{"id":12474,"date":"2020-07-23T14:44:21","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T18:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gornahoor.net\/?p=12474"},"modified":"2021-07-23T12:01:03","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T16:01:03","slug":"arctic-home-in-the-vedas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/?p=12474","title":{"rendered":"Arctic Home in the Vedas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nFrom the dead sun springs a daughter more beautiful than her sire, and mankind starts afresh from the life-raiser and his bride-Life.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n\"Bal<\/a>
Bal Tilak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In which we briefly outline the idea of cosmic cycles, and illustrate them initially in the revelation of the originary Hyperborean source of the Vedas. This is then extended to Traditions following the Vedas. Finally, there is some speculation on the future course of the West. The foundation is the book The Arctic Home in the Vedas<\/i><\/a> by Bal Tilak<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cosmic Cycles<\/h2>\n

Since a more complete exposition can be found in Rene Guenon\u2019s writings, from whom these notes are taken, and elsewhere, we provide here just the most basic outline.<\/p>\n

Cycle<\/strong>: represents the process of development of some state of manifestation<\/p>\n

Minor cycle<\/strong>: one of the more or less restricted and specialized modalities of that state<\/p>\n

Since the Law of Correspondence<\/strong> links all things in universal Existence, is necessarily and always a certain analogy, either among different cycles of the same order or among the principal cycles and their secondary divisions<\/p>\n

Kalpa<\/strong>: total development of a world. One cannot speak literally about its duration so that duration has a purely symbolic value. Perhaps not in our world because time is one of its determining conditions.<\/p>\n

Manu<\/strong>: there are 14 Manus, each ruling over a Manvantara. There are two septenary series. The first septenary is that of descent, or devolution, and includes ours. The second is ascent or evolution.<\/p>\n

Manvantaras<\/strong>: cycles have a character that is both cosmic and historical, they concern terrestrial humanity, also linked to events occurring outside the history of humanity. There is a correlation between the cosmic and human orders. This means, for example, that events in the human realm correspond to events in the celestial spheres.<\/p>\n

These relate to the 7 svargas<\/strong> and 7 patalas<\/strong> which represent states respectively higher and lower than the human state. By correspondence, these can be related to the 14 manus.<\/p>\n

A Mantavara is subdivided into 4 yugas<\/strong>. We are allegedly in the last yuga, the Kali Yuga. The starting date and exact duration are not known, according to Rene Guenon.<\/p>\n

There are 7 Dvipas<\/strong> or regions into which our world is divided. They are represented as islands or continents, but not parts of present-day earth. They may also refer to planetary spheres.<\/p>\n

These ages, states, and regions also have symbolic meanings, since there is a sacred geography as well as a profane geography. Henry Corbin discusses this topic in his books, and it is also confirmed by Rene Guenon:<\/p>\n

\nThere is also a symbolical geography; indeed, in this connection, there is a very significant correspondence between the domination of the West and the end of a cycle, for the West is the place where the sun sets.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thus, when he mentions the distinction between Eastern and Western understanding, this is no way simply a geographic distinction; i.e., there is no \u201cmagic dirt\u201d in the East. Guenon amplifies the idea:<\/p>\n

\nTo the extent that a man ‘Westernizes’ himself, whatever may be his race or country, to that extent he ceases to be an Easterner spiritually and intellectually.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The converse is also true. Unfortunately, this is too often overlooked so there are some who fantasize about going east to find an \u201cinitiatic centre\u201d or give up entirely. Often, they justify this decision because of the \u201ccorruption\u201d they see in the Church hierarchy, as though India and Egypt are free of such corruption. These masters of ignorance have a loud presence on social media. The truth is that real initiates like Savonarola, Boccaccio, and Dante were complaining about corruption in the Church a thousand years ago. (See Canto XXI, Paradiso<\/em>, for example.)<\/p>\n

How, then, could Dante describe his spiritual journey? His passage through Purgatory and Heaven are descriptions through the higher and lower stages. Guenon provides us with the general idea, but we need to get the details from others who have made the trip.<\/p>\n

Hyperborean Migration<\/h2>\n

The idea of a migration of a branch of the Borean race from a polar region to India has been a mainstay in esoteric literature. That is now considered outr\u00e9 and dismissed as the \u201cAryan Invasion Theory\u201d. Times change. Bal Tilak, the author of The Arctic Home in the Vedas, was a Hindu nationalist and considered himself to be Aryan; so, it is not a Nazi fantasy. Perhaps there is no genetic, archaeological, or documentary proof. Nevertheless, as Georges Dumezil documented, there is still the trifunctional social organisation from Scandinavia, across Europe, to India that needs to be explained. Moreover, there is similarity in the mythologies of the various Indo-European people.<\/p>\n

In any case, it may be best to regard Hyperborea as transcendent geography or one of the seven Dvipas. That is how the Greeks understood it, since only the gods could visit it. Apollo would arrive there by a swan.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Tilak probes through the Vedas looking for clues for an actual migration several millennia ago. In particular, he sees astronomical facts that match the experience of a those living in a land close to the North Pole. For example, the original Roman calendar had 10 months, ending in December. That is because it would be followed by two months of darkness during which days could not be counted. It continues in that vein, relying as much on Western scholars as on the Vedas themselves.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it gets tedious, much like exegesis on Genesis; is a \u201cday\u201d 24 hours or does it refer to an age? Nevertheless, it is worth the trouble because of the vast amount of information in it.<\/p>\n

The Vedas are eternal and without beginning. However, we owe the textual version to the seven Rishis who could \u201csee\u201d the vedas from the beginning of the Kalpa. A deluge had destroyed the Vedas at the end of the previous Kalpa. Tilak\u2019s method is to juxtapose the Theological view in the Vedas with a corresponding Historico-scientific view gathered from external and profane sources. He also relies on comparative mythology relating Celtic, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian myths to corroborate the Vedic myths. Most importantly, Tilak regards the Zend Avesta, the sacred text of the Zoroastrians, as authoritative.<\/p>\n

The Divine Word<\/h2>\n

Since, this is an introduction, we can only point out some highlights; maybe someday we can do a more exhaustive review. This is an important point:<\/p>\n

\nVedic names and forms of species are eternal, and it is by remembering these that the world is created by Brahm\u00e2 at the beginning of each Kalpa. The Veda is, therefore, the original WORD, the source from which everything else in the world emanated, and as such it cannot but be eternal.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tilak points out that this doctrine is tantamount to the notion of the divine Logos<\/em> of the Alexandrian school.<\/p>\n

The duration of the various ages or yugas were in dispute. For example, by an early reckoning, the Kali Yuga would have ended soon after the birth of Christ. Although they knew nothing of that event, the authors of the Puranas in the first centuries AD, refused to believe the Kali Yuga had ended. Hence they extended the duration from 1000 human years to divine years (360 human years). Tilak points to similar artifices to fudge the dates for various purposes. The alternative is to assume that the Christian Era represented the end of the Kali Yuga and the beginning of an ascent.<\/p>\n

The point is that the authors preferred to understand the ages by their qualities, not merely as the passage of quantitative time. Also, the original timeframes were much shorter than the fantastical extended duration of the ages that get passed around today.<\/p>\n

Excursus on Method<\/h2>\n

Tilak is very thorough, although the text points out the difficulty of fully understanding the Vedas in all cases. Both Evola and Guenon accepted Tilak\u2019s thesis; the latter actually thought very highly of Tilak. Guenon reveals some contradictions in his doctrines that require explanation. For example,<\/p>\n