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..:: The Mental
Field V ::..
“Guardians”
By
Alan Schneider
Upon the Cabalistic Tree of Life
(one of the more accurate depictions of the various states of
consciousness attainable to humanity) is one most curious
structure, known as “Daath”, the Invisible Sephorah. This Sephorah is
located in another equally mysterious region referred to as “The Abyss
of Ignorance”, shown immediately beneath the Supernal Triangle of Binah,
Chokma, and Kether. The Supernal triangle corresponds to the Hindu
Godhead of Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, and to the Seventh Chakra
Sahasrara, the site of the Logos in Hindu theory. It is generally
thought that one cannot Ascend beyond Ajna, the Sixth Chakra, on one’s
own merits, no matter how well one has followed the Yoga Lifestyle,
including meditation and all of the austerities involved. In order to
pass beyond Ajna into Sahasrara, one must be ego-free for the duration
of the interval involved, however long that may be. There is presumably
a guardian presence at, or immediately beyond, Ajna that will not
allow the Logos to be contaminated by even the slightest vestige of
self-involvement – in other words, ego-centric consciousness. It is this
guardian spirit that is the subject of this article.
The Jungian Sphere of
Consciousness does not specifically refer to this barrier zone of
consciousness, but Jung himself has mentioned in his writings that he
stopped his exploration of awareness at Ajna, the level of higher
internal introspection, and did not attempt to venture past this point,
even though he knew of the Chakra Sahasrara. It is interesting that
there is an area at the center of the Sphere that is referred as the
“Self”, but is illustrated only as a small black sphere at the center of
the total Sphere of Conscious expression.
We may presume that, as a
scientist and doctor, Jung was well indoctrinated in the extended
“factual” world that constitutes the ego – this belief system must have
been very powerful as a factor in his awareness – perhaps too powerful
to overcome through the irrational “leap of faith” required to pass by
the “guardian” into Sahasrara, and the consciousness of the Logos,
leaving personal awareness behind thereby. But he at least knew that
there was possibly another, absolutely transpersonal level that could be
attained by a sufficiently detached individual, hence, the Sphere of the
Self in the center of the Sphere of Consciousness. Since Jung did not
venture beyond Ajna, he quite probably had little or no knowledge of the
Guardian Angel stationed in the Abyss of Ignorance at Daath, blocking
access to Eden, in other words, to Samadhi and Nirvana – and the
psycho-perceptual Paradise of the Self.
For a meaningful conceptual
portrayal of this phenomenon, we are left with Cabala and the Tree of
Life diagram. To my knowledge, no other system has a corresponding
reference to this final requirement of Ascension, and the spiritual
mechanism that mediates the process. However, Tantric Theory has an
analogous reference to an “Angel” of Darkness that also will not allow
the ego to pass into Paradise – Mother Kali, the insane black Goddess of
Chaos, and Shiva’s most feared Shakti expression! For the moment, let us
consider the Kali image, after which we will return to the Tree of Life
system.
The key to grasping this
matter lies in understanding the Chaos that Kali represents. Since chaos
is, by definition, that which lies beyond order and comprehension, we
could begin by examining the comprehension process itself. Comprehension
is based upon progressive association in the mind – as we mature, we
learn by linking the previous levels of understanding we have developed
with new concepts and information, creating new levels of meaning – in a
word, enhanced comprehension. Our old friend, the ego, feels
comfortable with that which it comprehends, and threatened by what it
does not, generating an existential drive to attain more and more
comprehension. Any chaotic manifestation lies outside this realm of
understanding and is a source of existential discomfort and cognitive
dissonance – i.e. mental confusion – for the ego. The ability to
organize information is the essence of the ego as a structure in
consciousness. All of this stops at the Threshold of Chaos, beyond which
we must find a new way to understand and process information – a method
involving acceptance of random symbolic events unbounded by logical
constraints of any of the kind seen in the ego state on the Physical
Plane. The region beyond chaos is mediated by strange attractors and
archetypes that seem to exist in an absolute sense beyond space and time
as the ego experiences them. These phenomena can only be mentally
assimilated without the interference of the ego. Not only
does the ego feel threatened by that which it cannot comprehend, it
feels supremely threatened by that place wherein it cannot
exist.
Kali marks the absolute
boundary of existence as we know it. Up to and including Ajna, there
remains a semblance of self-identity and remote familiarity with the
Physical Plane and its comfortable physical and chemical “laws”. We are
still introspective and self-aware at this level. But, the Consciousness
of the Logos, of the Jungian Self, cannot be experienced through any
type of self-referenced logic – it simply must be accepted as a flow of
symbolic experience that unfolds spontaneously as a dimensionless field
of unconditional Love and supreme Light that contains the sum total of
all knowledge attainable on any level, even those “levels” beyond
perception. That is the Divine Presence as I experienced it in
Samadhi. The ego, even in vestigial form, has no place there.
It is a matter of natural
course that anything which we perceive as guarding access to such a
state of being must seem to be ferocious in the extreme – hence the
portrayal of Kali as a Demoness with blood-dripping teeth, and a belt
adorned with severed human heads – all symbolizing the destruction of
the ego. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna asks to see Krishna’s true
form, and is greeted with an even more horrendous apparition, one with
countless mouths filled with countless teeth consuming entire universes
and all their contents. Arjuna cannot withstand this vision and begs
Krishna to re-assume his human form. In both cases, we see symbolic
expression of the destruction of ego comprehension and its
associative links. It is the ego that blocks our experience of God and
the Logos through its habitual worldly associations. This condition
is what Kali seeks to destroy in order to free the Soul from its
worldly bonds, and enable the perception of the Logos in Samadhi.
The Torah specifies the
presence of an Angel armed with a Sword of Fire that “turned in every
direction” blocking the way back into Eden. In those days, Angels and
Demons were considered to be more or less interchangeable entities, with
form following function – since human beings had “fallen” in Eden, the
entity that was placed on guard at the East Gate was necessarily an
“Angel”, serving God’s purposes. Lucifer, the “Darkest” Angel was
presumably still present among the Heavenly Host as well, again
presumably with leathery wings and horns – a quite demonic image, but
still called an “Angel” of Heaven. Cabala calls the practice of
Ascension “The Path of the Flaming Sword” – a reference to the Angel
guarding the East Gate, whatever its nature may have been. The sword
of fire remains a most intimidating image. One is reminded of the
medieval myths of fire breathing dragons, among other things. In
Post-Babylonian Hebrew, fire is represented by the letter Shin – meaning
“the most powerful destroyer”, consuming everything in its path, and
leaving only ashes behind. When Lucifer was ejected from Heaven, he was
cast into a realm of fire and brimstone by the Archangel Michael.
The Sephorah Daath is located
in The Abyss of Ignorance on the Tree of Life. The term “ignorance” here
means more than a simple lack of knowledge and grace. It means a lack of
all manifestation of any kind – the death of the ego and of ego
interpretation of events. I have called Daath “The Portal of Shiva” in
my book Doors In Disguise, but it is better referred to as the
“Portal To Shiva” – Kali herself stands guard there –
representing pure chaos and non-existence.
Given the non-linear nature
of all Astral perception, it is quite possible that Kali may be
the personification of the Threshold of Chaos, as may the Flaming Sword
of the Angel at the East Gate of Eden. We must remember that the
supremely indeterminate form of absolute chaos is itself an archetype
emerging in the from of cultural symbols – ones which are necessarily as
variable as the phenomenon they pertain to. For the ancient Cabalists,
chaos was a ball of fire consuming all that entered it. For the ancient
Hindus, it was Kali’s teeth, also consuming all that entered her realm.
Buddhist representations of the figure Palden Lhamo also pertain
to a Dark Guardian image riding through a sea of blood, symbolic of both
life and chaos. What all of these representations have in common is
their reference to the modification of ego-awareness through some kind
of altered conscious state that will allow the messages from the other
side of the Threshold to emerge into symbolic expression. As I have
commented previously, when we work with conditions at the Threshold, and
assimilate what takes place there, an extensive alternative system of
consciousness takes shape and form. It is also possible that the
Threshold is duplicated at Ajna, or simply recurs in new symbolic images
designed to test our readiness to meet the Absolute Light of
Consciousness.
The more empty we are upon
encountering the Guardian at Daath, the less fearsome it appears, and
the less destructive will its psychic actions be if it is challenged.
The ancient Buddhist admonition “One who dies before death, does not die
at death” is very appropriate here. The “dead” ego is free to continue
the journey into the afterlife – the active ego is not. In a word, that
which does not exist, cannot be destroyed. This is the great power of
meditation – the attainment of real existence through the
practice of nonexistence.
For the rash explorer of
consciousness, and frequently even the patient ones, the prospect of the
total loss of existence is simply too intimidating to risk challenging
Daath and the Abyss, and most stop at this point, viewing Sahasrara from
across the Abyss at the level of Ajna. I have mentioned in previous
articles that I believe I was able to achieve an epiphany Ascension
because 1) I had been meditating and studying for months (actually for
years) before hand, 2) I did exactly the right things in exactly
the right sequence in exactly the right frame of mind on the occasion in
question, and 3) I was assisted in my experience by the Hindu practice
of Sun-Gazing at the early morning Sun reflected on the surface of the
lake outside my window. By the “right” frame of mind, I mean that I was
experimenting with Cabala and the Tegrammeton (YHVH) with absolutely
no expectations regarding the outcome. If nothing had happened, this
would have been fine with me – I was simply following my consciousness
wherever it wanted to go while I was on Christmas vacation! This
complete freedom from any expectation was the primary enabler of my
experience. I simply had no ego for Kali to destroy going into the
events of the period. Instead of a ferocious monster wielding a Sword of
Fire, I experienced a Cosmic Doe who looked into my Soul and found no
expectation present there – the result of prolonged intervals of
meditation – and simply granted me passage beyond the Threshold of Chaos
into the radiant vision of Sahasrara. And I must admit that I have
always been a most unconventional person, even apart from this
experiment, and my exaggerated sense of personal freedom has formed the
background of many explorations in my life.
Why do I frequently equate
the Divine Light with the Hindu deity Shiva? Well, for one thing,
because this is one of His manifestations in traditional Shavite texts,
along with Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer, and the Lingam, to name a couple
of the others. I believe that any Ascension is driven by the
Kundalini Energy in a Tantric elevation of perception – even my Cabala
Ascension – and this Energy is characterized as a female presence –
Shakti – compelled to seek union with a male presence – Shiva – at the
highest level of expression attainable – Sahasrara Chakra in Samadhi. We
are compelled by our very essence as sentient beings to seek Ascension
in the Spirit. And because Shiva is such an effective representation of
the I AM PRESENCE of the Logos – manifest in all things, but
hidden in all things as well. Finally, Shiva as the Divine Light is
attainable, if we can just release our finite ego considerations
unto Kali, and leap across the Abyss and Daath into the perceptual
Paradise on the other side. I believe that anyone attaining Samadhi
would experience the Divine Light as at least a portion of the
Manifestation present in, and represented by, the experience. We can
call this Light God, or the Logos, or Shiva, or Allah, or Yahweh,
or Jehovah or any number of other culturally specific descriptors but it
remains the Source of all Manifestation in consciousness that every
human being knowingly or unknowingly seeks. Namaste!
- With Love, Alan -
(CR2008, Alan Schneider)
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