THE ATLANTEAN ORIGIN OF THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS Introduction In the Bible, as in India, myths are never told in detail, but only in tiny flashes which recall the twinkle of a star, the fall of a meteor or the avatar of a god in a transitory theophany. Only when highly allegorized and, hence, incomprehensible, are myths ever told in any detail. They are then peddled as the actual history of personages such as Jesus, Zoroaster, Moses, Abraham, Krishna, Buddha, etc.. However, the several flashes are the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and fit together serendipitously when demythologized and integrated with each other. All religions - ours included - center on the story of Atlantis (Eden) and of its Fall (Adam's) and destruction by the Flood, as well as on the hope of its rebirth at the Millennium. We have shown elsewhere in detail how "Christ" is a personification of Atlantis. And so are his many aliases such as Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, St. John, etc.. We have also demonstrated in detail that all our Christian rituals and beliefs - whose objective and meaning we forgot long ago - ultimately derive from India and reenact the history of Atlantis. Here we return briefly to the problem in order to moot out the importance of Atlantis as the source of all our myths and eschatological beliefs. Let us consider first the Sacraments, keeping in mind that, mythically, all Saviours are one and the same, in different avatars. Thus, Adam, Christ, Krishna, Moses, Noah, Atlas, Shiva, etc., are just one and the same deity. Likewise, all religious traditions come from a single Tradition, which is the tradition of Atlantis and Lemuria. They are all part of the Urreligion that some anthropologists of genius have discerned as the original source of all religions, both primitive and evolved. Before we proceed, however, some observations are in order, as they substantiate the case for the origin of our Christian Sacraments in India. India is the true site of Atlantis, and the link that re-links us back to our primordials in Paradise. First of all we note that the Sacraments are Seven. Seven is a Magic Number of great importance, whose Hindu origin can hardly be contested. Seven is the number of the Rishis (Hindu Patriarchs) from whom we descend, as well as the number of elapsed eras in Hinduism. But, above all, it is the number of dvipas, the counterpart of Paradise in Indian tradition. The Sacraments are seven because seven is the sacred number of Elohim and of the Holy Ghost, his alias. Contrariwise, ten is the number of Jahveh, the god to whom we owe the Ten Commandments. Now, seven and ten are also the numbers of Atlantis and Lemuria. Ten is the number of Atlantis' Ten Princes, and seven is the number of the Islands that composed Lemurian Atlantis, as well as that of its Seven Prajapatis (or Patriarchs - Rulers). In yet a different connection, we have the fact that the Sacraments of Christianism utilize four material supports: bread, wine, oil and water. Four is the number of the Hindu castes. It is far more than a coincidence that these four substances also represent the four varnas (castes). Bread is white like the heraldic colour of the Brahmans it represents. Wine is red like blood, and characterizes the warlike Kshatriyas. Oil is yellow like the fat Vaishyas it symbolizes. Finally, water is blue like the symbolic colour of the Sudras or serfs. Indeed, the heraldic colour of the Sudras is black. Black is confused in India with blue or purple, for traditional reasons. In reality, water symbolizes Death by drowning at the Flood, a form that results in a purple colour for the dead. As we see, the four substances represent the contributions of the Four Races (or castes), as well as their respective elements, with oil representing Fire; water, Water; wine (spirit) representing Air and bread standing for the Earth, from which it grows. The Four Elements are not indeed the ones that compose the material world, but those which destroy it when the eras come to their end. Fire, Water, Air and Earth allegorize the universal Conflagrations, Floods, Hurricanes and Earthquakes that either unite or work separately in order to destroy the world, when the time comes for it to happen. The same allegory is also symbolized by the Four Magian Kings - the three usual ones plus the fourth, Christ, to whom they came in order to pay their respect. Jesus is the Logos, the Word, the "Divine Breath" that corresponds to Wind. In other words, Jesus represents the Brahman priests, issued from the mouth of Purusha, the Primordial Man, the intoners of the sacred mantras ("prayers"). The other three Kings are characterized by their gifts. Gold, the ruddy metal, represents the Kshatryas ("Reds" or "Warrior Caste"), in their pristine, undecayed condition. Myrrh is indeed musk (civet), the noblest form of "butter", the element that represents the Vaishyas (the Merchants or Burgeoisie). And, finally, incense, the burnt offering of excellency, represents the dark Sudras ("Serfs"), the "charred" element whose fate has been the cruel one of serving the other three castes. So, those who can indeed read beyond the obvious, will have no difficulty in discerning in these Christian symbols - which make no sense whatsoever in Israel or even in the Ancient World - the antecedent ones of Hinduism: the Four Guardians ("Kings" or Lokapalas), the Four Castes, the Four Elements (or Principles or Races) of which the world was originally composed, in Paradisial times. Where else, but in primeval India - the true site of Atlantis - do you have the Four Races of Mankind, the Reds, Whites, Blacks and Yellows contending for supremacy in a war that eventually led to the world's destruction in the dawn of times? 1) Baptism That Baptism is a recollection or ritual reenactment of the Flood is a fact already been recognized by St. Jerome and other Church Patriarchs. Prof. Mircea Eliade (Treatise on the History of Religions, Paris 1970) shows this fact in detail. Essentially, all religions have some sort of Baptism or Ablution, intended to cleanse away some sort of Original Sin. This sin is no other than that of the Atlanteans: sinfully mingling with "mortal" women of the inferior castes, but deeming their own offspring "inferior" and enslaving it. Yes, Racism is a stupid notion that is unfortunately as old as humanity itself. It is the Original Sin that led Mankind into Doom, and probably will again, if we do not wake up in time. How can one fall so low as to enslave one's own children? Baptism is what the Hindus call Pralaya ("dissolution"); the demise of all things in order to allow their return to the Primordial Chaos and insure their re-creation afresh. There are two kinds of Baptism: the one of John and that of Christ. John as the "precursor of Christ" may well symbolize what Occultists call Lemuria, whose "fall" preceded that of Atlantis. John's watery baptism represents the demise of Atlantis by the flood, just as Christ's baptism by fire represents the destruction of Lemuria in a volcanic Conflagration. The Sacrament of Chrism corresponds to the Fiery Baptism, as we shall see further below. The symbolism of Baptism has been expounded by St. John Chrysostom: "Baptism... represents death and interment, life and resurrection. When we plunge our heads under the water, as in a sepulcher, the old man becomes completely drowned and buried. When he leaves the water, the new man suddenly rises." The Old Man is Adam, the prototype of Christ. The New Man is Christ, the second Adam. The two Saviours correspond to the twin Jerusalems, one Celestial and the other Messianic. We note how most Saviours actually emerge from the waters either directly or symbolically: So did Moses, Osiris, Perseus, Noah, Sargon, Joseph, Skanda, Trita, the OannŽs, Quetzalcoatl, etc. Even Christ did so, as symbolized by his manger of reeds. The Druids too had a kind of Baptism. So did the Mystery Religions of Greece and Rome. In India, Baptism is ritually performed in the Ganges and many other tirthas (bathing spots in rivers) by all pious Hindus. The Buddhists too have a kind of Baptism which is more an ablution or sprinkling than ritual immersion. In the Americas, the ritual drowning of the gold-laden Eldorado reenacted the submersion of Atlantis. In India, Krishna's statue is thus baptized in the thirtapuja. The same type of ritual also existed in Greece, Rome, Arabia and elsewhere. The Sea of Bronze of Solomon's Temple was a sort of Baptismal font, not unlike the ones found in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. These had ghatts or ladders leading to the waters, identical to those of the Ganges river used for the rituals of ablution. The Egyptian temples had sacred pools where the worshippers were baptized. 2) Chrism Chrism or Confirmation is a sort of second Baptism, with oil, instead of water. Oil is the symbolic equivalent of fire, as its fuel. Chrism actually corresponds to the Baptism of Fire of the Holy Ghost. The Baptism of Fire is the Fiery Ordeal or Suttee (Sati) of the Hindus, and insures purification by fire. The Buddhists of Tibet too use a Baptism of Fire (a sprinkling with fiery dust). The word "Chrism" means "oil" or "anointing" in Greek. The ritual of anointing is used not only in Confirmation, but also in Extreme Unction and Consecration of priests, kings, temples, statues, etc.. The word "Chrism" directly relates to the name of Christ ("The Chrismed One" = "The Anointed One"). It evokes the custom of certain primitive tribes of India (the Gonds, Khonds, etc.) who used to "Chrism" the victims of their human sacrifices before burning them at stake, so that they would burn better. The custom is a sad recollection of the fate of Paradise. There, in the Land of Plenty, the gods fattened the humans before dispatching them in the Universal Conflagration that preceded the Flood. Such is the reason why the Hindus called Paradise (Atlantis) by names such as Gomeda, meaning "the Land of the Fat Cattle". And such is also the origin of the strange rite of burnt offerings of all kinds. Yes, it is as Shakespeare said: "As flies to wantom boys, so are we to the gods". Chrism corresponds to the fiery avatar of the Holy Ghost as a sort of vajra or meteorite falling from the skies over the Apostles during Pentecost. It imparts Charisma ("grace"), the gift of abundance and healing powers. This "fall" is usually associated with the palladium in Paganism, and with the Linga in India. The "tongues of fire" (linguas, in Latin) of Pentecost were visibly lingas (or cerauni), falling down from Heaven. This "avatar" of the Spirit (Logos) is Christ himself, "falling from Heaven as lightning", that is, as the vajra thunderbolt, in order to herald the end of the former era and the start of the next one, that of Christianism. The Sacraments center on stuffs such as water, oil, wine, bread, blood, which somewhat evoke the strange composition of the Seven Seas of the Hindu dvipas (Paradises). The meaning of the Holy Ghost's Charisma is given by Paul in I Cor. 12-14. This theme will not be discussed here, except for the above, and to say that the obscurity of its images and allegories bespeak of a hermetic disclosure reserved to initiates, one that is related to the burning of Atlantis. Fire and Water (Baptism and Chrism) were administered together in the primitive Church, and only later became separated. As in ordeal of Atlantis, which was attended by both cataclysms, the association of Chrism and Baptism implies the same thing. So, granted that Baptism symbolizes the Flood, it is clear that Chrism allegorizes the fiery cataclysm that the Stoics called Ekpyrosis (or Universal Conflagration. In conclusion, one might say that Chrism or Anointing corresponds to the Baptism of Fire of the Holy Ghost, whereas the Baptism of Water corresponds to the one of the Father, his dual. The Holy Ghost also corresponds to Agni or Kama, the fiery gods of the Hindus, whereas the Father (or Jahveh) corresponds to the watery gods, Indra or Soma. More exactly, the two Baptisms correspond to the Flood and the Conflagration of Paradise, and to the two gods that brought them about, Indra and Agni in India, and Christ and John in Christianism. 3) Matrimony The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony represents on a human scale what the so-called Cosmogonic Nuptials of Fire and Water symbolize at the Terrestrial level. At the Celestial level it signifies the joining or, rather, the equilibration of the influences of the two Polar Constellations - the Linga (Ursa Minor) and the Yoni (Lyra) - that takes place at the Equinoxes. These two points are the "doors" (the Pitri-yana and the Deva-yana) where the two Celestial influences balance each other, resulting in an era transition. In the Zodiacal plane the Equinoxes coincide with Aquarius and Leo (Fire and Water), and herald the era transitions determined by the Tetramorph. The symbolism of the Cosmogonic Nuptials of Fire and Water - which is central to most religions - is allegorized in Christianism by the highly esoteric union of Christ (Christos = ointment = "fire") and Mary (Maria = "sea" = "water"). In Paganism, we have its equivalent in the union of Venus or Aphrodite ("seafroth" = "water") and Cupid or Eros (love = "fire"); of Cadmus ("musk" = oil = "fire") and Harmonia ("ermine" = aquatic = "water"); of Zeus (a tempest god) and Hera (an infernal Erinys); of Demeter (a meteorite = "fire") and Poseidon (a sea-god); etc., etc.. The union of the two principles is symbolized by the pramantha, the Cross, the Star of David and so on. It represents both the destruction of Paradise and the union of the two races that existed in the Golden Age and which will be repeated in the Millennium all over again. In India the Cosmogonic Nuptials of Fire and Water is symbolized in the birth of Skanda which resulted from the union of the fiery seed of Agni with Ganga, the water-nymph of the river Ganges. This sacred Hierogamy seems to be the allegory of the explosive union of the magma of a submarine volcano with the waters of the sea above it. This mystic union of fire and water is a characteristic feature of Indonesia, which is precisely the site of Eden. The Hindus allegorize this fearful event by the fall of the vajra inside the waters of the Cosmic Ocean. The vajra is the tip of Mt. Meru, decapitated in the cataclysmic explosion. It falls from above, from the tip of the Holy Mountain that formerly stretched all the way to Heaven, scraping it. This union also allegorizes the event as the castration of Brahma or of Shiva; as the decapitation of Dadhyanch or of Mahavidya, and a million other similarly sophisticate symbolisms of Hindu mythology. In the Ancient Testament the matrimonial union is recognized as a symbol of the Covenant and of the love of Jahveh for Israel (cf. Ose.2; Isa. 54:4 ; 62: 4; Jer. 2:2; 3: 20; Ezek. ch.16 and 23, etc.). In the New Testament, marriages are usually celebrated at night and are often attended by agapes which somewhat evoke the strange marriage rituals described in the Song of Songs. The practice also evokes the puzzling orgies of the Gnostic Cathars of Medieval Europe. These love feasts are reenactments of the Cosmogonic Nuptials, the orgiastic mingling of Fire and Water that takes place at Doom. The archetypal Doom is, of course, the destruction of Atlantis and Lemuria by this sort of cataclysm of Fire and Water which we encounter in all traditions. The association with the Covenant - a word that implies the idea of a mystic union like the ones under study - directly recalls the Flood (cf. Gen. 9:3-17). Its symbol, the rainbow that marked the site of the brutal cataclysm, later became symbolized by the engagement ring. This covenant is bloodless, and accords to the fact that death by drowning sheds no blood. In Exodus 24, two Covenants ("marriages") are mentioned. One is bloody, with the participants being sprinkled with blood, and the other is bloodless. The first one is orgiastic (an agape) and is celebrated by a nocturnal supper akin to the Last Supper. The two ceremonies closely evoke the rituals of the Holy Mass, itself a mystic replica of the union of Fire and Water. The two Covenants represent the two types of Mass, one white and diurnal, the other black and nocturnal. The emblem of the Second Alliance is the Ark of the Covenant. And, as shown in some early representations, this Ark was indeed an omphalos or palladium. Blood is symbolic of "fire", of Leo, and of the destructive Kshatryas. Water (libations) represent Aquarius and its watery dispensations, as well as the Brahmans (pourers of libations). The other symbols of the Alliance (or Matrimony) are likewise Cosmogonic: the Tablets of the Law; the aspersion with blood; the agape; the orgies (chaotic mingling of fire and water); the Baptism of the New Covenant; the restoration of the Temple; the insistence on love, etc.. So, Marriage represents the mystic union of Fire and Water that allegorizes the destruction of Atlantis-Paradise by these two agents. 4) Confession Originally, the Confession of the Sins was done aloud, as it still is in some Christian sects. But, even whispered, it relates to the magic power of words and sound as embodied in the idea of the Hindu mantras and the Christian Logos (or Word). Christ imparted the power of forgiving the Sins to the Apostles by blowing (or whispering) upon them the Holy Ghost (the Logos), as described in John 20:21-23. The idea of the sacredness of speech or sound is of Indian origin. The Hindus and Buddhists believe that mantras (prayers or ritual formulas) such as the OM MANI PADME HUM convey a power which evokes Cosmic resonances and precipitate the advent of Doom and the new era. They embody this power in deities such as Brihaspati ("Lord of Speech"), Sarasvati, Vach ("Voice"), Rudra ("Howler"), and many others. The Hindu theory of sound is too complex to expound here, and the reader is directed to more specialized sources. Suffice it to say that sound (or wind or air) is one of the Four Elements, on a level with Five and Water. More exactly, sound (sabda) is the quintessence (or "fifth element") usually represented as Ether (akasha) when sacred, and as vach ("voice") when human. Here it represents the shakti, the divine essence of the female power. The Celts personified Speech in Ogmios, whom they equated to the Logos. The Greeks also associated sacred sound with the rhombus ("bullroarer"), the sacred instrument of Dionysian Mysteries. Indeed, the bullroarer and the drum (or the flute or the lyre) were ritually used the world over for evoking Cosmic resonances capable of activating the bindu, the "seed" of Creation. The sound of the bullroarer is often associated with the roar of thunder and the death of the Primordial Bull which represents Dionysos, the Golden Calf. Christ too has been likened to a bull (cf. Psalm 22 and his agony bellow on the Cross). So have the howling Rudra (Shiva) and of many other gods. Sound is also associated with the universal Thunderbird, variously called Rud‡ (in Brazil), Garuda (in India), Symorgh (in Persia), Pegasus (in Greece), Zu (in Babylon), Bennu or Phoenix (in Egypt), Cherub or Angel (in Israel), etc.. The clapping of their wings simulates the roar of thunder. And this thunder is really the fearful rumble of the volcanic explosion that destroyed Paradise, as well as the roar of the onrushing waters of the sea, stirred by the cataclysm. Jahveh is often associated with thunder (his voice), particularly when he rides the winged Cherubs (cf. Ezek.1:24; 10:5; 43: 2; Psa.18:10; 29:3; 68:4; 80:1; 99:1; II Sam. 22:11; Job 37:2; Dan. 10:6; Rev.1:15, etc.). These theophanies are often connected with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem (cf. Eze. 43: 3), with the Flood, with the fall of "fiery coals", etc.. A close study reveals that the hidden message is the destruction of paradisial Atlantis by the fall of the vajra. Jahveh is often called "rock", "fortress", "high tower", etc.. These words closely evoke the atala or watchtower which we discussed elsewhere, and which is an alias of Mt. Atlas. He comes down from above as a thundering vajra and destroys the Tower or Temple in order to rebuild it as his own. This is an allegory of the era transitions that the gods periodically bring about in order to renovel Creation and start a new world. 5) Ordination Ordination is the rite of the Christian Church for the commissioning of priests. The essential ceremony consists in the imposition of hands on the heads of the ones to be ordained by the officiant. The officiant priest also recites prayer to the Holy Ghost to grant the recipient his Seven Graces (Charismas). The Christian ritual derives from the Jewish one called Semikhah, first used by Moses to ordain Joshua as his successor. In the New Testament, the Apostles use the imposition of hands to ordain the seven disciples who would be their followers. Besides the imposition of the hands, other rituals are often included, such as anointing and the investiture with the vestments of the office. But it is the laying of hands and the prayer to the Spirit that ultimately characterizes the Sacrament of Ordination and imparts the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost that qualify the candidate for priesthood. Symbolically, the laying of hands transmits a spark of the spirit of the imponent to the imposed, just as a burning candle can impart its flame to another, unlit candle. This way, an uninterrupted chain is established by ordination that stretches all the way back to the origin, to the first instituter of the ministry. And this was Christ himself as an alias of Melchisedek, the initiator of Abraham. More exactly, this uninterrupted chain stretches all the way back to Atlantis or Paradise, and recollects its burning in the Primordial Conflagration. The "lighting" of the iniciant commemorates the inflaming of Purusha in the Primordial Conflagration, or its alias, the burning of Kama, the Hindu love god, by Shiva's fiery glance. All these symbols are mere allegories of the burning of Paradise by the fierce explosion of its volcano, Mt. Atlas. The idea also evokes the etym of the word "religion" as the restablishment of a link (religo) with our Paradisial origins. Again this is an idea that derives from India. It relates to the myth of Brihaspati, the Lord of Prayer, whose endless chain of mantras goes back all the way to primordial cataclysm. This idea is also expressed in India by the link afforded by the smoke of sacrificial fires linking Heaven and Earth. Again, this is an allegory of the inflaming of Paradise and the smoke of the Primordial Sacrifice, as we discuss elsewhere. A further allegory is the idea of the sutratma (or "soul thread"), a sort of umbilical chord that stretches without interruption to our origins. Yet another is expressed by the traditions of the Upanishads, which we discuss further below. There can be no question that the origin of the rite of imposition of hands and the transmission of the Holy Ghost derives from the Hindu rituals and traditions discussed above. But these are indeed ritual recollection of the primordial events concerning Paradise and its destruction in the Primordial Conflagration. In other words, what we have is a ritual enactment of the destruction of Atlantis by the fiery explosion of its lofty volcano, Mt. Atlas. This terrible event is also commemorated by the perpetual fire that burns in Christian temples, a usage copied from the identical one of the Jews who, in turn, borrowed it from the Hindus. The idea that this fire cannot cease to burn and must not suffer interruption is symbolically represented by the equivalent uninterrupted chain of transmission of the holy Ghost form one officiant to the next. This Perpetual Fire is likewise connected to the identical fire that was kept perpetually burning in the altars of Vesta and Hestia in Rome and in Greece by the Vestal virgins. An identical tradition existed in the Americas, with the Mayas and Aztecs. As we have shown, the temples of Vesta and Hestia, her Greek counterpart, are close replicas of the topography of Paradisial Atlantis and Lemuria. Their temples were round and conical, with the Holy Fire perpetually burning in the altar at its center. This design simulates a volcano or, rather, the volcanic peak of Mt. Atlas, ready to explode and destroy Paradise at any moment. Ananda Coomaraswami has shown that this design and ritual closely duplicates that of the Vedic altar, itself a replica of Mt. Meru and the Hindu Paradise. There can be no question about the precedence of the Hindus. But the diffusion of the tradition to the Americas can only have taken place at a far earlier epoch than that normally envisaged by both historians and archaeologists. The Hindus have another tradition of Perpetual Fires that again links with the fiery destruction of Paradise in the Primordial Conflagration. This is the Fiery Mare (or Vadavamukha), the All-Consuming Fire that perpetually burns deep down inside the Ocean's bottom. This fire is kept in check by the waters of the Ocean, which it consumes continually. At Doom, this equilibrium is disrupted, and the Mare goes haywire, incending the whole world. The Fiery Mare is really the Love-God Kama inflamed by the fiery glance of Shiva's third eye. The burning Kama was confined inside the Mare's skull, which is really the vajra formed from the decapitated head of Dadhyanch, as we tell elsewhere. Again we have a connection between the Perpetual Fire and the destruction of Paradise in the Primordial Conflagration. Kama, the Hindu Love-God, is the archetype of the Holy Ghost. Indeed, Kama is also called Ananga ("Bodiless") in Sanskrit, an etym that really means "spirit", "ghost". Kama is also the archetype of Eros and Cupid, and is considered the Primordial Creator, destroyed or incended in the conflagration of Paradise. The Upanishads - a name that suggests the idea of being initiated or "incended" in the long chain that stretches all the way back to Paradisial times - is an esoteric collection of teachings and initiatic doctrines that expands the Vedas and expounds its doctrines in coded language, reserved for the Initiates. Its name also suggests something like the imposition of hands or, really, the initiation or enlightening of the neophytes that the ritual symbolizes. Apparently, this real meaning of the "laying of hands" was forgotten somewhere during the long stretch that links us back to Paradise and the primordial events that culminated in its fiery destruction. The rituals of the Christian Sacrament of ordination were, as we said above, copied from the Jewish ones for the commissioning of rabbis, the Semikhah. And the Jews really came from India and, before that, from Indonesia, the true site of Eden and of primordial "Egypt". Interestingly enough, the Semikhah can be traced back to Moses and Joshua, and the flight of the Hebrews from their destroyed Paradise in Mt. Sinai. Mt. Sinai is verily the same as Mt. Meru or Atlas, the Holy Mountain of Paradise that was burnt down by the fiery avatar of the Lord who is no other than the Holy Ghost. We do not believe that the true meaning of the imposition of hands during Ordination is generally known even inside the Christian Church. But the above exegesis of its significance and origin cannot be validly contested, as is clear to anyone that studies the matter in detail. The iniciatic secrets in question were apparently forgotten, and only the mechanical actions of the ritual were preserved. They are enacted in an empty way, like the mechanical movements of an automaton, destitute of soul. We have long forgotten the god whom we honor with such rituals which we ape emptily, despite the fact that he is the very Soul of the World. And that Soul is indeed Atlantis, represented as Kama, the Love God of the Gnostics of all times. 6) Extreme Unction Extreme Unction or, as it now called, The Anointing of the Sick, hardly differs in meaning from the Sacrament of Chrism, and is here only discussed briefly. Extreme Unction is, as the name suggests, the anointing of the sick in extremis and of any others who are on the imminence of dying. The alleged purpose is the remission of sins or the attempt at a cure. But this contradicts the fact that it is applied after all hope of cure is abandoned, and that Confession is the proper ritual for remission. The ritual of anointing in Extreme Unction is usually accompanied by Confession of the sins if that is at all possible, and by the administration of the Eucharist as a viaticum, the food for the journey the moribund is about to undertake. The anointing of the sick is a practice of most, if not all religions. It is an extremely ancient ritual and is just about universal. The administration of the Eucharist as a viaticum is interesting. It embodies the idea that the deceased go to a very distant region, in a sort of pilgrimage to Paradise. This is also the conception behind the actual pilgrimages to the Holy Land that is an ancient custom of the Christians of all times. This practice also existed in essentially all religions. We discuss the symbolism of this return trip to Paradise in our section on the meaning of the Holy Barque, in The Atlantean Symbolism of the Egyptian Temple (Part I). The Greeks would flock to sacred sites such as Eleusis and Delphi, often in quest of initiation into the secrets of the Mysteries. Their traditions, and those of the Romans, tell of the long pilgrimage of the soul to remote regions such as the Islands of the Blest, which lay in the most extreme regions of the world. Ancient Egyptian texts such as The Book of the Dead describe in detail the long pilgrimage and the perils of the soul in the beyond, in its quest for the site of Paradise. The Egyptians too placed Paradise in the Far Orient, beyond the seas and the place where the Sun rises everyday. The Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, also tell at length the long pilgrimage and the perils of the soul in its pilgrimage to Paradise, its temporary abode, where it awaits reincarnation. The Muslims have, as one of their most sacred duties, the obligation to emprehend a pilgrimage to Mecca, their Holy Land, at least once in their lifetimes. But it is in India, as usual, that we find the reason and the origin for such ancient practices. The pious Hindu is observant of such ritual pilgrimages, and has dozens of holy sites to chose from. These are distributed all over India, often in remote, difficult regions such as the Himalayas and the Nilgiris. Mt. Kailasa, in the Trans-Himalayas of Tibet, is one of the most sacred spots of the Shivaites. The Holy Mountain is identified with Mt. Meru, the mountain of Paradise, as well as with the immense phallus of Shiva, shedding the abundance of his gifts. Every devout Hindu aims to bathe in the Ganges, the holiest of their rivers. If at all possible he also emprehends pilgrimages to all of India's Seven Holy Rivers. He also endeavors to visit the Seven Holy Cities: Ayodhya, Mathura, Hardwar, Benares, Kanchipuram, Ujjain and Dwaraka. All these are considered holy sites, connected with the sacred history of Paradise and its destruction in primordial times. But their most holy spots are Lake Manasarowar, near Mt. Kailasa, and Lanka in Ceylon, the sites of their two extremal Paradises. However, all seven sacred spots correspond to the Seven Dvipas (or Paradises),which are the archetypes of the Seven Islands of the Blest of the Greeks and Romans, as well as the Paradises of other nations. It is from these Seven Islands that all other sacred septenaries ultimately issue. As we see, all nations have rituals similar to the above, which entail a return to Paradise in a pilgrimage that simulates the wanderings of the soul after death. Even the Occultists have similar traditions. They quest initiation in the ancient arcanes, except that in a context of actuality and magic, rather than in that of the beyond. Christ, Buddha, Pythagoras, Plato, Solon, Zoroaster, Mani, Apollonius of Tyana, and most other great initiates are said to have gone to India, in their quest for Initiation in the arcanes of the Mysteries. In a way, the adventurous rovings of the ancient Heroes such as Ulysses, Hercules, Alexander, Dionysos, Gilgamesh and many others belongs to the same context as the above. They exploited the distant regions connected with Hades and with Paradise, in a way that many experts have linked with the wanderings of the soul in the netherworld. Modern Occultists are also wont to undertake long, painful pilgrimages. They often go to India and the Far Orient questing Initiation. But many prefer the famous Route of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain. This is connected with Celtic traditions having to do with the Holy Grail and the Elixir, apparently the objective of all such quests. Dante, the well-known Initiate and Occultist, wrote in his Vita Nuova, published in 1293, that Santiago de Compostela, Rome and the Holy Land were the chief centers of attraction for the pilgrims of his time. We see then that the ritual of Extreme Unction is connected with a return to Paradise and the obtaining of the Elixir of Life either in reality or in the netherworld. And reality always links Paradise with India, the aim of true heroes from remotest times. But Extreme Unction proper has an origin that will be considered fescenine and outrageous by most. However, the obscene context is merely a device to disguise profound iniciatic secrets and to divert the inquisitive profane. In Greek and Roman religion it was believed that the dead entering Hades were led and guarded by Cerberus, the terrifying dog that was the guardian of Hell. Cerberus would "greet" every incomer with his enormous phallic tail, a disguise of his member. The dying were then anointed in order to render the process less hurtful. The Greek-Roman belief derives from a similar one of the Egyptians. According to this people, the dead, on their way to Amenti, had to cross an immense lake or river which ringed the region. The only way to do it was the barge of Kharun, the sinister ferryman of Hell. Kharun is the same as the Greek Charon, the barger of the Styx, the river that encircled Hades. He is also the same as Hermes and Anubis in their sinister avatars, where they often assumed the canine form that corresponds to that of Cerberus, the Guardian of Hell. The Styx is the same as the River Oceanus of Homer, the circular river of Atlantis turned into Tartarus after its sinking. This is copied from the Vaitarani or Asayana of Hindu legends, which far predate the times of Homer. And Cerberus and Orthrus, the twin guardian dogs of Hell, are also copied from the Sarameyas of Vedic India. In ancient belief, the lascivious Kharun (or Charon) would charge a dear price for his services, the same one exacted by Cerberus, his canine alias. In some traditions, this price was merely a coin, which would be placed in the mouths of the dead. But the coin is merely an euphemism for the true price exacted, as the word "coin" is synonymous with the anal sphincter in fescenine usage. In this role, Kharun impersonates the Egyptian Pharaoh as the Barger of (Sunken) Paradise, that is, of Atlantis. The barger of Hell first appears in The Epic of Gilgamesh, as Urchanabi, the Barger of Paradise, which the Sumero-Babylonians called Dilmun. It is Urchanabi who takes Gilgamesh to Dilmun in his barge at what price we know not. Gilgamesh is questing the Elixir of Life there, but fails in his attempt, like so many other Heroes, for the task is difficult. In a variant, Gilgamesh reaches the Gates of Paradise, where he is stopped by the Scorpion-Men who guard its access. Gilgamesh is admitted, again in an obscure way. The Scorpion-Men are the archetypes of the Karibu or Cherubs that performed a similar task in later variants of the myth. These Cherubs apparently charged the same price from incomers, as the word for scorpion means "stinger", "pricker", and has a phallic connotation. In reality, their myth allegorizes the crossing of the Pillars of Hercules and Atlas. This crossing was a prerequisite for reaching Paradise, as we show elsewhere. But it was forbidden, and all trespassers caught in the attempt were summarily impaled by the Phoenicians who guarded these Straits. In another context, the practice of anointing has also to do with the rituals of Initiation in several traditions. In many initiatic rituals the hierophant will exact from the neophytes the same high price we have been discussing. This practice is standard in many primitive religions, and was also very widespread in the ancient world. The Greek philosophers would ordinarily demand it from their disciples, and their banquets - named symposia, or "lying together" - were truly communal orgies were the pupils had to yield to their masters in public. For that purpose, the disciples were properly anointed, as in other rituals of Initiation. As we see, ritual anointing has always to do with the disclosure to the initiatic secrets concerning Paradise and its whereabouts, as well as admission to immortality. In an entirely different context, there is another traditional reason for the anointing in the Extreme Unction. Again it is connected with Paradise and related traditions. In India the Gonds and the Khonds, among other primitive tribes, used to sacrifice human victims until rather recently. These victims were called meriahs, a word denoting something like "scapegoat". The meriahs were sacrificed by burning, and their roasted bodies were later eaten in a ritual akin to that of Communion. Before the meriahs were roasted alive, their bodies were carefully anointed as a preparation for the ritual. The reasons for anointing were twofold. First, it rendered their meat more proper for consumption. But the anointing was also a gesture of mercy, as the victim caught fire, and died a quick death, instead of being slowly roasted alive by the bonfire. But there is also a third, secret reason for the ritual. Paradise - particularly the Lemurian one - is usually associated with the idea of abundance and fatness as a result of overeating. The queen of Punt, the Egyptian Paradise, is usually represented as an enormously fat woman. Likewise, the prehistoric Venuses of Neolithic times are equally abundant of flesh. But this is no sign of disease, as many think. The idea is again the same as above, being related to Paradise and abundance. Indeed, the abundance of Paradise is brought about by its volcano, whose cinders fertilize the soil and cause abundant rains due to the altered atmospheric conditions. But the price is dear, as it also brings death when it explodes, destroying everything in the region. So, we see that the ritual of Extreme Unction is connected with Paradisial traditions down from Neolithic times, at least. The idea is that the dying are anointed for the same reason that were the meriahs of the Gonds and Konds, in preparation for a return to Paradise, where they would enjoy abundance and peace, but run the risk of being burnt when it turns into a fiery hell. In other words, the volcano fattens people with the fertility it brings about, but later "fries" them in terrible conflagration when they explode. 7) Communion We reserved the Sacrament of Communion for the end because it is both the most important, as well as the most telltale of all. Communion commemorates the Lord's Last Supper. Better yet, it refers to the one after his death, of the 153 fishes that he ate in communion with his disciples. These fishes were netted by the disciples, under the guidance of Jesus himself. Fishing with nets symbolizes the advent of the Celestial Kingdom (cf. Mat. 13: 47: ff.). Peter ("stone") plunging into the seas, is literally a representation of the fall of the vajra that causes the Flood and fills the seas with dead people. It is these corpses who become the Eucharist (eu charis = "good meat" = manna) that the others have to eat in order to survive in the devastated conditions of after the Flood. This Eucharist is also the manna that the Israelites had to eat in order to survive in the Sinai desert, during their exodus from their destroyed Paradise. The comparison of the corpses which fill the seas like dead fishes is not ours, but is traditional. It is specifically mentioned in Sumerian The Epic of Gilgamesh, the first known account of the Flood. In India, there is a clever inversion of the motif, and it is the Fish (Matsya), who saves Manu, the archetype of the Biblical Noah. Even in the Americas we find the myth of the Flood that drowns all persons and turns them into fishes (i.e.; corpses eaten like fish or eaten by fishes, and literally turned into fish flesh). Communion is ritual cannibalism, and was so practiced in deed and in symbol essentially everywhere. It is still practiced in India (by the local aboriginals), in Africa, in the Americas, in Oceania and even in Europe, in certain rituals associated with black magic. Practices such as head-hunting, scalping, lycanthropy, vampirism, nagualism, omophagia and cruent sacrifices are all connected directly or indirectly with cannibalism and ritual communion. The Jews, like so many peoples in distress - were forced into committing cannibalism, as hinted by the Lamentations of Jeremiah and, more literally, by the ritual consumption of manna (manas = "human") during their wanderings in the Sinai desert. The destroyed Jerusalem of Jeremiah and others is indeed Eden or Lemuria, the destroyed Paradise which they were forced to abandon in the primordial diaspora. Christ too is often likened to the fish or dolphin, the Ichtos by which he is symbolized. So are Dionysos (the dolphin) and Skanda (the makara or shishumara) and Vishnu (Matsya). The human victims consumed in communion were often ground into flour and baked as a sort of cake. Here we see the origin of the identification of bread (the Host) with the body of the Lord. Fishes too were often ground into flour for reasons of preservation, and were thus consumed in the ancient World, for instance by the Ichthiophagi ("fish-eaters") of Herodotus and others. The "Corn-Gods" of several nations were also identified with fishes for the same reason. Atagartis, the Syrian goddess, was a corn-goddess and a nagini ("fish-woman").The Nagas ("fishes") of Assam (India) practice head-hunting and cannibalism even today. Dagon, the Semitic corn-god was a fish (dag = "fish"). Many other examples could yet be mentioned. Kama, the Hindu love god is often identified to the makara or dolphin with which he is usually associated. Kama is also an alias of Purusha, sacrificed and cooked and consumed "himself to himself". This expression can only imply cannibalism or the eating of humans by humans. The practice has to do with the meriahs (or human escape-goats) sacrificed and used as "corn" by the Gonds and the Khonds. Kukulkan, the fiery, winged serpent of the Toltecs and Mayas, was both a corn-god and a fish. He is all god of resurrection and reincarnation, like Christ and Dionysos. The eating of Dionysos Zagreus by the Titans and the stories concerning Zeus Lykaios ("Werewolf") in Greece also embody the idea of consuming the deity's flesh in holy communion. Likewise, the Bersekers of Odin and the werewolves who ate Zoroaster's corpse also belong to the same motif. The "gods" embody the paideuma of the manes (or ancestors), killed by the Flood, whose corpses were eaten by the few survivors, who had no alternative for preserving their lives. This practice is far more frequent than is usually suspected, and there are innumerous reported cases of such happenings even among civilized people. For instance, the Spanish Conquistadores often ate Indians during their long expeditions in the wilderness of the Americas. The fish (Matsya) who saved Manu, the ancestor for all humans, during the Flood, is in all probability an allegory of the Eucharist. So is Leviathan, the giant fish or seamonster of the Bible. At Doom, Leviathan is killed and his dead body serves as food for the survivors in the great banquet of Armaggedon. Yu-kiang is the Chinese counterpart of Kukulkan, being a sea-god represented as either a flying dragon, a fish, or a human. He too became a sort of Eucharist. So did, at least ritually, Amerindian "corn-gods" such as Kukulkan and Quetzalcoatl. It is a feature of Revelation, and indeed, most eschatological disclosures that the vultures and wolves feast on the flesh of the kings and warriors killed in combat, as we discuss elsewhere. This motif first appears in the Kumarasambhava of Kalidasha, from which The Book of Revelation was probably copied by John or whoever wrote under that name. In similar myths, the dead who serve as food (or Eucharist) are represented by the huge boar consumed in Valhalla by the warriors of Odin; by the serpent Leviathan or Lothan (a sort of dolphin representing the makara) eaten in a banquet by the guests; etc.. A similar allegory shows Purusha, the Primordial Man, generating all men from his sacrificed remains. In a reversal of the motif, the Hero is eaten by the fish or dragon or some other monster. Such is the case of Jonah, eaten by the whale, and of the similar relations of the Kalevala and other sources. In Psalm 22 - a remarkably detailed prophecy of Christ's crucifixion that discloses its true symbolic meaning - the Faithful Servant is apparently devoured by the wicked men that behave as ravening dogs and lions ready to devour him. The Faithful Servant of Psalm 22 is an archetypal Christ consumed in communion at the Great Assembly (of Armaggedon). This intriguing psalm tells how both the fat and the meek of the earth "shall eat and worship until they are satisfied". Theirs is the Messianic Banquet that takes place at Doom. And it may well be that the Resurrection of the Dead associated with it ultimately refers to ritual cannibalism. This originated from the universal practice of thus insuring the survival of the deceased relatives, a practice adopted by many primitives, even today. This is also implied by the garbled final lines of the remarkable Psalm in question, which should, perhaps, be thus understood, as the following passage attests: I will honor Thy name in the Great Assembly, And fulfill my vow before those who fear Thee. The humble shall eat and be satisfied... And I will live forever within their hearts... All the fat upon the earth shall eat and worship. And the buried in the grave shall bow before him. And my spirit shall live forever within them... In other words, the events described in the psalm exactly prefigure, by one thousand years, those enacted by Christ. They have been disfigured, in order to preserve the secret that the life of Christ is pure allegory. In the psalm, the dispirited Faithful Servant suddenly takes heart, and consents in his sacrifice, after he is assured by Jahveh that he will survive in spirit inside the hearts of the worshippers who are about to devour him. True or not, that is precisely what the worshipping Christians affirm when they take communion: that Christ somehow enters, in flesh and in blood, inside their hearts. Interestingly enough this was precisely the creed of the worshippers of Dionysos Zagreus and, even more literally, of those of Purusha, in India. Purusha was believed to survive in the hearts of his worshipers. Indeed, the heart is called Purusha-pura (or "Purusha's fortress") in Sanskrit, because Purusha is believed to reside there. Impossible not to see that the Christian doctrines concerning Communion derives from these Hindu archetypes, which date from Vedic times. The sacrifice of Purusha and the roasting and eating of Zagreus by the Titans closely replicate that of the Faithful Servant of Psalm 22 and his eating by the circumstants. Such human sacrifices closely evoke that of the meriahs in India, and also, the ashvameda (or horse sacrifice of the Hindus), where the victim was first anointed with grease or butter (christos) and then roasted and eaten communially, as we commented above. Dadhyanch - an alias of Purusha as the Primordial Sacrifice - has a name that can most aptly be interpreted as "giver of fat". Dadhyanch gave his own bones and flesh for the fashioning of the vajra and the imprisonment of the Fiery Mare that survives deep down inside the waters of the Ocean. Again we have here another archetypal Communion in allegorized form. The institution of the Eucharist in Luke (22:15-20) is indeed strange, as the prophet speaks of two chalices. The problem is serious, and has been much debated, without success. Apparently, Christ was celebrating two different covenants (or "communions"). One was that of the traditional Paschal Lamb, and the other that of himself as the new Paschal Lamb. This duality is also implied by the twin Rivers of Life that flow from the thrones of the Lamb and of Jahveh in Revelation 22. These two sacred "thrones" are the "pillars" (or Polar Mountains) which are also the Holy Grails represented as Mt. Meru. This Holy Mountain is also dual (the Sumeru and the Kumeru) and is hollowed at the summit, where it holds a lake (Manasa), as if it were indeed some type of grail. The twin Trees of Life and Knowledge are the Jambu Tree of India, which is also dual. This last is composed of two inverted trees, the ashvatta or pipal and the bodhi tree or holy fig (Ficus Indica and Ficus Religiosa), which grow, one downwards from the top of the other. The Sacred Oak of the Druids was also dual, with the mistletoe growing downwards from its top. So was also the Babylonian Tree of Life, which is often represented as a composite tree resembling a grapevine coiled around a palm tree. The twin Grails of Luke's Eucharist also correspond to the twin Cherubs who are the Guardians of the Tree of Life, to the two Pillars of Hercules, to Jachin and Boaz, to the twins Ashvins, etc.. And, of course, they closely relate to the two sunken continents of Atlantis and Lemuria, which is what they indeed represent. More exactly they represent the craters of the local volcanoes, full either of water (when quiescent) or of fiery magma (when erupting). The Paschal supper consisted not really of bread, but of lamb. We have here the identity "bread" = "flesh" encountered in the name of Bethlehem (beith lehem = "house of flesh (or bread)"). The manner by which the bread and the wine constitute the flesh and blood of Christ is an inscrutable mystery, as declared by the Church. Nevertheless, the dualism implied is obvious, and refers to the two covenants mentioned above. Theologians have never understood the manner in which Christ is present in the Eucharist. And they never will, unless they open their eyes to speculations such as ours, based on the logic of Comparative Religion. Purely spiritual interpretations will never do, if we are to believe that Christ was an actual human being. And allegations that the subject is a "mystery" is merely a way of eluding the importune questions. The Eucharist is the Messianic Banquet allegorized by the Last Supper, either in deed or in fancy. And this Banquet took place at the dawn of humanity, just after the Flood that wiped out Atlantis, decimating its inhabitants. The few, bewildered survivors could only save themselves by scavenging the carcasses of their beloved dead, precisely as described in the Lamentations of Jeremiah. We all participated in this gloomy Banquet, not really the last - for Time became inverted thenceforth - but really, the First Supper of the present humanity. Yes, we were all present there, not in spirit only, but in the flesh and blood of our ancestors. They are, indeed, the "matrix" or soul that animates this mass of inert matter we call "body". It was only this supreme effort for survival that possibilitated the perpetuation of Mankind. This was indeed the Sacrifice performed by Noah, by Utnapishtin and by Manu Vaishvasvata, as soon as they land their arks. The smoke that attracted the gods, and so pleased them, was that of the roasted human carrion that the Noahs and their people were forced to eat, in order to survive and continue the human saga. True miracles are hard to come by. Perhaps, by this supreme sacrifice, humanity was allowed to survive when so many highly qualified beasts such as the mammoths and the saber-toothed tigers became utterly extinct. It is precisely this fact that Jesus emphasizes in the passage of John where he institutes Communion: It is the spirit that vivifies, The flesh is of no worth. The words which I spoke to you, They are the Spirit and they are Life. If we really think about these remarkable words, we realize that Jesus was absolutely right. Flesh is matter, and matter is dead. What matters is this tiny spark of the primordial Purusha that survives in each of us, indeed, inside each of our cells. This spark is the Eternal Fire which has been burning incessantly since the dawn of Mankind. Man proper is only the Word or Logos, this bright spark of God that renders us a little more than the brute beasts on whose flesh we prey. It is word that establishes the Golden Link, the Sutratma (or Soul Thread) of Tradition that has been passed from mouth to ear from one generation to the next, ever since the dawn of time. And what is that ineffable secret of the mysteries that has never been betrayed and that only belongs to the superior humans who guide us all in the crossing of the wilderness? The fact that we eat human flesh when condition are forcing enough? Truly, this is indeed a sad reality but not crucial enough for the importance of the matter. The reality is possibly far more frightening. Perhaps it is the one that gods do not truly exist at all, and that we are utterly alone to steer this beautiful spaceship Earth towards nowhere. Evolution is merely a fiction, and we do not progress at all, but are forever bound in an endless samsara that can only be ended by collective extinction Rationality too, is only a mythical belief, and we reason solely based on the archetypes brainwashed into our minds by our parents and ancestors. We imitate our parents like apes, mimicking their rites and deeds and motives and petty ideals in a vicious circle. Gods and religion are, perhaps, fictions, ghosts invented for recreational purposes by our forefathers, in order to provide a motivation for the masses, and to act both as an opiate and as internal, ever-watching policemen. But this gloomy picture of the human condition is merely the nightmare of those who deny that Man is far more than our mortal sackles. Man has both a soul and a spirit imparted us from our dawn in Paradise. Soul, feminine and wiser, is Mahavidya (or Great Wisdom), the divine spark, the atom of Lemurian Atlantis that survived the cataclysm that devastated this paradisial region. And Spirit is Purusha, the spark perhaps divine, perhaps demonic that we got from our ancestors in the second Paradise, that of Atlantis proper. It is these two sparks that our ancestors ingested in Paradise, the flesh and blood of their sisters and brothers, their parents, their children killed in the terrible cataclysm. "Do this in memory of me", they say, the two Great Gods who indeed represent Atlantis and Lemuria. And we, poor bastards, altoghether forgot the purpose of the ritual. Copyright (c) 1997 Arysio Nunes dos Santos. Webmaster Bernardo de P‡dua dos Santos. Fair quotation and teaching usage is allowed, as long as full credit is given to this source, and its home address is given in full. http://www.atlan.org/