Cosmos Books

This was my second book by Mircea Eliade, and it is very similar in content to his more basic introduction book "The Sacred and the Profane", detailing mostly the so-called Archaic religions views on time and space and related issues of religion. Naturally, being a bit longer, it also is more focused and in many ways more interesting for me personally, since a lot of it deals with the Indo-European concept of the ages and the Cosmos. Eliade was a professor of the history of religions at the University of Chicago, among other things, but he was also very well travelled, having studied under the guidance of an Indian yogi back in Mother India. He was born in Rumania, a contemporary of the European idealist freedom fighter Corneliu Codreanu in the 30's, and in fact a member of the Legion of the Archangel Michael, a radical "Right-wing" religious organization opposed to the project of creating a new Israel on Rumanian soil.

Although Eliade throughout his life claimed to be very "apolitical", his views on religion have a natural conservative and reactionary consequence, so hence this is for sure one of "our own boys". The book itself is split into four chapters, the first one being "Archetypes and Repetition". This is highly interesting, and details the many forms of rituals throughout the world (mostly archaic) that have been performed to re-create the cosmogony and the sacred times when the Gods or God-heroes performed the original act that the ritual today resembles. Eliade claims that for sacred rituals there is always a divine model that is more real than the perceived reality around us. He is quite clearly influenced by Platonic philosophy, with his emphasis that it is the divine celestial model that is real, the "idea", if you will, and that reality merely is a cheaper mirror copy of the celestial reality.

The second chapter is "The Regeneration of Time", a chapter dealing with the idea that the world and the cosmos need regeneration, which the human races have a responsibility of helping with. Often, this fell on the first time of the New Year, so hence, the Ragnarok of the cosmos fell on the last day of the year, and then the cosmos was regenerated on the first.

The third chapter is "Misfortune and History", where he does get a little political as well, dryly remarking that those that have claimed all in history is good, probably wouldn't have felt the same way had they been born in the Baltic or in the Balkans, where they for the simple reason of being neighbours with the Red Beast got invaded and killed off in millions. He then goes a little quasi-Hegelian on us, when he details how many races and cultures have though of history as theophany, that is, history as the appearance of God. He also details the various Yugas, or ages if you will, and how we are now decidedly in the Kali Yuga, the last age, known as Ragnarok to my own Germanic ancestors. If you don't believe this, turn on your television, and see how degraded the West and the world has become as of late, always deteriorating further.

The final chapter is "The Terror of History", detailing how these people acted with their knowledge that everything always returns, that unless you find a way out of the circle, your soul will always return to existence, along with the eternal cosmos. The fact that Creation will occur again and again is not something that many so-called "modern Christians" will find acceptable, but alas, this is what our ancestors believed, as well as the fact that for large parts of European Christianity, the Christological interpretation of history was merged with the Aryan one, to create a kind of "Cosmic Christianity", which was the religion that Eliade himself felt a part of.

This is of course a very shallow review of such a wide and deep book filled with examples and information to the brim, but I've read it twice in a month now, so it is certainly a wonderful book.

(I read the first English 1955-edition)

This was my second book by Mircea Eliade, and it is very similar in content to his more basic introduction book "The Sacred and the Profane", detailing mostly the so-called Archaic religions views on time and space and related issues of religion. Naturally, being a bit longer, it also is more focused and in many ways more interesting for me personally, since a lot of it deals with the Indo-European concept of the ages and the Cosmos. Eliade was a professor of the history of religions at the University of Chicago, among other things, but he was also very well travelled, having studied under the guidance of an Indian yogi back in Mother India. He was born in Rumania, a contemporary of the European idealist freedom fighter Corneliu Codreanu in the 30's, and in fact a member of the Legion of the Archangel Michael, a radical "Right-wing" religious organization opposed to the project of creating a new Israel on Rumanian soil.

Although Eliade throughout his life claimed to be very "apolitical", his views on religion have a natural conservative and reactionary consequence, so hence this is for sure one of "our own boys". The book itself is split into four chapters, the first one being "Archetypes and Repetition". This is highly interesting, and details the many forms of rituals throughout the world (mostly archaic) that have been performed to re-create the cosmogony and the sacred times when the Gods or God-heroes performed the original act that the ritual today resembles. Eliade claims that for sacred rituals there is always a divine model that is more real than the perceived reality around us. He is quite clearly influenced by Platonic philosophy, with his emphasis that it is the divine celestial model that is real, the "idea", if you will, and that reality merely is a cheaper mirror copy of the celestial reality.

The second chapter is "The Regeneration of Time", a chapter dealing with the idea that the world and the cosmos need regeneration, which the human races have a responsibility of helping with. Often, this fell on the first time of the New Year, so hence, the Ragnarok of the cosmos fell on the last day of the year, and then the cosmos was regenerated on the first.

The third chapter is "Misfortune and History", where he does get a little political as well, dryly remarking that those that have claimed all in history is good, probably wouldn't have felt the same way had they been born in the Baltic or in the Balkans, where they for the simple reason of being neighbours with the Red Beast got invaded and killed off in millions. He then goes a little quasi-Hegelian on us, when he details how many races and cultures have though of history as theophany, that is, history as the appearance of God. He also details the various Yugas, or ages if you will, and how we are now decidedly in the Kali Yuga, the last age, known as Ragnarok to my own Germanic ancestors. If you don't believe this, turn on your television, and see how degraded the West and the world has become as of late, always deteriorating further.

The final chapter is "The Terror of History", detailing how these people acted with their knowledge that everything always returns, that unless you find a way out of the circle, your soul will always return to existence, along with the eternal cosmos. The fact that Creation will occur again and again is not something that many so-called "modern Christians" will find acceptable, but alas, this is what our ancestors believed, as well as the fact that for large parts of European Christianity, the Christological interpretation of history was merged with the Aryan one, to create a kind of "Cosmic Christianity", which was the religion that Eliade himself felt a part of.

This is of course a very shallow review of such a wide and deep book filled with examples and information to the brim, but I've read it twice in a month now, so it is certainly a wonderful book.

(I read the first English 1955-edition)

... one in which a few stories of Torkom Saraydarian's own experiences, his strivings for truth and the mysteries of Life and man's Being are included. By telling some of his own searching and adventures on the Way, one can more easily relate to these very human, yet, mystical, significant, spiritual experiences.

What thinking person has not asked himself, "Why am I here?" "Where did I come from and where am I going?" "Who and WHAT am I?" Saraydarian answers these perplexing questions for us, beginning with the statement, "Man is Infinity." That ... "the beauty of the human being is that he stands as the reflector of Cosmos ... ". What a glorious revelation! He reveals some of the great truths found in The Secret Doctrine, beginning with Cosmic Days and Nights and the evolution of our Earth Chain; about the Globes, Rounds, Races, Archetypes, the Solar Lords, the Seven Logoi of the Seven Sacred Planets, the way these various energy Centers work, and the wondrous way that each is part of another Greater Life, demonstrating that 'what happens to one, happens to ALL' - and how human evolution is related to these Great Lives.

The Temple Drama explains symbolically, the evolution of the Monad and is one of the author's most interesting and inspiring experiences. Later, one reads about the Seven Initiations, the Seven Rays, and how these Rays influence our life. He gives Seven Ray Meditation Techniques and explains which ones are best to use according to one's Ray makeup, goals and chosen 'field of service'.

Very wise are the author's Words of Caution about the dangers of hypnotism, self-hypnotism, astral projection, some outdated Yogas; also, about Spirits and Mediums, about psychic attacks, how to deal with them and how to protect oneself from them.

Most illuminating is the chapter on the Process of Death, (the experiences of the 'departing one'), life after, cremation, Heaven, (Devachan), and reincarnation; information sorely needed since so- called 'death' is still greatly misunderstood and feared. This one chapter alone should help to eliminate much of the fear of death.

Lovely, inspiring and beautiful is the chapter on the Wisdom of Love, what love is, and the seven steps on the Path of Love. One gains valuable information in the chapter on the Sacred Word and the Soul. How 'the Word' leads the Spark into physical manifestation an@ then leads him 'back Home' to his Source is wonderfully told.

This collection of articles outlines the development of a new idea. For many years, the "meaning" of prehistoric cave paintings and "rock art" defied scholars. Many theses were advanced, ranging from humans with an aesthetic sense - "art for art's sake", through "hunting magic" to "structuralism" - using images to portray "universal duality". These proposals almost universally dealt with the astounding images found in places like Lascaux in France or Altamira in Spain. In short, a Eurocentric focus. Australian images were lightly considered, but Aborigine art seemed too mystical to fit the perceived patterns. African rock art, although more numerous in examples, remained mostly ignored by researchers.

David Lewis Williams spent many years examining San rock paintings. Underlying the images was a large collection of ethnographic data accumulated over the previous century. Bringing the two together, he formulated a rational explanation of what the images imparted. His conclusion, cogently formulated and explained here, underlies the understanding of how humans developed the idea of a "spirit world". That idea is reflected in how San society was structured and how that arrangement has persisted into today's world. To the author, San society combined roles for the individual and the group. The individuals each had various levels of the ability to engage in the spiritual world. The barrier between that world and the human one was the rock face. Through various forms of sensory deprivation, certain individuals could conjure images, human, other animals and theriantropic [humans with animal characteristics], which were imparted on the rock surfaces. The configuration of the rock provided elements used in the images - a spine, an eye or other anatomical features. In this way, the "veil" between the spirit and real worlds became "transparent". The best imagers were elevated in the society to become healers and diviners - the "shaman" now well established in hunter-gatherer societies. In shamans, we have the precursors of today's priesthoods and "moral guides".

Lewis Williams presents each of the essays in an historical context. He explains the various "schools" of thought dealing with cave and rock art, showing how these fail to incorporate what the society producing them might have been like. He's careful to disclaim any detailed knowledge of ancient cultures, but does point out the universality of the conditions leading to the mysterious images. Historically, Anthropology was beset by a number of "movements" in which theory often proved insufficient, and precise data collection and collation offered little in the way of insights. The author, with a wealth of such data at his disposal, gives a fuller view of what the data implies in a cultural context. The gains made in cognitive studies over the past two generations granted him the opportunity to merge not only data and theories in a social framework, but to resolve many issues outstanding in many fields. His narrative gains additional continuity with introductory and "Retrospect" concluding comments. These smooth the steps presented to the reader by each main essay by dealing further with the issues raised and how some have been resolved.

Numerous copies of the rock art images superbly enhance the author's texts. The eland, a particularly noteworthy animal in San society, is credited with imparting "power" to the shamans and other individuals. In fact, instead of the "hunting magic" thesis which explained cave art as hopefully conjuring the animals for hunters to take, the eland is imaged after it's killed. The eland provided powers through its breath, fat and blood. The "breath" was taken by inhaling at the animal's mouth; the fat and blood were smeared over the shaman's body. Blood was a major element in shamanist ceremonies. The illustrations show how the dance-inspired trance was often accompanied by nasal bleeding of the dancers. Among other uses, the blood was used in treating the group's sick members. Lewis Williams traces the progression of image types from simple geometrics, commonly indicated by those who have undergone laboratory experiments in sensory deprivation to the complex and often bizarre renditions of animal subjects. The more involved images, he notes, were likely painted after the trance state, perhaps even dictated to an artist with better skills than the shaman. Nor, he reminds us, need these be done by men alone. Among the San, women were participants in the dancing ceremonies, and had many of the same visions. Gender specificity need not be assumed in rock art activities.

This volume is a major step in explaining not only how rock art was accomplished, but in how human societies began developing hierarchical arrangements. The shaman, exhibiting special powers, clearly assumed a significant role. They may have collaborated with the hunters in various ways, beginning the "church-state" alignments characteristic of later societies. To be able to follow the progression of ideas leading to this innovative concept is a special treat. Few researchers have taken the trouble to detail how a novel approach has been achieved. Anthropology plays a special role in understanding our roots. With this series of essays, we have an outline of how a once enigmatic phenomenon underlies many of our traditions and cultural norms. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This study is not just a impressive and detailed description of the tomb of Khnumhotep II in Beni Hasan, but it includes some very interesting new methods of how to read tomb scene content. Instead of studying the scenes individually, Kamrin puts them in its context of the totality of tomb decoration, architecture and religious concepts of the time. Influenced by the scholarship of Barocas, Finnestad and Altenmuller, she sees the tomb chapel more as a local temple for ancestor worship built as a microcosmos of Egyptian cosmology, than just as a eternal dwelling for the dead. She also gives a good review of previous scholarship. The book is highly recommended for students interested iconography and egyptian ideas of the afterlife.

The essays in this book on Schopenhauer(German philosopher) and Einstein, as well as the essay 'Contemporary REsearch on Space and Time" are rather titillating accounts. Mathematical expertise is not necessary to appreciate many of these essays. A very interesting look at the most recent developments in physics, includes an article by David Albert among others. Knowledge of the basics of modern physics is extremely helpful, consult a book like "the quest for unity" or Heisenberg's book on 'physics and philosohy'.

The alternative to Darwin is not Creationism, as many biologists hurry to say when they feel weak in their arguments. The alternative is to begin to recognize the real state of our ignorance, as the first step in the search for a new interpretative scheme.
I agree with the author that we need a new scientific theory of evolution, a third route beyond the sterile controversy between Darwinism and Creationism. This is why I like the book "Cosmos y Gea": it tackles resolutely and with new tools the mysteries and the enigmas on evolution that we have dragged for more than a century and a half.

My children, my wife and myself spent some great hours with the Cosmos CD-Rom. The cultural part of the title and the Planetarium are really impressive. It should be in all the schools and Homes!

"Cosmos" is a wonderful book by one of the truly great historians of astronomy. It is easily the most comprehensive popular astronomy history ever published and is a model of clarity and scholarship. In my mind, there are two factors that set this book apart:

1. The scope of the work is comprehensive and covers astronomy from ancient times to the most modern techniques and challenges. You should scan the Table of Contents in the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon to get a feel for the range of topics presented.

2. It gracefully explains how, over time, contributions from cultures and individuals combined and evolved into the astronomical systems in use in each era and evolved into today's view of the universe.

The first half of the book deals with ancient and medieval astronomy, including not only Western cultures, but also how astronomy developed and was used in China, India and the Americas. The presentation is seamless and gives the reader a good feel for how astronomical ideas and measurements were influenced by many cultures.

The second half focuses on the evolution of astronomy as a science and how contributions from many individuals were refined and combined to create a coherent view of the universe.

It ends with a look at the research challenges facing the modern astronomer and astrophysisist.

"Cosmos" is an expanded version of North's, "Norton's History of Astronomy and Cosmology", with a large amount of additional material and is much better illustrated. It is written for an educated general audience and can serve as a "read" just for fun, a textbook or a permanent reference.

It took me rather a long time to get through the entire book as it inspired me to dig into other sources for more detailed material on some points. What more can you ask of a history book than to open doors?

Esoteric Science, the Wisdom Religion, embraces all that is good and true in the great religions of mankind, but yet transcends them all. As far as can be expressed in words, it reflects Truth, insisting on the Unity of the cosmic process in which each individual is as a spark to the flame. We are of like nature with the Cosmos, and, being of one Essence, we are members of one family, a family that includes all things and all beings.
From this outline of the Wisdom teaching, we learn of the various levels of operation in the Cosmos, and in relation to man. Further, by emphasizing the important distinction between them, it shows how the personality, when unrestrained, tends to be entirely self-concerned, creating for itself a condition of psychological isolation from the rest of humanity. The Individuality, on the other hand, is rooted in the Unity, of which it is a direct expression. As we become increasingly responsive to this Individuality, it exercises a unifying influence in our lives, enabling us to recognize that identity of nature which makes of all living things one universal Brotherhood.--- from book's back cover