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Monday, November 5, 2007

Churning the ocean of milk

Above is what may well be the most classic visual representation of this particular Hindu myth, as seen on the west side of Angkor Wat. What we see here is Vishnu, supervising a group of demons and gods who are arranged on either side of him in an epic tug-of-war, using a naga as the rope. What they are churning is not water, but an ocean made of milk--an ocean, in other words, of nourishment. According to legend, this activity creates the elixir of immortality.

If you go to the Wikipedia entry, you will see that this particular myth, which originally contained specific esoteric information about the energy within the body, has been polluted by a great deal of folklore and wishful thinking. Nonetheless, it's possible to extract some interesting information from the myth which relates to the recent post on nagas.

The activity, which is supervised by Vishnu, takes place on the back of the great turtle (an alternative incarnation of Vishnu) upon which the whole world rests. The turtle is a symbol of containment--its whole being is contained within its shell. In this particular interpretation, we may infer that containment is the foundation upon which the activity to create the elixir of immortality must be based. This is reminiscent, once again, of the understanding that the ascetic work of the sage is the support structure for all important work. The image of the sage is found on all four sides of every column supporting the roof of the Gallery this bas-relief is found in.

You will note that symbolically speaking, Vishnu is at both the top and the bottom of the activity, representing the note "do" in both positions. Like many other images in the Hindu iconography ( will try to get to that later) it represents the fractal nature of the universe, and the fact that everything is built on the Law of octaves.

From our earlier discussion of nagas, we can see that the snake itself represents a certain kind of energy, and the movement of that energy within the body. In this particular myth, elemental forces of a positive and negative nature, that is, demons and gods, work with each other to create this elixir. Vishnu stands in the center as the reconciling element.

In the earlier post, I also pointed out that the snake represents the spine. Energy traveling along the spine is what creates the "elixir of immortality," that is, higher energy that can be used for the development of the higher being bodies in man. Furthermore, we can infer from the myth that the elixir emerges from the balance of tensions between the two natures of man: a higher nature and the lower nature. This myth has an interesting aspect, because instead of depicting the two natures of men as being in struggle, it shows them cooperating in an activity where both are needed in order to create the elixir.

In the myth, the demons are the ones in charge of the head of the snake. This suggests that the work to connect with the higher nature in man springs from the effort and intelligence embodied in his lower nature. The gods in the myth end up holding the tail of the snake.

Worth pondering.

One other nifty little detail in this bas-relief is what happens underneath the area where the churning is taking place. The ocean of milk is filled with all kinds of verminous creatures: crocodiles, fish with big teeth, evil looking lions, and so on. They are being broken into bits by the activity. The work that is taking place is breaking up what Gurdjieff might call the malevolent "crystallized results" of the organ Kundabuffer. And, you may recall, that is exactly what Gurdjieff said would be necessary for men to grow: things that were crystallized in him would need to be smashed, so that something entirely new could take place.

We might infer that the churning that is spoken of in this mythology is allegorical.

More likely, however, is that the churning refers to more specific yogic experiences.

May your trees bear fruit, and your wells yield water.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Sehnsucht

Every search for understanding is conducted in the shadow of mortality; with age, the shadow grows longer.

I have been speaking over the past few days with my teacher and mentor Betty Brown, who has spent the majority of her life engaged in this search for seeing, and brought me into the Gurdjieff Work under her wing at a time when I was young and unformed. It was my deep privilege to work with her for many years. Now she is nearing the end of her own life and struggling with the uncomfortable facts that we all have to face in regard to our existence on this planet.

In the sensation and experience of breathing in and out through my own life, I sympathize and empathize with her struggle, because I see that the question of life and its inevitable end is much closer than I imagine. We carry our mortality right here with us, perched on our left shoulder. The presence of death is so constant and so familiar that we forget about it, unless we have that connection, through breathing, that reminds us.

Not always available.

This morning, on my way to work, I was taking in the rich impressions of the early morning sun on autumn foliage. As I experienced this spring, the color of change provides a new kind of food. This time, however, the color is not green, a color of new life. Instead I am taking in the rich reds and yellows and ambers that represent the end of life.

So right now I see I am receiving a special kind of food from the end of the summer, as the leaves die.
That moment gives me hope that within the end of life lives something that is shared everywhere, and lifts us all up.

I think what concerns us the most about the idea of dying is that there will somehow be a loss of value. I don't think we fully understand that all the value that is ever created between beings is eternally valid and never goes away. Once a value is created, once an effort is made, it will always be true, whether it lies behind us in time, with us now in time, or -- dare we imagine it? -- in the future.

In this search for vision, this search we engage in together for understanding, for compassion, for a real sense of what it means to be, we often look to the far horizon, as though what we are seeking must of necessity be far away and difficult to find.

In doing so, do we fail to take note of the absolute value, the irrevocable truth of meaning that lies directly in front of us, here, in the immediate inflow of impressions-- now?

It's true, of course, it takes a specific kind of chemistry, and a specific kind of inner connection which we do not orchestrate or command, to sense this properly. And it's equally true we have a facility for theorizing about this matter, and a lack when it comes to participation.

Our failure to ingest the food of life deeply enough continually leaves us in a place where we do not gain the emotional support we need to see the immediate value. This malnutrition leaves us emotionally flat, or, even worse, depressed and unhappy. We've all been there.

Hopefully, in this fall season, as so much of nature surrenders the bounty that it has created during the spring and summer, what is released will help to feed us in our effort. By absorbing the impressions of the work that has been done on our behalf, we contribute, and get something for ourselves at the same time.

Not such a bad deal, all in all.

For those of you who are waiting for the last two posts on the Society of Akhldanns, rest assured I have not forgotten. I will confess, however, that I am leaving them for a moment when I cannot think of anything else to post.

That could be tomorrow, or it could be in a week or two. In the meantime, we will just have to see what arises from day to day, both individually and collectively.

May your trees bear fruit, and your wells yield water.