Astrology, Omar Khayyam, and Yogananda

RE: Astrology, Omar Khayyam, and Yogananda

have been reading this 'contest' with interest. each combatant coming fully armed with different weapons and, as with Crystal, a lot of it just zoomed over my shoulder. fascinating but, ultimately, limiting i thought. the point made by venetian re astrology was interesting. IMO many people don't wait for astrology to tell them it's ok to make a decision or what decision to make, merely use it to suss out the prevailing winds before doing what they were going to do anyway. or to give them insight into what makes them tick.
just a tip sacredstar, when one resorts to phrases such as 'i'm just a mere woman' - tends to give the impression that maybe one has run out of steam? there's nothing 'mere' about women for sure! all this offered with humour if not huge intellect!!

RE: Astrology, Omar Khayyam, and Yogananda

There are various stages in one's growth of soul evolution and there is an inner spiritual meaning to 'mere woman' for each soul to discover. To know one’s power of manifestation is to live in true humility of it.

Love beyond measure

Kim xx

RE: Astrology, Omar Khayyam, and Yogananda

To all, anyone, but no-one in particular,

I'm very taken by Yogananda's OK commentaries and would almost start other threads on the themes of different Khayyam poems, but no time. This is nothing to do with astrology, but one four-liner leads to simply pages of explanation and commentary. Khayyam's lines for number XXXI are:

Now, taken literally this is not only perplexing, but impossible and meaningless. Yogananda has four and a half large-format pages of commentary and interpretation on just these four lines, to give an illustration of their depth. Really, what could the literal sense of the lines ever be?

I can't type out four and a half pages of deep commentary, but to sum them up briefly in my own words:

Up from Earth's Centre: Up from the centre of the earth from whence kundalini derives on the cosmic scale, and through my lowest chakra, the mulhadara chakra...

through the Seventh Gate: through the crown or sahasrara chakra, the thousand-petalled lotus...

I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate: I rose in consciousness, upward through the spine, to the highest level, and placed myself in consciousness on the throne of dominion over illusory ways of life, or maya. Saturn, Father Time, was not, for the experience was timeless....

And many Knots unravel'd by the Road: My consciousness passed through the seven cerebrospinal centres or chakras, untying in each one and throughout my nervous system the knots of life-energy and consciousness mis-applied before, which had kept my soul bound to the body. The rising kundalini energy carved a pathway of light, a 'road', through my finer bodily system....

But not the Knot of Human Death and Fate: Here, 'Fate' means karma, so: But not the knot or binding Law of karma; though my consciousness is raised into bliss, my karma is still not balanced by this experience.

The lines can be read, then, of the raising of kundalini, a blissful and masterful state of consciousness, but the acknowledgement that karma from past actions in previous lives still remains, and this still has to be tackled. The mystic who wrote these lines knows he cannot rest on his laurels, not until final liberation from the rounds of rebirth is won.

We see, then, why the English readers of the 1860s may not have comprehended!

Khayyam is also utilising the time-honoured technique of mystics of NOT spelling things out literally, so that the common reader will not grasp the meaning. But Khayyam was a Sufi, and lived among a loose community of Sufi mystics. They will have understood, so he was writing both for himself and for them. The lines are, in effect, virtually coded.

Venetian

RE: Astrology, Omar Khayyam, and Yogananda

Dear Venetian

It seems your intent is becoming clearer and it appears your quest is more connected to the repayment of karmic debt –v- achieving nirvana. So please allow me to begin where you ended the previous post discussing this.

As you are aware it is the spiritual life/path that is considered to be the most efficient and speedy way of repayment of karmic debt. Yet it is a lot more specific then that; karmic debt is repaid the fastest due to self sacrifice e.g. selfless service to humanity. So for instance a Christian Spiritualist Healer/Medium’s who provide their service weekly, year in, year out could eliminate their karmic debt entirely in one lifetime. An active member of Greenpeace, a nurse, or member of the Red Cross would be the same yet they may not necessarily be on a consciously aware spiritual path. But their soul knows it is part of the soul’s evolution and divine plan.

So in this context the person that seeks spiritual advancement for the benefit of the self and self desire are wasting their time if there only motivation is to repay karmic debt. Omar, other mystics, seers and spiritual seekers could well fit into this category.

So the raising/evolution of consciousness and achievement of Nirvana is very different in many aspects.

Up from Earth's Centre through the Seventh Gate

Even though he might have managed to raise his kundalini and have mystical experiences it is clear from the next line he was not able to maintain a risen state of being due to his un-manifest desires mentioned further on in the poem.
Just because the kundalini rises does not mean it stays risen hence why it is written that it is dangerous to raise kundalini articifically prior to soul growth of consciousness through clearing the blockages.

Now this is where things can become confusing for a spiritual seeker in the 21st century because 1,000 years ago less planets had been discovered. In ancient times Aquarius was traditionally ruled by Saturn (before the discovery of Uranus) which also astrologically influences the tarot World Card of completion. 1,000 years ago it was considered that Saturn was the ruler of the Golden Age and the seventh heaven and signified the destroyer, death and rebirth.

J.C. Cooper’s book on ancient symbolism states ‘Saturn also represents the dark spirit lying captive in matter and is associated with dragons, vipers, foxes, cats
and mice. It is the symbol of tension of saturnine melancholy. As we know a great deal of poetry is written in a state of melancholy.

I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate,

Well Saturn is connected to the root chakra and the level of consciousness I want. Saturn is also the planet of taking responsibility. Saturn is an outer planet and it is how one seeks to establish and preserve the self through effort. The root chakra is also about self preservation and both Saturn and the root symbolise the tangible, material security needs associated with getting one’s needs met from outside of the self e.g, desire. Hence why it is the level of consciousness of ‘I want to be safe’.

My astrology is very limited so here is a link with more insight.

http://www.innerself.com/Astrology/chakras.htm

And many Knots unravel'd by the Road;

He managed to resolve many issues on the path but did not manage to solve them all. He still had blockages and it is self evident that he still had self desire from the following line in the poem, which would indicate why the kundalini sat at base level.

But not the Knot of Human Death and Fate

This expresses that he never learnt the secrets of the universe that he searched for again this is self desire. At the time of writing this poem he hadn’t got past Saturn so I am really not surprised that he did not work out the meaning of life or how karmic debt works. In many texts I’ve noticed that the wish of many was to overcome death due to sickness and also achieve immortality. We have to also remember that 1,000 years ago everything negative appears to either

RE: Astrology, Omar Khayyam, and Yogananda

ORIGINAL: Sacredstar

Dear Venetian

It seems your intent is becoming clearer and it appears your quest is more connected to the repayment of karmic .....

Not 'my' intent in the post above. I was summarising Yogananda since his own commentary is very long.

It's hard to know in detail what Khayyam understood by 'Saturn' so to go into all the astological detail you do may have little relevance IMHO. However, 'sate' on it can be taken to have mastered or overcome it.

I disagree that treading the spiritual path for one's own advancement only cannot lead to benefit since the idea of successfully doing so, being spiritual without thought for others, is an impossibility anyway. Such a person wouldn't in fact be spiritual: people such as Khayyam, when they are genuine mystics, are automatically caring and giving people. Though it is possible to help humanity without evident interaction: merely embodying Light as a mystic sheds that Light as a healing energy throughout the world.

As a Sufi mystic now famed for his poetry there's not the slightest suggestion here about kundalini being 'forced' - that's an unfounded supposition, and mystics of all times and places have had practices, or even just a way of daily life, whereby k is risen naturally. That's what it's there for, to rise naturally. And that's what Khayyam is describing. It will also have empowered his poetry. My recent interest in Khayyam has been spurred by Yogananda's book, Yogananda being the founder of Self-Realisation Fellowship, and he clearly recognises a kindred soul in Khayyam, writing as a well-known, balanced and accomplished Indian yogi.

It's good to see you now acknowledge that the poems are not literal. Good that you now agree Khayyam was not writing here about walking through seven gates in a city, about climbing out from the core of planet Earth, or sitting by a roadside fiddling with bits of old rope to untie knots! 😀 - that would make for a pretty worthless reason for the writing of a poem.

It's humorous to see that you've gone into astrology so needlessly here, as Khayyam was indicating just one simple thing by 'Saturn' and on astrology I quote him in the initial post: The 'Sky' i.e. stars and configurations, Rolls impotently on as Thou or I - that it's got no power over anyone unless they buy into it. Khayyam was saying that the astrological configurations have no power in and of themselves - they are 'impotent' in an ultimate sense, since the God within us is the only real Mover and can overcome any 'prediction'. Getting back to that seems to round things off nicely.

I honour the real Omar Khayyam, Persian mystic, poet, and scholar, and dialogue is pretty difficult (!!) when imaginative and pale imitations of him in the modern day crop up! Such is the illusory psychic realm IMHO. Closing on that, for I know from experience how this goes if continued, and it's pointless.

V