Rock Of Ages

By Author: Robert Bruce Baird
Total Articles: 190
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William Jennings Bryan said: "Christians desire that their children shall be taught all the sciences, but they do not want them to lose sight of the Rock of Ages while they study the age of rocks."

It may seem incredible to those who do not know that the Churchians created the Devil as a means of keeping their flock in fear - who also think the Devil is a Pagan concept. The fear of death was not a Keltic concept and they weren't moved to assign all their wealth to some rich church when they approached death in order to avoid joining the Devil. Some Christian fundamentalists sell the idea that the age of rocks was a way that the Devil sought to lead Christians astray and these same people would have you teach your children the "Rock of Ages" has more veracity than the geology that proves we've had a long time on this earth to develop and learn what kind of Divine soul we are blessed with.

ASIATIC LAWS OF UNIVERSALITY IN THE 'STUPAS':

In other books I have explored the Dolmen and Round Towers of the ancient megalith Builders which resemble the symbolism of Man as represented in the steeple. ...
... They are part of the era after the truly great megaliths were built in places like Stonehenge and Poverty Point. The real meaning behind the form and structure may be similar though. Mircae Eliade was one of the Eranos Conference attendees with Jung and Campbell who I draw much insight from, in my studies. His scholarship is open and elucidative for me and I sincerely hope the reader will enjoy taking a journey with him to Barabudur. It is not easy for those of us in the present intellect-focused or faith oriented theology to integrate all aspects of how we might learn. Perhaps a simple suggestion to leave all preconceptions aside will suffice. So take off your 'thinking caps' and put your heart and soul on the front burner while the rose-coloured glasses of ego or faith diminish into the distance.

"On the subject of Barabudur, the famous temple on the island of Java and the most beautiful monument in Asia, whole libraries have been written. Purely technical explanations have been attempted taking account only of the laws of architecture; endless controversies have been joined over the religious and magical meanings hidden in that colossal monument. Dutch Orientalists and architects have published over the past fifteen years books of great value on Barabudur. The names of Krom, Van Erp, and Stutterheim must be mentioned. The last of these, in a work of 1927, laid the foundation for a true interpretation of the temple: 'Barabudur is nothing less than a symbolic representation of the Universe'. From this intuition Paul Mus's investigations start. The beginning of his book consists of a history of the controversy, an exposition of the principle hypotheses, and a critique of methods. Examined in turn are theories of the most illustrious India specialists, art historians and architects. Then Mus undertakes to discuss the problem. It must be remembered that this gigantic volume is preceded by an 'avant-propos' of 302 pages in which the author establishes the validity of his methodology. In order to justify the symbolic function of the Javanese temple, Mus emphasizes a truth often remarked by Orientalists: that if the Buddha was not represented iconographically for several centuries, it was not due to incapability on the part of Indian artists, but to the fact that a type of representation superior to images was essayed. 'That would not have been a defeat of plastic art, but rather the triumph of a magical art.' When an iconography of the Buddha was adopted, the symbolism was poor by comparison. The 'aniconic symbol' of Enlightenment (the wheel, etc.) was much more powerful, more 'pure', than the statue. Ananda Coomaraswamy also has published evidence for this thesis in his 'Elements of Buddhist Iconography'. (12) The conclusion to be drawn from this is that Buddhists, as well as Hindus (and Asians in general) {As well as the Sauk Indians we showed are from the area of the Great Wall and were Buddhists before the loss of magic represented by the change to graven images or iconography.} before Buddhism, used symbolism more effectively, precisely because the symbol was more comprehensive and 'Active' in the magical sense than plastic representation. If the Buddha was considered to be a god (as he was, in fact, immediately after his demise), then his magical 'presence' was preserved in anything emanating from him." (13)

A human statue or even a Gothic building representing the Temple of Solomon such as the Templars built into European cathedrals, does not convey the same representation of the 'Universe' or cosmos that runs through the veins of all living things. Many ancient beliefs were aware that spirit was within minerals and plants too: we are not this attuned and it is hard for us to see the vectors and lattices of energy in all things. Those who have read the 'Tao te Ching' or 'I Ching' understand a little of these energies that interact and CHANGE or grow with purpose. The 'Wheel of Life' in the Tarot is meant to capture some of this magic just as the dreams of North American Indians have been captured in the circular artistic wheels that sell in all so many souvenir stands. But it will be a long time before man again understands his exquisite interconnectiveness. We know too much to see such elegant simplicity of the spirit that is all around us. The Buddhists say 'All is Within' and the completion of the phrase is "the UNIVERSE!" I honour all myths that assist the 'oneness' in respect of the creative or intelligent design that so many insist is GOD. Here is an excerpt from my book Cherokee People (will return) to consume or cogitate upon.

In a moment we will return to my encyclopedia for more on the Zodiac because the mounds are a way of connecting to the cosmic energy which comes to earth and through which it passes and is part of. For the moment let us re-visit our present book's early academic (Kenyon) as he actually (surprisingly) opens doors to the trepanning, skull deformation and ‘Obscene Ritual' (Skull & Bones and the Bush family of Nazi leanings) of the Dragons and other Illuminized cults of elites.

Let us return, finally, to the burial mounds of Ontario. These appear to be related in some complex fashion to the neolithic revolution. Their primary function, in all probability, was to mark the locations of sacred places and to establish territorial occupation. The sites they occupied were used as ceremonial centres for the loosely organized bands that occupied the surrounding areas (cf. Speck 1915). After spending the winter scattered throughout the band territory in small family groups, the people would assemble at a traditional spot, probably in the spring when fish were spawning or in the fall when beds of wild rice would be ready for harvesting. Only at those periods would food resources have been sufficiently abundant to maintain the entire band at one place.

These assemblies provided an opportunity for social interaction on a broader scale than would have been possible throughout most of the year. It was during such periods, too, that the chiefs and other leaders of the group would discuss band affairs with the various family heads and elders. But above all, such occasions provided an opportunity for all of the band members to participate in those rituals and ceremonies that reaffirmed and sustained community sentiments.

The nature of the ceremonies themselves cannot be determined at present, although we are offered a few tantalizing clues as to the subject matter around which they revolved. Most of the available data are derived, of course, from the burials found within the mounds and in submound pits.

In Northwestern Ontario, {Site of the Nipissing magi and Mediwiwin group who are influenced by Masons of the Christian Mystery School Complex or Rosicrucian Dragons.} the skulls that have openings in their occipital regions are reasonably clear evidence of power transfer. The individuals whose skulls were opened would have had some unusual and highly valued personal characteristics; the occipital openings made it possible to remove their brains and to transfer those characteristics from the dead to the living. This would have been accomplished through a religious ceremony that included eating the brain that was the seat of such wondrous powers. {I detail this in many books - and the modern Thalami research that is showing merit to the Cosmic Thought Field.} The eating, of course, could have been either actual or symbolic. {The Communion and Eucharist is derived from the earlier rituals of this sort. Only the most powerful elites get to eat the thalami for the much needed melatonin, iridium and rhodium.} In either event, the highly valued qualities would not be lost to the band through death but would be preserved through reincarnation. {The living cells as close to still living as possible are most needed and some of the old seers would end their lives during this ritual as they would have known throughout their life - it would happen.}

Such practices were probably much more widespread that the archaeological evidence would suggest at first glance; for we know that highly valued characteristics are often located in organs other than the brain. {Thus the Biblical ‘Devoted Ones' shown in Cahill's Gifts of the Jews were harvested for hearts too - as in the Aztec rituals and Moshe who also became impacted by these Dragons like the Prince of Palenque.} Our own western European culture, for example, locates many of its most highly prized characteristics in the heart. The point is that power transfer was probably much more widespread than current data suggest, simply because the removal of most organs for this purpose would have left no skeletal evidence

One of the major ritual acts of the people, however, was the building of the mounds themselves. For it is almost certainly an error to look upon mound-building primarily in terms of engineering. {Especially the lesser and more mundane imitations of the period he is focused upon.} We must see it, rather, as a by-product of sociological processes; that is, we should look upon mound-building as we look upon the performance of a ballet or drama in our own society. Theatres may arise as a result of our interest in such cultural pursuits but the significance of a ballet or drama resides, surely, in the performance itself. The play's the thing! Once the mound was built, of course, it would have served, as it does a theatre, as a backdrop for other rituals. For once again, it is through such rituals and ceremonies that human groups are bound together and that individual lives are shaped to ancestral patterns.

The masked and painted skulls from Hungry Hall were part of one such ritual. And when it was over, the skulls, like the props of a drama that had run its course, were tossed rather carelessly into the corner of a grave. (14)

About the Author
Columnist in The ES Press Magazine
World-Mysteries.com guest expert
Author of Diverse Druids