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A Glimpse of the Vessel, A Glimpse of Perfection, by Steven J. Gold
In the continuing evolution of the meditation class I sometimes teach, I taught a series entitled “Torah-Veda Meditation, Self-Discovery and self-Transformation”. I had incorporated some Hebrew Spirituality in prior sessions, but mostly in an added fifth session devoted to Hebrew mantras. This time, I incorporated Hebrew spiritual principles throughout all the sessions and illustrated the correlations with Vedic concepts. As is often the case when I teach, as I am going along, I learn new things and discover new insights. One such insight this time was the realization that the Biblical Hebrew word for primordial fire, the source for Divine Light and Divine Sound, “eish”, is contained in the first word of Genesis, Bereishit, just as the corresponding Sanskrit word, “agni” is the first word in the Vedas (the Rig Veda, considered the oldest of the four Vedas). It is one and the same as the fire encountered by Moses at the “burning/unburnt” bush. My basic insight is that the fire encountered by Moses in the burning bush was not consuming the bush due to the special nature of the fire, not of the bush. This was the self-sustaining Divine fire of creation, not dependent upon any fuel, the Source of the primal elements of creation: Divine Light and Divine Sound, the “eish” of “bereishit” in Genesis, and the ”agni” in the Rig Veda.
Another insight, tangentially related to the first, concerns the correlation between the Vedic “Bindu”, the Hebrew “Yod”, and the Lurianic kabbalist conception of the “Shattering of the Vessels”, with various versions extant involving many nuances, intricacies and gyrations. There is a strain of Vedic teachings, emphasized in my yoga meditation tradition, that the bindu point at the center of the Sri Yantra/Sri Cakra (which is a graphic extension of a six-pointed, “Jewish” star), is indicative of the contraction of the absolute condition of eternity and infinity into a point, to allow for time and space, and thus relative existence as we know it. Relative existence, which follows the contraction noted above, is indicated by the complex series of inter-connected triangles depicted in the rest of the Sri Yantra, surrounding and emanating/expanding out from the central bindu point. In a description paralleling the Big Bang theory of physics, the emanation/expansion process involves this point exploding, by which relative existence ensues. The contraction process also comports with the Big Crunch theory in physics that at some point the universe will stop expanding and will begin to contract in on itself. This Big Crunch would then be followed by another Big Bang. This suggests a likelihood of repeating cycles – Big Bang, Big Crunch, Big Bang, etc. – which is consistent with Vedic descriptions of continuous creations and destructions, what I term the “Bang-Bang” theory.
As described in Lurianic Kabalah, the most prevalent and influential teachings of Jewish mysticism, Torah Spirituality describes a similar process of contraction of eternity and infinity that is necessary for creation to ensue through the time-space continuum. This contraction is called “tzim tzum”. One little twist that I am injecting into this scheme concerns the Hebrew letter “Yod”. It is recognized that Yod is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and while not the first letter per se, it is also acknowledged that every other letter in the Hebrew alphabet contains the form of the Yod within it. Another traditional aspect about Yod is that although it is not the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, it is the first letter of the four-lettered name of God, the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, and the first letter in what some consider a more primal, abbreviated form, “Yah”, consisting of the two letters Yod and Heh.
Another more mystical concept related to Yod is that it is really a point, but I have not seen this particular extrapolation that I am suggesting. My Torah-Veda twist is to equate the Yod to the Bindu and overlay it onto the Lurianic scheme regarding the Shattered Vessels. As noted above, there are many involved and intricate variations related to the account of the Shattered Vessels, and I realize I am subjecting myself to criticism for getting it wrong or being inaccurate or incomplete in my description. Nevertheless, here is my simplified version, and I’m sticking to it: At the beginning, God created a Perfect Vessel composed of slightly stepped-down Divine Fire/Light/Sound (which in my view is Eish/Agni). My further insight, which I have not found in traditional teachings, is that this is the same primordial fire encountered by Moses at the burning bush. This fire is distinct from common fire in that it is self-effulgent, self-sustaining blue fire not dependent upon any external source for fuel, and not consuming or destroying anything, only generating. (This special fire existed in the bush without consuming the bush because it did not need an external source for fuel.) All forms, everything existing in creation, are stepped-down versions of this Fire Essence.
This slightly stepped-down Perfect Vessel was then infused with pure, unmitigated Divine Light, and the stepped-down vessel could not contain the intensity of the pure Light and shattered. I acknowledge that the prevalent variations use the plural “vessels”, and that there were ten of them, corresponding to, but not the same as the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life as commonly depicted, more like precursors to them, on a higher level, but also not connected or organized as are the lower vessels comprising the Tree. I am simplifying it by depicting a Perfect Vessel as an organized Tree composed of ten sephirot/component vessels, which to me is more plausible. However, in a prevalent view, not all the component vessels shattered, only the lower seven (again indicative of some organization among the component vessels; if there are seven “lower” and three “higher”, this indicates some organized relationship between them, despite views to the contrary). In what is commonly described as an immense “catastrophe” or “cataclysm”, sometimes construed as a “mistake”, again akin to physics’ Big Bang, the shards from these shattered vessels were then dispersed throughout the time-space continuum as Divine Sparks, each of which comprises an essential Divine element contained in each and every thing in creation, and upon which all beings and things depend for their existence.
The term “tikkun olam” has gained popular meaning, particularly among the less orthodox and non-mystical branches of Judaism, as “repairing the world” in the sense of engaging in acts of charity and humanitarian social justice. However, the origins of this term, recognized in mystical Judaism, relate back to the event of the Shattering of the Vessels. Tikkun Olam, in this original deeper sense, while related to the common external meaning, means to go deep within each being, individually and collectively, to connect back with the Divine Spark essence contained in all. Life is to be conducted based upon principles consistent with individual and shared Divinity, so that we can all contribute to rebuilding the Shattered Vessel, putting the pieces back together again. (Maybe the Humpty-Dumpty rhyme has some relationship to this great Kabbalistic myth).
My Torah-Veda tweak on all of this is that the initial Vessel that shattered was contained within an initial Yod/Bindu point, tying these seemingly disparate and even contrary concepts into a coherent, comprehensive model (after all, Yod represents the number ten, indicative of the ten component vessels comprising the one Vessel).
A further angle on this is the prevalent view, noted above, that not all the component vessels shattered, that the contraction is not complete. A “portion” of eternity and infinity, so to speak, remains paradoxically in the background or as an underlying substratum, beyond the multiplicity of forms, mysteriously acting as the ongoing creator, sustainer, and dissolver upon which relative existence, activity and transformation is totally dependent. The three vessel sephirot that did not shatter represent Ein, Ein Soph, and Ein Soph Aur (Sat, Chit and Ananda in the Vedic scheme). This portion of eternity and infinity that remains uncontracted is thus one and the same as the Non-Dual Absolute Reality conveyed in both Vedic and Kabalistic teachings and corresponds with current physics theories concerning black holes and dark matter. Furthermore, my sense is that the dissolution of the universe will not result through a sequence whereby the expansion of matter ends, followed by a Big Crunch contraction upon itself. Rather, as the universe continues to expand, all matter will eventually be sucked back up into black holes, leaving nothing left but dark matter or one great big black hole, the stuff of eternity and infinity, until another cycle of manifestation mysteriously occurs through the contraction of eternity/infinity as described above. And finally, just as the expulsion from Eden was not due to a sin or mistake, but was essential for relative material life to manifest (a minority view to which I subscribe), the Shattering of the Vessels, although a cataclysmic Big Bang, was not a catastrophe or mistake; it is a description of a process essential for manifestation/creation to occur. The Paradise of Eden is akin to the Vessel of Perfection – both needed to “expel/shatter/explode” for the dimension of relativity to manifest. But a portion remains and is accessible.
During a cycle of manifestation, as the title to my meditation class indicates, we are here in an ongoing process of Self-Discovery and self-Transformation: Self with the capital “S” refers to the discovery of our Divine Core Essence/Spark/Shard of the Vessel; self with the small “s” refers to the illusory false-identity sense of self that keeps us entangled in a web of separation from the underlying unity, which is our real identity. A glimpse of the Vessel, a glimpse of Perfection, is always within reach because it is inherent in what we are. Activities in the form of spiritual practices may be helpful to remove obstacles, impediments, impurities that prevent access/obscure the view, but ultimately, they must fall away to open us to stillness. For it is only stillness that leads us to Stillness. First discovering and then maintaining connection to our Spiritual Essence provides a springboard for inspiring and creative engagement with life, which is our real purpose and destiny. It may start as just a furtive glimpse, so furtive that one may doubt it even happened or question its value. But eventually, hopefully, one is led to more frequent connections, until they become regular, and perhaps even permanent.
Find your inspiration and follow it.
Sri Chakra
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A Mystical Perspective on the Biblical Serpent, by Steven J. Gold
[Following is an article created for Oracle 20/20 magazine, submitted with the title "A Mystical Perspective on the Biblical Serpent" published in their September 2008 issue under the title created by their editors: "The Power of the Serpent: A Mystical Perspective"]
The traditional theology in both Judaism and Christianity portrays the incident involving the serpent in the Garden of Eden as humankind’s first sin and accompanying fall from grace, for which we have been suffering and seeking salvation ever since. However, viewing this incident and subsequent events in the Bible through the eyes of yogic and Jewish mysticism can yield a very different interpretation, and cast a much different light on our infamous “snake in the grass”.
The motif of encountering in some form or fashion a snake, serpent or dragon can be found in myth and lore transcending time, place and culture, as it is a powerful archetypal figure that resonates deep within. The biblical Hebrew term for this serpent in the Book of Genesis is “nachash”. There is no question in my mind that it is a reference to that same power known in yoga as kundalini/serpent power. Both mystical yoga and Judaism warn against trifling with such a power without proper preparation and great caution, as it is the subtlest, but greatest, power of all manifestation, from which the rest of manifest life emanates. The snake was left to slither at the lowest level of earthly life because it is the primordial power that animates all of life, including life at its lowest forms.
The kundalini is also described in yoga as the feminine aspect of The One dwelling within all manifestation, by which all manifestation is made possible, and through which one can spiritually develop and use as a tool to commune with The One. There is thus also no doubt in my mind that what is called “kundalini” in yoga is the same as what is called “Shechinah” in Judaism, the feminine presence of The One dwelling amidst manifest life. Mystical Judaism informs us that it was this “Shechinah” power that dwelled in the Ark of the Covenant, with whom Moses and the High Priests after him communed; the same power depicted in the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which so graphically portrays its ability to annihilate forces of evil. The connection between this “Shechinah” aspect and the snake aspect is illustrated by the fact that the Hebrew consonants for “Shechinah” are phonetically similar to the Hebrew consonants for the snake, “nachash”, reversed.
The true function performed by the serpent in the Garden of Eden was to act as an agent of The One to complete the task of bringing manifest life as we know it into being, by causing primordial, prototypical, androgynous Man/Woman to be propelled out of the Garden into the life of manifestation and duality as we know it, retaining both the “good” knowledge to remember that all emanates from The One, and the “evil” inclination to forget that and become lost in a sense of separation, the primary root of all evil.
Skipping ahead to the Book of Exodus, we find the figure of Pharaoh representing the ultimate expression of the worldly power of the evil “dark” side of kundalini gone astray. Pharaoh represents the height of a sense of separation, deified as the Be-All-and-End-All, represented by none other than the same serpent embodied in his headdress. Moses’ first encounter with Pharaoh was to illustrate, not only to Pharoah, but to the people he had come to liberate, that this ultimate of earthly power of manifestation was not to be deified, but rather to be used as our support to praise and do the work of The One from which it emanated. This power was embodied for Moses not as an ornate headdress as with Pharoah, but rather served as a simple staff/walking stick, depicting it as a tool useful for his ability to function in the world. By no coincidence, the Hebrew word for the snake that emanated from Moses’ staff is none other than “nachash”, the same term designated for the snake in the Garden of Eden. “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” It is indeed tricky to take the snake by the tail, as Moses did, and convert it back into a walking stick, but that is what is necessary to achieve the mastery of life which leads to the ability to become the perfect humble servant to the Originator of life. And thus, to master life is the same as to master service. True mastery does not lead to an arrogant display of triumphant majesty, as with Pharaoh, but rather to an acknowledgement of an Awesomeness beyond earthly comprehension, and thus to humble service and gratitude, as with Moses.
Correlations: Yoga and Judaism Levels, Layers, Practices, by Steven J. Gold
Ashtanga Yoga Limbs: 1, Yama, 2 Niyama, 3 Asana – Relating to the physical material world
Yoga Kosha (Sheath, Veil, Layer): Annamayakosha – Food/Material/Physical
Yoga Practice: Karma, Asana
Jewish Layer of the Soul: Nefesh
Kabbalistic World: Assiyah
Jewish Practice: Mitzvot
Ashtanga Yoga Limb: 4, Pranayama
Yoga Kosha: Pranamayakosha
Yoga Practice: Pranayama
Jewish Layer of the Soul: Ruach
Kabbalistic World: Yetzirah
Jewish Practice: Breath Awareness
Ashtanga Yoga Limb: 5, Pratyahara
Yoga Kosha: Manomayakosha
Yoga Practice: Pratyahara, Sense Withdrawal
Jewish Layer of the Soul: Neshamah
Kabbalistic World: Briyah
Jewish Practice: Hitbodedut
Ashtanga Yoga Limb: 6, Dharana
Yoga Kosha: Vijnanamayakosha
Yoga Practice: Dharana, Concentration
Jewish Layer of the Soul: Ruach ha-kodesh
Kabbalistic World: Atziluth below the triad of Keter, Chokmah, Binah
Jewish Practice: Kavannah
Ashtanga Yoga Limb: 7, Dhyana
Yoga Kosha: Anandamayakosha
Yoga Practice: Dhyana, Meditation
Jewish Layer of the Soul: Chaya
Kabbalistic World: Triad of Keter, Chokmah and Binah of Atziluth
Jewish Practice: Hitbonenut
Ashtanga Yoga Limb: 8, Samadhi
Yoga Kosha: The Pure Inner Spirit beyond the koshas; the realm of Sat Chit Ananda; in a lower level of samadhi, some sense of a separate self remains, but in a higher level, there is complete absorption/union of the separate self with the One
Yoga Practice: The culmination of the preceding practices
Jewish Layer of the Soul: Beyond layers, Devekut (clinging, cleaving) is the level where some sense of separate self remains, Avodah Be-Bittul, Yechida, Yichud is the level where there is complete absorption/union of the separate self with the One
Kabbalistic World: The realm of Ein, Ein Soph, Ein Soph Aur beyond the 4 worlds
Jewish Practice: The culmination of the preceding practices
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Curious Canaan: Cursed by Noah, Blessed by Abraham, by Steven J. Gold
Many people are familiar with the biblical story of Noah and his Ark. Not as many are familiar with an incident involving Noah and his sons and grandson, Canaan, after The Flood, when they had once again settled on the dry land. One day, Noah imbibes in a little too much of his favorite beverage, the fruit of the vine. One of his three sons, Ham, happens upon Noah lying naked and inebriated in his tent and apparently does something to his father to humiliate him. It is not clear exactly what was the form or nature of this humiliating act, but there are various speculations about it, including castration. He then gloatingly reports this to his two other brothers, Shem and Japtheth, who gingerly approach Noah in his naked, inebriated, humiliated state, and cover him with a blanket. When Noah eventually awakens, he becomes immediately aware of his humiliation and its perpetrator, and curses not Ham, but Canaan, the youngest of Ham’s four sons. There are various explanations/speculations about why Canaan, and not Ham, was the recipient of Noah’s hangover wrath.
Soon after the above story (after one significant aside, relating the tale of the Tower of Babel), the Torah narrative proceeds on to the beginning of the story of the husband and wife pair of Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah, considered to be the first Jews and first Jewish Patriarch and Matriarch. It is clear early on that young Abram is a person of significant spiritual sensitivity with a mission/destiny both personal and communal. An important early initiatory phase to fulfilling his mission (along with his wife, Sarai) is to leave his father’s household, his homeland, and everything that is familiar to him in order to discover his true Self and thus be better equipped to fulfill his destiny. Spurred on by his father, who begins, but does not finish the journey, Abram receives further Divine guidance that leads him, most curiously, to the land of Canaan, the land of Noah’s cursed grandson and his descendants, to accomplish this. So we have here, soon after the story of The Flood, yet another story of waywardness and redemption. That which has been cursed must now be redeemed and serve as a vehicle for self-transformation. Indeed, the processes of redemption and self-transformation seem to go hand-in-hand.
But lo and behold! We are told later on in the narrative that Abraham (whose name had been changed from “Abram” as part of an initiatory rite of passage) and his entourage are not the first to come to Canaan for such purposes. Shem (from whose name originates the term “Semite”), the oldest and most favored son of Noah, and a direct lineal ancestor of Abraham (with whom Abraham has already studied, along with Eber, another teacher in the direct bloodline between Shem and Abraham, and the originator of the Hebrew language), has preceded Abraham there and established the first priesthood at Salem (later Jerusalem). When Abraham is ready, after enduring further trials and tribulations, Shem (referred to here as Malchizedek) passes on the yoke/mantle of messiah/priest/prophet to Abraham, which is later successively passed on to the two other Patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob.
Many years later, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whom had left this land due to famine, only to become enslaved in another land which they hoped would bring them relief and salvation, return from their slavery in Egypt once again to the curious land of the cursed Canaan and the blessed Shem and Abraham; to the Promised Land of transgression, redemption and self-transformation, of blessing and of curse. This time it is not merely an individual or small clan or two as in the past, but rather a large multitude consisting of many tribes and others united as a fledgling people and emerging nation. They take up, once again, the yoke/mantle of messiah/priest/prophet of old through Moses, Aaron and Miriam and the succeeding priests and prophets in the land that we now know as Israel/Palestine.
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Custom-Made Judaism?, by Steven J. Gold
This article is in response to some issues I received via private email.
The basic issue concerns whether there is any common core of teachings uniquely Jewish, given all the branches and offshoots from those branches. A related issue is that given the many different interpretations of just about everything, it seems as if each individual is free to define and practice Judaism however they want.
My book Yoga and Judaism addresses these kinds of issues throughout, and there is a specific section in the Appendix on the Movements/Branches of Judaism. So, I would refer everyone to that book and section in the Appendix, and I will not extensively repeat that material in this response. My short summary and finding is that there is a certain common core of observances, such as the general set of holidays, reading the same Torah portion and Haftorah on the same Saturday, that are observed in some form or fashion, and there is a certain common moral code (in the realm addressing relating with ones’ fellow human beings). There appear to be bigger differences in the realm of how one is to address one’s relationship/attitude/approach towards God, and attendant sets of rituals, dogmas, doctrines and beliefs.
I have often found in my studies of both contemporary and historical Jewish thinkers, particularly the ones that are more mystically oriented, that one can read several pages and realize that what is written could have been written by a mystic of any number of varying traditions. It is only at some point when the author refers to a Jewish term or source, that the writing becomes identifiable as Jewish. There are efforts being made by various contemporary movements, such as Rabbi Laible Wolfe, Chabad, Jewish Renewal, etc. to reframe Judaism in terms similar to Eastern traditions, in attempts to attract people of Jewish birth to reconsider Jewish sources: meditation, mysticism, chanting, concepts of the divine impersonal, reincarnation, etc. also exist in Judaism, and somehow may be better than any others and more suited to people of Jewish birth. I have not been convinced by the claims that the Jewish versions are somehow distinct from or better than versions found in other traditions. And I am not convinced about claims that engaging in mantra practice in other languages, such as Sanskrit, is somehow harmful to Jewish souls, or the related dogma propagated by some that there is a distinct “Jewish soul” or “godly soul” only possessed by people of Jewish birth that is damaged by engaging in practices from other traditions. I also do not subscribe to the claim that chanting Sanskrit mantras is invoking Hindu deities, and thus is a form of idol worship.
However, I do recognize that Judaism and Yoga are two of our most ancient spiritual systems upon which others have been based, and I believe that both Biblical Hebrew and Sanskrit are Sacred languages of equal potency. It also appears that the “remnant” of people of Jewish birth currently living are disproportionately represented within the realms of spiritual teachers in many varying traditions, particularly mystical and meditation-based traditions. I believe this relates to the “light among the nations” concept, but that true spiritual leadership begins with humble service, not with arrogant boasting and claims to some kind of exclusive spiritual superiority.
As far as custom-tailoring one’s spiritual and religious practices and observances, I think that has always been done to some extent, as all laws and dictates are subject to interpretation and individualization to some degree. While many traditions emphasize the importance of communal worship, ultimately one’s relationship with God is an intimate, private and personal matter. There are warnings from various sectors against do-it-yourself approaches, some understandable, some not. The real danger is that if everyone is free to follow their different drummer, and claim divine guidance in doing so, this can result in conflict on many levels. It seems like much of the religious strife that currently exists and historically has occurred, leading to wars and oppression of all types, are always justified by different sides claiming that they have the exclusive inside access, and anyone else who differs is mistaken and must be converted or destroyed. This is another theme and issue addressed in my book, so I will go no further with it here.
It appears that the solution to the above problem is that there are certain lasting moral codes that have been generated throughout the centuries that provide some universal guidance, although always still subject to possible conflicting interpretations and applications. Judaism has provided the Noachide Laws (and the Ten Commandments and Ethics of the Fathers), Yoga has provided the Yamas and Niyamas, Buddhism has provided the Eightfold Path. Many traditions have provided variations on the Golden Rule. My spiritual father, Swami Rama, often stated the following simple formula: “Perform your actions skillfully, selflessly, and lovingly.”
Enough said for now.
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For Atheists/Agnostics, by Steven J. Gold
[The following is something I wrote in response to an email I received from someone expressing their lack of connection with anything spiritual or related to God. I felt it worth sharing with a wider audience for anyone else of like mind.]
Concerning your lack of connection with anything you deem spiritual or related to God, one thing that comes to mind is "conscience", the source within us that helps us establish some sense of right and wrong, morality, ethics. Do you think you have a "conscience"? If so, what is the source of your conscience? I would say that Spirit, God, and Conscience are all closely interconnected. Also closely connected would be the source of any sense you may have of humanity, brotherhood/sisterhood, etc.
Another thing that comes to mind is a sense of aesthetics/beauty. If you are inspired by certain works of art or music, the question is, what is it within you that stirs such feelings? I would again say that Spirit, God and a sense of what is beautiful, poetic, aesthetically moving are all closely interconnected.
And last, but not least, what is the difference between two bodies lying on the floor, side by side, one of someone, human or animal, who has just died, and the other of a similar being that is still alive. Their physical components are the same, but the living being is animated by something that no longer exists in the dead being. I would again say that Spirit, God and the life force that distinguishes between what is alive and dead are all closely interconnected.
Also, if you don't believe in Spirit or God or things like that, can you define what it is that you don't believe in? Maybe what you don't believe in is not really Spirit or God, but erroneous or incomplete common conceptions. Maybe there is a different definition of these terms more in line with the above that you can believe in.
One more thing for your contemplation about God and spirituality: What is infinity? As far as numbers go, all kinds of infinities are all around us. If you start with zero on the number line and count positive integers, it goes to infinity, if you count negative integers, it goes to infinity. There are even all kinds of infinities between each integer. 1.111111...goes on forever, as does 1.2222..., etc. If you divide one by three, you get 1.33333... forever. Pi is a non-repeating computation that goes on forever. I think that God and Spirit are closely related to Infinity.
Idols, Hindu Deities, and Yoga, by Steven J. Gold
I have been asked this question, and following is my response.
“I'm curious, what do you think about idols ? i.e. ,
Buddhist/Hindu art/sculpture. Yoga has roots in
Hinduism and often uses Hindu deities and art.”
First, I will start by citing a few passages from the appendix of my book, Yoga and Judaism:
From the Summary of the Ten Commandments:
-
Constantly remember, and never forget, that there is one God underlying all of existence.
-
Do not engage in idolatry. Do not engage in any belief or practice that even suggests there is more than one God, because if you start down that path, you’ll forget the underlying unity of the universe.
-
Do not take the name of God in vain.
From the Summary of the Seven Noachide Laws:
-
Acknowledge that there is only one God who is infinite and Supreme above all things. (This incorporates not engaging in idolatry).
-
Respect the Creator. (This incorporates not taking the name of God in vain).
I would like to expand on the question a little bit. Eastern Religions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, utilize images of various aspects of Divinity not only as art, but as idols in the sense that most of us would think of idols and idol worship as forbidden by the Torah. They believe that the various personages in their pantheons are real entities, and that certain statues found in temples, shrines and at other sites designated as sacred or spiritually charged are imbued with the power and energy of the designated deities, and are thus regarded and worshipped accordingly. They also believe that many “root” personages reincarnate repeatedly in various forms and names; for example, the “root” god Vishnu incarnated as “Rama” (notice the similarity to “Abram”) and “Krishna”. Many believe that the energy of the “root” god Shiva has incarnated in personages such as Shankara and Ramana Maharshi, and also exists at spiritually-charged sacred sites, including the holy mountains, Mt. Kailash in the North, and Arunachala in the South.
As I traveled throughout India on my one and only trip there in the early 2000’s, one of my gut reactions was that the commandment against idol worship certainly did not take hold in India, as what appears to be idol worship is infused in the religious culture there. In pondering this issue, one simple answer that came to me is that the Ten Commandments were specifically meant for the Jewish people, and perhaps there was some need for this particular people to not engage in idol worship, as it is repeatedly emphasized throughout the Torah, including emphasis on the severity of this transgression and accompanying punishment (including death). However, it does not necessarily follow that this means that everyone in the world is supposed to not engage in idol worship. So looking at the universal Noachide laws, we see a dictate about acknowledging the unity of Divinity, but the idea that this dictate incorporates not engaging in idolatry is more of an interpretation than an explicit command. Although there is no doubt about idol worship in the East, there is also no doubt that underlying the Eastern view is an acknowledgement of the ultimate oneness of Divinity from which these various anthropomorphized distinct aspects and functions emerge.
I have also noted elsewhere in Yoga and Judaism that while maintaining the concept of the ultimate Oneness, Judaism has also struggled with and acknowledged that there are many names, aspects and qualities associated with the Oneness. It begins right away in Genesis, with God the Creator designated as Elohim, while other aspects of God are designated as YHVH, Adonai and Shaddai. Judaism draws the line at not personifying these different aspects and qualities, while the Eastern religions take it that one step further. However, in traditional Jewish liturgy, these various names and aspects are included in Jewish prayer and worship. Another thing that has struck me about traditional Jewish practice is how similar the actual physical Torah scroll is treated during Jewish services to how the Easterners regard their idols. In many respects, the Torah scroll is the Jewish religion’s substitute for an idol.
There is certainly a correlation between Yoga and Hinduism. My analysis is that in its purest form, Yoga is spirituality devoid of religion, and Hinduism encompasses much of the spirituality of Yoga and clothes it with religious doctrine and dogma, so many of the terms and concepts used are similar and become confusing. My focus has always been on identifying the pure spirituality clothed in all religions, with a special emphasis on Yoga and Judaism, Torah and Veda. What has often been characterized as the ultimate teaching of Judaism that has made it stand out as influencing much of the religious thought that followed after it, is its emphasis on the Oneness of Divinity, incorporated in a Supreme Deity, and thus the moniker “monotheism”. Eastern religion, despite all of its pantheon of deities, acknowledges a Supreme Deity, referred to as “Ishwara” (notice the similarity to “Ish” in Judaism, the fire aspect to existence) in the Indian system, but also emphasizes an impersonal underlying Unity beyond the personifications, referred to as “Brahman” (notice the similarity to “Avraham”), and thus the monikers “monism” and “nondualism”. However mystical Judaism also acknowledges this impersonal aspect in references to the “Ein/Ayin” and “Ein/Ayin Soph” (referred to as “Shunyata” in Buddhism).
Most religious/spiritual systems recognize a hierarchy of spiritual energies and personages, encompassed in the elaborate Tree of Life and four worlds descriptions in Jewish mysticism, along with corresponding Archangels and angels. The Eastern systems have their corresponding designations. Despite its insistence on the Oneness and prohibition against idol worship, Judaism has always and often involved practices invoking other subsidiary aspects and qualities within this hierarchy. I believe the emphasis on the Oneness is a caution to never lose sight of the Ultimate Unity, because when that starts getting placed in the background and separation starts getting placed in the foreground, imbalanced egoism not tempered by humility is not far behind, which inevitably leads to transgression and bad results. Transgression and Redemption is a major theme throughout the Torah and the Tanach (Jewish Testament). Redemption involves once again placing the Oneness in its proper place in the foreground. This is the teaching behind wearing tefillin (the forehead is certainly one’s personal foreground!) and placing mezuzahs just about everywhere, along with most other traditional observant practices. Another word in the title of the famous book, Be Here Now is “Remember”. Many spiritual/religious practices are aimed at forcing us to remain humble and keep our egos from getting bloated by reminding us that we are functioning within the context of a great mysterious awesomeness way beyond our mortal powers or comprehension.
Well, there was no way to provide a short answer to this weighty question, and I could go on, but I’ll leave it at this for now.
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Music, by Steven J. Gold
(Revised and adapted from my book, Chronicles of Big Z; Memoirs of a Baby Boomer Grandfather)
Music has always been important for me and an integral part of my life. How to write about it and do it justice? There are so many facets to the gems of human experience and expression, and music is as significant as any, if not more so. It is broad, deep, and multifarious. It bubbles up from the bowels of the Abyss, and showers down from the heights of the Heavens. It gently whispers from a dew drop on a blade of grass and bellows forth from the ferociousness of a raging storm. It echoes from the unfathomable vastness of eternity and infinity, and punctuates into innumerable, infinitesimally minute point wave pulsations within time and space. And everything in between.
The Psalmists and Prophets sing and speak in inspired awe and wonderment about the songs issuing forth from the mountains, the streams, the trees…all of Nature and Creation singing in exuberant exaltation of its Being and in praise of the Mysterious Process by which it came into existence. This is no ordinary music, but music of the highest and most sublime character. Verily, verily, the hills are indeed alive with the sound of music!
From a Torah-Veda mystical perspective, there are two major categories of sound: unstruck and struck. As science tells us, what we usually experience as sound requires a striking/rubbing/clashing of objects that results in generating vibratory waves that we hear as “struck” sound. “Unstruck” sound is of a different nature and is “heard” by inner faculties different from the auditory mechanisms by which we hear “struck” sound. Unstruck sound is self-generating and not dependent upon or initiated by anything else. The mystics of both Torah and Veda refer to this phenomenon in their descriptions of the origins of their respective revealed scriptures.
The Vedas are said to have mysteriously arisen by way of ancient Rishis engrossed in deep meditative states who heard inner unstruck sound. They eventually verbalized the sounds they heard with their voices through struck sound chanting. This chanting was passed down through generations by an oral tradition from teacher to student on through the present day. Along the way, it was eventually reduced down further to writing as the Vedas as we know them today.
Likewise, in the Torah tradition, Moses was revealed Divine sound in the form of chants that have been passed down in an oral tradition from teacher to student to the present time, that are also recorded as the written Torah.
Through the process of externally vocalized chanting, the inner unstruck sounds were transformed/translated into struck sounds, but maintained a special connection bridging the unstruck and struck dimensions. That is why in some mystical traditions, Vedic Sanskrit and Biblical Hebrew are designated as “sacred” languages, embodying the distinct qualities of the bridging connection to unstruck dimensions that no other languages have. There are also references in other mystical traditions to the “music of the spheres”, suggestive of access to the dimensions of unstruck sound. Deep within the human soul is an inherent longing and ability to connect with the dimensions of unstruck sound and its ultimate paradoxical Divine Source of Silence from which the sound mysteriously emerges. To greater or lesser extents, consciously or subconsciously, humans are drawn to compose, perform, and listen to music. It resonates with the place deep within each of us of the Divine Source of Silence from which emerges unstruck sound, the source of our origin, of creation/manifestation. After all, mystical traditions from all times and places refer to our origins arising from vibratory waves/pulsations discernible as sound/word/speech. That is why music is significant.
I have come to the conclusion that Descartes got it wrong and over-simplified: we are, therefore we experience and express. We sing, we dance, we paint, we sculpt, we inquire and examine, we invent, we write and pontificate. And so much more. Why? Because we are moved to do so. But this piece is about a particular form of artistic expression in which we engage: we experience and make music.
As noted above, music in its broadest definition is perhaps synonymous with sound in all forms and from all sources, both unstruck and struck. When the Psalmists and Prophets and Julie Andrews refer to the hills being alive with the sound of song and music, they are not speaking of music as we commonly think of it as being produced by human voices or instruments. This broad and deep perspective should be kept in our consciousness as a backdrop, a canvas upon which music expressed through human agency is painted, to synesthesially mix a metaphor. The silence between the sounds is as significant as the sounds and is necessary to shape the sounds. The white parchment of the Torah is just as significant as the black letters.
Music has so many means, forms and sources. At its best, it comes through the composers and performers and not from them. In those cases, it is deeply spiritual and often referred to as sacred. My definition of sacred music does not confine it to composers, performers or subject matter that are directly religious, as sacred music is often defined. There can be deeply inspired spirituality expressed in music from non-religious sources. On another level, there is music that is composed and experienced as mostly entertainment or simple joyous, even frivolous fun. On yet another level, it is employed in support of commercial marketing with the use of pre-existing music enlisted for that purpose, or even worse yet, “jingles” composed explicitly to expound on the virtues of a commercial product or service. Although I am not rigid about it, I lean towards a view found in many Islamic traditions that use of music for other than spiritual upliftment is profane. I would exclude the entertainment level from that characterization (placing it in a category of mundane – emotionally limited and shallow but neither sacred nor profane), but I feel generally fairly repulsed by music used for commercial marketing purposes. It seems like such a crass misuse and distortion of something that is so profound. As I define it, the profane is the abuse of the sacred.
As discussed above, music has common roots with the same primal sound source as speech. However, speech and writing used for purposes of articulating and expounding discursive, analytical, scientific thought and rational reasoning diverges sharply from verbal and non-verbal musical expression. We may pride ourselves on the advances our civilization has made through application of our minds and intellects, but if most of us make an honest assessment, we will conclude that a good deal of our daily life decisions and motivations are not based strictly on rational reasoning, like someone from Vulcan. After all, although human beings consider themselves “intelligent” and capable of rational and logical thinking and analysis and being good problem solvers, many times, we do not operate or communicate on levels limited to that kind of discursive thought and expression. We are multi-dimensional emotive beings, often with internal conflicts and unease, and our life choices are influenced by factors other than pure intellectual reasoning. Our emotional and spiritual sides are often intermixed with our intellectual sides and may often-times be more influential in how we behave and regard our lives and the lives of others. Music is a many-varied world of expression largely on a non-intellectual level that is just as important, or maybe more important than words, speaking and writing alone.
We are inherently artistic, creative and spiritual beings, containing faculties and potentialities for response, interaction and expression in non-rational, but not irrational modes. The faculties of the Mind, Heart, and Spirit are different from each other, and all are equally valid and in constant interplay, sometimes reconciled harmoniously, and sometimes not. Music is an expressive outlet for the many aspects of what we are. Composers and performing artists communicate from emotional and spiritual dimensions that really good novels and poetry can only approximate. When words are sung, either alone, or with musical accompaniment, it adds another dimension to them.
Many of us are just listeners/beholders, and others are composers and performers. Listeners benefit from composers and performers, and composers and performers benefit from each other and audiences. People have always composed and performed as expressions for themselves and in collaboration with others, and for intended audiences to receive and appreciate. And audiences have always been drawn to enjoy and be inspired by such compositions and performances. It is a mutually beneficial, win-win situation.
While there has been so much good music that has emerged over the years that stand the test of time (and some lesser quality stuff that doesn’t fare as well), evoking many different kinds of moods and feelings, I have developed select criteria that I reserve for a certain category of music that I call “vibrant”. “And Your Bird Can Sing” by the Beatles, “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan, and “I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain” by Tim Buckley fall into this personal rarefied category. Pat Metheny’s and Lyle Mays’ “Heartland” and “Ozark” get close. For me, they exude a particular musical quality of creative energetic kinetic vibrancy like few others. They invoke a dimension where the joy, light and exuberance of the positive side of creative expression drowns out the drudgery and darkness of the negative, even if just for a few moments. We all need that once in a while, or at least I do. It provides a protective shield and counterbalance to the immense sorrow in the world that might otherwise overwhelm us and oftentimes, unfortunately, does define and overwhelm so many. Certainly, there have been live performances I have attended that crossed this threshold, particularly Indian and World Fusion, but it is very hard to capture and convey this quality in a recording, and even then, it has to be played sufficiently loud to tease it out.
To sum it up, music has been and remains a very important aspect to my life because of its wide-ranging emotional evocations. Sometimes the song lyrics dominate, sometimes it is a blend of both lyrics and accompanying music, and sometimes it can be instrumental music alone without singing, or voice with words or wordless, with or without instrumental accompaniment. I can’t overstate how important music is to my life, as I believe it is for many other people. And as I observed in my opening remarks, most good musicians humbly acknowledge that the best of their inspiration and expression comes through them and not from them, originating from a mysterious ineffable source, and thus is ultimately deeply spiritual.
I have been fascinated with two highly different musical forms from my forays into world music that incorporate a subtle reference to this deep spiritual source: music that incorporates bagpipes, and traditional Indian classical music that incorporates the instrument called a tanpura/tambura. The tanpura is a drone instrument that is constantly in the background, providing and referring to the constancy of the spiritual source from which all music, and in a broader sense, all creation emerges, expresses and transforms, and then dissolves back, as referenced earlier regarding the “anahata”/“unstruck sound” of the hum of the dynamo of creation and pre-creation. Likewise, the underlying drone generated by bagpipes makes a similar musical reference. The vibrancy that I find so special, as described in the preceding paragraph, represents for me creative movement taken to its zenith, but yet grounded in and informed by that foundation. In my rudimentary understanding of Indian music, there are various forms called “ragas”, which literally means “colorings” and connotes moods. And as I described earlier, music is all about expressing and evoking emotional moods and deeper fluctuating spiritual states, while referencing and honoring the ultimate source of soundless sound, the Silence between the notes. Indian musicians are well aware of this, and that is what ragas are all about. And they also provide for inspired spontaneous improvisation, the highest form of musical expression. Crossing over into a different form of artistic expression, the vibrancy I am referring to has been otherwise portrayed in the classic depiction of Shiva Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer, at the kinetic pinnacle of the Dance, and originates from the same Vedic culture as the ragas.
Om Namah Shivaya…
Shiva Nataraja Statue at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
(This guy is dancing to some serious music, but what came first, the music or the dance?)
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Articles are available as downloads upon request.
Specify which article you would like to receive,
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or addressed to torahveda@gmail.com.