1, chap. 2]. It is to be understood of course that in all this it is always a question of aspects of the divine Word with which `Universal Man' is effectively identified.
7. ‘Atmayajna: Self-Sacrifice' [Coomaraswamy: Selected Papers, 2, Metaphysics, ed. Roger Lipsey (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977)].
8 Cf. also the murder and dismemberment in the Greek mysteries of Zagreus by the Titans. It is known that these latter are the equivalents of the Asuras of the Hindu tradition. It is worth noting, moreover, that current usage itself applies the same word 'victim’ both in the case of sacrifice and in that of murder.
9. Similarly, in the symbolism of alchemy there exists a correspondence between the processes of the 'white work' and the 'red work’, so much so that in a way the second reproduces the first on a higher level.
10. See Janua Coeli [chap. 58].
11. Cf. A. K. Coomaraswamy, Hinduism and Buddhism, p. 26.
12. The foundation rites of an edifice generally include moreover a sacrifice or an offering in the strict sense of these words; even in the West a certain form of oblation has been maintained up to the present day in cases where the placing of the first stone is accomplished according to Masonic rites.
13. In Masonic ritual this naturally corresponds to the mode of communication of 'sacred words'.
14. As long as one remains within the multiplicity of manifestation, one can only 'spell' the name of the Principle by discerning the reflection of its attributes in.creatures, wherein they are expressed only in a fragmentary and scattered way. The Mason who has not reached the grade of Master is still unable 'to gather that which is scattered’, and this is why he 'knows only how to spell’.
Bro. René Guénon
In one of our works (1) we cited with reference to the Ming T'ang and the T'ien Ti’ Huei, a Masonic formula according to which the task of the Masters is 'to spread the light and to gather what is scattered’. In fact, the parallel we drew on that occasion only concerned the first part of this formula; (2) as to the second part, which may appear more enigmatic since it has some very remarkable connection in traditional symbolism, it seems of sufficient interest to warrant some indications on this subject which could not be included on that other occasion.
To understand as completely as possible what is involved, it is worthwhile to refer back first of all to the Vedic tradition, which is particularly explicit in this respect. Indeed, according to the latter, ‘what is scattered' is the dismembered body of the primordial Purusha, who was divided at the first sacrifice accomplished by the Devas in the beginning, and from whom by this very division all manifested beings were born. (3) It is obvious that we have here a symbolic description of the passage from unity to multiplicity, without which there could not effectively be any manifestation whatsoever; and one can already realize from this that the 'gathering of what is scattered', or the reconstitution of Purusha as he was ‘before the beginning', if such an expression be permissible, that is, in the state of non-manifestation, is nothing other than the return to principial unity. This Purusha is identical with Prajāpati, 'the Lord of produced beings', all the latter having issued forth from him and thus considered his `progeny' in a certain sense. (4) He is also Vishvakarma, that is, the 'Great Architect of the Universe', and insofar as he is Vishvakarma it is he himself who accomplishes the sacrifice while at the same time he is its victim; (5) and if it is said that he is sacrificed by the Devas, this makes no difference in reality, for the Devas are after all nothing other than the 'powers' which he carries within himself. (6)
We have already said at various times that every ritual sacrifice must be regarded as an image of this first cosmogonic sacrifice; then too, in every sacrifice, as A. K. Coomaraswamy has remarked, `the Brahmanas abound with evidence that the victim is a representation of the sacrificer himself, or, as the texts express it, is the sacrificer himself.' In accordance with the universal rule that initiation (dīksā) is a death and a rebirth, it is manifest that the 'initiated one is the offering' (Taittiriya Samhita VI.1.4.5), 'the victim is substantially the sacrificer himself' (Aitareya Brāhmana II. 2) (7). This brings us directly back to the Masonic symbolism of the grade of Master, in which the initiate is in fact identified with the victim; moreover, the connection between the legend of Hiram and the myth of Osiris has often been emphasized so that, when it comes to 'gathering what is scattered’, we may think immediately of Isis gathering together the scattered members of Osiris; but fundamentally the scattering of the members of Osiris is precisely the same thing as that of the members of Purusha or of Prajāpati: these are just two versions, one could say, of the description of the same cosmogonic process in two different traditional farms. It is true that in the case of Osiris and in that of Hiram it is no longer a question of a sacrifice, at least not explicitly, but of a murder; but even that does not change anything essentially, for it is really the same thing that is thus envisaged under two complementary aspects: as a sacrifice under its 'devic' aspect, and as a murder under its 'asuric' aspect (8) Suffice it to note this point in passing, for we could not dwell on it further without entering into unduly long discussions irrelevant to the matter presently under consideration.
Similarly, in the Hebraic Kabbalah - although strictly speaking it is here no longer properly a question of either sacrifice or murder but rather of a kind of 'disintegration' of which the consequences are in any case the same - it was from the fragmentation of the body of Adam Kadmon that the Universe was formed with all the beings that it contains, so that these latter are like small fragments of that body, their 'reintegration' into unity corresponding to the very reconstitution of Adam Kadmon, who is 'Universal Man'. Purusha, according to one sense of this word, is also 'Man' par excellence, so that it is thus always exactly the same thing that is involved. Before going further, let us add in this connection that since the grade of Master resents at least virtually the end of the `lesser mysteries', what is to be envisaged in this case is properly speaking the reintegration at the center of the human state; but, as we know, the same symbolism is always applicable to different levels in virtue of the correspondences that exist between them (9) so that it may relate now to a given world, now to universal manifestation as a whole; and reintegration into the 'primordial state; which moreover is also 'Adamic; is as it were an image of the total and final reintegration, although in reality it is still but a stage on the way that leads to it.
In the study cited above, Coomaraswamy says that `the essential, in the sacrifice, is in the first place to divide, and in the second place to reunite.' It includes, therefore, the two complementary phases of 'disintegration' and `reintegration' which constitute the cosmic process in its entirety: Purusha, 'being one, becomes several, and being several, again becomes one! In particular, the reconstitution of Purusha is effected symbolically, in the construction of the Vedic altar, which includes in its different parts a representation of all the worlds;(10) and to be accomplished correctly, the sacrifice demands the cooperation of all the arts, which thereby assimilates the sacrificer to Vishvakarma himself. (11) Moreover, since every ritual action, that is, in sum, every truly normal action that conforms to 'order' (rita), can be regarded as having in a way a 'sacrificial' character according to the etymological meaning of the word (from sacrum facere), what is true for the Vedic altar is also true in a certain way and to some degree for every construction erected in conformity with traditional rules, these latter always proceeding in reality from one same 'cosmic model', as we have explained on other occasions. (12) It is clear that this is directly related to a 'constructive' symbolism such as that of Masonry, and moreover, even in the most immediate sense the builder does in fact gather the scattered materials to form of them an edifice which, if it is truly what it should he, will have an 'organic' unity comparable to that of a living being from the micro-cosmic point of view, or to that of a world from the macrocosmic point of view.
To conclude this study, there remains something to be said about another kind of symbolism, one that may seem very different as to external appearances but which nonetheless has fundamentally an equivalent significance: this is the reconstitution of a word from its literal elements taken initially in isolation. (13) To understand this, it must be recalled that from a traditional point of view the true name of a being is nothing other than the expression of the very essence of that being; the reconstitution of the name is therefore, symbolically, the same thing as the reconstitution of the being itself. The role played by letters in a symbolism like that of the Kabbalah as regards creation or universal manifestation, is also well known; it could be said that manifestation is formed by the separate letters, which correspond to the multiplicity of its elements, and that the reuniting of these letters thereby brings it back to its Principle, if, that is, this reunion is accomplished in such a way as to effectively reconstitute the name of the Principle. 14 From this point of view, 'to gather what is scattered' is the same thing as 'to find the lost Word', for in reality and in its most profound sense this 'lost Word' is nothing other than the true name of the 'Great Architect of the Universe'.
Notes
1. The Great Triad, chap. 16.
2 The motto of the T'ien Ti Huei that was in question is in fact this: "To destroy the darkness (tsing), to restore the light (ming).
3. See Rig Veda, 10.90.
4. The Sanskrit praja is identical to the Latin progenies.
5 In the Christian conception of sacrifice, Christ also is both victim and priest par excellence
6. Commenting on the passage of the hymn of the Rig Veda mentioned above, in which it is said that it is 'by the sacrifice that Devas offered the sacrifice’ Sayana says that the Devas are the forms of the breath (prana-rupa) of Prajapati.- Cf. what we have said on the subject of angels in 'Monotheism and Angelology [See Miscellanea, pt. 1, chap. 2]. It is to be understood of course that in all this it is always a question of aspects of the divine Word with which `Universal Man' is effectively identified.
7. ‘Atmayajna: Self-Sacrifice' [Coomaraswamy: Selected Papers, 2, Metaphysics, ed. Roger Lipsey (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977)].
8 Cf. also the murder and dismemberment in the Greek mysteries of Zagreus by the Titans. It is known that these latter are the equivalents of the Asuras of the Hindu tradition. It is worth noting, moreover, that current usage itself applies the same word 'victim’ both in the case of sacrifice and in that of murder.
9. Similarly, in the symbolism of alchemy there exists a correspondence between the processes of the 'white work' and the 'red work’, so much so that in a way the second reproduces the first on a higher level.
10. See Janua Coeli [chap. 58].
11. Cf. A. K. Coomaraswamy, Hinduism and Buddhism, p. 26.
12. The foundation rites of an edifice generally include moreover a sacrifice or an offering in the strict sense of these words; even in the West a certain form of oblation has been maintained up to the present day in cases where the placing of the first stone is accomplished according to Masonic rites.
13. In Masonic ritual this naturally corresponds to the mode of communication of 'sacred words'.
14. As long as one remains within the multiplicity of manifestation, one can only 'spell' the name of the Principle by discerning the reflection of its attributes in.creatures, wherein they are expressed only in a fragmentary and scattered way. The Mason who has not reached the grade of Master is still unable 'to gather that which is scattered’, and this is why he 'knows only how to spell’.