A NEW LINE OF THOUGHT:
Consciousness is a product of other consciosnesses. What we are today is a result of not only our physical heritage but more importantly our mental heritage; the stories we were told growing up, the morals and values given to us by our parents or guardians. Why do we have so many stories about gods and devils? Heavens and hells? Is there something that our ancient ancestors have been trying to remind us in the hope that it may help us now in the present?
The Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant are two of the most sought after artifacts mentioned in the Bible. Many have attributed a lot of power to these items yet forgotten what they truly represent: the presence of God.
The Bible begins with a depiction of an active and personal God. A God that often speaks with his worshippers directly and apparently manifests physically at times for them. By the end of the Bible God has become an abstraction, a spiritual being that is unseen and not directly available for communication. Near the end of the Bible God no longer speaks to his followers audibly but is made manifest in his follower's hearts and conscience. Could it be that "God" is slowly but surely being brought down from heaven to earth?
The Ark of the Covenant:
The Ark of the Covenant (or the Ark of the Testimony) was a small portable chest carried by the Hebrews at the head of the column as they travelled through the desert. And it was carried at the front of the Hebrew army in battle. It was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold inside and out. On top of the ark was a gold plate called the "mercy seat" or "propitiatory." Also on top of the ark were two cherubs facing each other with their wings overshadowing the "mercy seat." It is here at the mercy seat where God meets his people and gives them their commandents. It is like a portable throne at which God makes his appearance and is referred to as such in certain Bible verses (1 Sam. 4:4, 2 Sam. 6:2, Ps. 80:2). Inside the ark are the 10 commandments and in some traditions a vessel of manna and the rod of Aaron. They symbolize respectively; God's commands, his provisions, and the symbol of God's chosen.
At Gen. 50:26 the sarcophagus of the Bible patriarch, Joseph was called the ark, hinting at a special relationship between Joseph and God(his presence).
Physically the ark resembles certain Egyptian artifacts such as the sacred ceremonial boat carried in religious processions. This boat symbolized the boat in which Ra made his course through the heavens. Supposedly Moses was raised in Egypt. It would make perfect sense for Moses to borrow some Egyptian traditions and incorporate them into the new Hebrew religion. This is the way mystery traditions typically develop. They are the result of a long history of recycling and modification.
So to capsulize, the ark represents the presence of God, is used as a metaphor for God's throne, and symbolizes that God's favor was with those that bore the ark and heeded the commandments within.
(Based on material in DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE by JOHN L. MCKENZIE)
The Grail Castle (Castle of Wonders) and the Way of Tao
Related to the mystery of the ark is the story of Arthur and his grail knights. In the grail myths, Arthur's knights are on a quest to find the grail castle and restore Arthur's kingdom to its former glory. The grail castle cannot be found by effort it is said. The grail knight's quest is to reach the grail castle to heal the king of his wound and thereby restore the wasteland to a paradise. To those that are unworhty, the grail castle is invisible. It is said that no one can find the grail castle by their own means. It must be revealed to them by God.
"When there is effort nothing happens. Buddha made every effort for six years in his quest for the Ultimate Goal. But it was only when he finally gave up all effort that he attained that which he had been seeking. The mystical law is subtle, for although enlightenment cannot be forced by effort the seeker still has to make an effort in order to prepare him or herself to be able to receive the gift." (The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin, p.154)
It is the task of the hero to unite the Sun King with the Earth Goddess to restore harmony and turn the wasteland into a paradise.
The Four Grail Hallows
In Wolfram's account are mentioned four mystical objects; the Sword, the Silver Platter, the Lance and the Grail. These four emblems are said to be identical with the four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan (a tribe of the Irish Goddess Danu). They also remind us of the four Hallows of the Tarot deck(Sword, Paten, Gral, Spear). Is there a connection?
The Sword:
The sword may be a reference to the Sword of David which Solomon's wife supposedly placed on the ship of the Wise and Learned King Solomon to be sent down through the ages until the Grail Knights discover it. It may also be a reference to the legendary Excalibur from the great Welsh epics. It is Arthur who is given Excalibur from the lady in the lake or alternatively he is found worthy to pull it from a stone. It is typical in these epics for the sword to be broken at a crucial moment and then reunited only to start the same process over again.
The Disc;Platter;Paten or Pentacle
This is the stone that screams under the reign of those unworthy to take Sovereignty. It is also the siege perilous of the round table... or the perilous seat(Judas' seat) at the round table which only one truly worthy can take without causing disaster. Symbolically it is the 13th position within the circle of 12 which the worthy hero must risk to reunite his kingdom. Only when the right question is asked will the siege perilous reunite and the Wasteland transformed into paradise.
The Spear:
The spear deals it victim the "dolorous blow." It places the victim in a state where he can neither die or be healed. Only the grail winner can restore paradise and heal the wounded king by using the selfsame spear.
The Holy Grail:
There are many stories about the grail and its origins. According to Wolfram's book Parsival, it is said that when the angels rebelled in heaven an emerald stone from Lucifer's crown fell to earth. And on its way down it was transformed from stone, to sword, to spear to grail. Another tradition says that 1/3 of the angels remained neutral in the battle between heaven and hell and that the grail was brought to humanity to teach them the middle way(The Grail by Macolm Godwin, p.53). The grail stories are all based upon a common precept. In most accounts Perceval is the grail winner. In his quest Perceval must prove himself worthy to commune with Christ through the medium of the grail. He also must heal the grail king who guards the grail. The hero must also transmute his land from a wasteland into a living land again. (The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin, p.10) In typical medieval thought the land is considered feminine. This feminine archetype is called Sovereignty; the goddess(mother earth). The goal of the hero is to restore his hellish chaotic wasteland into a paradise. The onset of the wasteland coincides with the breakup of Arthur's Round table. The hero must restore unity(oneness).
The Holy Grail is also a reference to the cup used by Jesus at the last supper. In the cup was wine. Jesus used the wine in the cup as a metaphor for his blood. It has been said by some that the Grail mythos is a veiled reference to a secret bloodline from Jesus. Although I have not read the book, this theory has been written about in a book called The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Baigent and Leigh. I have not yet read the book so I can't comment on this theory. A lot has been made about how Jesus' blood is in the royal families of Europe(in particular the British throne). There are in fact many religious groups that use this theory as a foundation for their theology(ie. Armstrong and company). Whether or not this is true I have no idea. It is not really important. The mystery we are interested in is not a matter of bloodlines.... but LINES OF THOUGHT. From the aboriginal shamans, through Egypt all the way up to the modern secret societies and mystery schools! All I know is that the point of the Bible and all spiritual teachings is a shift in consciousness not physical geneaology. The beginning of the Bible and the end are totally different modes of thought, yet as a continuum they are continuous. If there is truth to the bloodline theory then it can be certain that people of all races and nationalities, rich and poor, kings or peasants could potentially have this blood stream within them considering how mixed the races have become. If this line of thought has any value then it could potentially fulfill the Bible's promise to bless all nations by means of Abraham's seed. Either way, our concern is with the spiritual not the physical.
The Grail Legends:
The medieval legends of the grail all have a basic theme. 1) The quest for the grail 2)Healing the wounded King, 3) Uniting the land (be it Earth and Heaven, Nature and Super-Nature, God and Human) 4) Becoming the Grail King.
In Wolfram von Eschenbach's text Parzival this quest is undertaken by the title character Parsival. His name means "piercing the valley" and may refer to learning to navigate two extremes; ie. good and evil(the middle way). Like all quests of any importance Parzival must approach the unknown alone as he searches for the Great Mystery. (see The Holy Grail, Its Origins, Secrets and Meanings Revealed by Malcolm Godwin). Parzival must reconcile himself with the land to become Grail winner. In the beginning of his quest the land is a wasteland. To fix things he must find the Grail King within the elusive Grail castle which hides itself from those unworthy to see it. Parzival is eventually guided by an unseen hand to the Grail castle where he meets the Grail King. His mission is to ask the magic question of the Grail King. The question posed to the Grail King by Parzival is a variation on one of the following: "What ails you?", "Who does the grail serve", "What is the purpose of the grail company?" The simple act of asking the question gives Parsival the right himself to take the wounded King's place on his throne. Parsival and the Grail King are both said to be loosely veiled references to Jesus Christ. Remember the Excalibur movie? In that movie the grail asked Parsival:
G : Who does the grail serve?
P : You my King. The King and the land are one. (Or something like that)
Paradise lost, paradise regained... we and our environment are a seamless unity, part of a continuum. The Eastern religions have said this all along. The middle ages were rough times for such liberal teachings. Maybe that's part of the reason this line of belief is so deeply hidden in western mythology. After a time though sovereignty will again assume it guise as a hag(wasteland) and the hallows will once again be lost to await the return of a new set of heroes.
Note: Above, the Grail Castle at the center of of the universe surrounded by the zodiac(the universe). The sun is in Libra representing balance between Heaven and Earth. The grail castle is also the Axis Mundi or World Axis. It is the center of the world and the Tree of Life from which the four rivers flow. It is the conduit between Heaven and Earth. It is also the 13th seat so to speak... the seige perilous that screams under the unworthy, but blesses those that are approved to assume that position.
The Tabernacle and Temple of Solomon:
The Hebrew Tabernacle or "tent" is basically a mobile version of the Temple of Solomon. In it are two main rooms; The Holy Place and the Most Holy. Between the two rooms is a veil. The tabernacle resides in the center of the 12 tribes of Israel sort of like the grail castle above situated between the 12 constellations. The tabernacle also has the names of the "dwelling" and the "tent of meeting" and they reference the tabernacle as the location of revelation from God through his mediator the high priest. (see Num. 11:24, 12:4-10; 14:10).
Like the Egyptians before them, the Hebrews believed that architecture could be used to make an earthly representation of God's heavenly abode on earth; hence the tabernacle and the Temple of Solomon..
When Jesus died he said he would raise the temple of his body in three days. Jesus obviously believed God's presence lived and died within his body. And in the book of Revelation God descends from heaven to make his tent/temple or "tabernacle" with mankind(Rev. 21:3). God's commandments are no longer written on slabs of stone and hauled around in a physical ark. At the end of time they are no longer preached from the podiums... God's commands are written on hearts, minds and lived. Those that understand no longer need to be told.
The Grail-Ark of Consciousness
or
(Downloading God into the Brain)
In the beginning was the word,
and the word was with God,
and the word was God.
And the word became flesh
and dwelled among us.
(John 1:1,14)
Like Father like Sun. In the Bible, the phrase "Son of Man" is used 109 times in the Hebrew Bible. It is often used of Jesus Christ. What does this phrase mean? In the Hebrew Bible before the arrival of Jesus it meant simply "human being." In the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel refers to himself as the "Son of Man" and in total it is used 93 times. Obviously God can have many sons.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew king is called "the annointed" which is translated messiah. In Greek, the term "annointed" is transalted Christos from which we get Jesus Christ, or simply Jesus the Annointed. Just as we could have called King David, David the Annointed(or David the Messiah, or David Christ).
The son of God is rejected and killed by the very people he came to save. How ironic.
NOTE TO FUTURE MESSIAH'S : The physical concept of God died with the man Jesus on the cross... Invest in stock, take up a sport, travel the world. Trust God and let him worry about the rest. We'll all get back home eventually.
PARADISE REGAINED
Or
(HOW THE MICROCOSM CAME TO TRUST THE MACROCOSM)
The cherubs guard the ark of the covenant, and the way back to paradise. In Ezekiel the cherubs are described. In Ezekiel chapter 1 he says they are in human form with four faces; Human, lion, ox, and eagle. They're composition resembles that of the Egyptian Sphinx. Cherubs with flaming swords were stationed outside the gate to Eden to prevent Adam and Eve from reentering. Why? They ate from the tree of the Knowledge of good and bad and effectively destroyed paradise(Gen. 3:24). How does one get back in? We have to work our way backwards and restore what Adam and Eve broke. In short, we have to reasses our understanding of good and evil. Life is about opposites. End of discussion. Without dark, there is no light. Without up there is no down. Without ugly there is no beautiful. With out evil, there is no good. Do you consider yourself a smart, beautiful or good person? Fine, but don't let it go to your head... your goodness is of no value without some evil to compare it to and to push you further into the good. God bless the righteous! And may he redeem the "sinners"...
What is the ark? Or the grail?
They are physical symbols for a transcendant reality... THE PRESENCE OF GOD. A presence which continues to run silently under the flow of human history like an underground stream stream. Stories such as we find in the Bible or Grail mythos are a way of helping us to understand our connections to our environment(the Macrocosm). Too much of a programmatic life is detrimental to our being... it cuts us off from our surroundings. Parsival was kept from asking about the grail because of his social conditioning even though he was curious to know what it all meant. The grail is only to be found in a natural state of abandonment to our personal destiny(The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin, p.70) whatever we find that to be. Flow is the key(or Tao as they say in the East.) The Grail legends are not about Good and Evil... they are about finding a happy medium between them yet erring in favor of the good. As we become adults, we should know what we should and should not do. We feel it in our hearts. By adulthood we should not need someone else to constantly define what we should and should not do. We trust ourselves and KNOW what we should do.
In The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin(which is the best book I have found so far on the subject) he compares this state of unity with our environment by referring to the modern myth of the Star Wars trilogy.
"Like Skywalker, Parsival had to trust that his horse, his inner and intuitive nature, would take him where he needed to go...That is all the Grail message teaches." (The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin, p.231)
PARADISE WAS NEVER REALLY LOST... IT HAS ONLY BEEN FORGOTTEN
In the grail legend, the wounded king sits on his throne sad and tired of life. Parsival approaches the king and asks the important question: "What ails thee, Uncle?"
"What ails us all is that we cannot accept ourselves exactly as we are...if we can only act spontaneously, without being programmed into someone else's belief system, we can ask the real question of ourselves." (The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin)
As long as we are pawns in a ridiculous war of words(conflicting belief systems, opinions and prejudices) we can never reach a state of peace with ourselves or our world.
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND
"If we examine the nature of being a hero, the most recurrent motif in the hero's eternal quest is that of leaving one condition in order to discover a richer or more mature condition. In essence, a hero's journey is towards transformation. And at the very end of that road, the transformation is likely to be a radical change of consciousness. Heroes and heroines are those who give their lives to something bigger than themselves." (The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin, p.228)
"Parsival opens with a long introductory passage in which Wolfram shows that darkness and light, black and white, are to be found within every act. And since every act carries with it both good and bad effects, the best one can be done in such circumstances is to err on the side of the good... Life holds both hell's darkness and the light of heaven at one and the same moment and it is no use pondering their contrary elements. Rather, one must learn to flow with life, running after the hind one moment and being chased by the boar in the next." (The Holy Grail by Malcolm Godwin, p.140)
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