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Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 27 2009 : 10:57:28 PM
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"Pre-PS" ---- Yes, this is a *VERY* long post; I don't expect or ask anyone to read it all; it is designed/posted the way it is, for *reference* --- links and excerpted information, ideal for *skimming* .... to give you an idea of just *how* amazing the connections between Judaism and Hinduism actually are!
It also may well contain some formatting or other errors; apologies if so.
Enjoy!
And to those honoring the divine now via Yom Kippur - Shalom; to those honoring the divine now via Navratri - Aum Shanti; and to ALL honoring the divine now as the divine now by being Divine Now -- Peace!
~KM
**
Hey All,
Per Yonatan & Shanti's discussion of Yom Kippur (Jewish Holiday, tonight-tomorrow) and Navratri (Hindu Holiday, tonight-tomorrow) ... I decided to do some further digging into the amazing similarities between Judaism (particularly the experientially-oriented discipline of the Kabbalah) and Hinduism (particularly the experientially-oriented disciplines of Tantric and Non-Tantric Advaitic and Yogic paths).
At first, I found the correspondences interesting.
Then - fascinating.
Then - amazing.
Now - beyond staggering.
I'll state it flat out: the two oldest consciousness-maturation (aka "spiritual") systems in the world *obviously* had a common origin.
Either one of them arose from the other .... or they share a common "ancestor system".
I found the following links/sets of amazing information via a short while of Googling (terms like: yom kippur navratri judaism kabbalah hinduism ... and various combinations thereof) .... as in: "you too can try this at home!"
One religion's holiday has a sophisticated systems of three grouped triads (representing the three primary states of consciousness - waking/dreaming/deep sleep; willing/knowing/acting --- as experienced by objective consciousness, subjective consciousness and balanced/unified consciousness), representing the power of the One divine consciousness as manifested reality cover nine days -- which culminates in a tenth day of reverence and submission of will into the One Power/One Source -- t/hereby facilitating the opportunity to shed human/egoic restrictions (i.e. "sins" or human weakness; the misperceptions of egoic limitation) and make a new beginning from wholeness.
.... and the *other* religion's holiday begins with Rosh Hashannah and ends with Yom Kippur.
And one of these religions reveres the Awe of the wholeness of the One on the final day ..... and the *other* religion's celebration culminates in Yom Kippur.
Links/Excerpts Below .....
The 7th Moon A Key To The Mysteries
http://www.democraticunderground.co...s=245x102057
The appearance of the crescent New Moon on the evening of September 19 marks the beginning of a special 10 day / 9 night period when the world is recreated. This tradition is shared by the Cherokee, the Jews, Hindus and followers of the Greek mystery school.
Kabbalah and Tantra
http://www.svabhinava.org/union/Mopsik/index.php
"The place, both terrestrial and celestial, where this union was accomplished was the Temple of Jerusalem, in which the embrace of the cherubim signified both the union of Israel and its God and the union within the God's divinity of the male and female aspects.
The Talmudic story which underlies this conception is found in Yoma 54b: “When the Israelites accomplished the pilgrimage, [the priests] withdrew the curtain and showed them the cherubim embracing each other. They told them: See, your love before God is like the love of the male and the female.”
In another passage of the Talmud (Baba Bathra 99a), the position of the cherubim with regard to each other depends on the conduct of Israel: their faces are turned towards each other if Israel accomplishes the will of God; otherwise their heads are turned away. These old stories are the framework on which R. Joseph of Hamadan embroiders his theosophical and hiero-historical canvas.
While this Cabbalist is apparently not troubled by making the unity of God historically relative, conceiving it as related to human becoming at the risk of seriously endangering his transcendence, other Cabbalists—very few it is true—have adopted a more prudent procedure. Thus, the author of the Tikkunei ha-Zohar carefully distinguishes what he calls the “associative (relational) one” from the “one without a second":
“As to the Cause beyond all causes, there is no second to which it could refer, it is unique, anterior to all, without associate. It is with regard to it that it is written: ‘See now that I am he, and that there is no Elohim with me’ (Deut. 32:39), from whom he may take counsel, having neither second nor associate, not entering into the numerical series. There exists a ‘one’ which is associative like the male and the female, of which it is said: ‘For he called them one’ (Isaiah 51:2). Whereas He is one beyond number, without associate” (ed. in Zohar I, 22b, and see our translation, in Zohar, vol.I, p.129)."
Sounds similar to the "Subject who can never be an object" - Shiva - as articulated by Kashmir Shaivism -- in Union with his Shakti (Sanskrit) ... or, as Judaism/Hebrew expresses it ... Shekinah. ~KM
Cube Of Space Metapsychology
http://www.psyche.com/psyche/cube/c...chology.html
Cube of Space ---- you know -- the cube that the six-pointed star, symbolizing heart-union represents in one of the world's most sophisticated and powerful experiential wisdom traditions. And hey .... it seems Judaism has One, too!! ~KM
"The Cube of Space describes the human reality of Adam Qadmon, archetypal man, as composed of an inner life formed in the first four Sephirot (spheres of consciousness/energy) and the axes and center of the Cube, and an outer life formed by the last six Sephirot and the opposing faces of the Cube. The inner life is timeless and the outer life is experiential and developmental.
Inner space (the "Inner Court") is formed by three primary energies, represented by the Hebrew "Mother" letters: Aleph, maximum energy/consciousness, Mem, minimum energy/consciousness, and Sheen/Seen, the energy mediating between them. Outer space or being is the reflection of those energies as existence, life and experience. Existence is formed by the polarity of self and body/other, life by the polarity of future and past, and experience by the polarity of feeling and thought, or stimulus and response. The psyche itself, the seventh direction of the Cube, is at the center, through which all the energies pass.
Symbolically, our ex-is-tence is defined by self and other, or inner energy and its outer body, with our spiritual goals above and our material development below, and our standing in society. Our life is defined by the uncertain future we face before us, and our past by the actions we have perfomed and put behind us. The experience of life in existence is made possible by the unconscious impressions of sensuous reality entering our receptive left hand (right-brain) and being met by the cognitive response and action of the right hand (left-brain) Again, in the center is the psyche, the eye of the needle and gateway to our Soul."
Like, seriously ..... ~KM --->
On The Double Triangle
(The Six-Pointed Star of Judaism/Hinduism)
http://www.gaiamind.com/triangle.html
"The whole process takes nine "triangular" stages. Another sacred form that expresses this same process of life is the Sri Yantra. The Sri Yantra is the creation mandala in the eastern traditions. It consists of 9-interpenetrating triangles, representing the union of the male and female principles. In the center of the Sri Yantra is a "bindu", toroidal point. The perimeter of the Sri Yantra is said to lie on a hypersphere. The Sri Yantra can be thought of as the Adamic grand-mother/father of both the double-triangle and the double-tetrahedron. The conventionally drawn Sri Yantra can be understood as an elaboration of the "Star of David" pattern made by the double-tetrahedron. Using a 4-symmetry (octahedral) form instead of the usual pentagonal 5-symmetry form to define the frame of the Sri Yantra, it is possible to transform the normally flattened Sri Yantra into a full 3-dimensional "meru" (world mountain) configuration by pulling it up from its center. (This is like turning a doughnut through its hole.) These is a sculpture of the "Octa-Yantra" on the Meru Foundation website also.
In Hebrew, the "Star of David", the double-triangle pattern, is known as the "Mogan David", which is usually translated to mean "star" or "shield" of David. But we can analyze the meaning of the Hebrew words to obtain a more precise meaning. The word translated as "star" or "shield" actually consists of two parts. "MoG" and "-aN". In Hebrew the root MoG is the root that means magician, as in Magus/magi, and it indicates "manifestation." The letter "M" means "source of" (M=Mem="sea/expanse") and the letter "G" (G=Gimel="camel") means "action" or "carrying." The final "N" means "to go on forever" (as in the English, "go on to the Nth degree".) "
Formative Sephirot
http://www.psyche.com/psyche/qbl/fo...ephirot.html
"The ten Sephirot are transformers of energy, breaking it down until it becomes completely materialized. "
Indojudaica (A Jewish Rabbi Commenting on Benares – the “Jerusalem of India”).
http://www.indojudaic.com/index.php...=13&Itemid=2
"Kashi, “city of light” she is called. City of Shiva, Kashi Vishwanath. She is Hinduism’s most important of all pilgrimage centers where the faithful immerse themselves in Mata Ganga, the Mother of all Rivers, which the British called “the Ganges.” She flows from the very topknot of Lord Shiva’s hair as He sits in meditative repose in the Himalayas.
Truly, Benares is G-d’s waiting room. From all over India, elderly and infirm stream into the many dharamsalas or hospices to await the inevitable. When the time comes, the body is wrapped in a shroud and carried on a rope stretcher to the banks of the Mother River; she is ready to receive her children with love. Bodies are washed, priests are hired, wood is purchased (and it is not cheap!), and the samskaras (life cycle rituals) begin. To the chanting of verses from the Vedas, the pyre is lit. It is reckoned that it takes about three hours to render most of the corpse into ash. Whatever is not yet burned is tossed into the River along with the ashes. A special scavenger caste catch the remains, which they strain in large wicker baskets in search of any gold ornaments that the family felt delicate about removing. The pyres burn day and night. It is not possible for one to gaze deeply into those pyres and not be changed by the experience."
Written By Nathan Katz, Jewish Rabbi. This is big; people. Vast. ~KM
Hinduism and Judaism
http://www.defence.pk/forums/curren...arities.html
Similarities Between Hindu and Jewish Traditions
BY: SUN STAFF
May 15, CANADA (SUN) — Following is an excerpt from the report produced by the first Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit, held last year in New Delhi. The Summit was an initiative of the World Council of Religious Leaders, in partnership with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha. In this exchange, HH Mahamandaleswar Sri Swami Gurusharananandaji Karsni Peeth of Mathur offers an overview of the Vedic tradition, which is followed by a response from Mr. Oded Weiner, Director General of the Rabbinate of Israel.
Similarities between Our Traditions
His Holiness Mahamandaleswar Sri Swami Gurusharananandaji Karsni Peeth, Mathura
Shalom to acharyas, and revered guests. I shall speak on similarities in our traditions. Both our traditions have given birth to many other religions: Hinduism has given birth to Buddhism and Jainism, and, similarly Judaism is the mother of Christianity and Islam.
We have both experienced the persecution of intolerant rulers. We also have been subject to the holocaust during colonial times.
Both our religions are revealed. Hinduism does not have a beginning. It was never started. Dharma was always there. The Vedas are not books, they are revealed facts by Rishis: Rsayastu mantradrstarah, not mantra-kartarah. Rishis are the seers of the mantras, not its authors. Vedas are revealed. Similarly Moses did not create the Holy Books. They were revealed. God is the source of both the Jewish and Hindu traditions. Moses did not create the religion. Similarly in our tradition we say even Rama or Krsna didn’t create the religion. We have four Vedas, you have five Holy Books. We have smritis, you have midrash.
Both of us remove shoes at the temple. We take a ritual bath before special rites. The outer purity is needed to cultivate inner purity.
You keep Kosher, we have what is called “achara”--both refer to strict codes about internal and external purity. We are pure in our food habits. We do not mix certain types of food, or eat old food. We purify ourselves before going to the temple. During the menstrual period, both Jewish and Hindu women abstain from worship.
We have lunar calendars in both traditions. The number of years in our calendar is the same. For marriages and other auspicious events, we see different days. Both perform marriages under canopies. Some of the rites are similar.
We also have corresponding festivals. In the Jewish tradition, you have Yom Kippur, and we have Navaratri; we fast and pray and do special prayers at the time. The festivals of Purim and Holi, coming in the springtime, signify triumph of good over evil are in both traditions. When we do a blessing, we use rice as the symbol of fertility. Both, Hindus and Jews, do penance and fasting. In the past, it is said that Jews used to rub ash on the body to purify themselves. We have two important rivers: Jordan and Ganga.
Finally, the essence of both traditions is “Atmanah pratikulani paresham na samacharet,” do not do unto others what you do not want to have done to you. Om.
Judaism Advaita and Madhyamaka Buddhism
http://www.yogiphilosophy.com/docs/...alah_web.pdf
Link above links directly to 36-page PDF document covering the myriad similarities between Judaism, Advaita and Madhyamaka Buddhism. ~KM
Archive For King David
http://kabbalahsecrets.com/?tag=king-david&paged=2
"Spiritually, everything is connected. The outcome of an event is already present in its beginning. And energy anywhere instantaneously effects everything and everyone. These are the spiritual tenets we need to grasp, as the markets, economies,and global hostilities continue to be drawn to that newly discovered dark mass.
The kabbalists would suggest that the scientists try an experiment to change the phase of a proton on one side of the universe and check what happens to its mate on the other side of the universe. But wait, they did that, and miraculously, and instantaneously, whatever they did to one, happened to the other. That’s because the spiritual tenets exist on a higher level than the physical ones, and the spiritual precedes the physical. It’s all based on dimensionality and the relationship between the 10 dimensions (sefirot) that make up the tree-of-life reality.
By the way, there are few physicists today that would argue with the 10-dimensional structure of the universe. But instead of the integral, highly organized, and divinely planned one that the Kabbalists have been writing about for thousands of years, the 10-dimensional structure of the universe posited recently by our modern scientists is a mathematic ball of thread."
The Inner Meaning of the Tishrei Holidays
http://www.inner.org/times/tishrei/tishrei56.htm
Understanding: Yom Kipur
"Even though "crown" is the highest sefirah, it possesses an inner dimension, which corresponds to the super-rational pleasure that motivates will. On Yom Kippur, this inner dimension of the "crown" reveals itself in the third sefirah, "understanding" (binah), which corresponds to the second letter of God's Name, the first hei. In Kabbalah, binah is associated with the image of the "mother" who "cleanses" her "children" (the emotions, as we will presently explain) from their impurities. On this day, we cleanse our consciousness of all "impurity" by "returning" to God ("returning," in general, corresponds to the property of "mother," as explained in the Zohar), and dedicate our lives to His service and the fulfillment of His purpose in Creation."
Navratri and the Mysticism of the Number Nine
http://spirituality.indiatimes.com/.../2025061.cms
"The number nine is closely associated with the process of Creation in the cosmic time cycle. It is considered puran or complete. Any number multiplied by nine gives a figure that adds up to nine. Ratri means night. The Rigveda states that creation came about when everything was covered in the darkness of night. Navratra signifies the concept of ‘Back to Godhead’
Nav means nine and Ratri means night. These nine nights occur on equinoxes when the sun is vertically overhead at the equator. The Cosmic Mother is worshipped during these 9 days. The number nine is closely associated with the process of Creation in the cosmic time cycle. It is considered puran or complete. Any number multiplied by nine gives a figure that adds up to nine.
Ratri means night. The Rigveda states that creation came about when everything was covered in the darkness of night. Navratra signifies the concept of ‘Back to Godhead’. The entire cosmic cycle consists of three phases: Creation, Preservation and Dissolution. If one was to split each part into triads, then 3 times 3 would be 9.
The universe is composed of 36 ‘tatvas’ and there are 360 ‘tithis’ in a lunar year. Both numbers add up to 9. The No 9 is the highest number. After the number 9, comes the 0. In order to truly worship the Lord either become complete (with all the great qualities) like the number 9, or empty (devoid of ego, or in a state of total surrender) like the 0."
WOW. What a very pure, concise and clear overview of ..... *Kabbalah*?? (And *obviously* with some allowances for language - but if anyone here has studied the Kabbalah for real ... you'll get what I'm sayin'. ~KM
Navratri - Three Nine & Ten in Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navratri
"Navratri is divided into sets of three days to adore three different aspects of the supreme goddess or goddesses.
[edit] First three days
The goddess is separated as a spiritual force called Durga also known as Kali in order to destroy all our impurities.
[edit] Second three days
The Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees inexhaustible wealth, as she is the goddess of wealth.
[edit] Final three days
The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the goddess of wisdom, Saraswathi. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the nine nights of worship.
In South India, Saraswathi pooja is performed on the 9th day. Eight day is traditionally Durgashtami which is big in Bengal. The 10th day is Ayudha Pooja when everyone gives their tools of the trade -- pens, machinery, books, automobiles, school work, etc. a rest and ritually worships them. They start a fresh from the next day, the 10th day which is considered as 'Vijaya Dasami'. Many teachers/Schools in south India start teaching Kindergarten children from that day onwards. Students also pay homage to their respective teachers as they are considered the third god (Maathaa, Pitha, Guru, Daivam - Mother, Father, Teacher & God). On this tenth day of Navratri in October - the holiday of Dussehra, an effigy of Ravana is burnt to celebrate the victory of good (Rama) over evil.
During Navratri, some devotees of Durga observe a fast and prayers are offered for the protection of health and prosperity. A period of introspection and purification, Navratri is traditionally an auspicious and religious time for starting new ventures.
During this vowed religious observance, a pot is installed (ghatasthapana) at a sanctified place at home. A lamp is kept lit in the pot for nine days. The pot symbolizes the universe. The uninterrupted lit lamp is the medium through which we worship the effulgent Adishakti, i.e. Sree Durgadevi. During Navratri, the principle of Sree Durgadevi is more active in the atmosphere.
Navratri is celebrated in a large number of Indian communities. The mother goddess is said to appear in 9 forms, and each one is worshipped for a day. These nine forms signify various traits that the goddess influences us with. The Devi Mahatmya and other texts invoking the Goddess who vanquished demons are cited."
Yom Kippur - Three Nine & Ten in Judaism
http://seventytwonames.blogspot.com/
"We are walking the 10 days of awe between Rosh haShanah and Yom kippur. We sing the song of Moses in the parsha Ha’azinu on shabbos. This song includes the 5770th verse of Torah as discussed in an earlier post.
This song of Moses was sung as the scribe and prophet was at the end of his life and about to enter what is called the Shaar HaNun, the 50th gate of holiness. These ten days follow the ten directions the mekubalim call the sephirot from malchut/world to keter/crown. The ten depths of all that is. This year that we begin the decade of the “ayins” in the Hebrew date Tav-shin-AYIN=770 we are right in the EYE(70), the fount of the Source that waters this unfolding flower of creation. Ayin also means fount or spring as well as eye. We each are on our own journey of initiation into the sacred fount, and it is different and as individual as well as global and collective.
Yom Kippur, the day of atonement is called the kedosh kedoshim, the holy of holies of zamin/time. The physical holy of holies in the Earth temple of Solomon is the sacred space of Makom/place; and the initiate priest in ourself is the holy of holies of nephesh/soul. All three of the realms- time, space and soul/being are coming together in a new way. As stated previously the part of the Hebrew date 5770(of the sixth millenium =yesod) that is 770 is also the word for nine/tesha, and we are experiencing the joining of Malchut/world and yesod/foundation which is hinted at by the NINE of the sephirot=tesha and 770 and yesod.
The Sepher Eshel Abraham has the picture above, published over 300 years ago, of this joining of malchut and yesod in the traditional form of the Tree of the sephirot. This joining raises the levanah/moon to the level of a hechal/palace that now is home for the ceso/throne of the sacred source of the holy of holies, which pours out and is flooding the Earth as the ancient neviim/prophets foresaw. The joining of the two circles of the two sephirot bring our attention to something else spectacular. When circles intersect at their centers you get a special geometric called by ancient gnostics and mekubalim the “vesica piscis”.
this figure of the ancient fish is made popular as a symbol of Christianity but it is far older then the modern religion. It is special because the golden section, the phi number that is only found in living organisms with soul interface appears at the place of the EYE of the FISH. Yes we have entered 770 which also holds the root for the word ayin which means EYE as sacred source, the fount of soul and yes the place from where the golden section geometry of life springs forth, realm of soul. Time, Place and Soul is meeting in this Holy of Holies of all of history and our Yom Kippur, great Sabbath of time of the year 5770.
We are all initiates awakening to this awesome beauty of the unfolding flower of the wisdom of the temple which is our Earth and we are inscribed and sealed in the book of life.
Gamar Tov and
Shalom Shalem"
**
ShalAUM, Om Shanti -- The Heart of the Star of the Union We Are Is wHere the Peace of the AUM Is Creating All Now,
Kirtanman
_/\_
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Amazing Correspondences: Judaism & Hinduism
