12th page
Progressive Thinkers as of 12/1/2022
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For those interested in the topic of quantity and gods, it should be noted that humanity has routinely devised schemes for:
- Singular gods (Mono-theistic gods typically defined in terms of a three-patterned reference such as "Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent");
- Dual gods sometimes referred to as a divine couple;
- Triple gods for which the terms triad, trinity or triune are frequently affixed;
- Multiple gods (often three primary ones with attendant others, such as by way of a Pantheon).
In some respects, it reminds me of a dial with three selector positions for a combination lock which requires three numbers in which one goes to the right, then the left then the right again, just as children are taught how to cross a street, and we see it in the arrangement of atomic particles as well as DNA with its triplet code and "amino acid tumbler slots" as well as the 3 colors for street signals, the pitch-roll-yaw of aircraft piloting, and numerous other references where we need to learn a certain code of conduct. It is the same... let us say similar... cognitive theme over and over and over again.
The line-up of enumeration looks very much like the ancient development of cognitive orientations for developing a number system. In effect, the line-up is very suggestive of a cognitive tally stick. But............ human cognition has not learned how to adequately verbalize its efforts to push the boundary of its cognitive development. Humans speak of it and around it with comments regarding an idea about (spiritual) ascendancy, or achieving a higher consciousness, or a "non-duality"... meaning a cognitive move beyond a "2" count, or becoming "one"... meaning achieving the next level in cognitive counting, (or is similarity in achieving a "oneness" of soul, oneness with a god, oneness of a divinity, etc...) in "oneness and plurality", or the contrariety of oneness by seeking nothingness, or the oneness in plurality, etc...
The whole she-bang of Western Religion and Eastern Philosophy are accounts of a cognitive counting system attempting to exceed itself... just like ancient humans stumbling over themselves attempting to count higher, and had the advantage of an actual tally stick that came to be replaced by an Abacus, etc... Current Eastern Philosophies and Western Religions do not have an accounting ledger. Instead, the simply say to take their word for the account, and give in the place of an actual cognitive model of a tally stick, a bunch of mishmash texts with various numbered references to themselves, but do not represent an actual account of their cognitive development attempting to move beyond its babbling stage. Religious texts are little more than a recitation of cognitive babbling utterances, but that human cognition is ready to move on to the development of speech. Every single sacred text is little more than a made-up tally sheet of a cognitive system attempting to develop that no honest accounting firm in existence would accept at face value. They are filled with concocted story-book equations where the authors are like elementary school kids who are fearful of showing how they came up with their so-called answer, in order to conceal mistakes made in their computations.
As far as I can presently gather, there is no standard identity with a divine quad, quintet or other enumerated cycle of divinity. There may be, but it is a type of thinking that has not been used by historian or theologians. Though one can quite possibly conjure one up in the present day by using, for example, a reference to four directions, or seasons, etc... However, we do have examples of multiple gods sometimes described as a pantheon. Not all gods were humans. Here is a short reference listing:
- One: God, Creator, Supreme being, (different cultures have their own names)
- Two: Sometimes characterized as a male/female composite labeled an Hermaphrodite, or twins, or couple, or divine pair...
- Aztec god of duality: Ometecuhtli ('two-lord') and Omecihuatl ('two-lady').
- Twins in Mythology
- Wiccan views of divinity are generally theistic, and revolve around a Goddess and a Horned God, thereby being generally dualistic.
- Three: Christian Trinity, Hindu Triune, Egyptian Triad, etc...
- Pagan Roots of the Trinity Doctrine (I interpret this to mean that the "Pagan" source is the Bible.)
- Many, multiplicity, polytheism, pantheon, etc...
Here is a reference from the Britannica which describes the "basis by which the idea of the Trinity can be established, from the bible... but the Bible doesn't give an adequate account of where or how the three references came to be written. In other words, establishing a basis for a belief from one's own literature is not the same as establishing its pristine origin in more ancient history.
Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Hebrew Scriptures 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The earliest Christians, however, had to cope with the implications of the coming of Jesus Christ and of the presumed presence and power of God among them—i.e., the Holy Spirit, whose coming was connected with the celebration of the Pentecost. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were associated in such New Testament passages as the Great Commission:
- 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19);
- And in the apostolic benediction: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Thus, the New Testament established the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity.
The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. Initially, both the requirements of monotheism inherited from the Hebrew Scriptures and the implications of the need to interpret the biblical teaching to Greco-Roman religions seemed to demand that the divine in Christ as the Word, or Logos, be interpreted as subordinate to the Supreme Being. An alternative solution was to interpret Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three modes of the self-disclosure of the one God but not as distinct within the being of God itself. The first tendency recognized the distinctness among the three, but at the cost of their equality and hence of their unity (subordinationism); the second came to terms with their unity, but at the cost of their distinctness as 'persons" (modalism). It was not until the 4th century that the distinctness of the three and their unity were brought together in a single orthodox doctrine of one essence and three persons.
The Council of Nicaea in 325 stated the crucial formula for that doctrine in its confession that the Son is 'of the same substance [homoousios] as the Father," even though it said very little about the Holy Spirit. Over the next half century, Athanasius defended and refined the Nicene formula, and, by the end of the 4th century, under the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since. It is accepted in all of the historic confessions of Christianity, even though the impact of the Enlightenment decreased its importance. ("Trinity." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.)
The doctrine of the Christian or any other Trinity is not the point. The point is that the human mind is using the same "three" pattern in very many different contexts for different subjects. And when we look at the overall 1- 2- (3) Multiplicity pattern, we see that it is a theme which crops up again and again with different symbols and words. It is a Conservation-of-Number pattern. This conservation is being forced on us by an incrementally deteriorating environment.
Here is a reference not only to identifying an early reference to the Sun as having "three strides" which later came to play a role with the usage of the sun's three moments and the Christian trinity; but also of a great flood. (Note the date preceding Christianity.):
Vishnu: one of the principal Hindu deities. Vishnu combines many lesser divine figures and local heroes, chiefly through his avatars, particularly Rama and Krishna. His appearances are innumerable; he is often said to have 10 avatars, but not always the same 10. Among the 1,000 names of Vishnu (repeated as an act of devotion by his worshippers) are Vasudeva, Narayana, and Hari. Vishnu was not a major deity in the Vedic period. A few Rigvedic hymns (c. 1400–1000 BCE) associate him with the Sun, and one hymn relates the legend of his three strides across the universe, which formed the basis of the myth of his avatar Vamana, the dwarf. Legends of figures that later became other avatars, such as the fish that saves humankind from a great flood, are also found in the early literature... ("Vishnu." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.)
From the idea of multiple "Nature gods" we see a dichotomous flip-flop occurring in the idea stressing a (singular) God of Nature. In other words, the multiple gods of Nature became compressed into a singular God and not as a Pantheon with a major or dominant god such as Zeus (Greek), Jupiter (Roman/Italian), Odin (Norse). All multiplicity becomes defined in terms of a singularity... just as is the idea in some philosophies requiring its believers to seek a "oneness" as an ultimate achievement from some multiplicity, without realizing they are espousing the 1- 2- Many theme of cyclicity that takes on different labels in different contexts, like DNA being expressed in different life forms, but whose basic formula remains the same. Like a system of reproduction which creates one generation of a life form after another, the 1- 2- Many theme may be thought of as a complex development having begun with more simplified forms of cognitive activity, for which we might want to idealize that no true metamorphosis has taken place, yet many of the ideological life forms created (and differentiated by culture and language), have learned how to conceptualize the notion of some evolutionary drive... some evolutionary advance with the view of seeking some higher state of being, some higher consciousness or development. What this sounds like is a left over echo or impression from biological development that is displaced onto the transformation of a next line of biological expressions.
For example, whatever triggers cells to multiply can be viewed as a driving force which makes an impression... is imprinted on the most complex portion of a life form's structure. As evolution takes over, the next higher stage of development, let say from plant to animal which may take millions of years and experimental conditionings for the right combination of pressures to take charge in creating a suitable blueprint; the initial driving from unicellular (single celled) life to multi-celled life leaves its mark as an indelible tally sheet, which the next life form utilizes like some required building code. As life evolves into a more complex expression, such as from two germ layers to three, with no observable presence of that which we might label a one germ layer life form, each successive life form... in their own way of expression, expresses the basic floor plan of a one- two- many stage construct. Whereas in some cases one of the steps is obscured or perhaps exhibiting a negligible form to the point an observer claims it is missing or absorbed or convoluted into some other measure, the basic sketch nonetheless remains. Whereas in identifying the underlying presence of DNA has been worked out, the 1- 2- Many theme has not been realized enough by multiple researchers to test this hypothesis. Whereas we have comparative anatomy and many other traditions of comparing subject materials, the 1- 2- Many theme may appear to some to be too general, much like the interpretations created by Astrology or other arbitrarily sensitive subjects.
Let us take for example the study of comparative religion, it is an area of research that can take into regard both general and specific patterns which on some level can be enumerated. For example, their have been cultures which believed in one god, multiple gods, and in some cases a "diving couple". These three represent a pattern of one- two- many, even though some cultures may have one or more of these items missing. In some cases an ideological construct arises which specifies a particular number, and may have been created to reflect the number instead of the number resulting from an idea. Because several later religious stories show a remarkably similar idea being conveyed in an older religion, the same theme is frequently used to attest to some sort of veracity of the story, instead of the story referencing some basic cognitive pattern. The effort of some is to establish support for a belief and not that the belief is an embellished rendition of some more basic cognitive pattern having nothing whatsoever to do with religion. Religion is just a life form created by external conditions on a mind that is appreciably ignorant but has a sociological history of growing towards the direct of ideas which reference or are thought to reference some cognitive reach of a greater light, which is a metaphor for people accessing the lights of the sun, moon, and stars... if not meteors, as a god to which later ideologies have transformed into elaborate systems of beliefs which no longer remember their fundamental roots of origination.
While some people claim to be able to remember their time spent in the womb, it is not a well-established certainty that everyone could if given the proper teaching of what to look for in our cognitive activity, though our sleeping position may be a symbolic representation thereof. Along this same line of thinking about memories and expressed representations taking on a rationalized theme for the era one lives in, I included the following information in an old page back in May of 2018. I was intentionally trying to capture some semblance of being "born" from inside a womb with a light at the end, without being too explicit. I was trying to convey the idea that being born was in effect, the realization of a higher state of consciousness, but I did not have the language with which to describe my experience, and the language which I did have was being misinterpreted to represent preconceived notions.
Are the Alien Abduction Scenarios, (whether you believe them to be true or false), symbolic representations of a new, 3rd type of consciousness, or merely someone's consciousness awakening into what many of else realize as normalcy of mental activity that we take for granted? Are the scenarios have a type of "cultural currency" that, if such a person experienced a similar mental process in a different age, would use alternative types of "fringe" images in an attempt to convey some semblance of acknowledging a personal consciousness alteration for which there is no particularly set vocabulary for?
Alien Abduction Memory
It was about 3 AM in the morning
when they came for me through the walls
I tried to cry out a warning,
but no one seemed to hear my muffled calls.
For a time I felt I was floating
my body was weightless all about
and all the while I was hoping,
if only the weird sounds to figure out.
There was a bright light as never seen
it blinded, but did not burn a bit
I was being pulled along this single beam,
which made me gasp and throw a fit!
3 strange beings were near to me
one stuck something into my nose
none of them would set me free,
nor let me have any clothes!
I was placed onto a shiny table
with metallic instruments here & there
I screamed and screamed as I was able,
yet not a one of them seemed to care!
They examined the whole of my body
I felt violated through & through
and when I needed to potty,
I did it there for them to view!
I was surely being used for an experiment
to breed a hybrid of two different kinds
and yet in a hypothetical sentiment,
perhaps I'm already of two different minds!
They then placed me into a room
where others like me were laying down
inside glass cages, or so I presume,
all unconscious with a faceless frown.
I seemed to lay there for an eternity
watching as one by one was taken away
and then at length, they came for me,
crying out loud!...as if to pray.
Twas surely a new dimension ventured in
having been chosen for some special role
to bring forth a message from there & then,
a place transcended by body & soul.
Somehow I know I was tagged & marked
perhaps for some unknown larger inventory
and this is why my thoughts are arc-ed,
towards some higher reality...
(Some form of advanced consciousness
quite different from what I knew
though some may disbelieve all of this,
as best memory can,... I tell it true.)
I know not when I left their keep
or so I thought...perhaps, just maybe
finally awakening from this alien sleep,
only to be called someone's newborn baby!
Note: I honestly wrote the poem about the connection between birth memories and UFO/Alien abductions prior to having any knowledge about the Birth Memories Hypothesis written by Alvin H. Lawson, PhD and discussed in varying details by others. (The link is to an old listing.)
Alvin H. Lawson Thesis: Alien abductions are archetypal fantasies involving belief or deception, in which the subject's birth memories play a central role.
Alien Abduction Memory page 1
Even though our brain is sometimes described as having developed from a very basic past of cognitively primitive life forms, it is not certain whether this developmental pathway has left an indelible impression that is cognitively expressed in some symbolic form, though some artists may claim individual pieces of their work are suggestive of such and they gain valuable inspirations from such influences that their work attempts to express some decipherment thereof. Indeed, when a psychologist or psychiatrist tries some therapy of helping a person regress to an earlier part of their life, it is not known if such a process actually gets to the most pristine root of the problem since it may in a deeper past of their so-called subconscious predating their human birth. Whether one views this as being speculative or not, the fact remains that when we look for the origination of language or consciousness or reasoning, such attributes may predate the mental construct of humans... if only on a very simplistic level.
In many, if not all Pantheons we see one dominant leader, some representation of duality such as a half god- half human, and of course the presence of Many gods. In all corporations including governments, we find a leader, multiple forms of "Many" such as many people on a corporate board of executives, or many departments, and some expression of duality either involving gender, race, religion, division of functions, etc... And yes, I can hear those readers who say they see some other pattern and want to use their perspective as a wrench to throw into the present works of the 1- 2- Many ideology, but when we look at and count the number of patterns being used, we find some that are dominant and that overall, there are only a few. Then again to mention one alternative pattern or two or many, is just another example of this basic cognitive pattern. This cognitive pattern can be elaborated with the attendant idea of seeking some "oneness" (typically with multiplicity such as having numerous abilities or powers). It's like the germ or single cell of an idea which may pass through some fashionable dichotomy or "twoness" to reach a multiplicity of expression (a growth, an expansion) in the form of a story (legend, myth, fairy tale, religion, law, science, mathematics, philosophy, sport, etc..) and may even become established as a traditional belief whose origin is not even known by well-intentioned historians who do not understand how basic cognitive structures can take, or be attached to different external forms just like the Pentadactyl limb being used as a foundation for multiple life forms. Whereas I speak of a "1- 2- Many", this does not mean numbers or even words will be used in all contexts, and neither does it mean that all of the composite representations will be present. One or more might be hidden or missing or even be expressed as a fraction or multiplicity, such as 2- 4- 1,000. Alternatives exist. As a rule of thumb, I am not sure that the "2" or second position will always show up (when it is present), as a doubling (or pairing) of the 1. Differences in the ideological usage of numbers or quantities exist.
As with magic and witchcraft using symbols, words and phrases as if they have some secret and great power to conjure up something even more powerful like a god or demon that usually (at least in some motion pictures) is just another go-between to some even greater power... thus revealing yet another three-patterned occurrence.
In numerous religions, spiritual purification may be sought through the verbal or mental repetition of a prescribed efficacious syllable, word, or text (e.g., the Hindu and Buddhist mantra, the Islamic dhikr, and the Eastern Christian Jesus Prayer). The focusing of attention upon a visual image (e.g., a flower or a distant mountain) is a common technique in informal contemplative practice and has been formalized in several traditions. Tibetan Buddhists, for example, regard the mandala (Sanskrit: "circle") diagram as a collection point of universal forces, accessible to humans by meditation. Tactile and mechanical devices, such as the rosary and the prayer wheel, along with music, play a highly ritualized role in many contemplative traditions.
Most meditative practices concentrate attention in order to induce mystical experiences. Others are mindful of the mental character of all contents of consciousness and utilize this insight to detach the practitioner either from all thoughts or from a selected group of thoughts—e.g., the ego (Buddhism) or the attractiveness of sin (Christianity). Meditation may also serve as a special, potent preparation for a physically demanding or otherwise strenuous activity, as in the case of the warrior before battle or the musician before performance.
Although the primary purpose of meditation is the realization of truth, the doctrinal and experiential truths claimed by different practices of meditation are often inconsistent with each other. Hinduism, for example, asserts that the self is divine, while other traditions claim that God alone exists (Sufism), that God is immediately present to the soul (Christianity and Judaism), and that all things are empty (Mahayana Buddhism). ("meditation." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013)
If we step away from religion and philosophy for a moment, I can provide an instance of the "1-Many" theme in developmental biology, where the "2" takes place on the overt structural "bilateral body plan" as well as the cellular level:
The most familiar organisms, including man, undergo a single-phase development; the organs that appear at early stages persist throughout the whole of life. There are many kinds of animals that develop one or more larval stages adapted to a life different from that of the adult. Perhaps the best known of these is the common frog. The egg first develops into a tadpole, which is provided with a large muscular tail by which it swims. The tadpole eventually undergoes a change of form, or metamorphosis. This involves the regression and resorption of the tail and the growth of the limbs. During this time the rest of the body of the tadpole undergoes less profound changes; the organs persist but undergo relatively far-reaching progressive changes. In other animals, the alteration between the larval and the adult forms may be much more drastic. The egg of a sea urchin, for instance, at first develops to a small larva (the pluteus), which is completely unlike that of the adult. During metamorphosis nearly all the structures of the pluteus disappear; the five-rayed adult develops from a very small rudiment within the larva. In other groups of marine invertebrates, there may be successive larval stages before the adult form appears.
Plants in general appear to exhibit a type of development related in a general way to the multi-phased development just discussed in animals, although rather different from it in essence. This is called the 'alternation of generations." The majority of higher plants possess two sets of similar chromosomes in each of their cells, that is to say they are diploid (2n), as are most higher animals. But in sexual reproduction, diploid cells undergo a reduction division so as to form precursors of the sex cells, which are haploid—i.e., they contain only one set of chromosomes. In animals these cells develop directly into the sex cells—egg and sperm—which unite in fertilization. In plants the haploid cells undergo some developmental processes before the functioning sex cells are produced. The products of this development are spoken of as the 'haploid generation." In most higher plants the haploid development is quite reduced, so that the haploid individuals contain only a few nuclei—those associated with the pollen tube on the male side and a few associated with the egg on the female side. In some lower plants, however, such as mosses and ferns, the haploid development may be much more extensive and give rise to quite sizable separate plants. In such cases a species contains two kinds of individuals, produced by different types of developmental processes controlled, however, by the same genotype. This may be compared with the multi-phasing development of larval forms in animals. The situation in plants, however, is characterized by the two forms of the organism having different chromosomal constitutions—haploid and diploid—whereas the larval forms and the adult of an animal species have the same chromosomal constitution. ("biological development." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013.)
Single-phase and Multiphase development: (One/Many)
Let's continue look at different ideas (Most of which are religion or philosophy) in order to pay witness to the variations in which the 1- 2- Many theme can play out in different cultures and time periods, using different words:
The belief in the oneness of the Father and the Son
Faith in the Son also brought about a oneness with the Father. The Son became the mediator of the glory of the Father to those who believe in him. In Jesus' high priestly prayer (in John, chapter 17) he says: "The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one." In the Lord's Prayer Jesus taught his disciples to address God as "our Father." ("Christianity." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013)
Tawhid also spelled Tauhid, Arabic Tawhhid: ("making one," "asserting oneness"), in Isla-m, the oneness of God, in the sense that he is one and there is no god but he, as stated in the shaha-dah ("witness") formula: "There is no god but God and Muhammad is His prophet." Tawhid further refers to the nature of that God—that he is a unity, not composed, not made up of parts, but simple and uncompounded. The doctrine of the unity of God and the issues that it raises, such as the question of the relation between the essence and the attributes of God, reappear throughout most of Islamic history. In the terminology of Muslim mystics (S.u-if-s), however, tawhid has a pantheistic sense; all essences are divine, and there is no absolute existence besides that of God. To most Muslim scholars, the science of tawhid is the systematic theology through which a better knowledge of God may be reached, but to the Sufis, knowledge of God can be reached only through religious experience and direct vision. ("tawhid." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013)
'Abduh, Muhammad: religious scholar, jurist, and liberal reformer, who led the late 19th-century movement in Egypt and other Muslim countries to revitalize Islamic teachings and institutions in the modern world. As mufti- (Islamic legal counsellor) for Egypt (from 1899), he effected reforms in Islamic law, administration, and higher education and, although resisted by conservatives, broke the rigidity of Muslim ritual, dogma, and family ties. His writings include the "Treatise on the Oneness of God" and a commentary on the Qur'an. ("'Abduh, Muhammad." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013)
Dagda Celtic "Good God" also called Eochaid Ollathair ("Eochaid the All-Father"), or In Ruad Ro-fhessa ("Red [or Mighty] One of Great Wisdom")
In Celtic religion, one of the leaders of a mythological Irish people, the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu"). The Dagda was credited with many powers and possessed a caldron that was never empty, fruit trees that were never barren, and two pigs—one live and the other perpetually roasting. He also had a huge club that had the power both to kill men and to restore them to life. With his harp, which played by itself, he summoned the seasons. The Dagda mated with the sinister war goddess Morrígan. ("Dagda." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013)
Religious symbolism and iconography (Conceptual influences):
Ideas, theories, and structured systems of thought also are incorporated into religious symbolism. Abstract ideas—such as wholeness, unity, and the absolute—and the power of the spirit are concretely expressed in religious terms. The idea of unity plays an important part in expressing the oneness of the divinity. Mathematical principles expressed in number symbolisms are used to organize the world of the gods, spirits, and demons, to describe the inner structure of human beings, and to systematize mythology and theology. The concepts of duality or polarity find expression as the body and soul of man, the divine pair, the syzygy (paired emanations) in gnosticism, the dualism of God and the Devil, of good and evil, and, finally, as the two natures of Christ. The number three, or triplicity, is represented in divine triads, the Trinity, and the body-soul-spirit structure of a human being, as is the number four, or quaternity, in the four cardinal points, the picture of the cosmic whole, and the divine quaternity. Time and eternity may be expressed in abstract symbolical terms as well as concretely in picture form. ("religious symbolism and iconography." Encyclopæædia Britannica. 2013)
Seeking a higher consciousness might be called "Spiritual Elevation" as described here:
Udasi, Punjabi "Detached Ones":
Monastic followers of Srichand (1494–1612?), the elder son of Nanak (1469–1539), the first Guru and the founder of Sikhism. The authoritative text of the Udasi movement is the Matra ("Discipline"), a hymn of 78 verses attributed to Srichand. The Matra emphasizes the need for spiritual elevation, to be attained by living a life of celibacy and detachment from the world. The Udasis wear their hair matted and have the icon of Srichand as the central object of worship in their temples. ("Udasi." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013)
Anekantavada: Sanskrit "non-one-sidedness" or "many-sidedness"
In Jainism, the ontological assumption that any entity is at once enduring but also undergoing change that is both constant and inevitable. The doctrine of anekantavada states that all entities have three aspects: substance (dravya), quality (guna), and mode (paryaya). Dravya serves as a substratum for multiple gunas, each of which is itself constantly undergoing transformation or modification. Thus, any entity has both an abiding continuous nature and qualities that are in a state of constant flux. ("anekantavada." Encyclopæædia Britannica. 20132)
In this next excerpt we see the idea of higher realization of the self by a practice of meditative discipline. The last paragraph reminds me of a comic book character. And to think that people actually believe in such stuff:
Mahasiddha, Sanskrit "great perfect one" Tibetan Grub-thob Chen:
In the Tantric, or esoteric, traditions of India and Tibet, a person who, by the practice of meditative disciplines, has attained siddha (miraculous powers); a great magician.
Both the Shaivites (followers of Shiva) of Hindu India and the Tantric Buddhists of Tibet preserve legends of 84 mahasiddhas who flourished up to the 11th century. (The number 84 is a conventional, mystical number representing totality.) The lists of names vary considerably. All classes of society and both sexes are represented, and many non-Indian names appear.
The 84 mahasiddhas continue to be revered in Tibet. They are the authors of many Tantric works and are the originators of spiritual lines of descent—from master to disciple—still honoured. The most famous of the Tibetan mahasiddhas is the great 8th-century Tantric master Padmasambhava.
One text lists the eight "great powers," or siddhas, as the power of shrinking to the size of an atom; of becoming light enough to fly through the air; of becoming heavy; of touching faraway objects, even as distant as the moon; of irresistible will; of supremacy over the body and mind; of having dominion over the elements; and of instantaneously fulfilling all desires.
"mahasiddha." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.
Date of (series) Origination: Saturday, 14th March 2020... 6:11 AM
Date of Initial Posting (this page): 3rd Jan 2023... 6:17 AM, AST (Arizona Standard Time); Marana, AZ.