Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

Postby admin » Mon Nov 04, 2019 5:07 am

Nizier Anthelme Philippe
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/3/19

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Anthelme Nizier Philippe (25 April 1849, Le Rubathier, Loisieux, Savoy, France – 2 August 1905, L'Arbresle, Rhône, France) was a reputed healer and miracle worker.

Family background

Philippe was born the son of peasants. He was also known as "Maître Philippe" or "Maître Philippe de Lyon". His mother was Marie Vachod (1823–1899) and his father was Joseph Philippe (1819–1898). From the age of fourteen he stayed with his uncle Vachod, a Butcher in Lyon. He gained a reputation as a healer by the age of thirteen.

He married Jeanne Julie Landar (1859–1939) on 6 October 1877 in L'Arbresle. He had a daughter, Jeanne Marie Victoire born on 11 November 1878. She died on 29 August 1904 aged 25, just before her seventh wedding anniversary. He refused to heal her, saying that it was Heaven's wish that she should go on ahead, and predicted the precise course of her illness and death. "This death," he said, "has for me been a living crucifixion."

Career

He gained a reputation as a miracle worker amongst Paris occultists. Having been harassed for practicing medicine without a license, he went to St Petersburg where he was awarded his Doctor's Diploma in recognition of extraordinary feats of remote healing conducted in St Petersburg.

Grand Duchess Militza Nikolaevna of Russia later introduced Philippe to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia in 1901, and Philippe enjoyed a brief influence over the imperial couple, until he was exposed as a charlatan in 1903 and was expelled from Russia.[1]

In October 1884 he presented a paper (published in French) entitled "Principles of Hygiene applicable in Pregnancy, Childbirth and Infancy" at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. In recognition of this the University conferred a Doctorate of Medicine on him. Many other academic and social honours were conferred on him during the 1880s and 1890s in France and Italy.

Philippe died on 2 August 1905 at the age of 56, in L'Arbresle, Rhône, France where he was living. He was buried in the cemetery of Loyasse, in Lyon, France. Jean Chapas (1863–1932), the beloved disciple of Master Philippe, is also buried in the cemetery of Loyasse.

Books

Alfred Haehl wrote a well documented biography Vie et Paroles du Maître Philippe (Life and Words of the Master Philippe).

Maître Philippe collection:

• Claude Laurent, Guérisons et enseignement de Maître Philippe, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2003
• Sédir, La vie inconnue de Jésus-Christ, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2003
• Auguste Jacquot, Auguste Philippe, Les réponses de Maître Philippe - Suivies des enseignements recueillis par son frère Auguste, Le Mercure Dauphinoism Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2004
• Phaneg, L'Esprit qui peut tout, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2004
• Jean Baptiste Ravier, Confirmation de l'Evangile par les actes et paroles de Maître Philippe de Lyon, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2005
• Philippe Collin, Monsieur Philippe de Lyon - Album souvenirs, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2005
• Philippe Collin, Vie et enseignements de Jean Chapas Le disciple de Maître Philippe de Lyon, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2006
• Les carnets de Victoire Philippe, Le Mercure Dauphinois, Collection Autour de Maître Philippe de Lyon, 2006
• Vandekerkhove, Christian: Het Paranormale is onder ons: De Wonderen van Meester Philippe, Mens & Cultuur Uitgevers nv, ISBN 978-90-77135-19-8.

References

1. King, Empress, 153

External links

• Association Maítre Philippe FR
• Quotes of Maïtre Philippe FR
• Alfred Haehl's book - in French La Vie et les Paroles du Maître Phillippe FR

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Nizier Anthelme Philippe
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/3/19

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Master Philippe
Biography
Birth: 1849 or April 25, 1849, Savoy
Death: August 2, 1905, Lyon
Buried: Loyasse Cemetery
Nationality: French
activities: Magician, medium, fortune-teller

Nizier Anthelme Philippe, sometimes referred to as Monsieur Philippe, Maître Philippe or Maître Philippe de Lyon, born on April 25, 1849 in Loisieux and died on August 2, 1905 to Arbresle, is a mystic and healer French.

Biography

He is the son of Joseph Philippe (1819-1898) and Marie Vachot (1823-1899). A few months before his birth, his mother, pregnant with Nizier Philippe was visiting Vianney (a saint named John Vianney) who revealed to him that his son would be a very high one. He was above all a living example of charity. He was four times tried for illegal practice of medicine between 1887 and 1892 and was acquitted, he was no longer worried from that date 1. His family described him as a miracle worker and a representative of Divine Providence 2.

Master Philip cared for thousands of people for free, without asking anything; except efforts to do good 1. Many of his healings were considered miracles. He said he was healed by the power of prayer and command 3. Master Philip explained that he was using a force absolutely unknown on Earth, a force exceeding all understanding, that Christ himself employed for many of his miracles 4. He called this force "the 4th magnetic pole" and described it thus: "It is not a stream, but a light, it represents the union of" Love one another ". "..." No initiate knows it " 4.

Mr. Philippe has received various attacks from the media, doctors and politicians in France and Russia; some of his detractors accused him of using witchcraft to heal people. However, it aroused admiration and received the friendship of Tsar Nicholas II, the King of Italy, the Emperor of Austria, the German Emperor William II, the King of the United Kingdom Edward VII and others, and also several of the most important members of the esoteric scene of the early xxth century, including Dr. Gerard Encausse (Papus) and Dr. Emmanuel Lalande (Dr. Marc Haven), George Descormiers (Phaneg) and Yvon Leloup (Sedir).

Youth

Nizier Anthelme Philippe was born on April 25, 1849, in a hamlet of Loisieux, district of Chambéry 5, 6, in the kingdom of Sardinia, which will not be attached to France until 1860. Eldest of a family of five children, his parents are Joseph Philippe, a small farmer owner, and Marie Vachod 6, 7. According to legend, Philippe would have healed and relieved from an early age. According to his own testimony to a journalist in 1905, he would have made his first healing at the age of thirteen 5, 8.

After her first communion in May 1862, his parents send the work Arbresle as boy-tripe 6. A few months later, he became a butcher's apprentice at a maternal uncle at Croix-Rousse, a hill in Lyon 8, 9. He stays little but heals him from a serious injury. His reputation as a healer in Lyon will soon spread [ref. necessary]. The money he earns allows him to register at the institution Sainte-Barbe held by the Abbe Chevalier and he obtains a certificate of grammar 6, 7. In 1870 During the war between France and Prussia, Philippe relieved the sick he received in Perrache district in Lyon. From that time on, police reports describe sustained surveillance [unclear] 5. During this same period, he would have saved the young Jean Chapas, 7 years old and victim of a meningitis, who will become his disciple in 1883 10.

Studies and marriage

In 1872, Nizier Philippe opens a consulting room in the district of Brotteaux 9. From November 1874 to July 1875, he deposited four registrations of health officer at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Lyon. He was denounced for care activities deemed illegal and fifth registration is denied in 1875. His studies are interrupted after one year 8, 6. After this failure, it becomes " chemist " autodidact. It appears that his laboratory activities are primarily related to dyeing for the silk industry then they evolve towards the creation of " remedies ". In 1879, his first patents relate to the Philippines, a water and ointment to keep his hair, and Philippe toothpaste, powder and liquid 8.

On October 6, 1877, Philippe married Jeanne Julie Landar, a former patient and the daughter of a wealthy Lyon industrialist who died. This union brings him financial comfort 5, 11, 8. November 11, 1878 is born Victoire Jeanne Philippe. A second child, Albert born February 11 the 1881 but died only a few months old 7.

In 1884, he obtained a correspondence degree of Doctor of Medicine from the American University of Cincinnati in the Ohio. His thesis focuses on the principle of hygiene to be applied in pregnancy, childbirth and the duration of diapers and uses the pseudonym Philippe d'Arbresle. It seems that the Radiers, father and son, two health officers in his service, intervened in the drafting of manuscript 5, 8.

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The doctor and occultist French Papus considers Philip as his spiritual master.

The Lyon Cabinet

From 1883, Nizier Philippe opened a cabinet of magnetism in his mansion at 35 rue Tête-d'Or in Lyon 11. Every day he would have cared for the souls and bodies of dozens of people came to ask healing and relief 5. Rich and poor would have benefited from his services for more than 20 years. Philippe has the same behavior with everyone. Whether one is easy or in precariousness, he asks all efforts not to speak ill of his neighbor or "to do good for evil" 3.

From 1882 to 1888, Philippe is involved in the social life of the municipality of l'Arbresle where his in-laws live. He is a municipal councilor, deputy mayor. He is appointed fire captain of the commune, a title he keeps although he is not re-elected. The press at the time publishes hostile articles [ ref. desired].

One of her admirers, Mathilde Encausse, introduces her husband, Papus, pseudonym of Gérard Encausse, doctor and occultist. The two men became friends and Papus who was soon regarded as his spiritual master 11, introduced him to the most important occultists and esotericists of the time, some also become Philippe disciples.

In 1894, that his disciples call him Master Philip, would have presented Jean Chapas session and announced that he will be his successor in the healing 10. Chapas becomes his assistant in the service to the sick 12. The prediction would have happened the following year when John Chapas have developed healing abilities 10. Papus, who is deputy director of the practical school of magnetism and massage of Paris founded and directed by Hector Durville, proposes to Nizier Philippe the direction of a branch in Lyon. The Lyon branch was created in March 1895 5, 13. with classes on Sunday, in his mansion.[Ref. necessary]

In 1896, Papus proposed to his friend Emmanuel Lalande, better known as Marc Haven, to come to Lyon to assist Philippe. Impressed by the healer, Emmanuel Lalande married his daughter Victoire, 2 September 1897 14. That same year, Philippe and his son-in-law set up a laboratory in rue du Bœuf in Lyon, where they would have developed several drugs. In 1899, Philippe would have saved a second time the life of John Chapas, a victim of typhoid fever 10.

Living in Russia

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Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, born Princess of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

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In the early 1900s, Nizier Philippe went to Russia to advise Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and the imperial family. Earnest Lipgart painting dating from this time.

The notoriety of Philippe comes to the knowledge of princesses Anastasia and Militza of Montenegro who make him meet the Russian imperial couple during his official trip to France in 1901, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna then despair of not having of male heir. Philippe, who gave a favorable impression, is invited twice to stay in Russia 6, 11, 8. His status as a healer is respected, the Tsar awarded him the title of Doctor of Medicine of the Imperial Academy of Military Medicine in St. Petersburg, with the rank of general in 1901 and the covers of gifts 8. His influence on the Romanov remains mysterious, we will assign him later falsely of séances with members of Russian high society and with the Tsar himself 6. After being slandered by the Church and the Russian police, Philippe returns to France 11, 9.

The French government does not recognize this last title of doctor anymore. The press publishes hostile articles and the police exert increased surveillance over it. In 1903, the Master Philippe announces in the sessions that his disciple Jean Chapas will succeed him, in cures until 1922.

The last years

Master Philippe had a daughter, Jeanne-Marie-Victoire Philippe (named Victoire Philippe), born November 11, 1878 15. She dies brutally August 25, 1904. She is buried in Lyon's Loyasse Cemetery, near the Basilica of Fourviere. Master Philippe does not recover from this disappearance that he experienced as "a living crucifixion" and dies in turnAugust 2, 1905at Arbresle 5.

The day after his death, La Depeche de Lyon announced: "Philippe was a good man, who, if he did not always recover, did much good around him. His liberality was proverbial, and many of the disinherited of fortune will mourn him. " 5, 8 His body was buried in Loyasse alongside her daughter. The tomb of the family Philippe is since then continually flowered 5, 11.

It was only after his death that Master Philippe was found to pay the rent of 52 families who were too poor to live. After this discovery, John Chapas, his faithful disciple and successor, continues to pay all rents until he himself dies 16. One of his relatives, Claude Laurent, described Master Philippe as being unclassifiable, as belonging to any initiatory society, as remaining an enigma for all 3.

"I am nothing, absolutely nothing" said the Master Philippe 2.

Jean Chapas

Jean Chapas is his closest disciple 17. Coming from a family of fishermen of the terminals of the Saone, he was born the February 12, 186312.

In 1870, Mr Philippe would have saved the life of Jean Chapas died when he was only 7 years 10. Jean-Baptiste Ravier, a close disciple of Master Philippe, reported the resurrection of Jean Chapas by Master Philippe as follows 4.

After Jean Chapas was pronounced dead by two doctors and just before the burial, Master Philippe was taken to the deceased's house, which was full of family members and friends. On entering the room of the deceased where Jean Chapas had been dressed for his burial, Maître Philippe tried to find Jean Chapas' mother and then asked him "Madame Chapas, do you give me your son?" "; not sure what was happening Mrs. Chapas answered "Yes", so Master Philippe went to the edge of the bed where the body of Jean Chapas was lying and raised him by saying "John, I give you back your soul » 1, 10.

His studies allow him to obtain a certificate of navigation captain.

In 1878, at the age of fifteen, Jean Chapas is called by Philippe to join Lyon and it becomes a privileged disciple 12.

In 1895, in the school of magnetism directed by Nizier Philippe, he is lecturer in charge of the course of history of magnetism 12, 18. He stays away from the occult practitioners who gravitate around his spiritual guide.

In 1897, Jean Chapas wife Louise Grandjean daughter of a carpenter 12.

In 1903, he took over from Nizier Philippe and officiated in the mansion of Tête-d'Or 10.

In 1907 he was tried for illegal practice and was acquitted. A few years later, he transformed the closed Santa Maria, located in l'Arbresle, into a military hospital, to receive the wounded of the First World War (1914-1918) 12.

On September 2, 1932, Jean Chapas died 10. He rests in the Loyasse cemetery, two alleys behind the tomb of Master Philippe 10, 19.

Decorations and Titles

• Officer of the Order of Nicham Iftikar, by the Bey of Tunis, February 22, 1881 1.
• Captain of the firefighters of L'Arbresle in 1884 by decree of the Minister of the Interior 1.
• Doctorate in Medicine by the University of Cincinnati conferred on October 23, 1884 1, 5.
• Honorary citizen for his scientific and humanitarian merits of the city of Acri on April 28, 1885 1.
• Honorary Officer of the French Red Cross, inscribed on the guestbook (No. 13b) on January 15, 1886 1.
• Protective Member of the Mont Real Academy of Toulouse, appointed on April 20, 1886 1.
• Honorary Doctor of Medicine of the Royal Academy of Rome May 12, 1886 1, 6.
• Director of the School of Magnetism and Massage in Lyon, approved by the Academy of Medicine and the French State on March 26, 1895 1.
• Doctor of Medicine at the Imperial Academy of Military Medicine (in) of St. Petersburg, with the rank of General in 1901 1, 8.

Bibliography

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The renovators of the Martinist order, such Papus, Sédir and Marc Haven, Philippe Nizier consider as their master and remains still revered by the followers of Martinism 20. Seal of this esoteric stream of thought.

The bibliography on Nizier Philippe is important, they are generally sets of favorable testimonials, written by his entourage or followers. There are also works of his opponents, including doctors, who are trying to thwart what they see as a sham 5, 8.

Books or articles on Nizier Anthelme Philippe

• Serge Caillet, Monsieur Philippe the friend of God: Follow-up of the Collection of Papus and a diary of sittings, Dervy,2013, 330 p. (ISBN 9782844549594)
• Jean-Pierre Chantin, Nizier Philippe, healer Lyonnais", Politica hermetica, The age of man, n o 18,2004, p. 65-73 (ISBN 978-2825119518, read online [ archive ])
• Philippe Collin, Master Philippe de Lyon: Souvenir Album 1905-2005, Grenoble, The Mercure Dauphinois, coll. "Around Master Philippe",2005, 93 p. (ISBN 978-2913826557)
• Philippe Encausse, The master Philippe, of Lyon: Thaumaturg and "Man of God", Saligny, Traditional publishing,1997, 408 p. (ISBN 978-2713800443)
• Renée-Paule Guillot, Philippe de Lyon: Doctor, thaumaturge and adviser of the Tsar, Paris, The Two Oceans,2001, 207 p. (ISBN 978-2866810535)
• Alfred Haehl, Life and words of the master Philippe, Paris, Dervy, coll. "Being and the Spirit",1995, 357 p. (ISBN 978-2850766800)
• Guy Moyse, Philippe: The mystery of Lyon, Lyon, ELAH,2005, 171 p. (ISBN 978-2841471621)
• Léon Weber-Bauler, Philippe Healer of Lyon at the Court of Nicolas II, La Baconnière,1944, 218 p.
• Claude Laurent, My memories: healings and teaching of Master Philippe, Grenoble, Le Mercure Dauphinois, coll. "Around Master Philippe",2003, 136 p. (ISBN 978-2913826281)

Books on the teaching of Nizier Anthelme Philippe

• Sri Sevananda, Philippe Encausse and Philippe Nizier Anthelme, The Master Philippe de Lyon: Speech and gesture, Paris, Cariscript, coll. "Speech and gesture", 1998, 195 p. (ISBN 978-2876010918)
• G. Phaneg, The spirit that can do everything: The action of the mind on matter according to the Gospel and Master Philippe de Lyon, Grenoble, Le Mercure Dauphinois, coll. "Around Master Philippe",2004205 p. (ISBN 978-2913826458)
• Jean-Baptiste Ravier, Confirmation of the Gospel by Master Philippe de Lyon, Grenoble, The Mercure Dauphinois,2005, 153 p. (ISBN 978-2913826540)
• Gil Alonso-Mier, Oral Teachings of Mr. Philippe de Lyon, Marseille, Arqa, coll. "Hermetica",2013, 266 p. (ISBN 2755100613)
• Ed. Bertholet, The reincarnation after the master Philippe de Lyon, Lausanne, Pierre Genillard,1960
• Victoire Philippe, The Victory Notebooks Philippe, Grenoble, The Mercure Dauphinois, coll. "Around Master Philippe",2006, 109 p. (ISBN 978-2913826823)
• Auguste Jacquot, The Answers of Master Philippe: Followed by the teachings collected by his brother Auguste, Grenoble, Le Mercure Dauphinois, coll. "Around Master Philippe",2004, 139 p. (ISBN 978-2913826403)
• Michel de Saint Martin, Revelations: Spiritual Conversations on the Master Philippe de Lyon, Dangles,1955, 214 p.

Other works

• Michèle Brocard, Lights on Sorcery and Satanism, Editions Cabedita, coll. "Living archives", 2007, 182 p. (ISBN 978-2882954879, read online [ archive ]), p. 66
• Richard Raczynski, A dictionary of Martinism, Paris, Dualpha ed., 2009, 685 p. (ISBN 9782353741267)

Documentary films

• Master Philippe de Lyon, the dog of the Shepherd, made in 2005 on the occasion of the centenary of the death of Nizier Philippe by the Lyonnais Bernard Bonnamour 21.
• The Enigma Philippe, docu-fiction directed by Christel Chabert, broadcast onAugust 13, 2008 on France 322.

Related Articles

• Papus
• Arbresle
• Auguste Henri Jacob

External links

• Authority records:
o Virtual International Authority File
o International Standard Name Identifier
o National Library of France (data)
o University Documentation System
o Library of Congress
o Gemeinsame Normdatei
o WorldCat
• Master Philippe Association [ archive ]
• Documents relating to Maître Philippe [ archive ]
• 1st Biography of Master Philippe [ archive ]

Notes and references

1. Alfred Haehl, Life and words of the Master Philippe, Dervy,1 st January 1994 (ISBN 9782850766800, read online [ archive ])
2. Philippe Encausse, The Master Philippe de Lyon and miracle worker "Man of God", his wonders, healings, teachings, Traditional Publishing,1 st January 1985 (read online [ archive ])
3. Claude Laurent, Healings and Teachings of Master Philippe: "My memories", The Mercure Dauphinois (read online [ archive ])
4. Reference error: <ref>Incorrect tag : no text was provided for named references:3
5. Serge Caillet, Philippe the friend of God: Monitoring the Code of Papus and a session log, Publishing Dervy, 2013, 330 p. (ISBN 9782844549594).
6. Marie-France James, Esoteric Christianity and around Rene Guenon: esoteric, occult Freemasonry and Christianity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; bio-bibliographic explorations, Fernand Lanore,2008, 730 p. (ISBN 9782851573766, read online [ archive ]), p. 208-210.
7. Eric Seveyrat, " The Enigma of Philippe, the anti-guru healer," L'Essor, n o 17507,August 30, 2013, p. 28-30.
8. Jean-Pierre Chantin " Nizier Philippe Lyon healer " Politica hermetica, The manhood, n o 18,2004, p. 65-73 (ISBN 9782825119518, read online [ archive ]).
9. Anthony Serex, Dictionary of Lyon (with maps and photos), Petit Futé, 2012 (ISBN 9782746965232, read online [ archive ]), p. 272.
10. Philippe Collin, Life and teaching of Jean Chapas: The disciple of Master Philippe de Lyon, Grenoble, The Mercure Dauphinois, coll. "Around Master Philippe",2006, 151 p. (ISBN 9782913826656).
11. Michele Brocard, Lights on witchcraft and Satanism, Editions Cabedita, coll. "Living archives",2007, 182 p. (ISBN 9782882954879, read online [ archive ]), p. 66.
12. Jean-Pierre Chantin, religious world in contemporary France Dictionary, Editions Beauchesne, 112 p. (ISBN 9780701014186, read online [ archive ]), p. 46.
13. Jean-Pierre Brach, " History of the esoteric currents in modern and contemporary Europe conferences of the year 2011-2012 " directory of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Sections of Religious Studies, vol. 120,2013, p. 193-200 (read online [ archive ]).
14. Marie-France James, Esoteric Christianity and around Rene Guenon: esoteric, occult Freemasonry and Christianity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; bio-bibliographic explorations, Fernand Lanore,2008, 730 p. (ISBN 9782851573766, read online [ archive ]), p. 165.
15. Victory Philippe, Notebooks Victory Philippe, Mercure dauphinois (ISBN 9782913826823, read online [ archive ])
16. Philippe Collin-Dugerey, Life and Teaching of John Chapas: The disciple of Master Philippe de Lyon, Mercure Dauphinois1 st January 2000 (ISBN 9782913826656, read online [ archive ])
17. Arbresle and its region, vol. 13, Union of Historical Societies of the Rhone, coll. "Acts of the study days",1997, 153 p. (ISBN 9782906998117), p. 111.
18. Christine Berge, Afterlife and Lyon: magicians, psychics and Freemasons of the XVIIIth to XXth century, Lugd,1995, 158 p. (ISBN 9782910979256), p. 106.
19. "The Grave Of Master Philippe, The Tomb Of Jean Chapas? | Master Philippe De Lyon" [ archive], on http://www.philippedelyon.fr (accessed March 3, 2016)
20. Marie-France James, Esoteric Christianity and around Rene Guenon: esoteric, occult Freemasonry and Christianity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; bio-bibliographic explorations, Fernand Lanore,1 st January 2008 (ISBN 9782851573766, read online [ archive ])
21. " Master Philippe de Lyon, the dog shepherd " [ archive ], on filmsdocumentaires.com, Films & Documentaries (accessed 16 November 2013).
22. " Enigma Philippe " [ archive ], on France3.fr, France 3 (accessed November 16, 2013).
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

Postby admin » Mon Nov 04, 2019 6:09 am

Henri Delaage
by Jehan Valter
Le Figaro
Sunday, July 16, 1882

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


Image

It is - in its genre - a Parisian figure that disappears. Small figure of a small world, but original and fine figure in the middle of a group of comparses. It was felt that a few drops of an illustrious blood still flowed in the veins of this mystic dreamer who made journalism in spirit, and spiritualism in journalism, who attended with the same conviction churches and theaters, and who supped with actresses after having dinner with abbots.

Henri Delaage was the grandson of the famous chemist Chaptal. Born in Paris in 1825, he died yesterday morning at five o'clock in the little furnished room he had occupied for nearly forty years, in the rue Duphot, No. 6. He succumbed after a few days of illness to the triple infection of which he was suffering: a dropsy, a hypertrophy of the heart and an inflammation of the bladder. His last moments were only a long crisis.

He is not a Parisian who does not know or have known Delaage. For many years, we met him everywhere, almost always accompanying our colleague Henri de Pène, who loved him very much. At the first performances he had a place in his box and his cover was put at his house every night. Because Delaage had a particular way of life. Every morning, when he left his house, he always had a cup of coffee and a cigar. It was enough for him to wait for dinner, and he almost always had to choose between two or three invitations. After dinner, he would go strolling behind the scenes of some small theater, then at half-past twelve he would come to his journalist's friend at Penne, tell him the little gossip of the day, and come back to Rue Duphot only after having previously accompanied by Pene to his door.

Delaage would have been astonished had he been told that he must be bored with his idleness. No one thought himself busier and no one was more busy, indeed. His great preoccupation, his great vanity, was to make him believe that he was connected with personalities, honorable or otherwise, of all worlds. And in fact, one could almost certainly turn to him for the most diverse information. He just knew the name we were looking for unnecessarily, he even had anecdotes interesting, to group around; if need be, moreover, he was a man to invent them.

By reciprocity, nothing irritated him like an unknown face, of a man or a woman, and he never ceased that he would have in turn learned about the name that belonged to this face and the peculiarities that could to relate to it.

The good weather of Delaage was from 1850 to 1870. During these twenty years he was really an influence in the middle of a brilliant and noisy fraction of the world of letters and theaters. The young beginners were addressing him to open the doors of a newspaper, the beautiful girls ignored seeking his support to enter the theater. It would be long and curious to publish the list of celebrities of all kinds who came out of this little room on Rue Duphot. It is true that, if he protected easily, he forgot not less easily those he had protected. From the day that the author and actress recommended by him ceased to be successful, he ceased to know them. It was in a way the barometer of public favor. When Delaage came to you first, on the boulevard or in a theater, and held out your hand, it was because someone had told him in the morning or the day before: Do you know that Thing had talent, he will go far away that boy; but when he affected to turn away to no not to see you, it is because someone, on the contrary, had told him: "Machin" is going down well, it's a decidedly emptied boy.

And yet Delaage had not always lived that way. For a moment he had dreamed, too, of making a name for himself in letters. He has many works written and published in the period from 1845 to 1855; but of all this jumble of mystic philosophy, posterity will keep nothing. Who remembers today his latest book just two months ago?

It is about 1846 or 1847 that Delaage had come to live in the small room of the rue Duphot, where he died. At that time he was very close to the men who later made the revolution. Friend of Esquiros and Sobrier, he collaborated for a while, in 1848, at the famous Commune of Paris. Under the Empire his political opinions had softened, and he did not go much beyond the relations of Viscount Arthur de la Gueronniere.

From twenty-five francs a month, which originally cost him his room, the rent had increased a little over the years, but Delaage had never wanted to move.

It's not that his furniture would have been long to take away.

Apart from a bed, a dresser, a table, and two armchairs belonging to the hotel, there were scarcely any books, newspapers, linen, and clothes in the room. This destitution would have saddened anyone other than Delaage, who would not return home except to go to bed, and would at once get up and dress. He enjoyed himself in this small and modest place and that came to cheer and populate every morning many visits.

There are very few literary and dramatic celebrities who have not climbed, at least once, the three floors of Delaage's little staircase to come and ask for support or service. The most beautiful actresses of Paris have passed - chastely - by this room, whose key was still on the door. Delaage received the visitors and even the visitors without getting out of bed. He listened to everyone, promised everyone and often spoke.

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That's what he called cheerfully his little lift.

The Delaage's neglected attire was legendary. He never brushed his hat, and his frock coat always looked ragged and dusty; in spite of this, I remember having heard him say one day - it was some time after the war of 1870 - that he owed a thousand francs to his tailor.

Without being embarrassed, Delaage was not rich. It is said that after the Revolution of 1848 he had, for all fortune, a sum of 60,000 francs about. Instead of placing it in annuities or railway bonds, which at least gave him a small annual income, he preferred to convert this sum into pieces of 20 francs, which he piled up in the depths of a ___. It was there that he drew every time he needed a louis, which, moreover, rarely happened to him, since he spent almost nothing.

The funeral of Henri Delaage will take place tomorrow Monday, at noon very precise, at the church of the Madeleine.

If everyone he has forced during his life, the church will be full.
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

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Gnostic Church of France
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Accessed: 11/3/19

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Gnostic Church of France
Église gnostique de France
Episcopal Seal of Jules Doinel
Type Gnosticism
Founder Jules Doinel
Origin 1890

The Gnostic Church of France (French: Église gnostique de France) is a neo-Gnostic Christian organisation formed by Jules Doinel in 1890, in France. It is the first Gnostic church in modern times.

History

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Jules Doinel, the founder and first patriarch of Église gnostique de France.

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Léonce Fabre des Essarts as the second patriarch of Église gnostique.

The esoteric Freemason Jules Doinel, while working as archivist for the library of Orléans in France, he discovered a medieval manuscript dated 1022, which had been written by Stephen, a canon of the Orléans Cathedral, burned at the stake in 1022 for his pre-Cathar Gnostic doctrines (see Orléans heresy).[1] Doinel founded the Gnostic Church in 1890, a date which opened for him and his followers ‘the 1st year of the Restoration of Gnosis’.[2] Doinel claimed that he had a vision in which the Aeon Jesus appeared, He charged Doinel with the work of establishing a new church. When Doinel attended a séance in the oratory of the Countess of Caithness, it appears that the disembodied spirits of ancient Albigensians, joined by a heavenly voice, laid spiritual hands on Doinel, creating him the bishop of the Gnostic Church.[1]

As patriarch of the new Church, Doinel took the mystical name ‘Valentinus II, Bishop of the Holy Assembly of the Paraclete and of the Gnostic Church’, and nominated eleven titular bishops, including a ‘sophia’ (female bishop), as well as deacons and deaconesses. The Symbolist poet Léonce Fabre des Essarts [fr] was named bishop of Bordeaux.[2] The dress of Gnostic bishops is characterized by purple gloves and the use of Tau symbol, a Greek letter which is also used before their names.[3]

In 1892, Doinel consecrated Papus—founder of the first Martinist Order—as Tau Vincent, Bishop of Toulouse. Other Martinists, such as Paul Sédir [fr] and Lucien Chamuel [nl] were also consecrated by Doinel. At the end of 1894, Doinel abjured his Gnostic faith and converted to Roman Catholicism due to the Taxil hoax. He returned to Gnosticism five years later under the mystical name Simon and the title ‘Primate of Samaria’.

In 1908, a schism occurred when the Gnostic bishop of Lyons, Jean Bricaud, renamed his branch as Église gnostique catholique (E.G.C.; Catholic Gnostic Church). Then it changed again becoming the Église gnostique universelle (E.G.U.; Universal Gnostic Church) and became the official church of Papus’ Martinist Order. The patriarch Bricaud claimed the spiritual heritage of John of Patmos.[4] The E.G.U. later changed its name to Église gnostique apostolique (E.G.A.; Apostolic Gnostic Church).[1] Meanwhile, the original Église gnostique in Paris had been taken over by Léon Champrenaud (Théophane), it later disintegrated under Patrice Genty (Basilide) in 1926.[1]

Église Gnostique Catholique Apostolique

The Église Gnostique Catholique Apostolique (E.G.C.A.), in Latin Ecclesia Gnostica Apostolica Catholica (not to be confused with Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica), or known as the Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church of North America, which operates in New York, claims the heritage of Église gnostique de France.[5] This church is in a state of fraternal alliance (concordat) with the Ecclesia Gnostica.[6] Like the latter, it also accepts the ordination of women and same-sex marriage.[7]

In addition, the E.G.C.A. has affiliation with two other initiatic organisations: the Ordre Martiniste of North America and the Aesthetic Rose+Croix Order of the Temple and the Grail. The latter is a reconstitution of Joséphin Péladan’s Ordre de la Rose ✠ Croix Catholique et Esthétique du Temple et du Graal.

Église Gnostique, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, and Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis

The Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.) descended from a line of the 19th-century French Gnostic revival churches (Église Gnostique) mentioned above (see Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica#History). These Églises Gnostiques plus the contemporary Église Gnostique Catholique Apostolique are essentially Christian in nature. Although Gnosticism is seen as heresy in an orthodox Christian sense, the E.G.C. goes even further by worshipping such figures like Babalon, Baphomet, et cetera. Interestingly, also in this Thelemic-Gnostic milieu an Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis eventually rose, in reaction to the Patriarch of E.G.U. binding the clergy of the church to advancement into the degrees of Ordo Templi Orientis, in strict opposition with the original plan laid out by the Prophet of Thelema, Aleister Crowley.

References

1. Roggemans, Marcel (2009). History of Martinism and the F.U.D.O.S.I. Translated by Bogaard, Milko. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-1-4092-8260-0.
2. Fabre des Essarts, Léonce-Eugène-Joseph (1899). L’Arbre gnostique. Paris: Librairie Chamuel. pp. 67–69.
3. Jean Kostka (Jules Doinel) (1895). Lucifer démasqué (in French). pp. 139–141.
4. "Title unknown". Le Matin (in French). 8 November 1910. pp. 1–2.
5. "The Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church of North America". http://www.apostolicgnosis.org. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
6. "ECCLESIA GNOSTICA: Relation to other Churches and Organizations". gnosis.org. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
7. "Bishop Robert Cokinis - Tau Charles Harmonius II". http://www.apostolicgnosis.org. Retrieved 19 April 2018.

External links

• Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church of North America
• History of the Gnostic Catholic Church
• Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis
• ECCLESIA GNOSTICA: Église Gnostique de France (in English)
• The Structure and Liturgy of the French Gnostic Church of Jules Doinel
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

Postby admin » Mon Nov 04, 2019 6:42 am

Part 1 of 2

Catharism
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/3/19

Most important, the central doctrine of nazism, that the Jew was evil and had to be exterminated, had its origin in the Gnostic position that there were two worlds, one good and one evil, one dark and one light, one materialistic and one spiritual.... The mystical teachings of Guido von List, Lanz von Liebenfels, and Rudolf von Sebottendorff were modern restatements of Gnosticism.

When the apocalyptic promise of Christ's resurrection was broken, the Gnostics sought to return men to God by another route, more Oriental than Hellenist. They devised a dualistic cosmology to set against the teachings of the early Christian Church, which, they claimed, were only common deceptions, unsuited for the wise. The truth was esoteric. Only the properly initiated could appreciate it. It belonged to a secret tradition which had come down through certain mystery schools. The truth was, God could never become man. There were two separate realms -- one spiritual, the other material. The spiritual realm, created by God, was all good; the material realm, created by the demiurge, all evil. Man needed to be saved, not from Original Sin, but from enslavement to matter. For this, he had to learn the mystical arts. Thus Gnosticism became a source for the occult tradition.

A famous medieval Gnostic sect, the Cathars, came to identify the Old Testament god, Jehovah, with the demiurge, the creator of the material world and therefore the equivalent of Satan. Within Gnosticism, then, existed the idea that the Jewish god was really the devil, responsible for all the evil in the world. He was opposed to the New Testament God. The Cathars tried to eliminate the Old Testament from Church theology and condemned Judaism as a work of Satan's, whose aim was to tempt men away from the spirit. Jehovah, they said, was the god of an earth "waste and void," with darkness "upon the face of the deep." Was he not cruel and capricious? They quoted Scripture to prove it. The New Testament God, on the other hand, was light. He declared that "there is neither male nor female," for everyone was united in Christ. These two gods, obviously, had nothing in common.

The synagogue was regarded as profane by Christians. The Cathars -- themselves considered heretical by the Church -- castigated Catholics for refusing to purge themselves of Jewish sources; Church members often blamed the [Cathar] Christian heresy on Jewish mysticism, which was considered an inspiration for Gnostic sorcery.

But Gnostic cosmology, though officially branded "false," pervaded the thinking of the Church. The Jews were widely thought to be magicians. It was believed that they could cause rain, and when there was a drought, they were encouraged to do so. Despite the displeasure of the Roman Popes, Christians, when they were in straitened circumstances, practiced Jewish customs, even frequenting synagogues.

This sheds light on an otherwise incomprehensible recurring theme within Nazi literature, as, for example, "The Earth-Centered Jew Lacks a Soul," by one of the chief architects of Nazi dogma, Alfred Rosenberg, who held that whereas other people believe in a Hereafter and in immortality, the Jew affirms the world and will not allow it to perish. The Gnostic secret is that the spirit is trapped in matter, and to free it, the world must be rejected. Thus, in his total lack of world-denial, the Jew is snuffing out the inner light, and preventing the millennium:

Where the idea of the immortal dwells, the longing for the journey or the withdrawal from temporality must always emerge again; hence, a denial of the world will always reappear. And this is the meaning of the non-Jewish peoples: they are the custodians of world-negation, of the idea of the Hereafter, even if they maintain it in the poorest way. Hence, one or another of them can quietly go under, but what really matters lives on in their descendants. If, however, the Jewish people were to perish, no nation would be left which would hold world-affirmation in high esteem -- the end of all time would be here.

... the Jew, the only consistent and consequently the only viable yea-sayer to the world, must be found wherever other men bear in themselves ... a compulsion to overcome the world.... On the other hand, if the Jew were continually to stifle us, we would never be able to fulfill our mission, which is the salvation of the world, but would, to be frank, succumb to insanity, for pure world-affirmation, the unrestrained will for a vain existence, leads to no other goal. It would literally lead to a void, to the destruction not only of the illusory earthly world but also of the truly existent, the spiritual. Considered in himself the Jew represents nothing else but this blind will for destruction, the insanity of mankind. It is known that Jewish people are especially prone to mental disease. "Dominated by delusions," said Schopenhauer about the Jew.

... To strip the world of its soul, that and nothing else is what Judaism wants. This, however, would be tantamount to the world's destruction.


This remarkable statement, seemingly the rantings of a lunatic, expresses the Gnostic theme that the spirit of man, essentially divine, is imprisoned in an evil world. The way out of this world is through rejection of it. But the Jew alone stands in the way. Behind all the talk about "the earth-centered Jew" who "lacks a soul"; about the demonic Jew who will despoil the Aryan maiden; about the cabalistic work of the devil in Jewish finance; about the sinister revolutionary Jewish plot to take over the world and cause the decline of civilization, there is the shadow of ancient Gnosticism.

-- Gods & Beasts: The Nazis & the Occult, by Dusty Sklar


7. Lucifer's Quest for the Holy Grail

As long as I live I will think of Sabarthes, of Montsegur, of the Grail castle, and of the Grail itself that may have been the treasure of the heretics spoken of in the Records of the Inquisition. I haven't been fortunate enough, I admit, to discover it myself! [1]

-- SS-OBERSTURMFUHRER OTTO RAHN


Probably one of the most outlandish -- yet somehow oddly grand, strangely cosmic -- endeavors of the Third Reich in general, and of the SS in particular, was Himmler's search for the Holy Grail. This was an actual program of the SS, a program which has since been immortalized in the first and third films of Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones trilogy. The author is not aware of the degree to which Spielberg was cognizant of actual SS operations designed to acquire such legendary treasure, but there is enough fact in the fiction to warrant serious consideration in this chapter.

In order to understand what Himmler was up to, we will have to look at the climate surrounding the Ahnenerbe and at what many readers probably think of as being a purely Christian symbol: the Holy Grail. As we do so, we will come across a fascinating individual whom history has treated rather shabbily, the young SS officer and historian, Otto Rahn (1904-1939).

It was, after all, Otto Rahn who helped popularize the notion that the Grail was not the special property of the Catholic Church (should it actually exist, and should it ever be found). For Rahn, the Grail was an emblem set up in opposition to the established Church -- indeed, was a Luciferian symbol -- and for this the Nazis were grateful; for, if Rahn's conclusion was correct, it gave them a philosophical and historical edge over organized Christianity.

The Crusade against the Grail

Rahn's first published work, Kreuzzug gegen den Graal (Crusade Against the Grail), was devoted to a study of what is sometimes referred to as the Albigensian Crusade: a war that took place between the Roman Catholic Church and a Christian cult known alternatively as the Albigensians (after the town of Albi in southern France) or the Cathars: "the Pure." The Cathars were a type of fundamentalist Christian sect that enjoyed enormous popularity in thirteenth-century Europe, even among the nobility. They were opposed to the materialism of the Catholic Church and what they perceived to be the corruption of Christ's teachings by the Church. In many of their beliefs, they were closer to the Gnostics and Manichaeans than to Roman Catholics; indeed, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that they might have been a Manichaean survival. Regardless of their actual origins, however, they began attracting converts in large numbers, particularly in France.

Their beliefs included the doctrine that Christ was pure spirit and had never inhabited a human -- that is, a material -- form; that the dead will not be resurrected in the body, since the body was made of matter, which the Cathars viewed as Satanic; that there were two forces in the universe, one of good and the other of evil; that procreation was evil, as it increased the amount of matter in the world and trapped souls within material forms.

That death was good, and not a time for mourning; that there was no particular reason why the bodies of the dead should be revered since the bodies were the evil part of the human constitution.

Naturally, they were branded as heretics by the Church and eventually Catholic armies were sent to destroy them under order of Pope Innocent III in 1209. It was from a Catholic commander -- a Cistercian abbot, no less -- surrounding a French town composed of both Cathar and Catholic civilians (men, women, and children) that we receive the immortal line: "Kill them all. God will recognize his own."

The belief of the Cathars -- and of their close relatives, the Albigensians or Albigeois of the Languedoc region of France -- that matter was essentially impure and evil, and that only spirit was pure and good is a patently Gnostic doctrine. The belief in two gods -- one evil, the other good -- is both Gnostic and Manichaean. Hence, it has been argued that the Cathars were an extension of a Middle Eastern sect of Manichees or of Gnostics in possession of a "secret tradition" concerning the life and death of Christ and the origins of Christianity. The Cathars claimed that the Bible (particularly the Old Testament) was full of references to an Evil God -- Jehovah -- even as they insisted that the Bible was either full of errors or had been interpreted incorrectly by generations of self-serving Roman Catholic theologians. (One should remember that in 1209 the Gutenberg press had not been invented and that Bibles were in scarce supply. Those that existed were in the dead tongues of Latin and Greek, and in the possession of the Church. The average person knew very little of what was in the Bible, except for what he or she was told by a priest.)

Another Cathar peculiarity is that -- perhaps late in their tragic story -- they legitimized a form of ritual suicide, called the endura: one simply starved oneself to death, or was poisoned, or was strangled or suffocated by the brethren. They also rejected most of the sacraments of the Church as so much superstitious nonsense. In their anti-Papal stance they were close to the rather more Calvinist Waldensians with whom they have been frequently -- and erroneously -- linked.

At dinner ... he spoke of India and Indian philosophy. This led him to speak of a subject which was a hobbyhorse of his: in a lively manner he described to me the result of researches in German witchcraft trials. He said it was monstrous that thousands of witches had been burned during the Middle Ages. So much good German blood had been stupidly destroyed. From this he began an attack on the Catholic Church, and at the same time on Calvin; before I had caught up with all this he was discussing the Spanish Inquisition and the essential nature of primitive Christianity. [2]

-- SCHELLENBERG


These words from Foreign Intelligence Chief Walter Schellenberg's memoirs concerning a meeting with Himmler in the Ukraine in the summer of 1942 indicate just how interested the Reichsfuhrer-SS was in such philosophical and metaphysical questions, including early Christianity, Calvinism, the Inquisition ... even the witch trials, on all of which Himmler considered himself something of an expert.

The Cathar ideology must have appealed to him and the other Nazis in a profound way. After all, the very word "Cathar" means "pure," and purity -- particularly of the blood as the physical embodiment of spiritual "goodness" -- was an issue of prime importance to the SS. The Cathars railed against the gross materialism of the Church; the Nazis viewed themselves as inherently anti-Capitalist, even though they were forced to deal with large industrial concerns in order to obtain absolute power in Germany. (To Hitler and his followers, Capitalism was immoral and they equated it with the excesses of the Jewish financiers that -- they said -- had brought the nation to ruin during the First World War and the depression that followed.)

The Cathars, in denying the value of the Old Testament and in attacking Jehovah as a kind of Satan, naturally seemed to be in perfect agreement with Nazi ideology concerning the Jews and, as we shall see, with the current incarnation of neo-Nazi ideologues in the Christian Identity movement and in the Process Church of the Final Judgment.

Further, the Cathars were fanatics, willing to die for their cause; sacrificing themselves to the Church's onslaught they enjoyed the always enviable aura of spiritual underdogs. There was something madly beautiful in the way they were immolated on the stakes of the Inquisition, professing their faith and their hatred of Rome until the very end. The Nazis could identify with the Cathars: with their overall fanaticism, with their contempt for the way vital spiritual matters were commercialized (polluted) by the Establishment, and with their passion for "purity." It is perhaps inevitable that the Cathars should have made a sacrament out of suicide, for they must have known that their Quest was doomed to failure from the start. They must have wished for death as a release from a corrupt and insensitive world; and it's entirely possible that, at the root of Nazism, lay a similar death wish. Hitler was surrounded by the suicides of his mistresses and contemplated it himself on at least one occasion before he actually pulled the trigger in Berlin in 1945. Himmler and other captured Nazi leaders killed themselves rather than permit the Allies to do the honors for them. Haushofer committed suicide. Even Sebottendorff plunged himself into the Bosporus. Perhaps the passionate desire of concentration camp survivors to see all Nazi war criminals executed for their crimes -- even at this late date -- represents an unconscious realization that suicide (like a natural death) is too good for the monsters of the Reich; that, like the Cathars whom they admired, the Nazis saw in suicide that consolation and release from the world of Satanic matter promised by this most cynical of Cathar sacraments.

For some reason, it became popular to assume that these same Cathars were in possession of a mysterious sacred object and that, on the eve of destruction of the last major Cathar opposition at the fortress of Montsegur in southern France on March 14, 1244, some Cathars managed to escape with this object down the side of their mountain citadel (then under siege by Catholic troops). This sacred object has been identified by later generations of amateur historians as nothing less than the Holy Grail. [3]

Before the collapse of Montsegur, as some (mostly French) authors have proposed, the Grail was in the possession of the infamous Order of the Knights Templar, the Order after which von Liebenfels and Kellner named their respective cults; the same Order that was created by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the famous abbot of the Cistercian Order. Depending on whom one reads, the Templars were believed to have discovered either the Grail or the Ark of the Covenant (or both?) during their sojourn in Palestine at the site of Solomon's Temple. Several studies have been made of the Templar cathedrals -- Chartres in particular -- to prove that the Templars left a coded message in stone revealing that they brought a sacred object of great value back with them from the East, an object whose tremendous, otherworldly power enabled them to finance, design, and build a series of magnificent churches all over France in an amazingly short period of time. Indeed, the time line is suggestive for, according to an authoritative work on the subject by Henry Adams, during the space of one hundred years (from A.D. 1170 to A.D. 1270) the Church built eighty cathedrals in France and hundreds of other "cathedral-class" churches at an estimated cost of one billion in 1905 U.S. dollars. [4]

The pseudonymous author on alchemy and architecture, Fulcanelli, contributed to this idea of a Templar secret tradition in his Le Mystere des Cathedrales, first published in 1925. It has been translated into English and forms the core of yet another mystical tradition. [5]

Just why the Cathars should then have found themselves in possession of the Grail remains something of a mystery. Certainly there is a robust literature concerning the Grail -- known as Grail Romances to the historians -- that identify it as anything from a sacred stone that fell from the sky (the lapis exilis or lapis ex coelis) to the actual cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and which was used to catch drops of his blood during the crucifixion. Indeed, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival depicts the Grail as a stone and not as a cup; the older romance by Chretien de Troyes depicts the Grail as a cup and not as a stone, and this image is perpetuated in Malory's Le Marte d'Arthur. As if to compromise on this controversy, one of the carved figures on the north door of Chartres Cathedral -- that of the Old Testament High Priest Melchisedek -- is shown holding a Cup from which the Stone rises.

And from time to time various objects have been found which their owners claimed to be the Grail but none of these have stood up to even cursory scrutiny.

Recently, the writing team of Walter Birks and R. A. Gilbert have conspired to put an end to all the speculation. [6] Birks served with the British Army in the Middle East during the war with the rank of major, prior to which he had been involved in esoteric and spiritualist circles in England; Gilbert is an historian of occultism, most notably of the Golden Dawn. Together, they denigrate the writings of Rahn as "tortuous reasoning and linguistic lunacy" [7] and the book by Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln (Holy Blood, Holy Grail) as evidence of a "lunatic theory" supported by an "inchoate mass of irrelevancies." [8]

For Birks and Gilbert, the treasure of Montsegur "never was": it was not the Grail, not a cache of Templar gold, not the bloodline of Jesus, but "the power to transmit the apostolic succession, the seed perhaps of a higher form of Christianity to be revealed when the world is ready to receive it." [9] They base this theory on Biblical exegesis, interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the writings of Josephus and others, and on what remains of Cathar ritual and theology. Birks was present at a Cathar research site at Ussat-les-Bains in the late 1930s (although too late to have met Rahn, who also researched and lived at the site) and was friendly with one Antonin Gadal, about whom more later. Birks himself states that it was during conversation with a member of the Nosairi sect in the Middle East that he realized the Cathar treasure was not a material Grail at all, but the "Light-filled vessel": i.e., a purely metaphorical image based on the cup of sacramental wine which the Nosairi use to drink "to the Light": an emblem of the true teaching of Christianity before it became confused and bowdlerized by the Evangelists and the various Councils. This is all involved with a Nosairi tradition of the "way of the Stars," that a human soul, after death, proceeds up a ladder of lights, of stars, to heaven. Birks was satisfied with that, and the doctrine of Light provided him with a great illumination (no pun intended); but we have come full circle, for the way of the Stars and the doctrine of the Light are amply represented by the myths of the Celts, the Nordic peoples, and many others in whom Rahn discovered the scattered fragments of a lost mystical tradition, and the "Light-filled vessel" may be an entirely appropriate reference to Rahn's rediscovered doctrine of Lucifer, the Light-Bearer.

SS-Obersturmfuhrer Parzival

As mentioned, one of the most famous Grail romances is that composed by Wolfram von Eschenbach, entitled Parzival. It is this particular romance that has remained the authoritative word on the subject for many people, and which was the work that inspired Otto Rahn in his researches (and Richard Wagner in his famous opera by the same name).

Rahn was an impoverished scholar of history whose soul became inflamed by equal doses of Wagner and von Eschenbach in his youth. The beneficiary of a classical education in both literature and philology, he spent five years traveling throughout Europe in search of myths, legends, and the records of heretical cults, all of which he believed would point to the existence of a native, crypto-pagan, Gnostic-type religion in Europe. Finding mythological and philological links between such varied phenomena as the troubadours, the Grail legends, European paganism, and the heretical sect known as the Cathars, Rahn felt he had discovered evidence of an ancient German religious tradition that had been suppressed by the Church.

Identifying the pure knight Parzival as a Cathar or Cathar manque, Rahn went on to write a history of the Cathar rebellion from the point of view of Grail Romance. Although this sounds like pure Guido von List or Lanz von Liebenfels, Rahn was a scholar of somewhat greater integrity who based his work on accepted primary sources (such as the records of the Inquisition, the poems and songs of the troubadours, and the medieval Grail legends) and on his own, on-the-scene research.

He arrived in the Languedoc region of France in 1931 and there met a gentleman well-known in Grail circles, Antonin Gadal. [10] Gadal maintained a private Cathar museum at the small town of Ussat-les-Bains, a tourist attraction and spa in the Pyrenees with an allegedly Cathar connection. He also had an extensive library on the subject of the Cathars and the Grail, from which Rahn probably derived much benefit. Gadal was a member of a society called The Friends of Montsegur and the Grail, of which the noted historian Rene Nelli was vice president (it was Nelli who would translate Rahn's work into French). [11] The society -- as its name implies -- believed that a connection existed between the Cathar movement and the Grail Romances. This concept had been broached in 1906 by the popular French author Josephin Peladan in Le Secret des Troubadours. Former Golden Dawn member Arthur Edward Waite had discounted the theory that the Grail legend had anything to do with either Cathars or Albigensians in a book published three years later (The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail), but then Waite was in a state of apostasy from the Golden Dawn as he had denied their occult rituals as essentially evil and replaced them with Christian versions, forming his own rather boring occult order in the process.

In May of 1932 Rahn decided to become an innkeeper to support his researches and invested in a local establishment at Ussat. By September he was bankrupt, and disappeared from France only to reappear shortly thereafter in Germany. By then, he had accumulated quite enough information to write his own book on the subject of the Cathars and the Grail, Kreuzzug gegen den Graal, which was published in 1933 and translated into French the following year as Croisade contre le Graal (Crusade Against the Grail).

Although the book did not earn Rahn a lot of money, it eventually came to the attention of no less an admirer than Heinrich Himmler.

According to one version of the story, [12] the Reichsfuhrer-SS personally invited the author to meet him at his Prinz Albrechtstrasse headquarters in Berlin. There, he offered Rahn a commission in the SS and virtually unlimited resources for which Himmler expected Rahn to continue his research into the Grail legends, the Cathars, and related subjects of Aryan interest.

According to another version, [13] Rahn was a personal friend of volkisch "channeler" Karl Maria Wiligut -- also known as SS-Oberfuhrer Weisthor -- a gentleman who had once been certified insane but who nonetheless claimed that he had perfect recall of the entire ancient history of the Teuton peoples going back over 200,000 years, a kind of ancient racial memory upon which he could call at any time. This was, of course, a very handy ability to possess and Himmler considered himself fortunate to have access to the services of a man who could fill in those great gaps of Teutonic history that result when a master race proves rather lax in developing a written language. Wiligut's ability was, he claimed, due to the fact that his family's lineage had been kept pure at every generation down the millennia from that time in the misty past when the gods of air and water mated in humid embrace to produce the milky Wiligut bloodline. Wiligut, another of Germany's rune scholars, clairvoyants, and Teutonic mystics, held salon-type meetings at his home on arcane Aryan topics at which Himmler and the young Otto Rahn were said to be frequent guests.

Wiligut insisted that Christianity was really a German invention; that Christ was really the ancient Teutonic god Baldur, who was crucified by a schismatic group of Wotan-worshiping thugs. Baldur, however, managed to escape to the Middle East and ... and ... well, the rest is New Testament. His remaining followers in Germany built a cult center sacred to their faith at the prehistoric site of Externsteine, which was to become the subject of much discussion and excavation by the Ahnenerbe. (See Chapter Six.)

Of course, like most other occult theory, Wiligut's cross-eyed thesis is based on a number of verifiable historical traditions that can be found in a careful reading of ancient texts, in this case of the Eddas and other Scandinavian and Gothic lore that predate the Christian conversion of these peoples by hundreds (and not hundreds of thousands) of years. Baldur, for instance, was a slain and resurrected god like many other agricultural deities of many other lands. The Norse Creation story is remarkably similar to that of ancient Sumeria, with the known universe created out of the corpse of another slain god. That Christianity adopted pagan ceremonies, cult centers, holidays, and myths is by now well known; in fact, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify just what a "pure" form of Christianity would look like. However, Wiligut's problem -- and the problem of many amateur historians in his class -- is that he took the myths and legends of the ancient European peoples and blended them together with theosophical and other newly coined mystical beliefs with little or no historical basis. The commonality of motifs in these various myths from widely divergent sources may best be explained by the type of research undertaken by MIT Professor de Santillana (as mentioned in a previous chapter) and others who see in these stories a coded form of astronomical observations. The relatively new sciences of epigraphy and paleoastronomy may answer many questions previously considered the domain of occultism.

Yet, on the basis of this and related historical fantasies, Wiligut was made the head of the Department of Prehistory at the Race and Settlement Office (RuSHA) of the SS, and eventually attained the exalted rank of SS-Brigadefuhrer, or Brigadier, on Himmler's Personal Staff. It was Wiligut who designed the Schutzstaffel's special Death's Head (totenkopf) ring, a device replete with runic symbols including the inevitable swastika as well as those of Wiligut's personal armorial design. The latter detail implied that somehow Wiligut was, himself, the last and sole physical repository of glacially pure Teutonic blood; a claim that was the cornerstone of his philosophy and which gave him that unique unbroken memory which made him so valuable to those lesser mortals who could only prove their racial purity back to the year 1750 (as required of SS recruits) and whose race memory had therefore fallen victim to the ravages of ancient couplings with diseased and drooling subhumans, such as Hungarians.

It has been said that Rahn was introduced to Himmler by Wiligut himself, and that Himmler accepted the young scholar into the SS on Wiligut's personal recommendation. Wiligut then kept in constant touch with Rahn as the latter went about on his travels through France, Germany, and Iceland, hot on the very cold trail of the mysterious Cathar treasure he believed was the Grail. He communicated his findings to Wiligut periodically in letters that were to be shared with no one else but Himmler, so secret and so important were their contents. One wonders what these secrets were, for they are certainly not to be found in Rahn's second book, a work published under Nazi supervision. However, some letters from Rahn to Wiligut have survived, [14] marked "extremely confidential," dealing -- for instance -- with linguistic evidence of pagan sites concealed within modern German place names, and begging the Seer to communicate his findings with "the Reichsfuhrer-SS only." As these letters are dated as early as 1935 -- and signed with a hearty "Heil Hitler!" -- we can see that Rahn was intimate with the highest circles of the SS hierarchy by this time. Rahn's friend Paul Ladame, however, insists that when he ran into Rahn in July, 1936, on the Joachimstaler Strasse in Berlin, Rahn was resplendent in full SS uniform, bearing the flashes of the Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler and, when asked how he had come to be wearing such a thing, replied "My dear Paul, a man has to eat!" [15]

Whether or not Rahn was any kind of real Nazi, his two books do reveal, however, that he believed the Catholic Church had all but destroyed essential elements of a secret German religious tradition, a tradition whose persecution began with the Cathars in the thirteenth century and which ended, triumphantly, with the destruction of the Templar Order a hundred years later. The German tradition was not a Christian one in the generally accepted sense. Rather, it was a pagan religion whose elements were appropriated by the Church as a means of diluting it of its power: the Grail, the knightly Orders, the sacred Quest, and the eternal struggle between Light and Darkness. Except, for the Cathars as filtered through the meditations of Rahn, Light in this case was represented by -- not Jesus or Jehovah -- but by another spirit, the "Light-Bearer." To Rahn, this Entity represented the highest good. To Rahn (at least officially), the Nazi Reich in general -- and the SS in particular -- became the servitors of an ancient pagan cult whose god was known to the medieval Christians not as Jesus but as Lucifer.

Lucifer's Servants

As we saw in the preceding chapter, Himmler's personal agenda was to amass enough data -- archaeological, historical, cultural, religious, and occult -- to prove that the Aryan "race" was superior to all other races on earth and that the Germans were the inheritors of the Aryan bloodline. He also had to prove that, at some point in history, what are now the German peoples owned virtually all the real estate in Europe. This would not only seem to legitimize Hitler's Drive to the East, but might prove useful in establishing that the Germans had an historical right to do whatever they wanted with whatever inferior, mongrel races they found there.

Proving the existence of a hitherto unknown German religious tradition that predated Christianity and which was more in tune with the German Volk would go a long way toward propping up Himmler's other theories and give substance to the twin policies of Aryan racial superiority and German claim to the land. It would provide the necessary philosophical underpinning for an occult renaissance in Europe and prove stronger than the various Christian sects that had arbitrarily divided the race along ideological lines. A German spiritual tradition that transcended Christian history would provide a blood religion that could unit the racially pure peoples of Europe -- Aryans in diaspora -- and thus erase national boundaries and Christian sensitivities in one blow.

(To those readers of today who find this mission a trifle weird, might the author be permitted to remind them that no less a modern state than Israel was founded along pretty much the same lines? Jewish claims upon the territory are based upon religious scriptures, and citizenship in the State of Israel is limited to those who can prove they are Jews. One may remember the difficulty Ethiopian Jews had in emigrating to Israel. The author does not point this out in order to devalue Jewish claims upon the territory known as Palestine before 1948, but to illustrate a point: that great nations -- and national agendas -- are sometimes erected on such weak timber as a human-interpreted word of God or on the blood of the "Aryans." If it could have been proven that the so-called Aryan peoples were at one time in the distant past in control of vast amounts of European, American, and Asian real estate ... so what?)

In this dubious endeavor, Himmler had two distinct sets of ideological opponents. First of all, there were the genuine scientists who disparaged such canonical Nazi claims as Aryan racial purity and the prevalence of an Aryan cult or proto-Christian society over all of Europe and Asia in the distant past. For these, Himmler hoped to provide concrete evidence that Aryans (and, hence, Germans) had established communities in such remote locales as Minsk in Russia, northern India, and Tibet. The Deutsche Akademie and later the Ahnenerbe were both heavily involved in the archaeological work necessary to buttress this argument.

His second opponent was the established Christian Church itself. Himmler's dream was to create, out of the SS, a new religion based on the pagan elements of what he perceived to be the original, Ur-Aryan religion of ancient India and Europe. However, many Germans were devout Christians. Hitler himself realized this, and knew that he had to play politics with them for as long as the churches held power and as long as the people felt they owed spiritual allegiance to the churches and what they represented. In this he was as cynical in his dealings with the Church as he was pragmatic with the Capitalists.

Himmler, on the other hand, wanted nothing so much as the destruction -- not only of the organized Church -- but of Christianity itself. And, with the assistance of Wiligut and other like-minded individuals, Himmler drew up new ceremonies and a new liturgical calendar to thoroughly replace Christian versions. He was dealing Judaism the death blow in the camps and with his roving bands of death squads, the Einsatzgruppen, under the command of such men as Theosophist and convicted war criminal Otto Ohlendorf and the notorious Dr. Six. The Church was next on the list. How better to capture the attention and imagination of the pious than to appropriate the Grail as a purely pagan and Aryan symbol, actually restoring to the Grail its original character and identity? The Grail figured prominently in European folklore as a powerful occult symbol, and was also the basis for a Wagnerian opera that was just as powerful, just as compelling. It was assumed that Wagner, an admitted anti-Semite who provided the sound track for the Third Reich, would not have wasted his time writing a Christian or Jewish propaganda tract. Therefore, Wagner's own take on the Grail must be consistent with rest of the Aryan operatic canon that included, of course, the Ring Cycle. It was all Aryan myth and, therefore, part of a single, continuous epic story.

Rahn's thesis went a long way to establishing just that. Based on research undertaken in the Languedoc region of southern France and especially at fabled Montsegur, site of the Cathars' last stand, Rahn believed he had acquired enough evidence to repudiate any Christian claim to the Grail. The Grail of von Eschenbach and Richard Wagner was redeemed as the ultimate Aryan relic around which Himmler would build his pagan Temple. The castle at Wewelsburg, with its Round Table for himself and the members of his Inner Circle, would be the heart of a new metropolis; the chamber containing the Round Table and the crypt below it would be the precise geographical center of the new city, the Aryan Camelot, and of the New World itself. And what is King Arthur, a Round Table, and Camelot without a Grail?

Initially, Rahn did not seem to hold pro-Nazi ideas in the least. According to his friend, the French author Paul Ladame, [16] Rahn thought the Nazis faintly ridiculous. But he was starving. He could not turn down a lucrative offer of employment with Himmler, and so he eventually donned the black uniform of the SS and continued his researches better fed and more warmly (if somewhat ostentatiously) clothed.

He may not have had much of a choice in the matter, but it was a decision that nevertheless proved his downfall. As Himmler encountered more and more difficulty in finding hard evidence to prove his Aryan thesis, he became increasingly disillusioned with Rahn and his ilk. Finally, according to Ladame, he gave the frightened young scholar an ultimatum: he would finish his next book by October 31, 1936 -- the pagan festival of Samhain -- and provide it to the Nazi editors for approval. Or else.

This, Rahn managed to do. According to one source, he was then sent to Dachau for the four months of scheduled military training required of all SS men (as was Adolf Eichmann at the same camp several years earlier). That would have been sometime in the last half of 1937. [17]

He resigned his commission in the SS sometime after leaving Dachau.

Then, in 1939, at the age of thirty-five, he was dead.

The book that resulted from this relatively unknown Nazi project was entitled Luzifers Hofgesind or Lucifer's Servants, sometimes translated as Lucifer's Court. [18] It reads quite differently from Rahn's first book, which was at least sincere in its effort to portray a kind of occult underdog group of purists who held the secret of the ages in their hands if only the rest of us would pay attention. Lucifer's Servants, on the other hand, is at least partly a genuine Nazi propaganda tract and several passages make a good case for the worship of Lucifer, if one follows (and credits) Rahn's exegesis on several ancient sources including Parzival and the surviving texts of troubadors, Cathars, and even Persian mystics. Indeed, this idea of Lucifer as a benign or divine being was familiar and congenial to the "white light" Theosophists of the 1920s who, after all, entitled one of their official German publications Luzifer.

The following citations should adequately illustrate this claim (all translations by the author, all emphasis by Rahn):

It was necessary, in effect, to be faithful to God until death, "and God will give to his servant the crown of eternal life," as it is written in the Bible. Having established that, for the Church of Rome -- the sole repository of "Truth" in the eyes of its faithful -- the troubadors were members of the servants of the Devil; having also established that they were faithful to the God of Love; and finally having established that they celebrated -- as numerous examples have proved -- the marvels of the crown of Lucifer, it is permitted to believe that they had faith in the existence of a Luciferian crown of eternal life (to speak Biblically). And if we follow this thought to its logical conclusion, we will say that, for them, the God of Love was none other than Lucifer in person.

This hypothesis will become certain if we allow our thought to range more widely: the god Amor is the god of Spring, as is Apollon.... Apollon brought back the light of the Sun: he is a light-bearer, or "Lucifer." According to the Apocalypse of John, Apollyo-Apollon was equated with the Devil, and according to the belief of the Roman Church ... Lucifer is Satan. Consequently, the god of Spring Apollon-Amor is, according to the doctrine of the Church, the Devil and Satan. [19]


In a further ferverino on the subject of Lucifer, he writes in the same chapter:

There is much more [Light] than in the houses of God -- cathedrals and churches -- where Lucifer neither is able nor wishes to enter due to all the somber, stained glass windows wherein are painted the Jewish prophets and apostles, the Roman gods and saints. The forest, that, that was free! [20]


As the above two passages indicate, Rahn is using Biblical and Patristic writings to support his thesis that the Cathars and the troubadors were, in a sense, Devil worshipers ... but only so far as they worshiped pagan gods whom the Church had demonized. In an earlier chapter Rahn notes that Esclarmonde, a famous Cathar saint, "one of the noblest women of the Middle Ages" and heretic of the highest rank, believed that Jehovah -- the Old Testament God of the Jews -- was none other than Satan himself; that Christ never died on the cross and that, therefore, his suffering and death do not redeem the lives or souls of his followers. (This idea that Christ did not die on the cross is one possible reason why Templar postulants were to trample a crucifix underfoot during their initiation ceremony into the Order, and may be the reason there were no crucifixes at Chartres.) "Cursed by the Pope, detested by the King of France, she thought -- until her dying breath -- of nothing other than the religious and political independence of her country." [21] These ideas -- Jehovah the "god of the Jews" as the real Satan, inherent falsehoods in the Gospel account of Christ's life, and dying for the religious and political independence of the state -- all had a receptive audience among the scholars of the Ahnenerbe and of the SS in general, and still does among the racist and anti-Semitic Christian Identity movement today. The Cathars had represented a pure form of Christianity that denied even large portions of the Bible, and they were a political threat to the established Church; certainly, Himmler could approve of this point of view married, as it was, to the idea of a pagan Grail and of the Cathars as "guardians of the Grail." Characterizing Jehovah as an evil demon tallied nicely with the mass destruction of his followers in the camps, and made the extermination of the race of Jehovah an even greater spiritual necessity. Now they were no longer simply members of an inferior race that conspired to rob good Germans of their money, their pride, and their birthright; they were also the children of Satan.

Further, and perhaps even more importantly, as the Old Testament Jews were worshipers of Satan, then Christ could not possibly have been Jewish. Strip away the Jewish content of the New Testament and -- relying on the Biblical "revisionist" scholarship of generations of genuine German academics who cast doubt on the validity of the Gospels themselves -- you are well on your way to accepting Wiligut's thesis that Christ was Baldur, and a Teutonic Sun God!

The "Crusade against the Grail" -- subject and title of Rahn's first book -- was that undertaken by the Catholic Church during its vicious assault on Catharism, in which hundreds of thousands were brutally murdered. To Rahn, the Church was the Enemy both during the time of the Cathars in the thirteenth century and right up to the present day. Worse, it was the enemy of all that was pure, and noble, and good in the world, ideals represented by the Grail: centerpiece of Parzival, of Wagner's operas, of the Morte d'Arthur, and the entire Camelot mystique. The idea of the virgin knight, on a mystic quest throughout Europe for the Sacred Cup, must have appealed enormously to the young, virtually penniless scholar. Himmler referred to his SS men as the knights of a new Order, and one must wonder if Rahn felt -- in his heart of hearts -- somehow at home in his elegant black uniform with the silver runes, a new Teutonic Knight on the same sacred quest for the Grail. In his introduction to the French translation of Luzifers Hofgesind (La Cour de Lucifer), Paul Ladame insists that Rahn joined the SS because there was no option: Himmler offered him a salary, perks, and the freedom to conduct his own academic research unhindered. To refuse would have seemed like madness, and perhaps would have resulted in Rahn's eventual imprisonment anyway.

Other scholarship on the question provides a somewhat different perspective. Evidence from the Nazi side depicts Rahn as an enthusiastic Grail scholar, an admirer of WiIigut (a man who claimed that the Bible was a German creation; a man whom anyone in his or her right mind must have known was a lunatic), and an eager member of the SS.

At first glance this is consistent with Rahn's introduction to Lucifer's Servants, which ends with the proud and defiant claim "My ancestors were pagans. My forebears were heretics." [22] Yet, there is a mystery surrounding Rahn's sudden and unexplained resignation from the SS, a resignation that took place a little over a year after his leave from military service at Dachau.

He resigned his commission in February 1939.

He died less than a month later, on March 13 of that same year, supposedly from exposure while hiking in the mountains. This, from a seasoned traveler, and a trained survivalist (as all SS men were), at an altitude of less than 2,000 meters a week before spring! As Ladame puts it, "to die of cold the 13th of March at less than 2,000 meters, one needs a lot of patience, a strong will ... and time ... perhaps one or two weeks." [23]

Thus Ladame disputes the dating, insisting that his friend died in 1937, shortly after finishing Lucifer's Servants. [24] Ladame claims that Rahn was no Nazi, and no racist. He insists that the Nazi elements in Lucifer's Servants were not of Rahn's making or, if they were, they were inserted at the command or instigation of the SS. And, not surprisingly, Ladame implies that Rahn was murdered; executed by his former colleagues for reason, or reasons, unknown.

Unfortunately, there is some documentary evidence that Otto Rahn was alive and well at least as late as January 1938, when he gave a lecture -- based on Luzifers Hofgesind -- to the Dietrich Eckart Society at Dietrich Eckart House in Dortmund, in Westphalia ... a lecture that was reported upon in the local newspaper. From the tone of the review, Rahn was in fine form that evening:

The Albigensians were exterminated. 205 leading followers of Lucifer were burnt on a huge pyre by Dominicans in the South of France after a large-scale priestly Crusade in the name of Christian clemency. With fire and sword, the Lucifer doctrine of the Light-Bearer was persecuted along with its followers. The Albigensians are dead, but their spirit lives on and has an effect today through new devotion and rejuvenated enthusiasm. The Vicar of Christ could truly burn men; but he was mistaken if he believed that he burned along with them their spirit, devotion and longing. This spirit became alive again before many men yesterday, powerfully and visibly, in Otto Rahn, a descendant of the old Troubadours. [25]


Could someone as intelligent as Rahn's published writings indicate he was, a scholar for whom medieval legend and lore came alive only through careful research and study, have willingly taken up with a character like Wiligut, who claimed that the Teutonic tribes had a verifiable history going back to the year 228,000 B.C.... when the Earth had an embarrassment of three suns? As much as one may wish to argue with the thesis of Crusade against the Grail or Lucifer's Servants, there is nothing of the raving mystagogue about Rahn. One likes to think that his period of obligatory military service at Dachau opened his eyes to the horror of the Reich, and that -- in a final, doomed but proud gesture of dignity -- he resigned his commission in the SS in outrage and disgust at the atrocities he may have witnessed at the death camp associated with the SS base there; and was then murdered for his insubordination a month later.

Then, too, the fact that both Wiligut and Rahn retired from the SS at the same time -- in the same month -- is suggestive of some collusion between the two mythologians: the one elderly and quite insane, the other young and quite intelligent. Rahn's exploits and the mystery surrounding his resignation and subsequent death have received a great deal of attention in European circles over the years, although they are little known in America. His unusual life story has led to considerable speculation that Rahn actually did discover something in his travels, and that since he seemed to confide in Wiligut they both had to be gotten out of the way to protect the secret. That, in fact, they "knew too much." Wiligut was kept under SS lock and key for some time until the end of the war, and died in 1946; he was eighty years old and, with his background of mental illness, hardly a serious threat to the Reichsfuhrer-SS. Rahn, on the other hand, was a bit more of a liability and -- so the theory goes -- he had to be killed.

Either that, or Himmler decided to can them both at the same time when reports of Wiligut's earlier hospitalization for mental illness became common knowledge within the SS. But why would news of Wiligut's infirmity have jeopardized Rahn's career?

There is an intriguing note in the definitive study of Wewelsburg by Prof. Dr. Karl Huser [26] to the effect that Rahn was kicked out of the SS because of his homosexuality. Himmler had a rabid dislike of homosexuals, and through the auspices of Nazi psychiatrists at the Goring Institute tried to have several SS men "cured" of this "malady." [27] Many homosexuals, of course, wound up in concentration camps themselves. Although that was probably not an option with an SS man as relatively well known as Rahn, he was possibly looking at some sort of reprisal in the future, either professionally or in some other way. Unfortunately, we shall never know.

One final possibility -- though there is no evidence to support it -- is that Rahn himself was the first of the SS men to take refuge in that sad Cathar rite, allowed only to the privileged few, the Perfect; that, in the mountain snows above Kufstein, and on the anniversary of the destruction of Montsegur, the miserable scholar exchanged the secret of the long-sought-after Grail for that other treasure of the Cathars: the consolation of a noble death.

Holy Blood, Holy Grail

If the Cathars and troubadors -- heirs of a Gnostic tradition in Europe, possibly brought over from the Middle East from whence the Templars had brought their own mysterious rites -- were crypto-pagans as Rahn believed, and if the set piece of their mythology was the Holy Grail, then it follows that the Grail is not a Christian symbol at all but a purely pagan one. And if the Grail is a pagan ikon, then the Nazis -- overt pagans as they were -- saw in the Grail a sacred instrument of divine power that they could use for their own ends. As the inheritors of the pagan traditions in Europe (at least in their own eyes) the Grail belonged to them. After all, were they not the spiritual descendants of the Teutonic Knights, a chivalric Order that pressed Germany on in a Drive to the East centuries before Hider's invasion of Russia? Were they not the people of the Runes? The people of the Pure Blood?

Messrs. Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln might have been more correct than they realized when they entitled their famous book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. For them, the Grail was in reality the bloodline of Jesus Christ, preserved down through the millennia and safeguarded by yet another secret society, the Priory of Zion, which the authors link to an underground tradition of Freemasonry and Templarism spanning the centuries and which finds its modern manifestation in the Knights of Malta, Italy's P-2, and other such groups.

Part of the problem lies in the term "holy grail," and in the word "grail" itself. Messrs. Baigent et. al. consider that the term sangreal as found in Le Morte d'Arthur and other Grail Romances is really composed of two words: sang and real, that is, blood and royal. (The term sangreal is usually interpreted to mean san greal, "holy grail.") It is an attractive theory and to an extent linguistically satisfying since no two authorities can agree on where the term "grail" comes from and what it means. By denying that such a word really has any meaning at all -- that it is merely the result of misunderstanding the syllable break in sangreal -- we have neatly solved the problem of the Holy Grail by revealing its true nature as Royal Blood. After all, the Grail makes its appearance to Parzival alongside a lance that is dripping blood onto the floor. This scene is presented wordlessly, without comment, as if in a dream. Was the intention of the author to communicate the fact that sangreal really does indicate "royal blood"? This would have pleased the Nazis enormously if the story had been current at the time, for the Nazis were nothing if not Blood enthusiasts after the Foucault model introduced in Chapter One, and -- if they could have somehow linked the concept of "royal blood" with a Teutonic Christ and the Aryan race -- they would have had the basis for a new religious synthesis that could have brought together all acceptable Christians and pure-blooded Aryans in one, big, happy (if rather inbred) family.

By claiming the Grail as their own the Nazis rob Christianity of a huge chunk of its popular mythology. The chalice a Catholic priest raises during the Mass becomes a pagan cauldron; the mystery of the Blood of Christ becomes a hollow echo of pagan sacrifice. Appropriation of the Grail symbolism then becomes an assault on Christian faith itself; at least, on the popular faith of the lumpenproletariat of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Alps to the Caucasus.

That the Grail was originally a pagan symbol is today virtually beyond debate; that it was appropriated by romantic elements within the Christian world (as was much pagan iconography) is certain. However, had Himmler succeeded in producing an actual "Grail" during the war, the effect on the Christian populations of Europe might have been traumatic. Depending on the spin, it would have signaled either the divine mission of the Nazi Party as true inheritors of the ultimate representation of occult power ... or the need for a holy war against the black-clad SS, the satanic monsters who had "stolen" God's sacred Cup from the righteous.

As it is, history records no such discovery of the Grail by the Nazis, or by anyone else. Birks and Gilbert claim that there is no evidence that Nazi hierarchs had any interest at all in the Cathars or in Montsegur. [28] Yet, Himmler had enlisted the talents of a young Grail scholar in a search for the perfect centerpiece for his secret cult headquarters at Wewelsburg, and put his favorite prehistorian, SS-Brigadier Karl Wiligut, in charge of the project. Whether Cathar or Templar, sacred stone or golden cup, finding the Holy Grail was certainly a dream of Himmler's; his Wewelsburg center was beyond any doubt a reverent shrine to the legend of the Round Table. If he eventually gave up on the search, one imagines he did so only with the greatest reluctance.

A final word on Montsegur -- this time by Sabine Baring-Gould, an author who wrote extensively on history and travel at the turn of the century -- is in order, for it shows how Rahn's feelings were shared by a great many people on both sides of the Channel:

The treasures of the Albigenses ... have never been recovered; but the true treasure, for which they fought and for which they died, the emancipation of the human soul from the fetters of slavery in which it had been bound by Rome, has been won by nearly all Europe. [29]


-- Unholy Alliance: A History of Nazi Involvement With the Occult, by Peter Levenda


Alfred Schuler (* 22 November 1865 in Mainz; † 8 April 1923 in Munich) was a religious founder, a gnostic, a mystic and a visionary. Franz Wegener has called Schuler the last of the German Cathars. Schuler saw himself as a reborn Roman of the late imperial era. Also a neopagan, he was the spiritual focus of the "Munich Cosmic Circle."

-- Alfred Schuler, by Wikipedia


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The Occitan cross, a "Cathar rallying symbol".[1]

Catharism (/ˈkæθərɪzəm/; from the Greek: καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure [ones]")[2][3] was a Christian dualist or Gnostic revival movement that thrived in some areas of Southern Europe, particularly what is now northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. The followers were known as Cathars and are now mainly remembered for a prolonged period of persecution by the Catholic Church, which did not recognise their belief as being Christian. Catharism appeared in Europe in the Languedoc region of France in the 11th century and this is when the name first appears. The adherents were sometimes known as Albigensians, after the city Albi in southern France where the movement first took hold.[4] The belief system may have originated in Persia or the Byzantine Empire.[citation needed] Catharism was initially taught by ascetic leaders who set few guidelines, and, thus, some Catharist practices and beliefs varied by region and over time. The Catholic Church denounced its practices including the Consolamentum ritual, by which Cathar individuals were baptized and raised to the status of "perfect".[5]
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

Postby admin » Mon Nov 04, 2019 6:57 am

Part 2 of 2

Catharism may have had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and eastern Byzantine Anatolia and certainly in the Bogomils of the First Bulgarian Empire,[6] who were influenced by the Paulicians resettled in Thrace (Philipopolis) by the Byzantines. Though the term Cathar (/ˈkæθɑːr/) has been used for centuries to identify the movement, whether the movement identified itself with this name is debated.[7] In Cathar texts, the terms Good Men (Bons Hommes), Good Women (Bonnes Femmes), or Good Christians (Bons Chrétiens) are the common terms of self-identification.[8]

The idea of two gods or principles, one good and the other evil, was central to Cathar beliefs. This was antithetical to the monotheistic Catholic Church, whose fundamental principle was that there was only one God, who created all things visible and invisible.[9] Cathars believed that the good God was the God of the New Testament and the creator of the spiritual realm. They believed the evil God was the God of the Old Testament, creator of the physical world whom many Cathars identified as Satan. Cathars thought human spirits were the sexless spirits of angels trapped in the material realm of the evil god, destined to be reincarnated until they achieved salvation through the consolamentum, when they could return to the benign God.[10]

From the beginning of his reign, Pope Innocent III attempted to end Catharism by sending missionaries and by persuading the local authorities to act against them. In 1208, Innocent's papal legate Pierre de Castelnau was murdered while returning to Rome after excommunicating Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, who, in his view, was too lenient with the Cathars.[11] Pope Innocent III then abandoned the option of sending Catholic missionaries and jurists, declared Pierre de Castelnau a martyr and launched the Albigensian Crusade which all but ended Catharism.[11][12]

Origins

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Paulicianism and Europe

The origins of the Cathars' beliefs are unclear, but most theories agree they came from the Byzantine Empire, mostly by the trade routes and spread from the First Bulgarian Empire to the Netherlands. The name of Bulgarians (Bougres) was also applied to the Albigensians, and they maintained an association with the similar Christian movement of the Bogomils ("Friends of God") of Thrace. "That there was a substantial transmission of ritual and ideas from Bogomilism to Catharism is beyond reasonable doubt."[13] Their doctrines have numerous resemblances to those of the Bogomils and the Paulicians, who influenced them,[14] as well as the earlier Marcionites, who were found in the same areas as the Paulicians, the Manicheans and the Christian Gnostics of the first few centuries AD, although, as many scholars, most notably Mark Pegg, have pointed out, it would be erroneous to extrapolate direct, historical connections based on theoretical similarities perceived by modern scholars.

John Damascene, writing in the 8th century AD, also notes of an earlier sect called the "Cathari", in his book On Heresies, taken from the epitome provided by Epiphanius of Salamis in his Panarion. He says of them: "They absolutely reject those who marry a second time, and reject the possibility of penance [that is, forgiveness of sins after baptism]".[15] These are probably the same Cathari (actually Novations) who are mentioned in Canon 8 of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in the year 325, which states "... [ i]f those called Cathari come over [to the faith], let them first make profession that they are willing to communicate [share full communion] with the twice-married, and grant pardon to those who have lapsed ..."[16]

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A map signifying the routes of the Cathar castles (blue squares and lines) in the south of France around the turn of the 13th century

The writings of the Cathars were mostly destroyed because of the doctrinal threat perceived by the Papacy;[17] thus, the historical record of the Cathars is derive primarily from their opponents. Cathar ideology continues to be debated, with commentators regularly accusing opposing perspectives of speculation, distortion and bias. Only a few texts of the Cathars remain, as preserved by their opponents (such as the Rituel Cathare de Lyon) which give a glimpse into the ideologies of their faith.[14] One large text which has survived, The Book of Two Principles (Liber de duobus principiis),[18] which elaborates the principles of dualistic theology from the point of view of some Albanenses Cathars.[19]

It is now generally agreed by most scholars that identifiable historical Catharism did not emerge until at least 1143, when the first confirmed report of a group espousing similar beliefs is reported being active at Cologne by the cleric Eberwin of Steinfeld.[20] A landmark in the "institutional history" of the Cathars was the Council, held in 1167 at Saint-Félix-Lauragais, attended by many local figures and also by the Bogomil papa Nicetas, the Cathar bishop of (northern) France and a leader of the Cathars of Lombardy.

The Cathars were largely local, Western European/Latin Christian phenomena, springing up in the Rhineland cities (particularly Cologne) in the mid-12th century, northern France around the same time, and particularly the Languedoc—and the northern Italian cities in the mid-late 12th century. In the Languedoc and northern Italy, the Cathars attained their greatest popularity, surviving in the Languedoc, in much reduced form, up to around 1325 and in the Italian cities until the Inquisitions of the 14th century finally extirpated them.[21]

General beliefs

Theology


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War in heaven. Illustration by Gustave Doré.

Cathar cosmology identified two twin, opposing deities. The first was a good God, portrayed in the New Testament and creator of the spirit, while the second was an evil God, depicted in the Old Testament and creator of matter and the physical world.[22] The latter, often called Rex Mundi ("King of the World"),[23] was identified as the God of Judaism,[22] and was also either conflated with Satan or considered Satan's father, creator or seducer.[6] They solved the problem of evil by stating that the good God's power to do good was limited by the evil God's works and vice versa.[24] All visible matter, including the human body, was created by this Rex Mundi; matter was therefore tainted with sin. Under this view, humans were actually angels seduced by Satan before a war in heaven against the army of Michael, after which they would have been forced to spend an eternity trapped in the evil God's material realm.[6] The Cathars taught that to regain angelic status one had to renounce the material self completely. Until one was prepared to do so, they would be stuck in a cycle of reincarnation, condemned to live on the corrupt Earth.[25] Zoé Oldenbourg compared the Cathars to "Western Buddhists" because she considered that their view of the doctrine of "resurrection" taught by Christ was similar to the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth.[26][self-published source]

Cathars venerated Jesus Christ and followed what they considered to be his true teachings, labelling themselves as "Good Christians."[8] Cathars denied the physical incarnation of Jesus.[27] Authors believe that their conceptions of Jesus resembled docetism, considering him the human form of an angel,[28] whose physical body was only appearance.[29] This illusory form would have possibly been given by the Virgin Mary, another angel in human form.[24] Most did not accept the normative Trinitarian understanding of Jesus, instead resembling nontrinitarian modalistic monarchianism (Sabellianism) in the West and adoptionism in the East, which might or might not be combined with the mentioned docetism.[30] Bernard of Clairvaux's biographer and other sources accuse some Cathars of Arianism,[31][32] and some scholars see Cathar Christology as having traces of earlier Arian roots.[33][34] In any case, Cathars firmly rejected the Resurrection of Jesus, seeing it as representing reincarnation, and the Christian symbol of the cross, considering it to be not more than a material instrument of torture and evil. They also saw John the Baptist, identified also with Elijah, as an evil being sent to hinder Jesus's teaching through the false sacrament of baptism.[6]

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St. Paul, by Valentin de Boulogne.

However, those beliefs were far from unanimous. Some Cathar communities believed in a mitigated dualism similar to their Bogomil predecessors, stating that the evil God, Satan, had previously been the true God's servant before rebelling against him.[24] Others, likely a majority given the influence reflected on the Book of the Two Principles, believed in an absolute dualism, where the two Gods were twin entities of the same power and importance.[24] In the same line, some communities might have believed in the existence of a spirit realm created by the good God, the "Land of the Living", whose history and geography would have served as the basis for the evil God's corrupt creation. Under this view, the history of Jesus would have happened roughly as told, only in the spirit realm.[22] The physical Jesus from the material world would have been evil, a false messiah and a lustful lover of the material Mary Magdalene. However, the true Jesus would have influenced the physical world in a way similar to the Harrowing of Hell, only by inhabiting the body of Paul. [22] Cathars also possibly believed in a Day of Judgement that would come when the number of just equated that of angels who fell, in which the believers would ascend to the spirit realm while the sinners would be thrown to everlasting fire along with Satan.[24] 13th century chronicler Pierre des Vaux-de-Cernay recorded those views.[22]

The alleged sacred texts of the Cathars, besides the New Testament, included the previously Bogomil text The Gospel of the Secret Supper (also called John's Interrogation) and the Cathar original work The Book of the Two Principles.[35] They regarded the Old Testament as written by Satan except for a few books which they accepted.[6]

Sacraments

Cathars, in general, formed an anti-sacerdotal party in opposition to the pre-Reformation Christian Church, protesting against what they perceived to be the moral, spiritual and political corruption of the church.[14] In contrast to the them, the Cathars had but one central rite, the Consolamentum, or Consolation. This involved a brief spiritual ceremony to remove all sin from the believer and to induct him or her into the next higher level as a perfect.[36]

Many believers would receive the Consolamentum as death drew near, performing the ritual of liberation at a moment when the heavy obligations of purity required of Perfecti would be temporally short. Some of those who received the sacrament of the consolamentum upon their death-beds may thereafter have shunned further food or drink and, more often and in addition, expose themselves to extreme cold, in order to speed death. This has been termed the endura.[37] It was claimed by some of the church writers that when a Cathar, after receiving the Consolamentum, began to show signs of recovery he or she would be smothered in order to ensure his or her entry into paradise. Other than at such moments of extremis, little evidence exists to suggest this was a common Cathar practice.[38]

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Painting by Pedro Berruguete portraying the story of a disputation between Saint Dominic and the Cathars (Albigensians), in which the books of both were thrown on a fire and Dominic's books were miraculously preserved from the flames.

The Cathars also refused the sacrament of the eucharist saying that it could not possibly be the body of Christ. They also refused to partake in the practice of Baptism by water. The following two quotes are taken from the Inquisitor Bernard Gui's experiences with the Cathar practices and beliefs:

Then they attack and vituperate, in turn, all the sacraments of the Church, especially the sacrament of the eucharist, saying that it cannot contain the body of Christ, for had this been as great as the largest mountain Christians would have entirely consumed it before this. They assert that the host comes from straw, that it passes through the tails of horses, to wit, when the flour is cleaned by a sieve (of horse hair); that, moreover, it passes through the body and comes to a vile end, which, they say, could not happen if God were in it.[39]

Of baptism, they assert that the water is material and corruptible and is therefore the creation of the evil power, and cannot sanctify the spirit, but that the churchmen sell this water out of avarice, just as they sell earth for the burial of the dead, and oil to the sick when they anoint them, and as they sell the confession of sins as made to the priests.[39]


Social relationships

Killing was abhorrent to the Cathars. Consequently, abstention from all animal food (sometimes exempting fish) was enjoined of the Perfecti. The Perfecti avoided eating anything considered to be a by-product of sexual reproduction.[36] War and capital punishment were also condemned—an abnormality in Medieval Europe. In a world where few could read, their rejection of oath-taking marked them as social outcasts.

To the Cathars, reproduction was a moral evil to be avoided, as it continued the chain of reincarnation and suffering in the material world. It was claimed by their opponents that, given this loathing for procreation, they generally resorted to sodomy. Such was the situation that a charge of heresy leveled against a suspected Cathar was usually dismissed if the accused could show he was legally married.

When Bishop Fulk of Toulouse, a key leader of the anti-Cathar persecutions, excoriated the Languedoc Knights for not pursuing the heretics more diligently, he received the reply, "We cannot. We have been reared in their midst. We have relatives among them and we see them living lives of perfection."[40]

Organization

It has been alleged that the Cathar Church of the Languedoc had a relatively flat structure, distinguishing between the baptised perfecti (a term they did not use; instead, bonhommes) and ordinary unbaptised believers (credentes).[36] By about 1140, liturgy and a system of doctrine had been established.[41] They created a number of bishoprics, first at Albi around 1165 [42] and after the 1167 Council at Saint-Félix-Lauragais sites at Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Agen, so that four bishoprics were in existence by 1200.[36][41][43][44] In about 1225, during a lull in the Albigensian Crusade, the bishopric of Razès was added. Bishops were supported by their two assistants: a filius maior (typically the successor) and a filius minor, who were further assisted by deacons.[45] The perfecti were the spiritual elite, highly respected by many of the local people, leading a life of austerity and charity.[36] In the apostolic fashion they ministered to the people and travelled in pairs.[36]

Role of women and gender

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Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. In this group, women appear to be nearly as numerous as men.

Catharism has been seen as giving women the greatest opportunities for independent action since women were found as being believers as well as Perfecti, who were able to administer the sacrament of the consolamentum.[46]

Cathars believed that one would be repeatedly reincarnated until one commits to the self-denial of the material world. A man could be reincarnated as a woman and vice versa, thereby rendering gender meaningless.[47] The spirit was of utmost importance to the Cathars and was described as being immaterial and sexless.[47] Because of this belief, the Cathars saw women as equally capable of being spiritual leaders, which undermined the very concept of gender as held by the Catholic Church.[48]

Women accused of being heretics in early medieval Christianity included those labeled Gnostics, Cathars, and, later, the Beguines, as well as several other groups that were sometimes "tortured and executed".[49] Cathars, like the Gnostics who preceded them, assigned more importance to the role of Mary Magdalene in the spread of early Christianity than the church previously did. Her vital role as a teacher contributed to the Cathar belief that women could serve as spiritual leaders. Women were found to be included in the Perfecti in significant numbers, with numerous receiving the consolamentum after being widowed.[46] Having reverence for the Gospel of John, the Cathars saw Mary Magdalene as perhaps even more important than Saint Peter, the founder of the church.[50]

The Cathar movement proved successful in gaining female followers because of its proto-feminist teachings along with the general feeling of exclusion from the Catholic church. Catharism attracted numerous women with the promise of a leadership role that the Catholic Church did not allow.[10] Catharism let women become a perfect of the faith, a position of far more prestige than anything the Catholic Church offered.[51] These female perfects were required to adhere to a strict and ascetic lifestyle, but were still able to have their own houses.[52] Although many women found something attractive in Catharism, not all found its teachings convincing. A notable example is Hildegard of Bingen, who in 1163 gave a widely renowned sermon against the Cathars in Cologne. During this speech, Hildegard announced a state of eternal punishment and damnation to all those who accepted Cathar beliefs.[53]

While women perfects rarely traveled to preach the faith, they still played a vital role in the spreading of the Catharism by establishing group homes for women.[54] Though it was extremely uncommon, there were isolated cases of female Cathars leaving their homes to spread the faith.[55] In Cathar communal homes (ostals), women were educated in the faith, and these women would go on to bear children who would then also become believers. Through this pattern the faith grew exponentially through the efforts of women as each generation passed.[54] Among some groups of Cathars there were more women than there were men.[56]

Despite women having an instrumental role in the growing of the faith, Catharism was not completely equal, for example the belief that one's last incarnation had to be experienced as a man to break the cycle.[40] This belief was inspired by later French Cathars, who taught that women must be reborn as men in order to achieve salvation.[10] Another example was that the sexual allure of women impeded man's ability to reject the material world.[40] Toward the end of the Cathar movement, Catharism became less equal and started the practice of excluding women perfects.[10] However, this trend remained limited (Later Italian perfects still included women.[10])

Suppression

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Cathars being burnt at the stake in an auto-de-fé, anachronistically presided over by Saint Dominic, as depicted by Pedro Berruguete

In 1147, Pope Eugene III sent a legate to the Cathar district in order to arrest the progress of the Cathars. The few isolated successes of Bernard of Clairvaux could not obscure the poor results of this mission, which clearly showed the power of the sect in the Languedoc at that period. The missions of Cardinal Peter of St. Chrysogonus to Toulouse and the Toulousain in 1178, and of Henry of Marcy, cardinal-bishop of Albano, in 1180–81, obtained merely momentary successes.[14] Henry's armed expedition, which took the stronghold at Lavaur, did not extinguish the movement.

Decisions of Catholic Church councils—in particular, those of the Council of Tours (1163) and of the Third Council of the Lateran (1179)—had scarcely more effect upon the Cathars. When Pope Innocent III came to power in 1198, he was resolved to deal with them.[57]

At first Innocent tried peaceful conversion, and sent a number of legates into the Cathar regions. They had to contend not only with the Cathars, the nobles who protected them, and the people who respected them, but also with many of the bishops of the region, who resented the considerable authority the Pope had conferred upon his legates. In 1204, Innocent III suspended a number of bishops in Occitania;[58] in 1205 he appointed a new and vigorous bishop of Toulouse, the former troubadour Foulques. In 1206 Diego of Osma and his canon, the future Saint Dominic, began a programme of conversion in Languedoc; as part of this, Catholic-Cathar public debates were held at Verfeil, Servian, Pamiers, Montréal and elsewhere.

Dominic met and debated with the Cathars in 1203 during his mission to the Languedoc. He concluded that only preachers who displayed real sanctity, humility and asceticism could win over convinced Cathar believers. The institutional Church as a general rule did not possess these spiritual warrants.[59] His conviction led eventually to the establishment of the Dominican Order in 1216. The order was to live up to the terms of his famous rebuke, "Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth." However, even Dominic managed only a few converts among the Cathari.

Albigensian Crusade

Main article: Albigensian Crusade

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Pope Innocent III excommunicating the Albigensians (left), massacre of the Albigensians by the crusaders (right)

In January 1208 the papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau—a Cistercian monk, theologian and canon lawyer—was sent to meet the ruler of the area, Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse.[60] Known for excommunicating noblemen who protected the Cathars, Castelnau excommunicated Raymond for abetting heresy following an allegedly fierce argument during which Raymond supposedly threatened Castelnau with violence.[61] Shortly thereafter, Castelnau was murdered as he returned to Rome, allegedly by a knight in the service of Count Raymond. His body was returned and laid to rest in the Abbey at Saint Gilles.

As soon as he heard of the murder, the Pope ordered the legates to preach a crusade against the Cathars and wrote a letter to Philip Augustus, King of France, appealing for his intervention—or an intervention led by his son, Louis. This was not the first appeal but some see the murder of the legate as a turning point in papal policy. The chronicler of the crusade which followed, Peter of Vaux de Cernay, portrays the sequence of events in such a way that, having failed in his effort to peaceably demonstrate the errors of Catharism, the Pope then called a formal crusade, appointing a series of leaders to head the assault.

The French King refused to lead the crusade himself, and could not spare his son to do so either—despite his victory against John, King of England, there were still pressing issues with Flanders and the empire and the threat of an Angevin revival. Philip did sanction the participation of some of his barons, notably Simon de Montfort and Bouchard de Marly. There followed twenty years of war against the Cathars and their allies in the Languedoc: the Albigensian Crusade.

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Cité de Carcassonne today

This war pitted the nobles of France against those of the Languedoc. The widespread northern enthusiasm for the Crusade was partially inspired by a papal decree permitting the confiscation of lands owned by Cathars and their supporters. This angered not only the lords of the south but also the French King, who was at least nominally the suzerain of the lords whose lands were now open to seizure. Philip Augustus wrote to Pope Innocent in strong terms to point this out—but the Pope did not change his policy. As the Languedoc was supposedly teeming with Cathars and Cathar sympathisers, this made the region a target for northern French noblemen looking to acquire new fiefs. The barons of the north headed south to do battle.

Their first target was the lands of the Trencavel, powerful lords of Carcassonne, Béziers, Albi and the Razes. Little was done to form a regional coalition and the crusading army was able to take Carcassonne, the Trencavel capital, incarcerating Raymond Roger Trencavel in his own citadel where he died within three months; champions of the Occitan cause claimed that he was murdered. Simon de Montfort was granted the Trencavel lands by the Pope and did homage for them to the King of France, thus incurring the enmity of Peter II of Aragon who had held aloof from the conflict, even acting as a mediator at the time of the siege of Carcassonne. The remainder of the first of the two Cathar wars now focused on Simon's attempt to hold on to his gains through winters where he was faced, with only a small force of confederates operating from the main winter camp at Fanjeaux, with the desertion of local lords who had sworn fealty to him out of necessity—and attempts to enlarge his newfound domains in the summer when his forces were greatly augmented by reinforcements from France, Germany and elsewhere.

Summer campaigns saw him not only retake what he had lost in the "close" season, but also seek to widen his sphere of operation—and we see him in action in the Aveyron at St. Antonin and on the banks of the Rhône at Beaucaire. Simon's greatest triumph was the victory against superior numbers at the Battle of Muret—a battle which saw not only the defeat of Raymond of Toulouse and his Occitan allies—but also the death of Peter of Aragon—and the effective end of the ambitions of the house of Aragon/Barcelona in the Languedoc. This was in the medium and longer term of much greater significance to the royal house of France than it was to de Montfort—and with the Battle of Bouvines was to secure the position of Philip Augustus vis a vis England and the Empire. The Battle of Muret was a massive step in the creation of the unified French kingdom and the country we know today—although Edward III, Edward the Black Prince and Henry V would threaten later to shake these foundations.

Massacre

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Massacre of the Albigensians by the crusaders

The crusader army came under the command, both spiritually and militarily, of the papal legate Arnaud-Amaury, Abbot of Cîteaux. In the first significant engagement of the war, the town of Béziers was besieged on 22 July 1209. The Catholic inhabitants of the city were granted the freedom to leave unharmed, but many refused and opted to stay and fight alongside the Cathars.

The Cathars spent much of 1209 fending off the crusaders. The Béziers army attempted a sortie but was quickly defeated, then pursued by the crusaders back through the gates and into the city. Arnaud-Amaury, the Cistercian abbot-commander, is supposed to have been asked how to tell Cathars from Catholics. His reply, recalled by Caesarius of Heisterbach, a fellow Cistercian, thirty years later was "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius"—"Kill them all, the Lord will recognise His own".[62][63] The doors of the church of St Mary Magdalene were broken down and the refugees dragged out and slaughtered. Reportedly at least 7,000 men, women and children were killed there by Catholic forces. Elsewhere in the town, many more thousands were mutilated and killed. Prisoners were blinded, dragged behind horses, and used for target practice.[64] What remained of the city was razed by fire. Arnaud-Amaury wrote to Pope Innocent III, "Today your Holiness, twenty thousand heretics were put to the sword, regardless of rank, age, or sex."[65][66] "The permanent population of Béziers at that time was then probably no more than 5,000, but local refugees seeking shelter within the city walls could conceivably have increased the number to 20,000."[67][self-published source]

After the success of his siege of Carcassonne, which followed the Massacre at Béziers in 1209, Simon de Montfort was designated as leader of the Crusader army. Prominent opponents of the Crusaders were Raymond Roger Trencavel, viscount of Carcassonne, and his feudal overlord Peter II of Aragon, who held fiefdoms and had a number of vassals in the region. Peter died fighting against the crusade on 12 September 1213 at the Battle of Muret. Simon de Montfort was killed on 25 June 1218 after maintaining a siege of Toulouse for nine months.[68]

Treaty and persecution

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The burning of the Cathar heretics

The official war ended in the Treaty of Paris (1229), by which the king of France dispossessed the house of Toulouse of the greater part of its fiefs, and that of the Trencavels (Viscounts of Béziers and Carcassonne) of the whole of their fiefs. The independence of the princes of the Languedoc was at an end. But in spite of the wholesale massacre of Cathars during the war, Catharism was not yet extinguished and Catholic forces would continue to pursue Cathars.[58]

In 1215, the bishops of the Catholic Church met at the Fourth Council of the Lateran under Pope Innocent III; part of the agenda was combating the Cathar heresy.[69]

The Inquisition was established in 1233 to uproot the remaining Cathars.[70] Operating in the south at Toulouse, Albi, Carcassonne and other towns during the whole of the 13th century, and a great part of the 14th, it succeeded in crushing Catharism as a popular movement and driving its remaining adherents underground.[70] Cathars who refused to recant were hanged, or burnt at the stake.[71]

On Friday, 13 May 1239, 183 men and women convinced of Catharism were burned at the stake on the orders of Robert le Bougre. Mount Guimar was already denounced as a place of heresy by the letter of the bishop of Liège to Pope Lucius II in 1144. Augustine, bishop of Hippo Regius, had expelled from the city a Fortunatus who had fled Africa in 392; he is a Fortunatus who is reported as a monk from Africa and protected by the lord of Widomarum.[72][73][74]

From May 1243 to March 1244, the Cathar fortress of Montségur was besieged by the troops of the seneschal of Carcassonne and the archbishop of Narbonne.[75] On 16 March 1244, a large and symbolically important massacre took place, where over 200 Cathar Perfects were burnt in an enormous pyre at the prat dels cremats ("field of the burned") near the foot of the castle.[75] Moreover, the church decreed lesser chastisements against laymen suspected of sympathy with Cathars, at the 1235 Council of Narbonne.[76]

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Inquisitors required heretical sympathisers—repentant first offenders—to sew a yellow cross onto their clothes.[77]

A popular though as yet unsubstantiated theory holds that a small party of Cathar Perfects escaped from the fortress before the massacre at prat dels cremats. It is widely held in the Cathar region to this day that the escapees took with them le trésor cathar. What this treasure consisted of has been a matter of considerable speculation: claims range from sacred Gnostic texts to the Cathars' accumulated wealth, which might have included the Holy Grail (see the Section on Historical Scholarship, below).

Hunted by the Inquisition and deserted by the nobles of their districts, the Cathars became more and more scattered fugitives: meeting surreptitiously in forests and mountain wilds. Later insurrections broke out under the leadership of Roger-Bernard II, Count of Foix, Aimery III of Narbonne, and Bernard Délicieux, a Franciscan friar later prosecuted for his adherence to another heretical movement, that of the Spiritual Franciscans at the beginning of the 14th century. But by this time the Inquisition had grown very powerful. Consequently, many presumed to be Cathars were summoned to appear before it. Precise indications of this are found in the registers of the Inquisitors, Bernard of Caux, Jean de St Pierre, Geoffroy d'Ablis, and others.[58] The parfaits it was said only rarely recanted, and hundreds were burnt. Repentant lay believers were punished, but their lives were spared as long as they did not relapse. Having recanted, they were obliged to sew yellow crosses onto their outdoor clothing and to live apart from other Catholics, at least for a while.

Annihilation

After several decades of harassment and re-proselytising, and, perhaps even more important, the systematic destruction of their religious texts, the sect was exhausted and could find no more adepts. The leader of a Cathar revival in the Pyrenean foothills, Peire Autier, was captured and executed in April 1310 in Toulouse.[78][79] After 1330, the records of the Inquisition contain very few proceedings against Cathars.[58] The last known Cathar perfectus in the Languedoc, Guillaume Bélibaste, was executed in the autumn of 1321.[80][79]

From the mid-12th century onwards, Italian Catharism came under increasing pressure from the Pope and the Inquisition, "spelling the beginning of the end".[81] Other movements, such as the Waldensians and the pantheistic Brethren of the Free Spirit, which suffered persecution in the same area, survived in remote areas and in small numbers into the 14th and 15th centuries. Some Waldensian ideas were absorbed into other proto-Protestant sects, such as the Hussites, Lollards, and the Moravian Church (Herrnhuters of Germany). Cathars were in no way Protestant, and very few if any Protestants consider them as their forerunners (as opposed to groups like Waldensians, Hussites, Lollards and Arnoldists).

Later history

After the suppression of Catharism, the descendants of Cathars were discriminated against, at times required to live outside towns and their defences. They retained their Cathar identity, despite their reintegration into Catholicism. As such, any use of the term "Cathar" to refer to people after the suppression of Catharism in the 14th century is a cultural or ancestral reference, and has no religious implication[citation needed]. Nevertheless, interest in the Cathars, their history, legacy and beliefs continues.

Pays Cathare

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The castle of Montségur was razed after 1244. The current fortress follows French military architecture of the 17th century.

The term Pays Cathare, French meaning "Cathar Country", is used to highlight the Cathar heritage and history of the region where Catharism was traditionally strongest. This area is centred around fortresses such as Montségur and Carcassonne; also the French département of the Aude uses the title Pays Cathare in tourist brochures.[82] These areas have ruins from the wars against the Cathars which are still visible today.

Some[who?] criticise the promotion of the identity of Pays Cathare as an exaggeration for tourism purposes. Many of the promoted Cathar castles were not built by Cathars but by local lords and later many of them were rebuilt and extended for strategic purposes.[original research?] Good examples of these are the magnificent castles of Queribus and Peyrepertuse which are both perched on the side of precipitous drops on the last folds of the Corbieres mountains. They were for several hundred years frontier fortresses belonging to the French crown and most of what is still there dates from a post-Cathar era. Many consider the County of Foix to be the actual historical centre of Catharism.

Interrogation of heretics

In an effort to find the few remaining heretics in and around the village of Montaillou, Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Pamiers, future Pope Benedict XII, had those suspected of heresy interrogated in the presence of scribes who recorded their conversations. The late 13th- to early-14th-century document, discovered in the Vatican archives in the 1960s and edited by Jean Duvernoy, is the basis for Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's work Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error.[21]

Historical scholarship

The publication of the early scholarly book Crusade Against the Grail by the young German Otto Rahn in the 1930s rekindled interest in the connection between the Cathars and the Holy Grail, especially in Germany. Rahn was convinced that the 13th-century work Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach was a veiled account of the Cathars. The philosopher and Nazi government official Alfred Rosenberg speaks favourably of the Cathars in The Myth of the Twentieth Century.[83]

Academic books in English first appeared at the beginning of the millennium: for example, Malcolm Lambert's The Cathars[84] and Malcolm Barber's The Cathars.[24]

Starting in the 1990s and continuing to the present day, historians like R. I. Moore have radically challenged the extent to which Catharism, as an institutionalized religion, actually existed. Building on the work of French historians such as Monique Zerner and Uwe Brunn, Moore's The War on Heresy[85] argues that Catharism was "contrived from the resources of [the] well-stocked imaginations" of churchmen, "with occasional reinforcement from miscellaneous and independent manifestations of local anticlericalism or apostolic enthusiasm".[86] In short, Moore claims that the men and women persecuted as Cathars were not the followers of a secret religion imported from the East, instead they were part of a broader spiritual revival taking place in the later twelfth and early thirteenth century. Moore's work is indicative of a larger historiographical trend towards examination of how heresy was constructed by the church.[87]

In art and music

The principal legacy of the Cathar movement is in the poems and songs of the Cathar troubadors, though this artistic legacy is only a smaller part of the wider Occitan linguistic and artistic heritage. Recent artistic projects concentrating on the Cathar element in Provençal and troubador art include commercial recording projects by Thomas Binkley, electric hurdy-gurdy artist Valentin Clastrier and his CD Heresie dedicated to the church at Cathars,[88] La Nef,[89] and Jordi Savall.[90]

The Cathars are depicted in Jacques Tissinier's cement sculpture Les Chevaliers Cathares, along l'autoroute des Deux Mers in Narbonne.[91]

In recent popular culture, Catharism has been linked with the Knights Templar, an active sect of monks founded during the First Crusade (1095–1099). This link has caused fringe theories about the Cathars and the possibility of their possession of the Holy Grail.[citation needed]

See also

• Antonin Gadal
• Crusades
• Edmund Hamer Broadbent—The Pilgrim Church

References

Notes


1. La vie quotidienne des cathares du Languedoc, René Nelli.
2. OED (1989), "Cathar".
3. καθαροί. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
4. Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel (1990). Montaillou: Cathars and Catholics in a French Village. London: Penguin. pp. vii. ISBN 978-0-14-013700-2.
5. Lambert, Malcolm (1998). The Cathars. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 21. ISBN 0-631-14343-2.
6. Peters, Edward, ed. (1980). "The Cathars". Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 108.
7. Pegg (2001a), pp. 181 ff.
8. Théry (2002), pp. 75–117.
9. See: Nicene Creed
10. Schaus (2006), p. 114.
11. Sumption (1999), pp. 15–16.
12. Madaule (1967), pp. 56–63.
13. Lambert (1998), p. 31.
14. Alphandéry (1911), p. 505.
15. John of Damascus (2012), p. 125.
16. Schaff & Wace (1994), p. 20.
17. Murphy (2012), pp. 26–27.
18. Dondaine (1939).
19. Wakefield & Evans (1991), pp. 511–515.
20. See especially R. I. Moore's The Origins of European Dissent, and the collection of essays Heresy and the Persecuting Society in the Middle Ages: Essays on the Work of R.I. Moore for a consideration of the origins of the Cathars, and proof against identifying earlier heretics in the West, such as those identified in 1025 at Monforte, outside Milan, as being Cathars. Also see Heresies of the High Middle Ages, a collection of pertinent documents on Western heresies of the High Middle Ages, edited by Walter Wakefield and Austin P. Evans.
21. See Emmanuel LeRoy Ladurie's Montaillou: the Promised Land of Error for an analysis of the social context of these last Languedoc Cathars, and Power and Purity by Carol Lansing for a consideration of 13th-century Catharism in Orvieto.
22. Sibly, W. A.; Sibly, M. D. (2002). The History of the Albigensian Crusade. Boydell Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 9780851158075.
23. Jeffrey J., Butz (2009). The Secret Legacy of Jesus: The Judaic Teachings That Passed from James the Just to the Founding Fathers. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781594779213.
24. Barber (2000).
25. O'Shea (2000), p. 11.
26. Maseko (2008), p. 482: "In the book 'Massacre at Montsegur' (a book widely regarded by medievalists as having a pronounced, pro-Cathar bias) the Cathars are referred to as 'Western Buddhists' because of their belief that the Doctrine of 'resurrection' taught."
27. Butz (2009).
28. Townsend (2008), p. 9: "The Cathars did not accept the Church doctrine of Jesus being the 'Son of God'. Cathars believed that Jesus was not embodied in the human form but an angel (Docetic Christology), which echoed back to the Arian controversy."
29. "Albigensians", Encyclopaedia 2, The Free dictionary
30. "Cathari", Columbia Encyclopedia, Columbia University Press, 2007.
31. Lambert (1998), p. 41: "Bernard's biographer identifies another group in Toulouse which he calls Arians, who have sometimes been identified as Cathars though the evidence is scant. It is most likely that the first Cathars to penetrate Languedoc appealed..."
32. Luscombe & Riley-Smith (2004), p. 522: "Even though his biographer does not describe their beliefs, Arians would have been an appropriate label for moderate dualists with an unorthodox Christology, and the term was certainly later used in Languedoc to describe Cathars."
33. Johnston (2011), p. 115: "However, they became converts to Arian Christianity, which later developed into Catharism. Arian and Cathar doctrines were sufficiently different from Catholic doctrine that the two branches were incompatible."
34. Kienzle (2001), p. 92: "The term 'Arian' is often joined with 'Manichean' to designate Cathars. Geoffrey's comment implies that he and others called those heretics 'weavers', whereas they called themselves 'Arians'."
35. The Gnostic Bible, Google Books.
36. Johnston (2000), p. 252.
37. Murray, Alexander. Suicide in the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820539-2.
38. Barber (2000), pp. 103–104.
39. Burr (1996).
40. O'Shea (2000), p. 42.
41. Sumption (1999), pp. 49–50.
42. O'Shea (2000), pp. 2–4.
43. Lambert (1998), p. 70.
44. Lambert (2002), p. 140.
45. Moore (1995), p. 137.
46. Ward (2002), pp. 241–42.
47. O'Shea (2000), pp. 10–12.
48. O'Shea (2000), pp. 25–26.
49. Clark (2001), p. 412.
50. O'Shea (2000), pp. 80–81.
51. O'Shea (2000), pp. 40–43.
52. Kaelber (1997), p. 120.
53. Newman (1998), pp. 753–755.
54. O'Shea (2000), p. 41.
55. Weis (2001), p. 122.
56. Walther (1965), p. 167.
57. Alphandéry (1911), pp. 505–506.
58. Alphandéry (1911), p. 506.
59. Johnson (1976), p. 251.
60. Sumption (1999), pp. 68–69.
61. Sumption (1999), pp. 72–73.
62. of Heisterbach, Caesarius (1851), Strange, J (ed.), Caesarius Heiserbacencis monachi ordinis Cisterciensis, Dialogus miraculorum, 2, Cologne: JM Heberle, pp. 296–8, Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eis. Caesarius (c) was a Cistercian Master of Novices.
63. Moore (2003), p. 180.
64. Johnson (1976), p. 252.
65. Innocent III (1855), Vol. 216.
66. Sibly & Sibly (2003), p. 128.
67. Maseko, Achim Nkosi (2008). Church Schism and Corruption. Durban, South Africa. p. 485.
68. Chanson de la Croisade Albigeoise laisse 205.
69. Sumption (1999), pp. 179–81.
70. Sumption (1999), pp. 230–232.
71. Martin (2005), pp. 105–121.
72. fr:Mont Aimé[circular reference]
73. «Ce lieu est terrible, le Mont-Aimé en Champagne », père Albert Mathieu
74. "Albert Mathieu". BnF. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
75. Sumption (1999), pp. 238–40.
76. Innocent IV (1252), Ad extirpanda (Bull).
77. Weis (2001), pp. 11–12.
78. O'Shea (2000), pp. 237–38.
79. Sumption (1999), pp. 242–43.
80. O'Shea (2000), pp. 239–46.
81. O'Shea (2000), p. 230.
82. "Pays Cathare".
83. Rosenberg, Alfred (c. 1980). "Myth of the 20th century". p. 93. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
84. Lambert (1998).
85. R. I. Moore, War on Heresy. New York: Belknap Press, 2012.
86. Moore, R. I. (2012). "L. J. Sackville. Heresy and Heretics in the Thirteenth Century: The Textual Representations" (PDF). H-France Review. 12 (44). Retrieved 11 June 2018.
87. Biller, Peter. "review of The War on Heresy: Faith and Power in Medieval Europe, (review no. 1546)". Reviews in History. Retrieved 9 October 2015, with R. I. Moore's response.
88. L'Agonie du Languedoc: Claude Marti / Studio der frühen Musik – Thomas Binkley, dir. EMI "Reflexe" 1C 063-30 132 [LP-Stereo]1975
89. La Nef. Montségur: La tragédie cathare. Dorian Recordings.DOR-90243
90. Savall The Forgotten Kingdom: The Cathar Tragedy – The Albigensian Crusade AVSA9873 A+C Alia Vox 2009
91. "Narbonne: les chevaliers cathares de Pech Loubat dans le top 15 des aires autoroutières 'immanquables'!". L'Indépendant(in French). Pyrénées-Orientales. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

Bibliography

• Alphandéry, Paul Daniel (1911). "Albigenses" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 505–506.
• Arnold, John H, Inquisition & Power, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 0-8122-3618-1. An excellent and meticulously researched work dealing with Catharism in the context of the Inquisition's evolution; analyses Inquisitorial practice as the construction of the "confessing subject".
• Barber, Malcolm (2000), The Cathars: Dualist heretics in Languedoc in the High Middle Ages, Harlow: Longman, ISBN 978-0582256620
• Berlioz, Jacques (1994), Tuez-les tous Dieu reconnaîtra les siens. Le massacre de Béziers et la croisade des Albigeois vus par Césaire de Heisterbach (in French), Loubatières. A discussion of the command "Kill them all, God will know his own." recorded by a contemporary Cistercian Chronicler.
• (in French) Biget, Jean-Louis (2007), * Hérésie et inquisition dans le midi de la France, Paris: Picard (Les médiévistes français), 2007.
• Brunn, Uwe (2006), Des contestataires aux "cathares" : Discours de réforme et propagande antihérétique dans les pays du Rhin et de la Meuse avant l'Inquisition, Paris, Institut d'études augustiniennes
• Burr, David (1996), Bernard Gui: Inquisitor's Manual, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, New York City: Fordham University, retrieved 25 May 2013
• Caernaii, Petrus Vallis, Historia Albigensium et Sacri Belli in Eos (PDF), Migne Patrologia Latina (in Latin), 213, 0543–0711. An history of the Albigensian war told by a contemporary.
• Chesterton, G. K. (1910), What's Wrong with the World
• Clark, Elizabeth A. (2001), "Women, Gender, and the Study of Christian History", Church History, 70, Cambridge University Press, pp. 395–426, doi:10.2307/3654496, JSTOR 3654496
• Conybeare, Frederick Cornwallis (1911). "Cathars" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 515–517.
• Jean Duvernoy, Jean: transcriptions of inquisitorial manuscripts, many hitherto unpublished
• Dondaine, Antoine OP (1939), Un traité neo-manichéen du XIIIe siècle: Le Liber de duobus principiis, suivi d'un fragment de rituel Cathare (in French), Rome: Institutum Historicum Fratrum Praedicatorum
• Frassatto, Michael, ed. (1996) [1975]. Heresy and the Persecuting Society in the Middle Ages: Essays on the Work of R.I. Moore. Medieval Academy of America. ISBN 978-9004150980.
• Given, James (1992). Inquisition and Medieval Society: Power, Discipline, and Resistance in Languedoc. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801487590.
• Godlike Productions (2010), Web Forum: Before the Catholics, The Cathars taught of Jesus, Power of Love, Godlike Productions, Zero Point Ltd.
• Gui, Bernard; Shirley, Janet (2006), The Inquisitor's Guide: A Medieval Manual on Heretics, Welwyn Garden City: Ravenhall Books, ISBN 978-1905043095
• Henry, William (2002), Secrets of The Cathars: Why the Dark Age Church Was Out to Destroy Them, Biblioteca Pleyades and Atlantis Rising
• Innocent III (1855), Volume 216, Patrologia Cursus Completus, Paris: Jacques Paul Migne.
• John of Damascus (2012) [1958], Writings: The Fount of Knowledge: The Philosophical Chapters, On Heresies, The Orthodox Faith, The Fathers of the Church, Translator: Frederic H Chase (Reprint ed.), CreateSpace, ISBN 978-1470149246
• Johnson, Paul (1976), A History of Christianity, Atheneum, ISBN 0-689-70591-3
• Johnston, Ruth A (2011), All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World, Greenwood Press, p. 115, ISBN 978-0313364624
• Johnston, William M (2000). Encyclopedia of Monasticism. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-090-4.
• Kaelber, Lutz (1997). "Weavers into Heretics? The Social Organization of Early-Thirteenth-Century Catharism in Comparative Perspective". Social Science History. 21 (1): 111–137. doi:10.1017/S0145553200017661.
• Kienzle, Beverly Mayne (2001), Cistercians, heresy, and Crusade in Occitania, 1145–1229, York Medieval Press, ISBN 978-1903153000
• Lambert, Malcolm (1998). The Cathars. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0631143437.
• Lambert, Malcolm (2002). Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0631222767.
• Lansing, Carol (1998). Power and Purity: Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy. Oxford University Press (USA). ISBN 978-0195149807.
• Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel (1979). Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error, Barbara Bray translator. Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0807615980.
• Luscombe, David; Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2004), The new Cambridge medieval history: c. 1024 – c. 1198, p. 522
• Madaule, Jacques (1967). The Albigensian Crusade: An Historical Essay. New York: Fordham UP.
• Magee, M D (12 December 2002), Heresy and the Inquisition II Persecution of Heretics.
• Mann, Judith (2002), The Trail of Gnosis, Gnosis Traditions Press
• Markale, Jean (2003), Montségur and the Mystery of the Cathars, Inner Traditions, ISBN 978-0892810901, archived from the original on 4 December 2003
• Martin, Sean (2005), The Cathars: The Most Successful Heresy of the Middle Ages, Pocket Essentials, ISBN 1-904048-33-1, archived from the original on 22 February 2014, retrieved 29 May 2006
• Maris, Yves (2006), Cathars – Memories of an initiate, AdA.
• Maseko, Achim N. (2008), Church Schism & Corruption, South Africa: Lulu.com, p. 482, ISBN 9781409221869
• Mathieu, Albert, "Ce lieu est terrible, le Mont-Aimé en Champagne" Vendredi 13 mai 1239 Réf : Bibliothèque Nationale de France
• Moore, John Clare (2003), Pope Innocent III (1160/61–1216): To Root Up and to Plant, Brill, p. 180, ISBN 90-04-12925-1
• Moore, R. I. (1985). The Origins of European Dissent. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0631144045.
• Moore, R. I. (1995). The Birth of Heresy. Medieval Academy of America. ISBN 0-8020-7659-9.
• Moore, R. I. (2006) [1992]. The Formation of a Persecuting Society. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-1405129640.
• Moore, R. I. (2012). The War on Heresy. London: Profile Books. ISBN 9781846682001.
• Moreland, Miles (1992), Miles Away: A Walk Across France, New York: Random House, ISBN 0-679-42527-6
• Murphy, Cullen (2012), God's Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World, Houhton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN 978-0-618-09156-0
• Newman, Barbara (1998). "Possessed by the Spirit: Devout Women, Demoniacs, and the Apostolic Life in the Thirteenth Century". Speculum. 73 (3): 733–770. doi:10.2307/2887496.
• O'Shea, Stephen (2000). The Perfect Heresy: The Revolutionary Life and Death of the Medieval Cathars. New York: Walker & Company. ISBN 978-1861972705.
• Pegg, Mark (2001a), "On Cathars, Albigenses, and good men of Languedoc", Journal of Medieval History, 27 (2): 181–190, doi:10.1016/s0304-4181(01)00008-2.
• Pegg, Mark (2001b), The Corruption of Angels: The Great Inquisition of 1245–1245, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691006567
• Pegg, Mark (2006), "Heresy, good men, and nomenclature", in Frassetto, Michael (ed.), Heresy and the Persecuting Society in the Middle Ages, Studies in the History of Christian Traditions, Leiden: Brill, pp. 227–39.
• Pegg, Mark (2008). A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195171310.
• Pegg, Mark (2015). "Innocent III, les 'pestilentiels Provençaux' et le paradigme épuisé du catharisme/Innocent III, 'Pestilential Provençals' and the Obsolete Paradigm of Catharism". Innocent III et le Midi (Privat (English and French abstracts)). Cahiers de Fanjeaux, 50. Toulouse: Presses Universitaires de Rennes. pp. 277–207. ISBN 9782708934542.
• Peters, Edward, ed. (1980), Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, University of Pennsylvania Press. A collection of primary sources, some on Catharism.
• Riparelli, Enrico (2008), Il volto del Cristo dualista. Da Marcione ai catari (in Italian), Bern: Peter Lang, ISBN 978-303911490-0
• Roach, Andrew P (2005), The Devil's World: Heresy and Society 1100–1320, Harlow: Pearson Longman
• Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry, eds. (1994) [1900], Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 14: I Nice AD 325 (Canons of the Council of Nicaea), Trans. Henry R. Percival (Reprint ed.), Hendrickson, ISBN 978-1565631168
• Schaus, Margaret (2006), Women And Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia, New York: Taylor and Francis Group, ISBN 978-0415969444
• Sennis, Antonio, Cathars in Question, York: York Medieval Press, 2016
• Sibly, W A; Sibly, M D (2003), The Chronicle of William of Puylaurens: The Albigensian Crusade and Its Aftermath, Boydell Press, p. 128, ISBN 978-0851159256
• Simpson, John, ed. (1989), Oxford English Dictionary (Second ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Stork, Nancy P., The Inquisition Record of Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Pamiers 1318–1325, California: San Jose State University
• Sumption, Jonathan (1999) [1978]. The Albigensian Crusade (New ed.). London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0571200023.
• Théry, Julien (2002), L'Hérésie des bons hommes (XIIe-début du XIVe s.). Comment nommer la dissidence religieuse non vaudoise ni béguine en Languedoc?, Heresis (in French), 36–37, pp. 75–117
• Théry, Julien (2010), "Les Hérésies, du XIIe au début du XIVe s.", in de Cevins, Marie-Madeleine; Matz, Jean-Michel (eds.), Structures et dynamiques de la vie religieuse en Occident (1179–1449) (in French), Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, pp. 373–386
• Townsend, Anne Bradford (2008), The Cathars of Languedoc as heretics: From the perspectives of Five Contemporary Scholars(Dissertation ed.), Union Institute and University, p. 9, ISBN 978-1243491602
• Wakefield, Walter Leggett; Evans, Austin P (1991). Heresies of the High Middle Ages. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231096324.
• Walther, Daniel (1965), "A Survey of Recent Research on the Albigensian Cathari", Church History, 34, Cambridge University Press, pp. 146–177, doi:10.2307/3162901, JSTOR 3162901
• Ward, Jennifer (2002). Women in Medieval Europe, 1200–1500. London: Longman. ISBN 978-0582288270.
• Weber, Nicholas (1908a), "Albigenses", Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent
• Weber, Nicholas (1908b), "Cathari", Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent
• Weis, René (2001). The Yellow Cross: The Story of the Last Cathars 1290–1329. New York: Random House.
• Zerner, Monique (1998), Inventer l'hérésie ? Discours polémiques et pouvoirs avant l'Inquisition, Nice: Centre d'études médiévales
• Zerner, Monique (2001), L'histoire du catharisme en discussion : le "concile" de Saint-Félix (1167), Nice : Centre d'études médiévales

External links

• Ce lieu est terrible [Texte imprimé] : le Mont-Aimé en Champagne [Forgotten Story of France: Northern Cathar in Champagne]
• Cathar texts, The Gnostic Society Library, including the Lyon Ritual.
• Cathars Today: Official website of the Cathar Temple
• Catharism on In Our Time at the BBC
• "Catharism and the Cathars of the Languedoc", Castles & Manor Houses, archived from the original on 7 June 2011: History, origins, theology and extirpation.
• Cathar castles, catharcastles.info: details, histories, photographs, plans and maps of 30 Cathar castles.
• Cathar castles (interactive map), Aude‐Aude.
• Perrottet, Tony (9 May 2010), "The Besieged and the Beautiful in Languedoc", The New York Times
• "Des hérétiques dans les Pyrénées catalanes à la fin du XIe siècle?" ["Heretics in the Catalan Pyrenees at the end of the 11th century?"] (article), Paratge, 2013.
• Pegg, Mark Gregory (2008), A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom (book), Oxford – via Google Books.
• Cathars, http://www.cathar.info: Cathar history & theology
• Mark, Joshua J. (2 April 2019), "Cathars", Ancient History Encyclopedia
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

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Jules Doinel
by Wikipedia
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Jules Doinel

Jules-Benoît Stanislas Doinel du Val-Michel (December 8, 1842, Moulins, Allier – March 16 or 17, 1903), also simply Jules Doinel, was an archivist and the founder of the first Gnostic church in modern times.

Gnostic Church Revival

After spiritual experiences in 1888-89, he proclaimed 1890 the beginning of "the era of Gnosis restored." Doinel assumed the office of Patriarch of the Église Gnostique (French: Gnostic Church of France), taking the ecclesiastical name of Tau Valentin II, after Valentinius, the 2nd century Christian Gnostic teacher.[1] [2]

The doctrinal orientation of the church was based on extant Cathar documents, with the Gospel of John, and strong influence of Simonian and Valentinian cosmology, the church was officially established in the autumn of 1890 in Paris, France. Liturgical services were based on Cathar rituals. Clergy were both male and female, having male bishops and female "sophias."[3]


Doinel was "spiritually consecrated" in a spiritual experience in 1888 and not into a line of apostolic succession. Doinel subsequently consecrated a number of bishops for the Église Gnostique, notable among these was Gérard Encausse founder of the closely allied Martinist Order.[4][5]

Anti-Masonic Period (1895-1897)

In 1895, Doinel resigned from the Église Gnostique, leaving the leadership of the church to a council of bishops. Doinel then converted to Roman Catholicism and began a collaboration with Léo Taxil, being one of many taken in by Taxil's anti-masonic hoax. Doinel wrote a book entitled Lucifer Unmasked, a book attacking freemasonry, under the name Jean Kostka, in which he associated many of his prior activities with the diabolic. A. E. Waite described Lucifer Unmasked and revealed the real identity of its author in Devil Worship in France his exposé of the anti-masonic movement Taxil inspired.[6] Taxil unveiled his hoax in 1897.

Reconciliation

Doinel was readmitted as a bishop in the Église Gnostique in 1900.

The Église Gnostique Catholique Apostolique (E.G.C.A.), in Latin Ecclesia Gnostica Apostolica Catholica (not to be confused with Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica), or known as the Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church of North America, which operates in New York, claims the heritage of Église gnostique de France.[5] This church is in a state of fraternal alliance (concordat) with the Ecclesia Gnostica.

-- Gnostic Church of France, by Wikipedia


The chief function of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is the public and private performance of the Gnostic Mass (Liber XV), a eucharistic ritual written by Crowley in 1913....

The Gnostic Creed

A creed is a statement of belief—usually religious belief—or faith. The word derives from the Latin credo for "I believe". The creed of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica—also known as the Gnostic Creed—is recited in the Gnostic Mass, during the Ceremony of the Introit.

The text of the Creed is as follows:


I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one Star in the Company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name CHAOS, the sole vicegerent of the Sun upon the Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all that breathes.
And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON.
And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name BAPHOMET.

And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA.
And I believe in the communion of Saints.
And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass.
And I confess one Baptism of Wisdom whereby we accomplish the Miracle of Incarnation.
And I confess my life one, individual, and eternal that was, and is, and is to come.
AUMGN. AUMGN. AUMGN.


-- Ecclesia Gnostica Catholicam by Wikipedia


LIBER XV
O.T.O.
ECCLESIAE GNOSTICAE CATHOLICAE CANON MISSAE. (Gnostic Mass)


I.<<WEH NOTE: Throughout, quotations from Liber AL have been corrected against the text and enclosed in quotation marks.>>

Of the Furnishings of the Temple.

In the East, that is, in the direction of Boleskine, which is situated on the southeastern shore of Loch Ness in Scotland, two miles east of Foyers, is a shrine or High Altar. Its dimensions should be 7 feet in length, 3 feet in breadth, 44 inches in height. It should be covered with a crimson altar-cloth, on which may be embroidered fleur-de-lys in gold, or a sunblaze, or other suitable emblem.

On each side of it should be a pillar or obelisk, with countercharges in black and white.

Below it should be the dias of three steps, in black and white squares.

Above it is the super-altar, at whose top is the Stele of Revealing in reproduction, with four candles on each side of it. Below the stele is a place for the Book of the Law, with six candles on each side of it. Below this again is the Holy Graal, with roses on each side of it. There is room in front of the Cup for the Paten. On each side beyond the roses are two great candles.

All this is enclosed within a great veil.

Forming the apex of an equilateral triangle whose base is a line drawn between the pillars, is a small black square altar, of two superimposed cubes.

Taking this altar as the middle of the base of a similar and equal triangle, at the apex of this second triangle is a small circular font.

Repeating, the apex of a third triangle is an upright tomb. {345}

II. Of the Officers of the Mass.

The PRIEST. Bears the Sacred Lance, and is clothed at first in a plain white robe.

The PRIESTESS. Should be actually Virgo Intacta or specially dedicated to the service of the Great Order. She is clothed in white, blue and gold. She bears the sword from a red girdle, and the Paten and Hosts, or Cakes of Light.

The DEACON. He is clothed in white and yellow. He bears the Book of the Law.

"Two Children." They are clothed in white and black. One bears a pitcher of water and a cellar of salt, the other a censer of fire and a casket of perfume.

III. Of the ceremony of the Introit.

"The" DEACON, "opening the door of the Temple, admits the congregation and takes his stand between the small altar and the font. (There should be a doorkeeper to attend to the admission.)"

"The" DEACON "advances and bows before the open shrine where the Graal is exalted. He kisses the Book of the Law three times, opens it, and places it upon the super-altar. He turns West."

The DEACON. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. I proclaim the Law of Light, Life, Love, and Liberty in the name of GR:Iota-Alpha-Omega.

The CONGREGATION. Love is the law, love under will.

"The" DEACON "goes to his place between the altar of incense and the font, faces East, and gives the step and sign of a Man and a Brother. All imitate him."

The DEACON and all the PEOPLE. I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one Star in the company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name {346} CHAOS, the sole vice-regent of the Sun upon Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all that breaths.

And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON.

And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in his name BAPHOMET.

And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is GR:Theta-Epsilon-Lambda-Eta-Mu-Alpha.

And I believe in the communion of Saints.

And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass.

And I confess one Baptism of Wisdom whereby we accomplish the Miracle of Incarnation.

And I confess my life one, individual, and eternal that was, and is, and is to come.

GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu, GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu, GR:Alpha- Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu.

"Music is now played. The child enters with the ewer and the salt. The "VIRGIN" enters with the Sword and the Paten, The child enters with the censer and the perfume. They face the "DEACON "deploying into line from the space between the two altars."

The VIRGIN. Greeting of Earth and Heaven!

"All give the hailing sign of a Magician, the "DEACON "leading.

The "PRIESTESS," the negative child on her left, the positive child on her right, ascends the steps of the High Altar. They await her below. She places the Paten before the Graal. Having adored it, she descends, and with the children following her, the positive next her, she moves in a serpentine manner involving 3-1/2 circles of the Temple. (Deosil about altar, widdershins about font, deosil about altar and font, widdershins about altar and so to the Tomb in the west.) She draws her sword and pulls down the Veil therewith.)"

The PRIESTESS. By the power of + Iron, I say unto thee, {347} Arise. In the name of our Lord + the Sun, and of our Lord + that thou mayst administer the virtues to the Brethren.

"She sheathes the Sword."

"The "PRIEST, "issuing from the Tomb, holding the Lance erect with both hands, right over left, against his breast, takes the first three regular steps. He then gives the Lance to the "PRIESTESS "and gives the three penal signs.

He then kneels and worships the Lance with both hands.

Penitential music."

The PRIEST. I am a man among men.

"He takes again the Lance and lowers it. He rises."

The PRIEST. How should I be worthy to administer the virtues to the Brethren?

"The "PRIESTESS" takes from the child the water and the salt, and mixes them in the font."

The PRIESTESS. Let the salt of Earth admonish the Water to bear the virtue of the Great Sea. "(Genuflects)." Mother, be thou adored!

"She returns to the West, + on "PRIEST" with open hand doth she make, over his forehead, breast and body."

Be the PRIEST pure of body and soul!

"The "PRIESTESS" takes the censer from the child, and places it on the small altar. She puts incense therein. "Let the Fire and the Air make sweet the world! "Genuflects." Father, be thou adored!

"She returns West, and makes with the censer + before the "PRIEST," thrice as before."

Be the PRIEST fervent of body and soul!

"(The children resume their weapons as they are done with.)

The "DEACON "now takes the consecrated Robe from the High Altar and brings it to her. She robes the "PRIEST" in his Robe of scarlet and gold."

Be the flame of the Sun thine ambiance, O thou PRIEST of the SUN!

"The "DEACON" brings the crown from the High Altar. (The "{348} "crown may be of gold or platinum, or of electrum magicum; but with no other metals, save the small proportions necessary to a proper alloy. It may be adorned with divers jewels; at will. But it must have the Uraeus serpent twined about it, and the cap of maintenance must match the scarlet of the robe. Its texture should be velvet.)"

Be the Serpent thy crown, O thou PRIEST of the LORD!

"Kneeling she takes the Lance between her open hands, and runs them up and down upon the shaft eleven times, very gently."

Be the LORD present among us!

"All give the Hailing Sign."

The PEOPLE: so mote it be.

IV. Of the Ceremony of the opening of the Veil.

The PRIEST. Thee therefore whom we adore we also invoke. By the power of the lifted Lance!

"He raises the Lance. All repeat Hailing Sign.

A phrase of triumphant music.

The "PRIEST" takes the "PRIESTESS" by her right hand with his left, keeping the Lance raised."

I, PRIEST and KING, take thee, Virgin pure without spot; I upraise thee; I lead thee to the East; I set thee upon the summit of the Earth.

"He thrones the "PRIESTESS" upon the altar. The "DEACON" and the children follow, they in rank, behind him. The "PRIESTESS" takes the book of the Law, resumes her seat, and holds it open on her breast with her two hands, making a descending triangle with thumbs and forefingers.

The "PRIEST" gives the lance to the "DEACON" to hold; and takes the ewer from the child, and sprinkles the "PRIESTESS," making five crosses, forehead, shoulders, and thighs.

The thumb of the "PRIEST" is always between his index and "{349} "medius, whenever he is not holding the Lance. The "PRIEST" takes the censer from the child, and makes five crosses as before.

The children replace their weapons on their respective altars.

The "PRIEST" kisses the Book of the Law three times. He kneels for a space in adoration, with joined hands, knuckles closed, thumb in position as aforesaid. He rises and draws the veil over the whole altar. All rise and stand to order.

The "PRIEST" takes the lance from the "DEACON" and holds it as before, as Osiris or Phthah. He circumambulates the Temple three times, followed by the "DEACON" and the children as before. (These, when not using their hands, keep their arms crossed upon their breasts.) At the last circumambulation they leave him and go to the place between the font and the small altar, where they kneel in adoration, their hands joined palm to palm, and raised above their heads.

All imitate this motion.

The "PRIEST" returns to the East and mounts the first step of the Altar."

The PRIEST. O circle of Stars whereof our Father is but the younger brother, marvel beyond imagination, soul of infinite space, before whom Time is ashamed, the mind bewildered, and the understanding dark, not unto Thee may we attain, unless Thine image be Love. Therefore by seed and root and stem and bud and leaf and flower and fruit we do invoke Thee.

"Then the priest answered & said unto the Queen of Space, kissing her lovely brows, and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a sweet-smelling perfume of sweat: O Nuit, continuous one of Heaven, let it be ever thus; that men speak not of Thee as One but as None; and let them speak not of thee at all, since thou art continuous!"

"During this speech the "PRIESTESS" must have divested herself completely of her robe. See CCXX.I.62."

The PRIESTESS. "But to love me is better than all things: if under the night-stars in the desert thou presently burnest mine incense before me, invoking me with a pure heart, and the Serpent flame therein, thou shalt come a little to lie in my bosom. For one {350} kiss wilt thou then be willing to give all; but whoso gives one particle of dust shall lose all in that hour. Ye shall gather goods and store of women and spices; ye shall wear rich jewels; ye shall exceed the nations of the earth in splendour & pride; but always in the love of me, and so shall ye come to my joy. I charge you earnestly to come before me in a single robe, and covered with a rich headdress. I love you! I yearn to you! Pale or purple, veiled or voluptuous, I who am all pleasure and purple, and drunkenness of the innermost sense, desire you. Put on the wings, and arouse the coiled splendour within you: come unto me!" To me! To me!" Sing the rapturous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear to me jewels! Drink to me, for I love you! I love you! I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous nightsky. To me! To me!"

"The "PRIEST" mounts the second step."

The PRIEST. O secret of secrets that art hidden in the being of all that lives, not Thee do we adore, for that which adoreth is also Thou. Thou art that, and That am I.

"I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of death." "I am alone: there is no God where I am."

"(The "DEACON" and all rise to their feet with Hailing Sign.)"

The DEACON. "But ye, o my people, rise up & awake! Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy & beauty!"

"There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times."

"A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride!"

"A feast for the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law."

"A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet-secret, O Prophet!"

"A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods."

"A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death!"

"A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture!" {351}

"A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight!"

"(The "PRIEST" mounts the third step.)"

The PRIEST: Thou that art One, our Lord in the Universe, the Sun, our Lord in ourselves whose name is Mystery of Mystery, uttermost being whose radiance, enlightening the worlds, is also the breath that maketh every God even and Death to tremble before thee --- by the Sign of Light appear thou glorious upon the throne of the Sun.

Make open the path of creation and of intelligence between us and our minds. Enlighten our understanding.

Encourage our hearts. Let thy light crystallize itself in our blood, fulfilling us of Resurrection.

A ka dua

Tuf ur biu

Bi a'a chefu

Dudu nur af an nuteru!

The PRIESTESS. "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt."

"(The "PRIEST" parts the veil with his Lance.)

(During the previous speeches the "PRIESTESS" has resumed her robe.)"

The PRIEST: GR:Iota-Omega GR:Iota-Omega GR:Iota-Omega GR:Iota-Alpha-Omega GR:Sigma-Alpha-Beta-Alpha-Omicron GR:Kappa-Upsilon-Rho-Iota- Epsilon GR:Alpha-Beta-Rho-Alpha-Sigma-Alpha-Chi GR:Kappa-Upsilon-Rho-Iota- Epsilon GR:Mu-Epsilon-Iota-Theta-Rho-Alpha-Sigma GR:Kappa-Upsilon-Rho- Iota-Epsilon GR:Phi-Alpha-Lambda-Lambda-Epsilon. GR:Iota-Omega GR:Pi- Alpha-Nu, GR:Iota-Omega GR:Pi-Alpha-Nu GR:Pi-Alpha-Nu GR:Iota-Omicron GR:Iota-Sigma-Chi-Upsilon-Rho-Omicron-Chi, GR:Iota-Omega GR:Alpha-Theta- Alpha-Nu-Alpha-Tau-Omicron-Nu, GR:Iota-Omega GR:Alpha-Beta-Rho-Omicron- Tau-Omicron-Nu GR:Iota-Omega GR:Iota-Alpha-Omega GR:Kappa-Alpha-Iota- Rho-Epsilon GR:Phi-Alpha-Lambda-Lambda-Epsilon GR:Kappa-Alpha-Iota-Rho- Epsilon GR:Pi-Alpha-Mu-Phi-Alpha-Gamma-Epsilon GR:Kappa-Alpha-Iota-Rho- Epsilon GR:Pi-Alpha-Nu-Gamma-Epsilon-Nu-Epsilon-Tau-Omicron-Rho. GR:Alpha-Gamma-Iota-Omicron-Sigma, GR:Alpha-Gamma-Iota-Omicron-Sigma, GR:Alpha-Gamma-Iota-Omicron-Sigma GR:Iota-Alpha-Omega.<<WEH NOTE: This Greek text varies in spelling in some other texts of Liber XV.>>

"The "PRIESTESS" is seated with the Paten in her right hand and the Cup in her left. The "PRIEST" presents the Lance which she kisses eleven times. She then holds it to her breast while the "PRIEST" falling at her knees, kisses them, his arms stretched along her thighs. He remains in this adoration while the Deacon intones the collects. All stand to order, with the Dieu Garde, that is: feet square, hands, with linked thumbs, held loosely. This is the universal position when standing, unless other direction is given.)" {352}

V. Of the Office of the Collects which are Eleven in Number

(THE SUN)

The DEACON. Lord visible an sensible of whom this earth is but a frozen spark turning about thee with annual and diurnal motion, source of light, source of life, let thy perpetual radiance hearten us to continual labour and enjoyment; so that as we are constant partakers of thy bounty we may in our particular orbit give out light and life, sustenance and joy to them that revolve about us without diminution of substance or effulgence for ever.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(THE LORD)

The DEACON. Lord secret and most holy, source of light, source of life, source of love, source of liberty, be thou ever constant and mighty within us, force of energy, fire of motion; with diligence let us ever labour with thee, that we may remain in thine abundant joy.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(THE MOON)

The DEACON. Lady of night, that turning ever about us art now visible and now invisible in thy season, be thou favourable to hunters, and lovers, and to all men that toil upon the earth and to all mariners upon the sea.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(THE LADY)

The DEACON. Giver and receiver of joy, gate of life and love, be thou ever ready, thou and thine handmaiden, in thine office of gladness.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(THE SAINTS)

The DEACON. Lord of Life and Joy, that art the might of man, that art the essence of every true god that is upon the surface {353} of the Earth, continuing knowledge from generation unto generation, thou adored of us upon heaths and in woods, on mountains and in caves, openly in the market-places and secretly in the chambers of our houses, in temples of gold and ivory and marble as in these other temples of our bodies, we worthily commemorate them worthy that did of old adore thee and manifest thy glory unto men, "Lao-tze and Siddhartha" and Krishna and "Tahuti," Mosheh, "Dionysus, Mohammed and To Mega Therion, with these also," Hermes, "Pan," Priapus, Osiris, and Melchizedeck, Khem and Amoun "and Mentu, Heracles," Orpheus and Odysseus; with Vergilius, "Catullus," Martialis, "Rabelais, Swinburne and many an holy bard; Apollonius Tyanaeus," Simon Magus, Manes, "Pythagoras," Basilides, Valentinus, "Bardesanes and Hippolytus, that transmitted the light of the Gnosis to us their successors and their heirs;" with Merlin, Arthur, Kamuret, Parzival, and many another, prophet, priest and king, that bore the Lance and Cup, the Sword and Disk, against the Heathen, "and these also," Carolus Magnus and his paladins, with William of Schyren, Frederick of Hohenstaufen, Roger Bacon, "Jacobus Burgundus Molensis the Martyr, Christian Rosencreutz," Ulrich von Hutten, Paracelsus, Michael Maier, "Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander the Sixth," Jacob Boehme, Francis Bacon Lord Verulam, Andrea, Robertus de Fluctibus, Johannes Dee, "Sir Edward Kelly," Thomas Vaughan, Elias Ashmole, Molinos, Adam Weishaupt, Wolfgang von Goethe, Ludovicus Rex Bavariae, Richard Wagner, "Alphonse Louis Constant," Friedrich Nietzsche, Hargrave Jennings, Carl Kellner, Forlong dux, Sir Richard Burton, Sir Richard Payne Knight, Paul Gauguin, Docteur Gerard Encausse, Doctor Theodor Reuss, "and Sir Aleister Crowley." Oh Sons of the Lion and the Snake! With all thy saints we worthily commemorate them worthy that were and are and are to come.

May their Essence be here present, potent, puissant, and paternal to perfect this feast!

"(At each name the "DEACON" signs + with thumb between index and medius. At ordinary mass it is only necessary to commemorate those whose names are italicised, with wording as is shown.)"

The PEOPLE. So mote it be. {354}

(THE EARTH)

The DEACON. Mother of fertility on whose breast lieth water, whose cheek is caressed by air, and in whose heart is the sun's fire, womb of all life, recurring grace of seasons, answer favourably the prayer of labour, and to pastors and husbandmen be thou propitious.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(THE PRINCIPLES)

The DEACON. Mysterious energy triform, mysterious Matter, in fourfold and sevenfold division; the interplay of which things weave the dance of the Veil of Life upon the Face of the Spirit, let there be harmony and beauty in your mystic loves, that in us may be health and wealth and strength and divine pleasure according to the Law of Liberty; let each pursue his Will as a strong man that rejoiceth in his way, as the course of a Star that blazeth for ever among the joyous company of Heaven.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(BIRTH)

The DEACON. Be the hour auspicious, and the gate of life open in peace and in well being, so that she that beareth children may rejoice, and the babe catch life with both hands.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(MARRIAGE)

The DEACON. Upon all that this day unite with love under will let fall success; may strength and skill unite to bring forth ecstasy, and beauty answer beauty. The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(DEATH)

"(All stand, Head erect, Eyes open.)"

The DEACON. Term of all that liveth, whose name is inscrutable, be favourable unto us in thine hour.

The PEOPLE. So mote it be.

(THE END)

The DEACON. Unto them from whose eyes the veil of life {355} hath fallen may there be granted the accomplishment of their true Wills; whether they will absorption in the Infinite, or to be united with their chosen and preferred, or to be in contemplation, or to be at peace, or to achieve the labour and heroism of incarnation on this planet or another, or in any Star, or aught else, unto them may there be granted the accomplishment of their Wills.

GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu, GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma- Nu, GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu.

"(All sit.)

(The "DEACON" and the children attend the "PRIEST" and "PRIESTESS," ready to hold any appropriate weapon as may be necessary.)"

VI. Of the Consecration of the Elements.

"The "PRIEST" makes five croses. "+3+1+2 "on paten and cup; "+4 "on paten alone; "+5 "on cup alone.)"

The PRIEST. Life of man upon earth, fruit of labour, sustenance of endeavour, thus be thou nourishment of the Spirit!

"(He touches the Host with the Lance.)"
By the virtue of the Rod!
Be this bread the Body of God!
"(He takes the Host.)"

GR:Tau-Omicron-Upsilon-Tau-Omicron GR:Epsilon-Sigma-Tau-Iota GR:Tau-Omicron GR:Sigma-Omicron-Mu-Alpha GR:Mu-Omicron-Upsilon.

"He kneels, adores, rises, turns, shows Host to the PEOPLE, turns, replaces Host and adores. Music. He takes the Cup.)"

Vehicle of the joy of Man upon Earth, solace of labour, inspiration of endeavour, thus be thou ecstasy of the Spirit!

"(He touches the Cup with the Lance.)"
By the virtue of the rod!
Be this wine the Blood of God!
"(He takes the Cup)"

GR:Tau-Omicron-Upsilon-Tau-Omicron GR:Epsilon-Sigma-Tau-Iota -Tau- Omicron GR:Pi-Omicron-Tau-Eta-Rho-Iota-Omicron-Nu GR:Tau-Omicron-Upsilon GR:Alpha-Iota-Mu-Alpha-Tau-Omicron-Sigma GR:Mu-Omicron-Upsilon.

"(He kneels, adores, rises, turns, shows the Cup to the people, turns, replaces the Cup and adores. Music.)" {356}

For this is the Covenant of Resurrection.

"He makes the five crosses on the "PRIESTESS.

Accept, O Lord, this sacrifice of life and joy, true warrants of the Covenant of Resurrection.

"The "PRIEST" offers the Lance to the "PRIESTESS," who kisses it; he then touches her between the breasts and upon the body. He then flings out his arms upward as comprehending the whole shrine.)"

Let this offering be born upon the waves of Aethyr to our Lord and Father the Sun that travelleth over the Heavens in his name ON.

"(He closes his hands, kisses the "PRIESTESS" between the breasts and makes three great crosses over the Paten, the Cup and Himself. He strikes his breast. All repeat this action.)"

Hear ye all, saints of the true church of old time now essentially present, that of ye we claim heirship, with ye we claim communion, from ye we claim benediction in the name of GR:Iota-Alpha-Omega.

"(He makes three crosses on Paten and Cup together. He uncovers the Cup, genuflects, takes the Cup in his left hand and the Host in his right. With the host he makes the five crosses on the Cup.)"

+1 +3 +2 +5 +4

"(He elevates the Host and the Cup.)

(The Bell strikes.)"

GR:Alpha-Gamma-Iota-Omicron-Sigma, GR:Alpha-Gamma-Iota- Omicron-Sigma, GR:Alpha-Gamma-Iota-Omicron-Sigma, GR:Iota-Alpha-Omega! "He replaces the Host and the Cup and adores.)"

VII. Of the Office of the Anthem.

The PRIEST. Thou who art I, beyond all I am,
Who hast no nature, and no name,
Who art, when all but thou are gone, {357}
Thou, centre and secret of the Sun,
Thou, hidden spring of all things known
And unknown, Thou aloof, alone,
Thou, the true fire within the reed
Brooding and breeding, source and seed
Of life, love, liberty and light,
Thou beyond speech and beyond sight,
Thee I invoke, my faint fresh fire
Kindling as mine intents aspire.
Thee I invoke, abiding one,
Thee, centre and secret of the Sun,
And that most holy mystery
Of which the vehicle am I.
Appear, most awful and most mild,

As it is lawful, in thy child!<<WEH NOTE: This is an uncertain. Other extant versions give "to thy child!" The preposition is very significant to the meaning. "to thy child" would indicate that the Priest etc. are taken to be children of the deity or perhaps the god Horus. "in thy child" would refer to the IX Degree secret of O.T.O., of the technique of which this Mass is a very exact and detailed hyperbole. "to thy child" is the text in Crowley's mystery play "The Ship", found in EQUINOX I, 9. Although it is possible that the version found here is a simple error for that earlier text, Crowley may have deliberately changed this late version in the Mass to reflect the IX Degree idea. Other versions of the Mass are found in the "International" (first publication) and in the EQUINOX III, 1 (the "Blue Equinox", published a few years before this text).>>

The CHORUS: For of the Father and the Son
The Holy Spirit is the norm;
Male-female, quintessential, one,
Man-being veiled in woman-form.
Glory and worship in the highest,
Thou Dove, mankind that deifiest,
Being that race, most royally run,
To spring sunshine through winter storm.
Glory and worship be to Thee,
Sap of the world-ash, wonder-tree!

FIRST SEMICHORUS: MEN. Glory to thee from Gilded Tomb.

SECOND SEMICHORUS: WOMEN. Glory to thee from Waiting Womb.

MEN. Glory to Thee from earth unploughed!

WOMEN. Glory to thee from virgin vowed!

MEN. Glory to thee, true Unity
Of the Eternal Trinity!

WOMEN. Glory to thee, thou sire and dam
And Self of I am that I am! {358}

MEN. Glory to thee, eternal Sun,
Thou One in Three, Thou Three in One!

CHORUS. Glory and worship unto Thee,
Sap of the world-ash, wonder-tree!

"These words are to form the substance of the anthem; but the whole or any part thereof shall be set to music, which may be as elaborate as art can. But even should other anthems be authorised by the Father of the Church, this shall hold its place as the first of its kind, the father of all others.)"

VIII. Of the Mystic Marriage and Consummation of the Elements.

"(The "PRIEST" takes the Paten between the index and medius of the right hand. The "PRIESTESS" clasps the Cup in her right hand.)"

The PRIEST. Lord most secret, bless this spiritual food unto our bodies, bestowing upon {us} health and wealth and strength and joy and peace, and that fulfilment of will and of love under will that is perpetual happiness.

"(He makes "+ "with Paten and kisses it. He uncovers the Cup, genuflects, rises. Music. He takes the Host, and breaks it over the Cup. He replaces the right hand portion in the Paten. He breaks off a particle of the left hand portion.)"

GR:Tau-Omicron-Upsilon-Tau-Omicron GR:Epsilon-Sigma-Tau-Iota GR:Tau-Omicron GR:Sigma-Pi-Epsilon-Rho-Mu-Alpha GR:Mu-Omicron-Upsilon. GR:Eta-Omicron GR:Pi-Alpha-Tau-Eta-Rho GR:Epsilon-Sigma-Tau-Iota-Nu

GR:Eta-Omicron GR:Eta GR:Upsilon-Iota-Omicron-Sigma -Delta-Iota- Alpha<<WEH NOTE: The text here has been corrected from a typo: GR:OmicronIota- Alpha.>> GR:Tau-Omicron GR:Pi-Nu-Epsilon-Upsilon-Mu-Alpha GR:Alpha- Gamma-Iota-Omicron-Nu.

GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu. GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu. GR:Alpha-Upsilon-Mu-Gamma-Nu.

"(He replaces the left hand part of the Host. The "PRIESTESS" extends the lance point with her left hand to receive the particle.)"

The PRIEST and The PRIESTESS. GR:Eta-Pi-Iota-Lambda-Iota-Upsilon.

"(The "PRIEST" takes the Lance. The "PRIESTESS" covers the Cup. The "PRIEST" genuflects, rises, bows, joins hands.

He strikes his breast.)" {359} The PRIEST. O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the destroyer, be mighty among us. O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the destroyer, be mighty among us. O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the destroyer, be mighty among us.

"(The "PRIEST" joins hands upon the breast of the "PRIESTESS," and takes back his Lance. He turns to the people, lowers and raises the Lance, and makes "+ "upon them.)"

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

The PEOPLE. Love is the law, love under will.

"(He lowers the Lance, and turns to East. The "PRIESTESS" take the lance in her right hand, with her left hand she offers to Paten. The "PRIEST "kneels.)"

The PRIEST. In my mouth be the essence of the life of the Sun.

"(He takes the Host with the right hand, makes "+ "with it on the Paten, and consumes it.)

(Silence.)

(The "PRIESTESS" takes, uncovers, and offers the cup, as before.)"

The PRIEST. In my mouth be the essence of the joy of the Earth.

"(He takes the Cup, makes "+ "on the "PRIESTESS," drains it, and returns it.)

(Silence.)

(He rises, takes the lance and turns to the people.)"

The PRIEST. There is no part of me that is not of the Gods.<<WEH NOTE: This is taken from the Golden Dawn Adeptus Minor initiation and appears in many of Crowley's works. See EQUINOX I, 3.>>

"(Those of the People who intend to communicate, and none other should be present, having signified their intention, a whole Cake of Light and a whole goblet of wine have been prepared for each one. The "DEACON" marshals them; they advance one by one to the altar. The children take the elements and offer them. The "PEOPLE" communicate as" {360} "did the "PRIEST," uttering the same words in an attitude of Resurrection;"

"There is no part of me that is not of the Gods."

"The exceptions to this part of the ceremony are when it is of the nature of a celebration, in which case none but the Priest communicate, of a wedding, in which none, save the two to be married, partake; part of the ceremony of baptism when only the child baptised partakes, and of Confirmation at puberty when only the persons confirmed partake. The Sacrament may be reserved by the "PRIEST," for administration to the sick in their homes.)

The "PRIEST" closes all within the veil. With the Lance he makes "+ "on the people thrice, thus.)" The PRIEST. + The LORD bless you.

+ The LORD enlighten your minds and comfort your hearts and sustain your bodies.

+ The LORD bring you to the accomplishment of your true wills, the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.

"(He goes out, the "DEACON" and Children following, into the tomb of the West.)

Music. (Voluntary.)" NOTE: "The "PRIESTESS" and other officers never partake of the sacrament, they being as it were part of the "PRIEST" himself." NOTE: "Certain secret formulae of this Mass are taught to the "PRIEST" in his ordination."

-- Magick in Theory and Practice, by Aleister Crowley (The Master Therion)


See also

• Marie Sinclair, Countess of Caithness

Notes

1. Pearson, J. (2007) p. 46
2. Waite (1896) p. 185
3. Hoeller (2002) p. 176-8
4. Pearson, J. (2007) p. 47
5. Hoeller (2002) p. 177
6. Waite (1896) p. 184

References

• Hoeller, Stephan. Gnosticism: New light on the ancient tradition of inner knowing. Quest Books.
• Pearson, Joanne (2007). Wicca and the Christian Heritage. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25414-0.
• Waite, A. E. (1896). Devil Worship in France. pp. 182–187.
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

Postby admin » Mon Nov 04, 2019 7:19 am

Taxil hoax
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/3/19

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

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In logic, reductio ad absurdum (Latin for "reduction to absurdity"), also known as argumentum ad absurdum (Latin for "argument to absurdity"), apagogical arguments or the appeal to extremes, is a form of argument that attempts either to disprove a statement by showing it inevitably leads to a ridiculous, absurd, or impractical conclusion, or to prove one by showing that if it were not true, the result would be absurd or impossible.[1][2] Traced back to classical Greek philosophy in Aristotle's Prior Analytics[2] (Greek: ἡ εἰς τὸ ἀδύνατον ἀπόδειξις, lit. 'demonstration to the impossible', 62b), this technique has been used throughout history in both formal mathematical and philosophical reasoning, as well as in debate.

-- Reductio ad absurdum, by Wikipedia

False equivalence is a logical fallacy in which two completely opposing arguments appear to be logically equivalent when in fact they are not. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency.[1]

-- False equivalence, by Wikipedia

The Taxil hoax was an 1890s hoax of exposure by Léo Taxil intended to mock not only Freemasonry but also the Catholic Church's opposition to it.[1]

Image
Poster advertising the work of Leo Taxil

Taxil and Freemasonry

Léo Taxil was the pen name of Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, who had been accused earlier of libel regarding a book he wrote called The Secret Loves of Pope Pius IX. On April 20, 1884, Pope Leo XIII published an encyclical, Humanum genus, that said that the human race was

separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other of those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ... The other is the kingdom of Satan... At this period, however, the partisans of evil seems to be combining together, and to be struggling with united vehemence, led on or assisted by that strongly organized and widespread association called the Freemasons.


After this encyclical, Taxil underwent a public, feigned conversion to Roman Catholicism and announced his intention of repairing the damage he had done to the true faith.

The first book produced by Taxil after his conversion was a four-volume history of Freemasonry, which contained fictitious eyewitness verifications of their participation in Satanism. With a collaborator who published as "Dr. Karl Hacks", Taxil wrote another book called The Devil in the Nineteenth Century, which introduced a new character, Diana Vaughan, a supposed descendant of the Rosicrucian alchemist Thomas Vaughan. The book contained many tales about her encounters with incarnate demons, one of whom was supposed to have written prophecies on her back with its tail, and another who played the piano while in the shape of a crocodile.[2]

Diana was supposedly involved in Satanic freemasonry but was redeemed when one day she professed admiration for Joan of Arc, at whose name the demons were put to flight. As Diana Vaughan, Taxil published a book called Eucharistic Novena, a collection of prayers which were praised by the Pope.

On April 19, 1897, Taxil called a press conference at which he said he would introduce Diana Vaughan to the press. He instead announced that his revelations about the Freemasons were fictitious. He thanked the clergy for their assistance in giving publicity to his wild claims.[3]

Image
Parisian newspaper with the account of Leo Taxil's confession to the Taxil hoax

The confession was printed, in its entirety, in the Parisian newspaper Le Frondeur, on April 25, 1897, titled: Twelve Years Under the Banner of the Church, The Prank Of Palladism. Miss Diana Vaughan–The Devil At The Freemasons. A Conference held by M. Léo Taxil, at the Hall of the Geographic Society in Paris.[4]

The hoax material is still used to this day. Chick Publications publishes such a tract called The Curse of Baphomet[5] and Randy Noblitt's book on satanic ritual abuse, Cult and Ritual Abuse, also cites the Taxil hoax.[6]

A later interview with Taxil

In the magazine National Magazine, an Illustrated American Monthly, Volume XXIV: April – September, 1906, pages 228 and 229, Taxil is quoted as giving his true reasons behind the hoax. Ten months later, on March 31, 1907, Taxil died.

Members of the Masonic orders understand the false exposure heaped upon that organization in anti-Mason wars. The Catholic church and many other religious orders have been the victims of these half-written and oftentimes venomous attacks. The confession of Taxil, the French Free-thinker, who first exposed Catholics and then Masons, makes interesting reading bearing on the present situation today. Similar motives actuate some of the "muck rakes" of today, as indicated in the following confession:

"The public made me what I am; the arch-liar of the period," confessed Taxil, "for when I first commenced to write against the Masons my object was amusement pure and simple. The crimes I laid at their door were so grotesque, so impossible, so widely exaggerated, I thought everybody would see the joke and give me credit for originating a new line of humor. But my readers wouldn't have it so; they accepted my fables as gospel truth, and the more I lied for the purpose of showing that I lied, the more convinced became they that I was a paragon of veracity.

"Then it dawned upon me that there was lots of money in being a Munchausen of the right kind, and for twelve years I gave it to them hot and strong, but never too hot. When inditing such slush as the story of the devil snake who wrote prophecies on Diana's back with the end of his tail, I sometimes said to myself: 'Hold on, you are going too far,' but I didn't. My readers even took kindly to the yarn of the devil who, in order to marry a Mason, transformed himself into a crocodile, and, despite the masquerade, played the piano wonderfully well.

"One day when lecturing at Lille, I told my audience that I had just had an apparition of Nautilus, the most daring affront on human credulity I had so far risked. But my hearers never turned a hair. 'Hear ye, the doctor has seen Nautulius,' they said with admiring glances. Of course no one had a clear idea of who Nautilus was, I didn't myself, but they assumed that he was a devil.

"Ah, the jolly evenings I spent with my fellow authors hatching out new plots, new, unheard of perversions of truth and logic, each trying to outdo the other in organized mystification. I thought I would kill myself laughing at some of the things proposed, but everything went; there is no limit to human stupidity".


The Luciferian quote

A series of paragraphs about Lucifer are frequently associated with the Taxil hoax. They read:

That which we must say to the world is that we worship a god, but it is the god that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees: The masonic Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the higher degrees, maintained in the Purity of the Luciferian doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay and his priests calumniate him?

Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods; darkness being necessary for light to serve as its foil as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive....

Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy, and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.


While this quotation was published by Abel Clarin de la Rive in his Woman and Child in Universal Freemasonry, it does not appear in Taxil's writings proper, though it is sourced in a footnote to Diana Vaughan, Taxil's creation.[7]

It is “Satan who is the god of our planet and the only god,” and this without any allusive metaphor to its wickedness and depravity. For he is one with the Logos, “the first son, eldest of the gods,” in the order of microcosmic (divine) evolution. This is vouched for by the very authority from whom the author of “Esoteric Buddhism” got his information. To those who bring this passage forward as showing “decided Darwinism,” the Occultists answer by pointing to the explanation of the Master (Mr. Sinnett’s “teacher”) which would contradict these lines, were they written in the spirit attributed to them. A copy of this letter was sent to the writer, together with others, two years ago (1886), with additional marginal remarks, to quote from, in the “Secret Doctrine.” “Still, as these ‘failures’ are too far progressed and spiritualized to be thrown back forcibly from Dhyan Chohanship into the vortex of a new primordial evolution through the lower kingdoms. . . . .” After which only a hint is given about the mystery contained in the allegory of the fallen Asuras, which will be expanded and explained in Book II. When Karma has reached them at the stage of human evolution, “they will have to drink it to the last drop in the bitter cup of retribution. Then they become an active force and commingle with the Elementals, the progressed entities of the pure animal kingdom, to develop little by little the full type of humanity.”

-- The Secret Doctrine, by Helena P. Blavatsky


See also

• List of hoaxes

References

1. written by Noah Nicholas and Molly Bedell (2006-08-01). "Mysteries Of The Freemasons — America". Decoding the Past. A&E Television Networks. The History Channel. Archived from the original on 2007-05-09.
2. Hause, Steven C. (Spring 1989). "Anti–Protestant Rhetoric in the Early Third Republic". French Historical Studies. 16 (1): 192. JSTOR 286440.
3. "The Confession of Leo Taxil". April 25, 1897. Archived from the original on 2007-03-03. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
4. Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? Authors: de Hoyos, Arturo and Morris, S. Brent, 1988, 2nd edition, pp. 27–36 & 195–228, Chap. 3, Leo Taxil: The Hoax of Luciferian Masonry, and Appendix 1, The Confession of Leo Taxil ISBN 1590771532
5. also called "That's Baphomet?"
6. King, EL. "Book review: Cult & Ritual Abuse — Its History, Anthropology, and Recent Discovery in Contemporary America". Retrieved 2009-04-05.
7. de Hoyos, Arturo; Morris, S. Brent (1998). "Albert Pike and Lucifer". Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? (2nd edition (revised) ed.). Silver Spring, Maryland: Masonic Information Center. Archived from the original on 2006-08-15. Retrieved 2007-10-25.

Further reading

• Melior, Alec (1961). "A Hoaxer of Genius-Leo Taxil (1890-7)". Our Separated Brethren, the Freemasons. trans. B. R. Feinson. London: G. G. Harrap & Co. pp. 149–55.

External links

• "A hoax", l'Illustration, May 1. 1897- No. 2827: Paris, France.
• Abel Claren de la Rive (1855-1914)
• Devil-Worship in France, by A.E. Waite complete e-text of Waite's debunking of Taxil.
• Lady Queenborough, Edith Starr Miller
• Leo Taxil's Confession
• The Prague Cemetery, a novel by Umberto Eco, 2010
• National Magazine, an Illustrated American Monthly, Volume XXIV: April, 1906 - September, 1906
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

Postby admin » Tue Nov 05, 2019 2:50 am

Rewata Dhamma
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/4/19

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

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Residence in India gave him the opportunity to come into contact with all sorts of people. He was on the committee that welcomed the Dalai Lama after his flight to India in 1969 [1959] and struck up a lasting friendship. He told the story that at their first encounter His Holiness asked who was the senior monk in the room. On hearing it was Dr Rewata Dhamma, he immediately got up and offered his seat. Indeed, he was to repeat this offer on later occasions, but Bhante never accepted. ‘He was the ruler of Tibet and I was just a humble monk,’ he explained. Nevertheless, he honoured the Dalai Lama for this observation of the monastic rule.

Dr Rewata Dhamma also seems to have been friendly with several exiled Tibetan monks then studying in India, some of whom he was to come across again in the West. More significant for his future was getting to know Frieda [Freda] Bedi, who took the robe as a Karma Kagyu nun under the name of Sis. Palmo. Eventually she joined the entourage of His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa XVI, the head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, and brought Dr Rewata Dhamma to his notice when the question of setting up a Buddhist Centre in Birmingham came up.

-- Rewata Dhamma [Bhante], by LOTUS, May 2014


Image
Dr. Rewata Dhamma carrying the United Nations Buddha relics during their display at Dhammatalaka Pagoda in July 2003
Title Sasanadhaja Siripavara Dhammacariya (1953)
Aggamahapandita (2002)
Personal
Born: Maung, December 1929[1]
Thamagon, Henzada District, Irrawaddy Province, British Burma
Died 26 May 2004 (aged 74), Birmingham, England
Religion: Buddhism
Nationality: Burmese
School: Theravada
Education: Varanasi University
Occupation: Buddhist monk

Sayadaw U Rewata Dhamma (Pali: Revatadhamma; 4 December 1929, Thamangone – 26 May 2004, Birmingham) was a prominent Theravada Buddhist monk and noted Abhidhamma scholar from Myanmar (Burma). After pursuing an academic career in India for most of two decades, he accepted an invitation to head a Buddhist centre in Birmingham UK, and over the next three decades gained an international reputation as a teacher of meditation and an advocate of peace and reconciliation.

Life and career

The young Rewata was first ordained as a novice at the age of 12, and received higher ordination at the age of 20. In 1953, he was awarded the title Sasanadhaja Siripavara Dhammacariya, after achieving distinctions in a state examination in Pali. Then, having received a state scholarship, he left for India in 1956 to continue his education at Varanasi University, using the expanded name of Rewata Dhamma for his passport. In 1960, he obtained a BA in Mahayana Buddhism; in 1964 an MA in Sanskrit and Indian philosophy; and in 1967, a PhD. He now became a university lecturer and published works in Pali and Hindi, including the Abhidhammatta Sangaha, which was awarded the Kalidasa Prize by the Hindi Academy in 1967.[2]

In 1975 he relocated to England to establish a Buddhist centre in Birmingham which catered for both Theravadins and followers of the Tibetan Karma Kagyu school. Later he set up his own monastery and then went on to sponsor the Dhamma Talaka Pagoda, which officially opened in 1998.[3] He also helped establish meditation centers throughout Europe as well as in North, Central and South America. During that time he lectured at several universities on Buddhist subjects and attended numerous conferences dealing with the application of religious practice to bringing about political and economic justice, harmony among religions and ecological responsibility.[3] From the 1990s too, books by him in English began to appear, the last three only posthumously. In 2002, the Burmese government conferred on him the title Agga Maha Pandita.[3]

Throughout his career, Dr Rewata Dhamma championed the cause of national reconciliation, speaking to international bodies such as the United Nations and Amnesty International.[3] He was one of Aung San Suu Kyi's most influential Buddhist mentors, first meeting in Rangoon and becoming acquainted with Khin Kyi and Suu Kyi during their residence in India, in the 1960s, and then becoming reacquainted while conducting meditation retreats at the Oakenholt Centre near Oxford.[4][5]

On the 6th May 1977, Ajahn Chah and Venerable Sumedho arrived at Hampstead, the Venerable Khemadhammo having already arrived on the 5th. The Venerables Anando and Viradhammo arrived on 7th July 1977.

The Sangha and lay following began to grow and they were offered the use of “Oaken Holt”, a Buddhist centre comprising some thirty acres in the Oxfordshire countryside owned by a Burmese business man. The Venerable Khemadhammo took on the role of Buddhist prison chaplain (already arranged earlier between the Venerable Kapilavaddho and the Home Office) and in this capacity he visited the Isle of Wight on a regular basis. It was here that a Buddhist group invited him to start a Vihara, which he did. This has since moved to Warwickshire. In April 1979 the Hampstead properties were sold at auction and the Sangha moved to Chithurst in June 1979. Following this, more Viharas have been opened in England, USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.”

-- The English Sangha Trust after Venerable Kapilavaddho, 1972, from "Honour Thy Fathers: A Tribute to the Venerable Kapilavaddho ... And brief History of the Development of Theravada Buddhism in the UK, by Terry Shine


Bibliography

• Anuruddhacariya’s Abhidhammatta Sangaha with Sumangala Samitthera’s Abhidhammattha Vibhavantika, edited and revised by Bhandanta Rewatadhammathera. Bauddha Swadhyaya Satra, Varanasi, India, 1965. [Hindi language]
• Anuruddhacariya, Abhidhammattasangaha I-II, with Hindi translation & Abhidharma-Prakasini commentary. Critically edited, translated & commented by Bhadant Rewatadhamma and Ram Shankar Tripathi, Varanasi Sanskrit University, India,1967.
• Buddhaghosâcariya, Visuddhimaggo I-III, with Paramatthamañjusatika of Bhadantacariya Dhammapala. Edited and revised by Dr. Rewatadhamma, Varanasi Sanskrit Univ., India, 1969-72. [Hindi language]
• The First Sermon of the Buddha. 1st ed. Dhamma Talaka Publications, Birmingham, 1994; 2nd ed. as The First Discourse of the Buddha, Wisdom Pbls, Boston, USA, 1997.[6] French translation by Tancrède Montmartel as Le premier enseignement du bouddha, le sermon de Bénarès. Eds Claire Lumière, Saint-Cannat, France, 1998.
• Maha Paritta: The Great Protection - Buddhist chants. Dhamma Talaka Pbls, Birmingham, 1996.
• A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha - Pali Text, Translation and Explanatory Guide. Introduction and Explanatory Guide by U Rewata Dhamma & Bhikkhu Bodhi. BPS Pariyatti Editions, Onalaska WA, 2000.
• The Buddha and his Disciples. Dhamma Talaka Pbls, Birmingham, 2001.
• Emptying the Rose-apple Seat - a guide to Buddhist meditation methods. Triple Gem Pbls, Chino Hills CA, USA, 2004; 2nd ed. The Buddha Educational Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan, 2005.
• The Buddha’s Prescription – selected talks and essays, edited by Yann Lovelock. Triple Gem Pbls, Chino Hills CA, USA, 2005.
• Process of Consciousness and Matter – the philosophical psychology of Buddhism; edited by Dr Ottaranyana. Triple Gem Pbls, Chino Hills CA, USA, 2007.[7]

References

1. Wintle, Justin (2007). Perfect Hostage. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 9781602392663.
2. "The Joyful Traveller". Scribd. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
3. "SAYADAW Dr.REWATA DHAMMA". Birmingham Buddhist Vihara. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
4. Lovelock, Yann, The Joyful Traveller, 2005, pp.5, 9
5. Popham, Peter (2012). The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi. Workman Publishing. p. 305. ISBN 9781615190645.
6. Limited preview at Google Books
7. Archived online

**************************

Rewata Dhamma [Bhante]
Page 18
LOTUS
May 2014

[Rewata Dhamma was] included among the young monks who helped with arrangements for the Sixth General Sangha Council, held in Yangon between 1954 and 1956. He was then given a state scholarship to study in India and went to the Sanskrit University in Varanasi. It was at this period that he added ‘Dhamma’ to his name when applying for a passport. After taking his Shastri (BA) Degree in Mahayana Buddhist Philosophy, he went on to gain an MA in Sanskrit in 1964 and a PH.D in 1967. He was now proficient in Hindi and began to write in that language. One of his books, a translation of the Ahidhammatha Sangaha with his own commentary, was awarded the Kalidasa prize from the Hindi Academy as one of the outstanding books of the year in 1967 and is still a standard textbook. He also edited a three-volume edition of The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) with commentary, published like the first by the Sanskrit University. In 1969 he was appointed Chief Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Technical Terms and later edited the Paramita magazine in Hindi and English.

In 1964 another event took place that was later to have important repercussions. In that year the young academic came into possession of the Burmese royal relics. Thibaw, the last Burmese king, had been exiled by the British to India in 1886 and took with him this family treasure. At the beginning of the twentieth century two Burmese monks visited him at Ratanagiri and were entrusted with a portion. One of those monks, U Kitti, passed these on to U Arsaya, another Burmese monk resident in India. Shortly before his death, U Arsaya passed them on in his turn to Ven. Rewata Dhamma.

Residence in India gave him the opportunity to come into contact with all sorts of people. He was on the committee that welcomed the Dalai Lama after his flight to India in 1969 [1959] and struck up a lasting friendship. He told the story that at their first encounter His Holiness asked who was the senior monk in the room. On hearing it was Dr Rewata Dhamma, he immediately got up and offered his seat. Indeed, he was to repeat this offer on later occasions, but Bhante never accepted. ‘He was the ruler of Tibet and I was just a humble monk,’ he explained. Nevertheless, he honoured the Dalai Lama for this observation of the monastic rule.

Dr Rewata Dhamma also seems to have been friendly with several exiled Tibetan monks then studying in India, some of whom he was to come across again in the West. More significant for his future was getting to know Frieda [Freda] Bedi, who took the robe as a Karma Kagyu nun under the name of Sis. Palmo. Eventually she joined the entourage of His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa XVI, the head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, and brought Dr Rewata Dhamma to his notice when the question of setting up a Buddhist Centre in Birmingham came up.


The lay meditation teacher S.N. Goenka lived in India too. Of Burmese origin, he belonged to a business family that was proud to support him in his work. In those days over forty years ago there were few in the West who knew of him yet. Having heard of Dr Rewata Dhamma’s reputation as an Abhidhamma scholar, Goenka approached him for tuition. Bhante made a bargain with him that he would do so in return for being instructed in Goenka’s meditation method. There were those who frowned on a monk going to a layman for teaching but Bhante did not care. For him learning something new was more important than his personal dignity. On account of this, Dr Rewata Dhamma was accredited as a teacher of the method and over the years was made welcome at Goenka’s centres on three continents.

Among others that Bhante got to know at this time was the eleven-year old Aung San Suu Kyi, the future leader of the democratic movement in Burma, whose mother was then ambassador to India. More curiously, he was asked by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, to go to Peking in 1974 and attend the deathbed of Prince Sihanouk’s mother. His secret objective while there was to get China’s support for a peace conference to be held in India following its recent nuclear tests. Although improvements in Sino-Indian relations did not come until two years later, one can date from this point the beginning of his involvement in peace-making and reconciliation.

It was late in 1974 too that Dr Rewata Dhamma received the invitation to head a Buddhist centre in England but, in view of his commitments, he turned it down. U Nu, an ex-prime minister of Burma then in Indian exile, came to hear of this and persuaded the reluctant academic to change his mind. Long before he left Burma, U Nu recalled, it had been foretold that the young monk would settle in the West. Dr Rewata Dhamma had supposed that his coming to Varanasi was what had been meant. Now he was persuaded that Britain rather than India was his ultimate goal. He therefore left for Birmingham in 1975.


To start all over again in a strange land required both courage and humility. Bhante was then approaching middle age and, though his reading knowledge of English was good, he never learned to speak it well. He had no monastery to go to and very few friends in this new country. Then there was the wide contrast between the ...

Image
S.N. Goenka with Dr Rewata Dhamma
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Re: Freda Bedi, by Wikipedia

Postby admin » Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:30 am

Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya [Government Sanskrit College / Sampurnanand Sanskrit University]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/4/19

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


Image
Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya
Former names: Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi
Motto: Șrutam me gopāya
Motto in English: Let my learning be safe
Type: State university
Established: 1791, Vice-Chancellor Raja ram shukla
Location: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Campus: Urban
Affiliations: UGC
Website http://www.ssvv.ac.in

Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya (IAST: Sampūrnānand Samskrit Vișvavidyālaya, Vāraṇāsī), formerly Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya and Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi is an Indian university and institution of higher learning located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, specializing in the study of Sanskrit and related fields.

History

In 1791, during the rule by the East India Company, a resident of the company, Jonathan Duncan, proposed the establishment of a Sanskrit college for the development and preservation of Sanskrit Vangmaya (grammar) to demonstrate British support for Indian education. The initiative was sanctioned by governor general Lord Cornwallis. The first teacher of the institution was Pandit Kashinath and the governor general sanctioned a budget of ₹20,000 per annum. The first principal of Government Sanskrit College was John Muir, followed by James R. Ballantyne, Ralph T. H. Griffith, George Thibaut, Arthur Venis, Sir Ganganath Jha and Gopinath Kaviraj.[1]

In 1857, the college began postgraduate teaching. An examination system was adopted in 1880. In 1894, the famous Saraswati Bhavan Granthalaya building was built, where thousands of manuscripts remain preserved today. These manuscripts have been edited by the principal of the college and published in book form. More than 400 books have been published in a series known as Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala.

In 1958, the efforts of Sampurnanand changed the status of the institution from that of a college to a Sanskrit university. In 1974, the name of the institution was formally changed to Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.[2]

Faculty

Image
A contemporary Ardhanarishvara statue at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University

The Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśwara) is a composite androgynous form of the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati (the latter being known as Devi, Shakti and Uma in this icon). Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes.

-- Ardhanarishvara, by Wikipedia


Veda-Vedanga

In this faculty, there are four departments:

• Department of Veda
• Department of Vyakarna
• Department of Jyotish
• Department of Dharmashastra

Sahitya Sanskriti

In this faculty, there are three departments:

• Department of Sahitya
• Department of Puranetihas
• Department of Prachin Rajshastra-Arthashastra

Darshana (Philosophy)

• Department of Vedanta
• Department of Sankhyayogtantram
• Department of Comparative Religion and Philosophy
• Department of Nyaya
• Department of Mimansa

Shraman Vidya

• Department of Pali and Theravada

Adhunik Jyan Vigyan

• Department of Modern Language and Linguistics

Ayurveda

In this faculty, there are many departments, such as:

• Kayachikitsa Tantra (Internal Medicine)
• Shalya Tantra (Surgery)
• Shalakya Tantra (ENT)
• Kaumarabhritya Tantra (Pediatrics)
• Agada Tantra (Toxicology)
• Bajikarana Tantra (Purification of the Genital organs)
• Rasayana Tantra (Health and Longevity)

The establishment of a Bhuta Vidya (Spiritual Healing) department is currently being proposed.

Research Institute

When the status of this institution was Sanskrit college, all research activities were carried out by the principal. This includes the work done for manuscripts which were kept in the Saraswati Bhavan Granthalaya.

When the institution became a university, the whole research work was supervised by the director of the Research Institute. The director is the chief editor of the famous book series Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala and is also the chief editor of the journal Sarasvati Susama. The director has to supervise all the research activities in the university. The director is the academic head of the University. Famous grammarian Vagish Shastri made valuable contribution towards the Sanskrit journal Sarasvati Susama and edited numerous books of the Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala series.[3]

Affiliation

More than 1,200 Sanskrit-medium schools and colleges are affiliated with this university. This is the only university in India which enjoys such widespread affiliation throughout the country. The statistics of affiliated colleges are as follows:

S. No. / State / No. of affiliated colleges

1 / Uttar Pradesh / 963
2 / Rajasthan / 7
3 / Maharashtra / 7
4 / Gujarat / 21
5 / Delhi / 13
6 / Kashmir / 2
7 / Himachal Pradesh / 3
8 / Sikkim / 4


See also

• List of Sanskrit universities in India

References

1. History of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Archived 29 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
2. University Circular, Vol. 3 No. 1, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
3. Acharya Baldev Upadhyaya, Kashi ki Panditya Parampara, Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan, Varanasi, 1983.

External links

• Official website of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (English and Sanskrit)
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Ardhanarishvara
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Image
Ardhanarishvara
Ardhanarishvara
Affiliation: A combined form of Shiva and Parvati
Weapon: Trishula
Mount: Nandi (usually), sometimes along with a lion

The Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśwara) is a composite androgynous form of the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati (the latter being known as Devi, Shakti and Uma in this icon). Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes.

The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century CE. Its iconography evolved and was perfected in the Gupta era. The Puranas and various iconographic treatises write about the mythology and iconography of Ardhanarishvara. Ardhanarishvara remains a popular iconographic form found in most Shiva temples throughout India, though very few temples are dedicated to this deity.

Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation. Another view is that Ardhanarishvara is a symbol of Shiva's all-pervasive nature.

Names

The name Ardhanarishvara means "the Lord Who is half woman." Ardhanarishvara is also known by other names like Ardhanaranari ("the half man-woman"), Ardhanarisha ("the Lord who is half woman"), Ardhanarinateshvara ("the Lord of Dance Who is half-woman"),[1][2] Parangada,[3] Naranari ("man-woman"), Ammiappan (a Tamil Name meaning "Mother-Father"),[4] and Ardhayuvatishvara (in Assam, "the Lord whose half is a young woman or girl").[5] The Gupta-era writer Pushpadanta in his Mahimnastava refers to this form as dehardhaghatana ("Thou and She art each the half of one body"). Utpala, commenting on the Brihat Samhita, calls this form Ardha-Gaurishvara ("the Lord whose half is the fair one"; the fair one – Gauri – is an attribute of Parvati).[6] The Vishnudharmottara Purana simply calls this form Gaurishvara ("The Lord/husband of Gauri).[7]

Origins and early images

Image
An early Kushan head of Ardhanarishvara, discovered at Rajghat, now in the Mathura Museum

The conception of Ardhanarishvara may have been inspired by Vedic literature's composite figure of Yama-Yami,[8][9] the Vedic descriptions of the primordial Creator Vishvarupa or Prajapati and the fire-god Agni as "bull who is also a cow,"[10][11] the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad's Atman ("soul") in the form of the androgynous cosmic man Purusha[8][11] and the androgynous myths of the Greek Hermaphroditus and Phrygian Agdistis.[10][12] The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that Purusha splits himself into two parts, male and female, and the two halves copulate, producing all life – a theme concurrent in Ardhanarishvara's tales.[13] The Shvetashvatara Upanishad sows the seed of the Puranic Ardhanarishvara. It declares Rudra – the antecedent of the Puranic Shiva – the maker of all and the root of Purusha (the male principle) and Prakriti (the female principle), adhering to Samkhya philosophy. It hints at his androgynous nature, describing him both as male and female.[14]

The concept of Ardhanarishvara originated in Kushan and Greek cultures simultaneously; the iconography evolved in the Kushan era (30–375 CE), but was perfected in the Gupta era (320-600 CE).[15][16] A mid-first century Kushan era stela in the Mathura Museum has a half-male, half-female image, along with three other figures identified with Vishnu, Gaja Lakshmi and Kubera.[9][17] The male half is ithyphallic [with an erect penis] or with an urdhvalinga and makes an abhaya mudra gesture; the female left half holds a mirror and has a rounded breast. This is the earliest representation of Ardhanarishvara, universally recognized.[9][18] An early Kushan Ardhanarishvara head discovered at Rajghat is displayed at the Mathura Museum. The right male half has matted hair with a skull and crescent moon; the left female half has well-combed hair decorated with flowers and wears a patra-kundala (earring). The face has a common third eye. A terracotta seal discovered in Vaishali has half-man, half-woman features.[9] Early Kushan images show Ardhanarishvara in a simple two-armed form, but later texts and sculptures depict a more complex iconography.[11]

Ardhanarishvara is referred to by the Greek author Stobaeus (c. 500 AD) while quoting Bardasanes (c. 154–222 AD), who learnt from an Indian embassy's visit to Syria during the reign of Elagabalus (Antoninus of Emesa) (218–22 AD).[8][15] A terracotta androgynous bust, excavated at Taxila and dated to the Saka-Parthian era, pictures a bearded man with female breasts.[15][16]

Ardhanarishvara is interpreted as an attempt to syncretise the two principal Hindu sects, Shaivism and Shaktism, dedicated to Shiva and the Great Goddess. A similar syncretic image is Harihara, a composite form of Shiva and Vishnu, the Supreme deity of the Vaishnava sect.[3][19][20][21]

Iconography

Image
A rare example of a Shakta Ardhanarishvara, where the dominant right side is female

The iconographic 16th century work Shilparatna, the Matsya Purana and Agamic texts like Amshumadbhedagama, Kamikagama, Supredagama and Karanagama – most of them of South Indian origin – describe the iconography of Ardhanarishvara.[22][23] The right superior side of the body usually is the male Shiva and the left is the female Parvati; in rare depictions belonging to the Shaktism school, the feminine holds the dominant right side.[24] The icon usually is prescribed to have four, three or two arms, but rarely is depicted with eight arms. In the case of three arms, the Parvati side has only one arm, suggesting a lesser role in the icon.

Male half

The male half wears a jata-mukuta (a headdress formed of piled, matted hair) on his head, adorned with a crescent moon. Sometimes the jata-mukuta is adorned with serpents and the river goddess Ganga flowing through the hair. The right ear wears a nakra-kundala, sarpa-kundala ("serpent-earring") or ordinary kundala ("earring"). Sometimes, the male eye is depicted smaller than the female one and a half-moustache is also seen.[25][26] A half third eye (trinetra) is prescribed on the male side of the forehead in the canons; a full eye may also be depicted in middle of forehead separated by both the sides or a half eye may be shown above or below Parvati's round dot.[25][27] A common elliptical halo (prabhamandala/prabhavali) may be depicted behind the head; sometimes the shape of the halo may differ on either side.[27]

In the four-armed form, a right hand holds a parashu (axe) and another makes an abhaya mudra (gesture of reassurance), or one of the right arms is slightly bent and rests on the head of Shiva's bull mount, Nandi, while the other is held in the abhaya mudra gesture. Another configuration suggests that a right hand holds a trishula (trident) and another makes a varada mudra (gesture of blessing). Another scripture prescribes that a trishula and akshamala (rosary) are held in the two right hands. In the two-armed form, the right hand holds a kapala (skull cup) or gestures in a varada mudra.[25][26] He may also hold a skull.[23] In the Badami relief, the four-armed Ardhanarishvara plays a veena (lute), using a left and a right arm, while other male arm holds a parashu and the female one a lotus.[28]

Image
Ardhanarishvara statue

The Shiva half has a flat masculine chest, a straight vertical chest, broader shoulder, wider waist and muscular thigh.[26] He wears a yagnopavita (sacred thread) across the chest, which is sometimes represented as a naga-yagnopavita (a snake worn as a yagnopavita) or a string of pearls or gems. The yajnopavita may also divide the torso into its male and female halves. He wears ornaments characteristic of Shiva's iconography, including serpent ornaments.[23][25][27][29]

In some North Indian images,[27] the male half may be nude and also be ithyphallic (urdhavlinga or urdhavreta: with an erect phallus), or with a full or half phallus and one testicle.[18] However, such imagery is never found in South Indian images;[27] the loins are usually covered in a garment (sometimes a dhoti) of silk or cotton, or the skin of a tiger or deer), typically down to the knee, and held in place by a sarpa-mekhala, serpent girdle or jewellery. The right leg may be somewhat bent or straight and often rests on a lotus pedestal (padma-pitha). The whole right half is described as smeared with ashes and as terrible and red-coloured or gold or coral in appearance; however, these features are rarely depicted.[25][27]

Female half

The female half has karanda-mukuta (a basket-shaped crown) on her head or well-combed knotted hair or both. The left ear wears a valika-kundala (a type of earring). A tilaka or bindu (a round red dot) adorns her forehead, matching Shiva's third eye. The left eye is painted with black eyeliner.[30] While the male neck is sometimes adorned with a jewelled hooded serpent, the female neck has a blue lotus matching it.[5]

In the four-armed form, one of the left arms rests on Nandi's head, while the other is bent in kataka pose and holds a nilotpala (blue lotus) or hangs loosely at her side. In the three-armed representation, the left hand holds a flower, a mirror or a parrot. In the case of two-armed icons, the left hand rests on Nandi's head, hangs loose or holds either a flower, a mirror or a parrot. The parrot may be also perched on Parvati's wrist. Her hand(s) is/are adorned with ornaments like a keyura (anklet) or kankana (bangles).[29][30]

Parvati has a well-developed, round bosom and a narrow feminine waist embellished with various haras (religious bracelets) and other ornaments, made of diamonds and other gems. She has a fuller thigh and a curvier body and hip than the male part of the icon.[18][30] The torso, hip and pelvis of the female is exaggerated to emphasize the anatomical differences between the halves.[31] Though the male private parts may be depicted, the female genitalia are never depicted and the loins are always draped.[18] She wears a multi-coloured or white silken garment down to her ankle and one or three girdles around her waist. The left half wears an anklet and her foot is painted red with henna. The left leg may be somewhat bent or straight, resting on a lotus pedestal. In contrast to the Shiva half, the Parvati half – smeared with saffron – is described as calm and gentle, fair in colour.[29][30] Very rarely, Parvati is shown with parrot-green skin, this represents how she is the daughter of the mountains but mostly she is shown as Gauri (the fair one). She may be draped in a sari covering her torso and legs.

Postures and vahana

Image
A seated Ardhanarishvara with both the vahanas

The posture of Ardhanarishvara may be tribhanga – bent in three parts: head (leaning to the left), torso (to the right) and right leg or in the sthanamudra position (straight), sometimes standing on a lotus pedestal, whereupon it is called samapada. Seated images of Ardhanarishvara are missing in iconographic treatises, but are still found in sculpture and painting.[27][32] Though the canons often depict the Nandi bull as the common vahana (mount) of Ardhanarishvara, some depictions have Shiva's bull vahana seated or standing near or behind his foot, while the goddess's lion vahana is near her foot.[33][34]

Eight-armed form

The Parashurameshvara Temple at Bhubaneswar has a dancing eight-armed Ardhanarishvara. The upper male arms hold a lute and akshamala (rosary), while the upper female ones hold a mirror and a book; the others are broken.[5] Another non-conventional Ardhanarishvara is found at Darasuram. The sculpture is three-headed and eight-armed, holding akshamala, khadga (sword), pasha, musala, kapala (skull cup), lotus and other objects.[32]

Other textual descriptions

The Naradiya Purana mentions that Ardhanarishvara is half-black and half-yellow, nude on one side and clothed on other, wearing skulls and a garland of lotuses on the male half and female half respectively.[35] The Linga Purana gives a brief description of Ardhanarishvara as making varada and abhaya mudras and holding a trishula and a lotus.[36] The Vishnudharmottara Purana prescribes a four-armed form, with right hands holding a rosary and trishula, while the left ones bear a mirror and a lotus. The form is called Gaurishvara in this text.[7]

Legends

Image
Ardhanarishvara relief is from the Elephanta Caves near Mumbai

The mythology of Ardhanarishvara – which mainly originates in the Puranic canons – was developed later to explain existent images of the deity that had emerged in the Kushan era.[11][20][37]

The unnamed half-female form of Shiva is also alluded to in the epic Mahabharata. In Book XIII, Upamanyu praises Shiva rhetorically asking if there is anyone else whose half-body is shared by his spouse, and adds that the universe had risen from the union of sexes, as represented by Shiva's half-female form. In some narratives, Shiva is described as dark and fair-complexioned, half yellow and half white, half woman and half man, and both woman and man. In Book XIII, Shiva preaches to Parvati that half of his body is made up of her body.[38]

In the Skanda Purana, Parvati requests Shiva to allow her to reside with him, embracing "limb-to-limb", and so Ardhanarishvara is formed.[39] It also tells that when the demon Andhaka wanted to seize Parvati and make her his wife, Vishnu rescued her and brought her to his abode. When the demon followed her there, Parvati revealed her Ardhanarishvara form to him. Seeing the half-male, half-female form, the demon lost interest in her and left. Vishnu was amazed to see this form and saw himself in the female part of the form.[21]

The Shiva Purana describes that the creator god Brahma created all male beings, the Prajapatis, and told them to regenerate, which they were unable to do. Confronted with the resulting decline in the pace of creation, Brahma was perplexed and contemplated on Shiva for help. To enlighten Brahma of his folly, Shiva appeared before him as Ardhanarishvara. Brahma prayed to the female half of Shiva to give him a female to continue creation. The goddess agreed and created various female powers from her body, thereby allowing creation to progress.[10][39][40] In other Puranas like the Linga Purana, Vayu Purana, Vishnu Purana, Skanda Purana,[10] Kurma Purana,[41] and Markandeya Purana,[42] Rudra (identified with Shiva) appears as Ardhanarishvara, emerging from Brahma's head, forehead, mouth or soul as the embodiment of Brahma's fury and frustration due to the slow pace of creation. Brahma asks Rudra to divide himself, and the latter complies by dividing into male and female. Numerous beings, including the 11 Rudras and various female shaktis, are created from both the halves. In some versions, the goddess unites with Shiva again and promises to be born as Sati on earth to be Shiva's wife.[10] In the Linga Purana, the Ardhanarishvara Rudra is so hot that in the process of appearing from Brahma's forehead, he burns Brahma himself. Ardhanarishvara Shiva then enjoys his own half – the Great Goddess – by "the path of yoga" and creates Brahma and Vishnu from her body. In the repetitive cycle of aeons, Ardhanarishvara is ordained to reappear at the beginning of every creation as in the past.[36][43]

Image
Ardhanarishvara playing a veena surrounded by Bhringi and a female attendant, Badami[44]

The Matsya Purana describes how Brahma, pleased with a penance performed by Parvati, rewards her by blessing her with a golden complexion. This renders her more attractive to Shiva, to whom she later merges as one half of his body.[23]

Tamil temple lore narrates that once the gods and sages (rishi) had gathered at Shiva's abode, they prayed their respects to Shiva and Parvati. However, the sage Bhringi had vowed to worship only one deity, Shiva, and ignored Parvati while worshipping and circumambulating him. Agitated, Parvati cursed Bhringi to lose all his flesh and blood, reducing him to a skeleton. In this form Bhringi could not stand erect, so the compassionate ones who witnessed the scene blessed the sage with a third leg for support. As her attempt to humiliate the sage had failed, Parvati punished herself with austerities that pleased Shiva and led him to grant her the boon of uniting with him, thereby compelling Bhringi to worship her as well as himself in the form of Ardhanarishvara. However, the sage assumed the form of a beetle and circumambulating only the male half, drilling a hole in the deity. Amazed by his devotion, Parvati reconciled with the sage and blessed him.[45][46] The seventh-century Shaiva Nayanar saint Appar mentions that after marrying Parvati, Shiva incorporated her into half of his body.[21]

In the Kalika Purana, Parvati (called Gauri here) is described as having suspected Shiva of infidelity when she saw her own reflection in the crystal-like breast of Shiva. A conjugal dispute erupted but was quickly resolved, after which Parvati wished to stay eternally with Shiva in his body. The divine couple was thereafter fused as Ardhanarishvara.[39] Another tale from North India also talks about Parvati's jealousy. Another woman, the river Ganga – often depicted flowing out of Shiva's locks – sat on his head, while Parvati (as Gauri) sat on his lap. To pacify Gauri, Shiva united with her as Ardhanarishvara.[46]

Only in tales associated with the cult of Shakta (in which the Goddess is considered the Supreme Being) is the Goddess venerated as the Maker of All. In these tales, it is her body (not Shiva's) which splits into male and female halves.[24]

Symbolism

Image
Ardhanarishvara sculpture, Khajuraho

Ardhanarishvara symbolizes that the male and female principles are inseparable.[29] The composite form conveys the unity of opposites (coniunctio oppositorum) in the universe.[3][12][47][48] The male half of Ardhanarishvara stands for Purusha and female half is Prakriti. Purusha is the male principle and passive force of the universe, while Prakriti is the female active force; both are "constantly drawn to embrace and fuse with each other, though... separated by the intervening axis". The union of Purusha (Shiva) and Prikriti (Shiva's energy, Shakti) generates the universe, an idea also manifested in the union of the Linga of Shiva and Yoni of Devi creating the cosmos.[49][50][51] The Mahabharata lauds this form as the source of creation.[38] Ardhanarishvara also suggests the element of Kama or Lust, which leads to creation.[51]

Ardhanarishvara signifies "totality that lies beyond duality", "bi-unity of male and female in God" and "the bisexuality and therefore the non-duality" of the Supreme Being.[20][52] It conveys that God is both Shiva and Parvati, "both male and female, both father and mother, both aloof and active, both fearsome and gentle, both destructive and constructive" and unifies all other dichotomies of the universe.[47] While Shiva's rosary in the Ardhanarishvara iconography associates him with asceticism and spirituality, Parvati's mirror associates her to the material illusory world.[53] Ardhanarishvara reconciles and harmonizes the two conflicting ways of life: the spiritual way of the ascetic as represented by Shiva, and the materialistic way of the householder as symbolized by Parvati, who invites the ascetic Shiva into marriage and the wider circle of worldly affairs. The interdependence of Shiva on his power (Shakti) as embodied in Parvati is also manifested in this form.[47] Ardhanarishvara conveys that Shiva and Shakti are one and the same, an interpretation also declared in inscriptions found along with Ardhanarishvara images in Java and the eastern Malay Archipelago.[3][9] The Vishnudharmottara Purana also emphasizes the identity and sameness of the male Purusha and female Prakriti, manifested in the image of Ardhanarishvara.[54] According to Shaiva guru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927–2001), Ardhanarishvara signifies that the great Shiva is "All, inseparable from His energy" (i.e. his Shakti) and is beyond gender.[55]

Image
A three-armed Ardhanarishvara sculpture with only Nandi as a vahana, 11th century, Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple

Across cultures, hermaphrodite figures like Ardhanarishvara have traditionally been associated with fertility and abundant growth. In this form, Shiva in his eternal embrace with Prakriti represents the eternal reproductive power of Nature, whom he regenerates after she loses her fertility. "It is a duality in unity, the underlying principle being a sexual dualism".[50] Art historian Sivaramamurti calls it "a unique connection of the closely knit ideal of man and woman rising above the craving of the flesh and serving as a symbol of hospitality and parenthood".[20] The dual unity of Ardhanarishvara is considered "a model of conjugal inseparability". Padma Upadhyaya comments, "The idea of ... Ardhanārīśvara is to locate the man in the woman as also the woman in the man and to create perfect homogeneity in domestic affairs".[19]

Often, the right half of Ardhanarishvara is male and the left is female. The left side is the location of the heart and is associated with feminine characteristics like intuition and creativity, while the right is associated with the brain and masculine traits – logic, valour and systematic thought.[12][56] The female is often not equal in the Ardhanarishvara, the male god who is half female; she remains a dependent entity.[57] Ardhanarishvara "is in essence Shiva, not Parvati". This is also reflected in mythology, where Parvati becomes a part of Shiva. It is likewise reflected in iconography: Shiva often has two supernatural arms and Parvati has just one earthly arm, and his bull vahana – not her lion vahana – typically accompanies them.[58]

Worship and adoration

Image
Ardhanarishvara worshipped at Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam.

Ardhanarishvara is one of the most popular iconographic forms of Shiva. It is found in more or less all temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva all over India and South-east Asia.[29][59][60] There is ample evidence from texts and the multiple depictions of the Ardhanarishvara in stone to suggest that a cult centred around the deity may have existed. The cult may have had occasional followers, but was never aligned to any sect. This cult focusing on the joint worship of Shiva and the Goddess may even have had a high position in Hinduism, but when and how it faded away remains a mystery.[61] Though a popular iconographic form, temples dedicated to the deity are few.[60][62] A popular one is located in Thiruchengode,[62][63] while five others are located in Kallakkurichi taluk, all of them in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[64]

The Linga Purana advocates the worship of Ardhanarishvara by devotees to attain union with Shiva upon dissolution of the world and thus attain salvation.[53] The Ardhanarinateshvara Stotra is a popular hymn dedicated to the deity.[65] The Nayanar saints of Tamil Nadu exault the deity in hymns. While the 8th-century Nayanar saint Sundarar says that Shiva is always inseparable from the Mother Goddess,[5] another 7th-century Nayanar saint Sambanthar describes how the "eternal feminine" is not only his consort, but she is also part of him.[5] The renowned Sanskrit writer Kalidasa (c. 4th–5th century) alludes Ardhanarishvara in invocations of his Raghuvamsa and Malavikagnimitram, and says that Shiva and Shakti are as inseparable as word and meaning.[7] The 9th-century Nayanar saint Manikkavacakar casts Parvati in the role of the supreme devotee of Shiva in his hymns. He alludes to Ardhanarishvara several times and regards it the ultimate goal of a devotee to be united with Shiva as Parvati is in the Ardhanarishvara form.[47]

See also

• Harihara: composite form of the gods Shiva and Vishnu
• Jumadi: a regional composite form of Shiva and Parvati
• Vaikuntha Kamalaja: composite form of Vishnu and Lakshmi

Notes

1. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (2008 revision)
2. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 69.
3. Garg (ed), pp. 598–9
4. Jordan, Michael (2004). Dictionary of gods and goddesses (2 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p. 27. ISBN 0-8160-5923-3.
5. Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 57
6. Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 60
7. Collins p. 80
8. Chakravarti p. 44
9. Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 58
10. Kramrisch pp. 200–3, 207–8
11. Srinivasan p.57
12. Daniélou pp. 63–7
13. Srinivasan pp. 57, 59
14. Srinivasan pp. 57–8
15. Swami Parmeshwaranand pp. 55–6
16. Chakravarti p. 146
17. See image in Goldberg pp. 26–7
18. Goldberg p. 30
19. Chakravarti p. 43
20. Dehejia pp. 37–9
21. Pande, Dr. Alka. "The Icon of Creation – Ardhanarisvara". Official site of author. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
22. Rao p. 323
23. Collins p.77
24. Goldberg pp. 145–8
25. Rao pp. 324–5
26. Goldberg p. 12
27. Goldberg p. 13
28. Rao pp. 327–8
29. "Ardhanārīśvara". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
30. Rao pp. 325–6
31. Rao pp. 329–30
32. Rao pp. 330–2
33. Srinivasan p.266
34. Daniélou p. 147
35. Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 61
36. Collins p. 78-9
37. Goldberg p. 157
38. Collins p.76
39. Swami Parmeshwaranand pp. 60–1
40. Rao pp. 321–2
41. Collins p.77-8
42. Collins pp. 76–7
43. Kramrisch p. 205
44. Rao pp. 327–8: The male half of the four-armed Ardhanarishvara at Badami wears snake ornaments and a knee-length deerskin dress and holds a parashu. His jatamukuta is adorned by the crescent moon as well as a skull. The female side wears gold ornaments and an ankle-length silk garment, and carries a nilotpala. Together with the remaining arms, Ardhanarishvara plays a veena. The skeleton figure identified with Bhringi stands beside him. The bull stands behind the deity.
45. Rao pp. 322–3
46. Pattanaik, Devdutt (Sep 16, 2005). "Ardhanareshwara". Official site of Devdutt Pattanaik. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
47. Kinsley, David (1998). Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 49–53. ISBN 81-208-0394-9.
48. Goldberg p.115
49. Rao pp. 332
50. Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 59
51. Daniélou, Alain (1985). The Myths and Gods of India: the Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism. Inner Traditions. ISBN 0-89281-354-7.
52. Conner, Randy P.; Sparks, David Hatfield; Sparks, Mariya (1998). "Ardhararishvara". Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit. UK: Cassell. p. 67. ISBN 0-304-70423-7.
53. Srinivasan p. 158
54. Srinivasan p. 59
55. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (2003). Dancing with Siva: Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism. Himalayan Academy Publications. p. 758.
56. Goldberg p. 156
57. Courtright, Paul B. (December 2005). "Review: The Lord Who is Half Woman: Ardhanāriśvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 73 (4): 1215–1217. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfi130.
58. Seid, Betty (2004). "The Lord Who Is Half Woman (Ardhanarishvara)". Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies. The Art Institute of Chicago. 30 (1): 48. JSTOR 4129920.
59. Goldberg p. 1
60. Yadav p. 161
61. Swami Parmeshwaranand pp. 55, 61
62. Moorthy, K. K. (1991). "Tiruchengodu - Ardhanareeswarar Tirukovil". The Temples of Tamilnadu. Tirupathi.
63. "Site about Tiruchengode temple".
64. Hiltebeitel, Alf (1988). The Cult of Draupadi: Mythologies: from Gingee to Kuruksetra. The cult of Draupadi. 1. University of Chicago Press. p. 447. ISBN 978-0-226-34046-3.
65. Goldberg p. 4

References

• Collins, Charles Dillard (1988). The iconography and ritual of Śiva at Elephanta. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-88706-773-5.
• Chakravarti, Mahadev (1986). The concept of Rudra-Śiva through the ages. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 81-208-0053-2.
• Daniélou, Alain (1992). Gods of love and ecstasy: the traditions of Shiva and Dionysus. Inner Traditions International. ISBN 0-89281-374-1.
• Dehejia, Harsha V. (1997). Pārvatīdarpaṇa: an exposition of Kāśmir Śaivism through the images of Śiva and Parvati. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 81-208-1484-3.
• Goldberg, Ellen (2002). The Lord who is half woman: Ardhanārīśvara in Indian and feminist perspective. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-5325-1.
• Garg, Ganga Ram, ed. (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world. 3: Ar-Az. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 81-7022-376-8.
• Kramrisch, Stella (1981). The Presence of Siva. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01930-4.
• Rao, T.A. Gopinatha (1916). Elements of Hindu iconography. 2: Part I. Madras: Law Printing House.
• Srinivasan, Doris Meth (1997). Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art. BRILL. OCLC 208705592.
• Swami Parmeshwaranand (2004). "Ardhanārīśvara". Encyclopaedia of the Śaivism. 1. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 81-7625-427-4.
• Yadav, Neeta (2000). Ardhanārīśvara in art and literature. D.K. Printworld. ISBN 81-246-0169-0.

External links

• Ardhanari

Very old famous temple, for Sri ArdhaNareshwara, in Vasudeva Nallur, is worth visiting. This town is located between Sivagiri and Tenkasi of Thirunelveli district.
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