|
Agni Yoga (1929) - 428:
428. Following the time of Atlantis, in the rites of the Druids, while all the rest walked in a circle following the dawn-to-dusk movement of the sun, the chief priest performing the rite walked in the opposite direction. In this was contained the symbol of lesser and greater knowledge. Lesser knowledge is developed by following the flow of known energies, but great knowledge, facing the current of cosmic forces, extracts previously-unknown energies from what appears to be chaos. So in the cults of the sun, the steps of human ascent were wisely indicated. As you know, these were not abstract symbols but a reflection of reality; for example, the centers rotating against the sun produce special fiery energies. AUM (1936) - 112:
112. It is rightly understood that so-called sacred animals were not deities, but were a natural consequence arising from local conditions. Even now people often speak about some sacred obligation meaning thereby, not a religious rite, but a useful moral action. The conditions of antiquity often required a special attention to certain animals, or trees and plants. Sacredness signified inviolability. Thus was preserved something rare and necessary. The very same protection contemporary people call "preserves." Thus, one should refer very carefully to concepts that are not clear. So much has been added to the province of religion that, because of its antiquity, superficial observers are completely unable to distinguish the fundamental from the stratifications around it. The temple even now is a gathering place where, along with ceremony, barter and sale take place, and local matters are discussed. The same piling up of confusion is still taking place. Therefore let us not be excessively harsh toward the term sacred animals and other long-forgotten archaic symbols.
|