Guest guest Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Excerpt from Cities of Lightning : The Iconography of Thunder-Beings in the Oriental Traditions An Introduction to the Thunder-beings Quite often when people hear about the Thunder-beings it is in the context of shamanic traditions, the traditions of indigenous peoples who supplicated Deities of the Storm to sustain their crops, to bring beneficial rains and avert harmful storms, to heal and drive away negative forces. Since beginningless time people have worshiped Thunder-beings. The early cultures were initiated by Thunder-beings, and their belief systems were established by Thunder-beings. Thunder-beings created the universe, the world and all life; they gave people food, shelter, fire, the first language, law, wisdom, the arts, spiritual sciences, and all knowledge. They cared for the people as parents care for their children. And the people worshiped them with jeweled hearts, as Father-Mother, as creator, sustainer and destroyer, not through primitive rites, but in simple yet sophisticated and Holy ways. The Thunder-beings are behind all pure religious transmission, both ancient and new. If you look into the worlds religious traditions, if you look into their origins, you will discover that the tradition, the view or set of beliefs about the universe, spirit, nature, life, etc., come from Thunder-beings. We know this because tradition relates it, that Omniscient Wisdom-beings taught the early people, either directly or in profound dreams and mystical visions of thunder and lightning. The God of virtually all God-centered traditions across the globe is a Thunder-being, or multiple Thunder-beings. It is a universal belief that the God and Goddess, the Omniscient Wisdom-beings who stand as the Crown Jewel of all wisdom-traditions, are Thunder-beings. Their theophany or mystical visitation is universally one of storm-display. This means not only that he-she functions this way in the atmosphere, but that everything they do, all activity, manifestation, revelation, has Wisdom-thunder-power behind it. It means that all people are related to Thunder-beings, that the most sacred beliefs of all traditions come from the hearts of Thunder-beings. If we pray to them we might experience the truth of this as perfected masters of the past did, we might prove the existence of sublime Wisdom-beings for ourself. They are invisible, yet out of compassion they reveal themselves; everyone can experience them in nature; they are manifest in the storms, lightning, rainbows, in the stars, the sky, stones, oceans, animals, people, and elements. We live with them. We participate in their majestic dance or play. They are within the body-mind-heart of all beings. They manifest as creative thoughts. We know them through love within our hearts. They are our inherent perfection, our pure positive qualities and activities, our health and harmony. Know this is how close Thunder-beings are to us. Because they are within our mind we might experience them directly and instantaneously, like lightning, to receive guidance, inspiration, insight, wisdom, love - to help self and others. They are perfect and free of suffering; there is no more sublime Source of Refuge. Because they are fully within our mind we can attain the same state free of suffering. We can achieve this while on earth in this body. In fact in Oriental traditions, this body is imperative, this life is taken to provide a means of attaining the highest wisdom and perfection. Thunder-beings have provided the perfect means to attain perfection for all beings. They are behind all integral wisdom traditions. They are the roots of all pure religion across the globe, throughout the multi-universe and innumerable realms. For example the Ancient Thunder Lord(s) known as Shiva, originated tradition in India, Nepal, Siberia, China, Kumari Kandan (Lemuria), South East Asia, in Judea, South America, Atlantis, and Egypt. The Thunder-beings Lei Kung and Yuan-shih T'ien-tsun, Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning, originated all spiritual sciences that originated in ancient China that became known as Taoism. The Thunder-being known as Chakrasamvara (Wheel of Supreme Bliss) originated Buddha Dharma in India (through Shakyamuni Buddha's heart), the Thunder-being Vajrapani protects it, and the Thunder-master Guru Rinpoche brought it to Tibet, Nepal and the West. The Thunder-beings known as Yahveh-Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh originated all pure Occidental traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Thunder-beings known as Wandjina originated! Australian shamanic tradition. The Thunder-beings known as Tengeri originated Mongolian shamanic tradition. The Thunder-beings known as Tunkashila, Animiki, Katchinas, originated Native American traditions. The Thunder-beings known as Tlaloc originated tradition in Meso-America. The Thunder-beings known as Osiris and Isis originated tradition in Egypt. The Thunder-beings known as Zeus and Dionysius originated tradition in ancient Europe. Thunder-beings known as Jinn originated tradition throughout the Middle East. In Africa Thunder-beings originated traditions as well. In short, just as the Thunder-beings' magnificent storms blanket the earth throughout the year, so does their wisdom pervade the cultural traditions of the earth. The traditions were transmitted from Thunder-beings through the pure and clear mind of human representatives. Their wisdom flashes like lightning in the clear sky-mind of their human messengers. The Thunder-beings developed all transmissions based on culture and time; the beliefs and practices they developed are suitable to the people within that culture. The beliefs they developed are the Truth, and the practices are the ways for humans to adhere to the Truth - to return to unity. The Thunder-beings developed tradition out of compassion for suffering beings, for their illumination. Thunder-beings are the cause of real love, peace, justice, beauty and goodness in the world, because they are the cause of these pure ambrosial qualities within our individual lives, within our hearts and minds. They control what happens in the human world through the hearts of people. They control what happens in nature through the hearts of natural-deities, angelic-spirits, animals, and electro-magnetic fields. There is harmony in nature because Thunder-beings control it directly through open-hearted beings. The cycles of universes, galaxies, constellations, planets, of seasons, of individual lives of all beings, of cells and atoms, of everything, is controlled or governed by Thunder-beings. They are all-pervasive, so work invisibly through the heart of all beings and phenomena. There is considerably less harmony in human society because the hearts of the people are closed. We have free will, freedom to choose, and have made imperfect choices which have clouded our minds, which have not resulted in peace, but in turmoil. Essentially, because we have chosen to cherish ourselves and ignore others, the Source of Harmony in our lives cannot act clearly to maintain peace in the human world. It lives in the world through our love of others, through wise activity. One might argue that nature is equally or more chaotic than our society, but nature flows beautifully with great stillness and cyclic grace; what calamity and natural disaster we see in the world is the response primarily of degenerate human activity. Everything is interdependent or related. The collective negative emotions of a nation at war are sufficient to cause natural disasters like earthquakes years later. The toxic pollution of the oceans during Nagasaki and Hiroshima is sufficient to cause! massive storms years later. The present misuse of crystals to broadcast chaotic electro-magnetic frequencies carrying messages of violence and non-virtue in T.V.s and radios will bring natural disaster in the near future. The present misuse of electricity directly causes a negative response which alters weather patterns, and brain waves. The present misuse of fuels and atom energies will bring natural cataclysm unless such activity is ceased. The present misuse of body and mind will bring the demise and suffering of innumerable sentient beings, unless such activity is ceased. Our own negativity contributes to the degeneration of human culture. Our positive, creative activity, our virtue or Dharma contributes to the harmonious balance of the earth. If we live this sacred way, then we will be blessed with wisdom and bliss. We become a part of the Life and Dance of the Thunder-beings who are the Source of all things. If we live out our lives according to their way, we will become inseparable from them, the Source of peace, harmony, love, perfection, wisdom in the universe. If we want peace for ourselves and others we simply must choose it. We choose it by working to establish inner peace, clarity and wisdom, through meditation, and by working to help others through kindness, generosity, virtue, compassion, and so on. We can practice religion as a sure means of establishing inner and outer peace. Dharma means humanitarianism, and the practice of wisdom or meditation. Dharma means following the ways of the Thunder-beings, God or Enlightened Ones. This way always results in harmony and peace immediately. We always feel it instantaneously when we offer ourselves to help others, when we share, when we work for the welfare of others. What we feel is the blissful heart of the Spirit-moving-through-all things. It moved us, and is moved by us, so encourages us to continue in our path of virtue. The more we give of their love, the more we're given, until we become sacred - until we have sacrificed everything and there's nothing left but wisdom and love. This is the fruit of religion, the goal or heart-treasure of human existence. Self-sacrifice provides continuous bliss. It is continuous or unbroken bliss that every being seeks. The general teaching in Oriental tradition is that this state is achieved by going within, through meditation. The special teaching or Tantra, which enhances meditation and bestows the ultimate goal, is the use of a personal enlightened Wisdom-deity. Our positive alignment with Thunder-beings results in the fruit of continuous bliss and tranquility - because this fruit is what they are. When we pray to them, the luminous blessings we receive are the wisdom-nectar of the Deity. The sacrament is the Deity. It is likened to precious divine nectar and wine because it intoxicates, it is likened to blood because it is alive, it is likened to medicine because it puts things back together. The blessings are the enlightened quality of the Deity which remove suffering and awaken the quality of enlightenment within us. Our positive relationship with them results in upliftment, internal transformation, protection now and in the future. Just hearing the names of Omniscient Thunder-beings, or seeing their sacred images is sufficient cause to encounter them in the future, to follow their Holy Way to enlightenment. This is so because their images, names and instructions are profoundly blessed. They have made aspirations that anyone who encounters them, their wisdom, in images, names, masters, scriptures and so on, will be released from suffering. So that when we do encounter them, we attract an instant blessing from their all-pervasive Mind. If we're clear then we'll feel it and use it to generate devotion. If we're not clear then it'll make us clear. Through such blessing power the Thunder-beings inspire and guide all beings to their blissful state. With this in mind we might understand the efficacy of divine-imagery. It is literally created out of love or blessings; it is the intention to help beings, it is the intention to release those who see it (image) and hear it (name) from suffering. Sacred art is created by Deities with this kind of magnanimous love and wisdom. Religion, which we call wisdom-tradition, is the Mind-transmission of Sublime Wisdom-deities, and is likewise developed out of their love and perfect insight to guide all beings to them. The Thunder-beings are formless Sublime Wisdom-beings, who, in the Oriental traditions are responsible for originating or expressing the subtle Truth of spiritual reality, guarding it and disseminating it for the benefit of sentient beings. Like a wisdom wheel of lightnings, they send their light of Truth across the earth. Wherever this Eye with its lightning-cornea looks, they put their harmonious enlightened vision. This activity is proven throughout the scriptures of every religion which relate how this body of wisdom spontaneously manifested. For example the Torah scripture arose out of a thunder-storm of Deities gathering over Mt. Sinai. Ancient Shaiva scriptures arose directly from the five-faces of Lord Shiva, some of these were given to his consorts, others were transmitted under the sea, some arose as letters in space, others were written in stone. Ancient Taoist scriptures arose out of heaven realms were they were transmitted to Deities, then written on jade tablets and given to the sages. The Buddhist scriptures were transmitted from Lord Buddha and the Dakinis to the mahasiddhas. Innumerable Tantras have been concealed as sacred treasures (terma) inside rocks, lakes, sky, and the minds of treasure finders. --From Cities of Lightning : The Iconography of Thunder-Beings in the Oriental Traditions, by Samudranath. © July 14, 2000 , Lightning Bolt Press used by permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Namaste Kirk, Thanks for posting the excerpt, much enjoyed it and resonate mostly. Just curiosity, did the book have a Bibligraphy? Just wondering where this bit about "Djinn" referred to as "Thunder Beings" came from. I may be very wrong but according to Middle-Eastern sources, Djinns are a totally different kettle of fish. IMVHO, the "Lesser Key of Solomon" is a better bet when it comes to getting the gist about Djinn, their realms, ranks, malevolent pranks, etc. Just a layman's guess and worth naught here. Om Shanti Om, Sy , "Kirk" <kirk_bernhardt@c...> wrote: > Thunder-beings known as Jinn originated tradition throughout the Middle East. > - -From Cities of Lightning : The Iconography of Thunder-Beings in the Oriental Traditions, by Samudranath. © July 14, 2000 , Lightning Bolt Press used by permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 I thought I read that jinns were the less malevolent. Afreet are the more malevolent. , "Syzenith" <syzenith> wrote: > Namaste Kirk, > > Thanks for posting the excerpt, much enjoyed it and resonate mostly. > Just curiosity, did the book have a Bibligraphy? Just wondering > where this bit about "Djinn" referred to as "Thunder Beings" came > from. > > I may be very wrong but according to Middle-Eastern sources, Djinns > are a totally different kettle of fish. > > IMVHO, the "Lesser Key of Solomon" is a better bet when it comes to > getting the gist about Djinn, their realms, ranks, malevolent pranks, > etc. Just a layman's guess and worth naught here. > > Om Shanti Om, > Sy > > , "Kirk" <kirk_bernhardt@c...> > wrote: > > > Thunder-beings known as Jinn originated tradition throughout the > Middle East. > - > > -From Cities of Lightning : The Iconography of Thunder-Beings in the > Oriental Traditions, by Samudranath. © July 14, 2000 , Lightning Bolt > Press used by permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.