So Sayeth Epicurus...

 

The great Greek philosopher Epicurus is credited with remarking; 'Why should I fear death? For when life is, death is not. When death is, then I am not. I shall not fear that which I know nothing.' 

Our existence is a puzzle and a mystery, but only if we choose to make it so. We spend half of our lifetime trying to figure out the why, what and how of our being and by the time we think we have it all figured out we realize that we spent our days in contemplation of something that always was and always will be forever fleeting. Time is a speeding horse that zips past our existence, never stopping for us or for anyone. If we could but control time we could possibly understand, but we don't understand anything, do we? Nay, this is the problem...we cannot control time, yet we attempt to do so, even though we know well our efforts will always fail because there will come a time inevitable when we will not be. Since this is the case, Epicurus says to abandon worrying about the inevitable. 

Indeed, the old Greek scholar suggested that every human being enjoy themselves and live a full life, pursuing and fulfilling those dreams and visions that arise from the realm of our consciousness. Like some ancient, mythical hero we should seek immortality by living this life and setting an example for others to live fully as well, and worrying not an iota about any other possible states of existence since such a dimension cannot be proven or explained logically. Life is merely the bridge to cross between birth and death, between our beginning and our finality. Or, shall we use the example of life and death as the bookends that support our lifetime, the book we compose which sits there upon the shelf? Like a spark flying out from a great fire we shoot into the night sky to be watched carefully by the onlookers sitting about the flames, awed by our magical dance. Then we flicker and wither away into the realm of imagination where the dreamers and the prophets, the artists and the soothsayers create and attempt to lure us into their various dimensions with poems and songs, spiritual faith or great works of sculpture or painting. But this is ok because imagination, like the flickering flame, entices and beautifies our world. All of this happens, according to Epicurus, during the epoch known as life, our lifetime, our state of being. 

Epicurus was a hedonist, meaning he taught that what is pleasurable is morally good and what is painful is morally evil. He idiosyncratically defined 'pleasure' as the absence of suffering and taught that all humans should seek to attain the state of ataraxia, meaning 'untroubledness', a state in which the person is completely free from all pain or suffering. He argued that most of the suffering which human beings experience is caused by the irrational fears of death, divine retribution, and punishment in the afterlife. Like in the observations of Buddha, Epicurus explained that people seek wealth and power on account of these fears, believing that having more money, prestige or political clout will save them from death. He, however, maintains that death is the end of existence, that the terrifying stories of punishment in the afterlife are ridiculous superstitions, and that death is therefore nothing to be feared.

He wrote:
'accustom thyself to believe that death is nothing to us, for good and evil imply sentience, and death is the privation of all sentience. Death, therefore, the most awful of evils, is nothing to us seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and when death is come, we are not.'
From this doctrine arose the Epicurean epitaph: 'Non fui, fui, non-sum, non-curo, translated as I was not, I was, I am not, I do not care.

There is a popular quote that has been attributed to Epicurus, though never actually proven to be his. Nonetheless, the quote represents Epirucus indeed, and like most of the quotes from those brilliant ancient Greek philosophers, it is to the point:

'Is divinity willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then divinity is not omnipotent. Is divinity able but not willing? Then divinity is malevolent. Is divinity both willing and able? If so, then whence cometh evil? Is divinity neither able nor willing? Then why label this entity as divine?'

So compose that song, paint the tales of champions upon urn, vase and canvas, sculpt and portray the beauty of the human being, the flowers of the fields or the trees of the forest, the mountains and volcanoes, the fury of nature, indeed capture all of it to retain for future generations. Live and love, passionately, for this existence is our time to dance, our  audition for the ballet called eternity. Future lives, many generations into the future from our own time perhaps will be enhanced by the choice we make today to live life, to its fullest. This is how the heroes and champions of the mythical past have been remembered. We too have the ability to be remembered and become another hero in an epic saga composed by our own being. We are all the composers of the stanzas of our lives and in so doing, we come to know the reason and purpose of our life. The mystery is solved, the questions are removed by reveling in the mystery. So sayeth Epicurus. 

Doom, Gloom & Hope: The Mindset Of An Archaic Age

Science, Or The Supernatural?

The human reaction to pandemics, natural disasters and man made events has really not changed that much in history. We seem to react today very much as we did long ago in ancient times, even though we have come a long way using science, learning to replace superstition and perceived suppositions by replacing doom and gloom with a positive 'we can conquer anything' mentality. Viruses are known today to be biological in origin, while in the past such epidemics were thought to be a punishment from the supernatural world. Still, even though we know the cause and effect of microbes, their impact on human society does stir in our hearts an archetypal memory of a time when such fears were rooted in the mindset, beliefs and narratives of the ancient world. 


Of Rats, Bats, Mice & Men
The advent of the Corona Virus in 2020, also known as Covid-19, has sparked reactions among nearly all the world's communities in many forms. The outbreak of this pandemic has raised concerns not only about health and hygiene, food consumption and trade, but also political questions both domestic and international. It seems that nobody was really ready for the pandemic, nor did anyone know how to deal with it. This virus claimed the lives of thousands, and sends fear into the hearts of everyone, who are seeking answers form governments and advice in defending against the spread of the virus, said to emanate from bats in the Wuhan province of China. Washing, hand sanitizing and social distancing have become common, strongly advised practices for everyone as scientists seek desperately to create an antidote. 

While the Corona Virus has shown itself to be not exactly the worst or the most deadly in human history, the uncertainty of what it is, where it might go and strike and who might catch it and perhaps die, has people on edge. The Bubonic Plague, known as the Black Death of the Middle Ages killed millions and was blamed on rats, who actually were transmitting the disease from the human excrement carelessly thrown into the unsanitary streets of the cities of the time. People thought the Black Death was a punishment from God for the sins of mankind, or that the final days ie: the end of the world according to many ancient religious scriptures and texts, had finally come about. In truth, the Plague eventually passed on after claiming the lives of millions of people. The survivors survived, survival of the fittest or perhaps the luckiest, as did civilization, but the terrible experiences and memories of the Plague influenced people's thinking. Out of this experience new ways of seeing the world began to take root. The Italian Renaissance, the Reformation in Germany and the seeking of and rise of secular government based on a new understanding of democracy- all social movements that began to put the power of faith, state and art in the hands of the commoner, became apparent. Thus, society and the course of history have been altered by such phenomena as the onset of sudden disease or drastic changes in the weather. Mankind, who believes he can successfully control all that is around him, is spellbound as his worldly achievements are suddenly rendered virtually miniscule by the unseen forces of nature.

In time humanity through the use of science and learning comes to understand the source of the pandemic and does something about it, as well as preparing for pandemics which will obviously reveal themselves in the future. There have been a great many such pandemics all throughout history, but humans have survived by adapting, learning and altering their lifestyles. This is part of our common history and story. Yet, we also seem to not help but seek a reason in our inner souls and being to try and understand the 'why' of the pandemic, and what the pandemic may symbolize on an inner, spiritual and otherworldly level.

Who We Were, Who We Are
Our own current high tech Western civilization and society which dominates the world at this point in time in one way or another was modeled on or inspired by a number of ancient civilizations and cultures and their gifts of science, law and politics- Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Rome. Their mythological and spiritual contributions to the religious, mystical and cultural realms were part of the gift box as well, the torch that was passed along. These pre modern societies did have a view of the end times as a violent shaking and a breakdown
of all we have built up for the past many millennia. These beliefs stayed with us and remain with us. The modern businessman and scholar who proudly boasts "that's just a myth, I don't believe in that!"...nonetheless sends his kids to church, temple or mosque to hear magical stories of how their God dealt with populations in the past and how the world will end in cataclysmic fire and brimstone in the future. In this, the heirs of the monotheistic message believe themselves to hold some superiority in all things, including spiritual things. Yet, what modern monotheistic man hears in sermons and reads in his scriptures about the end days is no different from what is also written in such ancient texts as the Mayan Popol Vuh or the Indian Rig Veda. Sitting at his desk looking at his computer or laptop, or fingering his or her Iphone while commuting to work, the technology has grown, changed and improved, but the human remains the same. The Abrahamic/Monotheistic religious view; the Judeo/Christian view as well as the Islamic narratives of the 'end times'...tell of violent wars preceded by natural upheavals and earthquakes further preceded by sickness and disease as well as social chaos and unrest. These views are likely Zoroastrian in origin, a religion from ancient Persia that explains existence in the battle between light and dark, good and evil. The concept of the end days and the ultimate battle between good and evil, like the concept of heaven and hell and the various levels or stations of these two final resting places, is a Persian/Zoroastrian concept that was adopted by the ancient Hebrews while in the Babylonian Captivity. They were liberated by Cyrus the Great, king of all Persia, and from that time Persian dualist elements entered into Judaism, and went on to influence both Christianity and Islam later on. The various angels who do God's bidding found in the Bible, for example, are Persian in origin. So is the notion of an anti Christ figure who will be the Devil's agent on Earth. The influence of Zoroastrianism on the Abrahamic faiths is enormous and there too many elements of it to describe here. But we can suffice to say that Jewish mysticism was influenced and inspired by the Persians and their religion. In the BC years before the advent of Jesus and for a few centuries AD after him this mysticism became popular and common in the Middle East, particularly in the area known as the ancient Fertile Crescent. This semi circular arc of land as seen on a map is the birthplace of civilization as we know it, starting with the kingdom of Sumer and on to Ur of the Chaldees, the Assyrian empire and Babylon. There were already many religious and spiritual beliefs as well as stories established in these cultures, and many of those beliefs and stories were passed down to become part of Judaism, some of which are indeed dark and negative but might also offer a glimmer of hope for a depressed humanity- Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood, Jonah and the Whale. The Tower of Babel is one such story, built so men might reach the place of heaven, where the gods or in the case of Judaism, God, destroyed that Tower and cursed mankind for the audacity to seek the throne of heaven, forcing men to speak different languages so they cannot understand one another, thus causing chaos and misunderstanding in the world which could certainly lead to war. Surely it is a rather dark, negative view indeed.

New Views, New Approaches, Old Ideas  

At the time of Jesus, the province of Judea was under the rule of the Roman empire. The inhabitants of that land, the proud bearers of the message of Abraham and Moses, were an unruly lot who resented domination by pagans and polytheists. They would recall the time when Israel was known as the land of Jacob, when David and Solomon sat on their respective thrones and administered the word and law of the God. Now, the people of Judea were the conquered subjects of a powerful and mighty Rome, and forced to pay their taxes and tithes to pagan emperors who might at times consider themselves as gods. The mighty Lord preserved Israel and took them out of Egypt with Moses, and again saved them from the Babylonian Captivity. But this time, the Lord seemed to be silent, and the reason why they were suffering under Roman tyranny was because they unforgivable committed sins. For some, in fact for many, the only way to attain greatness once again was to openly resist the Romans by fighting. After all, it was the guerrilla warfare of the Maccabees that defeated the Selucid Syrian/Greeks under the king Antiochus IV, allowing the rededication of the temples and the smashing of Hellenic idolatry, an event that inspired the Jewish holiday of Hanukah. Perhaps the Romans would get sick and tired of constant Jewish military harassment and unruliness and would decide that ruling Judea was a waste of time. According to Christian tradition there is a dubiously factual story of one such bandit/warrior named Barrabas who was spared by Pontius Pilate, chosen by the people of Jerusalem instead of the peaceful Jesus of Nazareth. Whether or not the story is true, the choice of one or the other demonstrates the social and political emotions at the supposed time of Jesus' crucifixion, with warriors versus mystics as emblematic of the Jewish nation. In fact at the time there were a great many teachers and would be Messiahs roaming the desert and the hills of Judea, preaching about deliverance and new heavenly and earthly kingdoms to come. For many people living there, it was obvious that their situation was untenable and desperate, and a new understanding of faith was needed. These preachers and teachers offered a new vision as a means to attain forgiveness of their past sins. John the Baptist is but one such teacher mentioned in the Gospels, but in fact there were many more of these mystics announcing the coming of the day of salvation all along the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. All of this was further helped along by the terrible fact of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, in which the Jews were scattered and the city destroyed in one of the ancient world's most awful massacres and sackings.With their swords broken, Israel turned once again the their ancient God, though now with new ideas and approaches. The old laws failed as did the rabbis, they thought, and now many Jews sought to try and understand their Lord rather than merely worship him. After all, Abraham was the intimate friend of God, and became so by coming to know him intimately. God can be understood by what the scriptures say, but what is even more difficult for man is to come to understand himself. Thus, many new means of achieving this ultimate goal came into being. Jesus and John the Baptist were but two of those who sought to heal the inner pain and confusion of he souls of so many thousands, and particularly Jesus, the Man from Galilee would inspire a new and major world religion. The Essenes and the Elchasites, who some label as Jewish-Christians, as well as a number of groups who fostered what became known as Gnosticism began to flourish in the region. Their visions and predictions varied greatly but almost all foretold the end of the world which would best be described as apocalyptic. Much of the visions and inspiration came out of the old Persian Zoroastrian texts, with the mountains becoming flat, the seas on fire and the skies melting above our heads. The angels of God would do battle with the hordes of the Devil and the battle would be bloody and terrible, but in the end God's army would prevail and a new world would come into being. Clearly we see in these visions and prophecies the frustration of a conquered people, and now these people were turning inward rather than outward for guidance and the hope for a real miracle to come one day in the distant future. Some of these mystics sought refuge in lands that were less inclined to strict Roman rule, such as in what is now Iraq. Mesopotamia, or the Land Between The Rivers in Greek, was not in the direct control of Rome and indeed was at times under the more tolerant Persian suzerainty. John the Baptist inspired a religious group known as the Mandeans where they flourished unto modern times, baptizing their congregants in the Tigris river which they symbolically called the Jordan. They repeated John's fiery predictions of God's coming vengeance and awaited for the signs of the day of resurrection. In the 3rd century in Iraq, one such young follower named Mani, himself frustrated by the strict, organized state of his religious order, preached a new religion. Manchaeism was based on Zoroastrian Persian narratives and Aramaic Gnosticism, but while it taught that God was light and evil darkness; as in Zoroastrianism, both of whom were involved in an ongoing cosmic battle which manifested in the body and souls of human beings...Mani also preached that a God of goodness and light could not create or utilize evil to hurt any creatures, and that the body and such thoughts that God could produce evil were in fact creations of the devil himself. he also taught that there was elements of universal truth, thus elements of light, in every religious tradition, marking Manichaeism as the world's first truly universal faith. Mani's religion grew and in time extended from China to France, only to face persecution by first the Zoroastrian priests known as the Magi at a time when the Persian state religion was becoming more political than spiritual and instituted persecution for unbelievers, then by compiled and organizational Roman Nicean Christianity, then later by Islam. Manichaeism clearly was seen as competition to these state religions and thus had to be wiped out. it is said that Saint Augustine was one such Manichaean but converted to Christianity, and was an open critic of the faith of Mani. He did however introduce the element of light/good versus dark/evil into Christianity, and Jesus began to be called 'The Light' just as Mani had proclaimed about Jesus in his sermons, describing Jesus as 'The Light of the Father' and 'Jesus the Splendor'. Centuries later, Mani's narratives would be altered slightly and become accepted in the medieval Balkans, where the religion of the Bogomils (God's own beloved) took root alongside native pagan practices. This ideology spread even further to France where a Crusade was preached to destroy this heresy, known there as the Albigensian Heresy, the crusaders wiping out an entire town suspected of following the heresy in France, in Montsegur in 1244 AD. Even today, historian critics point to the very negative connotations and associations of Manichaeism and other related, Gnostic faiths as being too dark for most people. While the explanations of the future in these texts are indeed dark and dank- try reading one of the Books of Enoch for a dark and desperate feel....one read of the Book of Revelations in the New Testament demonstrates the mode and feel of these prophetic books and the images they wish to convey, telling us of people who lived in very uncertain times and in extremely difficult circumstances. This mindset influenced everyone and every aspect of society well into the Middle Ages. Historian William Manchester wrote a study of life in the Medieval period, the appropriate title of his book 'A World Lit Only By Fire'. That for which there was no light meant the darkness controlled the mind of Man, and in the dark the absence of mind, and the lack of positive thought, was evident. 

Back To The Future                          

Are we really that far removed from the mindset of these ancient people in our own time? They were uncertain in their day, and we seem to remain uncertain as well. There are people in the USA and all over the world who are maintaining their God and their faith is stronger than any Corona Virus. That may be a helpful belief to some but the facts counter this claim. A pastor in Virginia announced he would indeed perform his service regardless of any virus and would continue to preach unless "I am in jail or the hospital" before he finally succumbed fatally to the power of Covid-19. Members of the Hassidic Jewish community in their hundreds in New York city attending weddings and funerals had to be forcibly refrained by the police who issued summonses to people. Going to mosque on Friday is seen by many Muslims as a 'must do' religious duty and in a number of Muslim countries mosques continued to be full. People continued to play ball in a park or meet up close to shop or have a party, dance and gossip, go to the beaches in the warmer, southern climes such as in Florida now that Spring is upon us, when they should be practicing social distancing. They might be told to line up and remain six feet apart while waiting to do their food shopping, yet will come into close proximity with one another once they gain entrance into the store, chatting and gossiping at dangerously close distances. Not everybody, but far too many in these dangerous times have been nonchalant in their approach to this pandemic.  Basketball, a sport popular in the inner cities requires close bodily proximity and contact, and basketball courts were full at the outbreak of the pandemic even after warnings were issued. They all are willing to risk catching the sickness by coming together with their fellow worshippers or shoppers at their congregations or favorite shops in the hope that their bodily resistance is strong enough, or perhaps their God, their wallets or their sport-drive will protect them. And as in the past, God, like money and physical stamina, does not always protect people from pandemics. The point here is that when a desperate situation develops in a society there will always be people who look beyond the realm of the here and now to seek answers and excuses. Perhaps we have been spoiled by the success of science and the cures we have developed over the years in response to disease, but Covid_19 is new and when it reared its ugly head in 2020 we humans really didn't know how to deal with it. There will be some who claim the virus is a hoax and others think some government agency or a political party is using or actually secretly causing the virus to spread. In the case of Covid-19, while the cause has been traced to possible Chinese wet markets where exotic animals are raised without proper hygiene and cleanliness, some have gone so far as to claim that this is a form of germ warfare, created in Chinese government labs, and we will definitely see more of this in the future as some have claimed years ago that germ warfare is the weapon of the future. Possible? Why not? It has been clear from the outbreak of this virus that nations and leaders all over the world were not ready for it. How this virus or others will change our thinking, how people will react and, for the purpose of this article, what narratives and beliefs will develop over time to deal with it will be an interesting topic of discussion indeed. But we can always count on those spiritual narratives of the past with their predictions of doom and gloom to stimulate out thoughts and move people to bring on change, for better or for worse. The prophecies of Nostradamus, the French seer  of the 16th century have been quoted and noted ad nauseum, as are the Biblical passages of the coming of the end times; earthquakes, famine, the breakdown of society and that ever popular Biblical quote 'there will be war and rumors of war'. Clearly, aside from the illumination which science and technology have granted us, or that which have granted ourselves, the dark and gloomy outlook fascinates us all. People thought the world would end in the year 1,000 AD, and not long ago we should remember that it was supposed to all fall apart when 1999 turned into the year 2000. People stocked up on water, food and medical supplies. They bought rifles and other weapons for protection, batteries, lights, radios, and stocked up on ten gallon barrels of gas. They purchased so much in the way of food items that many people are still partaking of those supplies today, a full two decades later. Nostradamus and his prophecies may be correct or his predictions may be simply allegories and guesswork, based on what we read in religious scriptures and texts. We simply don't know, but we do need to live and survive. That's what humans do best, and the ancient religious scriptures, political records and our ancient mythologies tell us so by describing the innermost feelings and experiences of people who lived long ago and utilized their very human faculty of imagination. They also advise us about what we did in the past, and what we will likely do now and in the future. 

Pindar's Garlands Of Victory
If humans have a common trait that binds us besides birth, hunger, suffering and death it is the use of the imagination, and in this human beings are certainly the greatest or at least the most expressive of all creatures. We tell stories and relate experiences, and have turned this into art forms depicting aspects of beauty and things grotesque. When we are in crisis we always seem to start with gloom and doom. We rant and rave, complain, lash out and cry, and blame either everybody else or ourselves, then we begin to hope for a better future. What else can we do, considering our predicament in this earthly life? If it cannot get any worse, certainly we can at least hope it will get better. Humans adapt and alter, even after we screw up our planet or the hand of fate itself denies us the fruits of our collective labors. The ancient Greek poet Pindar was aware of this when he described the dedication of those young athletes who prepared for years to compete in the Olympic games. While the athletes should be praised for their hard work, says Pindar, the hand of fate grants the garlands of victory to what seem to be a chosen few. Some will celebrate their victory, others will cry and feel remorse but life will go on, and must go on. Once we are born there is no turning back but through the portals of death. Humans are interesting, if not truly amazing creatures indeed. 

~Ismail Butera, April 2020

Eternal Heartbeat

I was inspired to write this after discussing with my dear friend and percussionist Natalia Perlaza and the unfolding of her new project Corazon Sound Wave Meditation. As a drummer, she is ever seeking the reasons for and mysteries of rhythm and how we can creatively incorporate that knowledge into our lives.    Ismail Butera

Eternal, Cosmic Heartbeat

Out of nothingness, formless, we became

As if out of nowhere, somewhere, anywhere
Or perhaps fallen were we from another dimension 
Composed from the four elements...
Air, Earth, Fire, Water

Existence, reality or a dream, yet there it is
The only truth we will ever know
Memory fades, yet stimuli remain, time passages

Hearkening to an era primordial
We ponder our innermost thoughts, and wonder
Yes, I remember! I know I was there
Or, at least I think I was...

Crystalline purity, luminescence, pristine celestial glory
Out of joy and love, longing for more
To be seen and self imitated, out of sheer adoration
Unable to control the ecstasy, our spiritual selves
Desire they to manifest
Like the Sophia we entered into the realm of consciousness

A place of being, of formulated matter
We brought the memory with us, reminded always
Of the rhythm of creation

The primordial heartbeat, that regular incessant drumming
That counts our days and sets our pace
Defining and informing who we are, why we are
To ourselves and to each other
Our unique mark, our stamp, the identity factor
The primordial heartbeat taps out it’s rhythm, regularly

For all the time we have been, for all the days and aeons
Spent here, in our mortal body in this realm of matter

Dance oh soul, dance!
Round and round, beams of light you are!
You danced in the womb of the Mother
Her heart rhythm, taught to you, passed on
To maintain the connection with that day
When you issued forth
As me, as you, as each and every being
Destined to inhabit this place, this realm
Play, dear drummer, beat out the cycle for me
Every beat of thy drum is
Accompanied by a flash of light, of many colors
The pattern is played, never ending, on and on
Reminding us of the joy of being
The very reason we came to be
Let me dance until the day comes
When the eternal drummer shall cease
Ending her concert, terminating the play
Our stay in this place, completed
Our reason for being, our work finally brought to an end
Then happily, with joy, we return to the realm of light
Slowly now, the tempo decreases
As the breath becomes aware of the change
Another being is born, as another cosmic drummer
Beats the rhythm of life, coming into existence
A new tempo develops, inviting fresh souls to partake
Of the gala festival
For those who are yet to come and dance
For those yet to have tasted the joy and the pain of living
In this we are all guests, attendees at the cosmic ball

Natalia Perlaza, Dumbek

Photo, Felipe Beltran 

Light Is Sufficient Unto Light

Without light, how can we see? How can we understand?
Would there be such a thing as contemplation, seeking, feeling
Or comprehension, indeed, love, compassion, caring?

Light is sufficient unto light as love is sufficient unto love, but without the initial sacrifice of the light there would not be such a thing as love. Love came about as a means for light to manifest itself...or is it that perhaps light came about because of love? Either way, light and live or love and light...harmony, balance and contentment are the order of the universe. 

Divinity was a hidden treasure, a beauty that needed to be revealed and thus seen, a desire to be recognized. We call this process creation. So much is contained in the command "to be". This phrase is the switch that begins the path to self realization and the way to harmony. We imitate that very millisecond when we ourselves seek to create things of use and beauty. All things came into existence, light and dark colliding and blending in a grand explosion unknown or seen before or since. Dark came about because light by itself cannot be seen or sensed. So a hidden entity, a hidden treasure would become known by creating it's opposite, a backdrop or a palate with which to paint the eternal portrait that to this day and for eternity remains an incomplete painting. Out of love was darkness created, light sacrificing itself out of sheer love and compassion, but out of that act it became the goal of created darkness to blot out the light which gave it life. Like an unruly, rebellious child who revolts against it's caring and loving parents, the darkness takes advantage of the mercy and compassion which created it and turns against the light. 

The cosmic struggle continues and shall continue until we, the children and offspring of this cosmic battle and struggle, the very battlefield where the eternal battle is fought, are so illumined that darkness comes to know that it too was created out of an expression of love, and comes to self realization. This process is reflected in our own lives as we strive to attain and maintain that which we do not understand with logic and reason. 

So the next time you feel hurt by one you love, be not angered. This is the way of the universe, this is our existence and our state of being. The struggle continues, and we are that very struggle. Choose the light, for light will illumine everything some time in the distant or not so distant future, when we all become self realized beings, knowing only pure illumination. 

Time is irrelevant. Light is forever relevant, as are you and I.

Mani's Expression Of The Dualist Path

The influence of the Persian dualistic creeds of Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism on the religious thought of the Abrahamic faiths is profound and astounding. These two faiths existed as major world religions in their time, with their own hierarchy and clergy who interpreted their holy scriptures and commentaries. They were persecuted and eventually died, and indeed were combatted with a zeal seldom matched in history. These faiths teach love, mercy and compassion and encourage their followers to think good thoughts, speak good words and perform good deeds. It was the Persian king Cyrus the Great who created the world's first charter of human rights, based on his Zoroastrian principles and the commands for humans to become socially responsible and progressive spiritual beings as found in the Zend Avesta, Zoroastrianism's sacred scripture. Mani in his faith taught love for fellow humanity and considered himself a follower of Jesus the great light bearer, acknowledging all religious teachers and their respective scriptures which appeared long before his time and held them as true and emanating from the same source of divinity. Yet the powers which of their day did their utmost to destroy the last vestiges of these important and once popular, dynamic faiths, all the while incorporating much of their teachings and practices into what would become what the world would eventually know of as at first Judaism, then Christianity and Islam. Cyrus the Great's invasion of the Middle East in which he liberated the Jews who were taken into the Babylonian captivity and rebuilt their temple transferred knowledge, spiritual influence and practice from Zoroastrianism and brought it into Abrahamism. The levels of heaven and hell, the ranks of angels and the prophecy of the last days, the struggle of good against evil found in the books of the Bible can be said to have their literary roots in ancient Persian religion, embellishing the established simple monotheist creed of the Semites. Elohe is equivalent to Ahura Mazda, supreme God of light and majesty and the source of all that is good, while the devil- or shaitan as he is known in the Quran, is the very same entity as the Persian Ahriman, the lord of the darkness. At the end of time Ahriman will be vanquished by Ahura Mazda. 

The long lost Gnostic religion of Manichaeism was a major world faith in the era of Late Antiquity into the Middle Ages. It was the world's first truly universal religion as it was practiced  geographically on the shores of the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific via the then important Silk Road route. The faith was popular and particularly strong in North Africa, which was then part of the Roman empire. Saint Augustine was a supposed convert to Christianity from Manichaeism and much of his writings are imbued with the concept of light and dark, good versus evil. mani's faith gained appreciation in the Persian lands, Central Asia and deep into China, followed by nobility and common folk alike.

Mani himself was born in what is now Iraq in the 3rd century. He traveled to India and East Asia, and learned of the many religions and their teachings. He preached from an early age, but came to the conclusion that all faiths, though different in features and cultural expressions, agreed on basic universal truths. Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, the Mandanean followers of John the Baptist, Mani saw them all as pathways to the same source of light and the human attempt to understand divinity. This he included in his faith teaching, thus creating the world's very first 'universal' faith. Rather than claim that only his way or any particular religion was true, Mani acknowledged all that humanity had created religions as a means to understand the divine mystery. All religions are true, he taught, since light illuminates the darkness, and all religions are but reflections and manifestations of that light, the source of goodness and beauty. 

Light and dark, good and evil, the universe and everything within exists in duality. Manichaeism explained the origins of creation in terms of an ongoing cosmic struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, somewhat in the like manner of Zoroastrianism which claims that Ahura Mazda, god of goodness and light, struggles and keeps at bay Ahriman, the king of darkness, just as monotheism explains God and the anti God known as the Devil, sometimes also explained in the monotheistic narratives as the Lord of Darkness. In the monotheistic stories, light must overcome darkness, and humans are encouraged to do good works and stand for goodness, thus struggling against evil. This very Persian dualistic concept and the struggle between good and evil may have entered into the Abrahamic faiths perhaps via the conquests of Cyrus the Great when he invaded the Middle East. Angels and the many levels of heaven and hell are but two of the contributions of Persian religion to the Abrahamic world of the Semites as are the narratives of the last days. 

At the time of Mani's appearance in the Middle East, there were already Gnostic movements and schools happening that was part of the ongoing reformation of Judaism to which Jesus and John the Baptist were a part. The Gnostics explained the creation of the universe in mystical terms that are still rather difficult and complex to understand, and Mani was under their influence, having been raised as an Elkasite member of the ancient Mandean faith. Light existed originally and perpetually and out of an outpouring of infinite love, compassion and goodness created the dark so as to be seen. This palate of dark then took on a personality, if one will, of it's own and ever since it's inception has been intent on consuming the light. The two collided and creation- the big bang, occurred. All creation was corrupted ever since, with dark and light blending or resisting one another. This is the reason why there are good people in the world and beneficial animals and insects, and also why there are sharks, spiders, poisonous snakes, venomous lizards and people who are oppressors and tyrants, murderers with little or no compassion, people with good and bad temperaments, or the explanation as to why bad things happen to good people, why some are born healthy and string and why some are born with inherent diseases or develop them with no fault of their own. The lord of darkness created matter, and the body is of matter. However rather than as in monotheism, particularly in the Islamic narrative where God creates Adam and the devil who is cursed and damned for not acknowledging God's greatest creation and thus promises to take as many of God's creations (human souls) with him to the fiery hell promised, in the Manichaean and Gnostic story it is the God of light who plays the trickster and breathes into each of the created beings of matter his own soul, thus granting the ability for each human being to discern right from wrong and utilize free will, cheating the devil of what he thought was a splendid and ultimate victory. Zurvan/God/the Lord of Light instills his spirit into every living thing. It is in this way that light exists with the darkness, the two forces constantly battling with each other. This is natural and in fact the way of the universe and indeed our very existence. We as human beings do what we can to do so as to bring about good in our world, thus being the torch bearers of the divine light that must counter the ever encroaching darkness. When the human race moves to a new understanding and an illumined spiritual paradigm, the whole universe will be ablaze with the light and nothing but the light will exist. All will return to harmony and balance, and our souls will for eternity exist in oneness with the Lord of the Light. According to Mani evil will implode upon itself by its own very egocentric nature and the world will be transformed into a new world just as the God of the Bible promises to rebuild a new Jerusalem. Mani, unlike Zoroaster, the Jewish prophets or Mohammed makes no earthly pretensions about his heaven- it is a realm of light, joy, pure bliss. The earth is made of dark matter, a sad place, a prison. Who would want to return to such an abode? 

Jesus is an important figure in Manichaeism and is considered such a 'light bearer'. The reason for the popularity of Mani's religion in the Roman world is at once complex and simple. It may be difficult to understand how a religion that recommended celibacy for it's clergy and abstention from eating meat: both ideas informed by the fact that sex and procreation are the act that brought forth matter, and meat is dense matter...could have taken root in the Christianized Roman world is confusing at best. However, there was in the early centuries of Christianity much disagreement among various groups who held different views of Jesus' nature. There was the ongoing struggle between the monophysites, who held that Christ was one with God in body and spirit, and the deophysites who claimed that Jesus's body was distinct from his godly being. Mani's teachings held a simpler explanation about the great teacher and being of light named Jesus. His body, as every body, was of matter, thus not as important as the soul, which upon crucifixion went to be one with the Father. This narrative certainly influenced Christianity, but at the time it was a simple solution to an ongoing and complex argument. Manichaeism spread like wildfire especially in North Africa where the debates were hotly contested. This also brought about the wrath of the now Christian Roman church, and Manichaeans were persecuted by the now Christian Roman empire as much as early Christians were persecuted by the then pagan emperors. This threat to the dialogue had to be eradicated. Saint Augustine is said to have been a Manichaean who converted, then argued for Christianity. We don't know all the facts about him, or whether he actually denounced Manichaeism or not as his works were used by the church to denounce Mani. But we do know that he introduced many aspects of Mani's teachings. Vegetarianism was recommended for fasting and celibacy for the priesthood became the mandatory n the Catholic church, optional and personal in the eastern churches. The subject of the battle between good and evil, light and dark, is found in many books of the Bible, and the Book of Revelation reads like a Persian dualist epic. Recalling the popular 60's song by the band The Byrds who incorporated the theme and spirit of the book of Ecclesiastes into a melody, the lyrics state that "to every season, turn turn turn, a time to be born a time to die, a time to sow a time to reap..." Manichaeism and the tradition of dualism is evident in these and other scriptures in the Bible which allude to light, the dark and all the physical matter and the attributes which exist between these two entities. 

Perhaps one of the most debated scriptures which was left out of the Bible is the mysterious Book of Enoch, and Mani utilized part of that text in his own Gospel, known as the Book of Giants. There are references in the Bible to giants and angels, and the Book of Enoch goes into detail about how the universe came to be via the acts and struggles of the angels of light and the angels of the dark. Enoch is said to have lived in a time before Noah, and is also acknowledged as a prophet in the Quran. His book was ignored for centuries and is now being studied for it's content. While a wild and imaginary visionary recital that may seem an excellent source for a fantasy movie, the Book of Enoch was purposely ignored and denounced. The question we are forced to ask is "why?" yes, the explanations are seemingly too complex and involved for common people to understand and ponder, but like all texts which are records of thoughts and ideas of a once predominantly illiterate human past, the narrative deserves to be studied and the reasons for it's omission scrutinized. it is through the study of such ancient texts that we can discern what may have been the truth as held by people living in a different time era and thinking climate.

Mani's teaching came into conflict with the politicized state religions of the Roman and Persian empires. While Mani was protected and encouraged to make converts under the Persian king Shahpur, after the benevolent ruler's death he eventually came into conflict with the jealousy of the established Zoroastrian priesthood known as the Magi. Persia and Rome were engaged at the time in nearly constant warfare, and each empire felt the need to consolidate it's accepted religious narratives so as to unify their empires. Mani was seen as a threat to what was the state religion, and he was tried and imprisoned by the Persian monarch Bahram. Just as Jesus was accused by the Sanhedrin, as Moses had to confront the Egyptian priests and Luther centuries later would face the wrath of what he saw as an erring church, Mani was seen as a heretic and a blasphemer to the organization and clergy of the Magi, thus a threat to the royal power of mighty Persia. The great teacher was said to have died in prison but the Shahinshah/king of kings and his clergy, so as to send a message to those who might dare to challenge the status quo and question their power and rule, had Mani's body cut in half and stuffed with straw, displaying each part of the body on two portions of the palace walls. Like Jesus he would attain to the light through a torturous death. His body, which he considered but a miserable lump of matter that imprisoned the glorious soul of light, would simply be used by other beings of matter and their tyranny....agents of the Lord of Darkness...to make a show and give a warning to all of that which was seen as treason. Mani, like many of his disciples who would follow him in centuries after his death, would attain the light. His death was a victory to his followers, an act of freedom for his soul kept in a prison fashioned by darkness, but his legacy lived on in the narratives of light and dark, good and evil found in the very faiths that were used to oppress the followers of his religion of light and love.

Mani taught that all religions as expressed and defined are fallible, since containing elements of light and darkness within them as they are created and brought about by humans, who in turn are also fallible due to the blend of light and dark, good and evil. Zoroastrianism in Mani's time had become an organized state religion with dogmas and laws. These man made laws took believers far away from the original message of Zoroaster, thus the Magi priests were seen as agents of the Devil, using religion to control and rule over the masses. Long before Nietzsche or Marx identified organized religion as something evil,  thus something to be avoided an even eradicated, Mani called religion for what it was in his own time. The difference in Mani's thought is that within these faith teachings can be found burning, glowing embers of universal truth. Thus, eradicating them would be foolhardy, as eradicating them completely would be like throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater, demonstrating a complete misunderstanding of the nature of our existence. Everything is created in duality, and whatever a human creates must therefore have this duality in it as well, including the narratives and houses of organized religions. Interestingly, Manichaeans had two levels of worshippers, the 'elect' and the common believers. Mani's faith would never become an oppressive religion that could be accused of dogmatic tyranny as other religions became, since it left room and a choice for it's adherents to follow as much or as little of it as they wished. This is one example of how Manichaeism was far ahead of its time, indeed it was 'new age' and futuristic long before the term would ever be coined. 

Thoughts After The Shower Storm

Look at the sky

See the the mid day Summer Sun 

It shines brightly, illuminating our day

Slowly, clouds begin to form

The Sun loses it's luster and power

No, it is not any less powerful

To our eyes in this created world

It is being diminished by 

The dark clouds as they roll in

Obscuring the Sun's rays

A flash of lightening! Thunder! 

We cover our ears, we hide 

Cowering in dreaded fear

As rain falls from the collision 

Of gaseous substances

Forming many faceted formations

A conflict of light and dark

A battle, a struggle, conflict and collision

Then, as in a sweet dream, calm

The battle is ended, the Sun again appears again

Dew rises to the heavens, birds do sing

The Earth gives thanks to the process of creation

As the water which fell upon the Earth

Attracts light so as to nourish the ground

As we come to our senses, relieved

We regain our heart from that archetypal memory

Inspired in the days of our primordial era

The clouds retreat, a painting is viewed across the palate of eternity

What beauty, what symmetry, light and dark blending and mixing

It cannot be any other way

We are what we are, the universe is as it is

Rather than think we know, accept what we know

Without the confluence of light and dark

Sans that eternal struggle between the two opposing forces

Our consciousness would have nothing to inspire us

Nothing to think about, nor gaze upon

We would be as inanimate matter, a rock or a dead piece of wood

It is our destiny to become one with the light

Our soul returning to it's source

So that even the storm cloud will know it too, has a purpose

Then let it rain on the body of matter 

We eventually leave behind

As that too, must return to it's source and essence 

And we will be freer than the clouds or the wind

Who will look upon us with envy as we fly to the heavens

Now, do you realize how special you are? 

The Laugh Is On You, Satan!

When light and dark collided, a zillion-billion forms and bodies were brought forth, manifesting is what we call our being. The universe, the stars, the planets, our solar system and the far off galaxies of which we know of only a few all came into being as a result of that collision and blending of the two extremes. All that we would come to know in our existence on our Earthly plane is a result of that cosmic explosion long, long ago.

There was light and the Lord of light who ruled that realm, known to us as God, and there was the darkness and the Lord of the darkness, Satan, who came forth from that realm to hold dominion over all matter and the bodies which came out of that collision. Engaged in a cosmic, ongoing battle, the Lord of light sought to thwart the power of the encroaching darkness motion for motion, matching deed for deed.

When humans came to be, bodies of matter made of flesh and blood formed from the mud of the Earth, Satan the Lord of the darkness rejoiced and boasted of his pride and joy, for he was the enabler and creator of all material things, including humans who are beings of matter. He taunted all the spirits and angels of the universe, propping himself up and filling himself with pride at his achievement, directing his taunting to the Lord of light, daring him to come forth with a better being, a greater and higher creation. Mankind created from the darkness would, according to evil's plan, follow the ways of darkness and multiply. Evil and vice, darkness and wrongdoing will recreate itself and surround the light, forcing light to be subservient. Darkness, to survive, needs the light upon which it feasts, for everything even the darkness came to be due to the presence of light and the realm of light. What could the Lord of Light do to challenge this clever and genius creation of Satan? Man, created as a being of matter, would be a soldier in the army of darkness, ready to serve the dark lord of that realm. Laughing and boasting with pride, Satan thought he had found the way to defeat the Lord of Light forever. His army would multiply and with the faculties of creative inventiveness, reason and logic at his disposal, humanity would create methods to encourage the darkness and eventually extinguish and control the light for the desires of the devil. The Lord of the dark laughed and laughed hysterically, thinking he had ultimately triumphed over the light and all that was good. Anything that would evolve from creation could be manipulated by the evil one. 

But the Lord of Light had a plan, as ideas are created of light, static electrical charges that flash and create that which is unseen, non material, invisible but real and actual nonetheless. You see, into each of these material bodies of matter known as humans, the Lord of Light infused his own spirit into each and every being...every man, woman, animal, insect, tree, plant, reptile, rock, everything. Into each of these creations of matter was the very spirit of God. Humans, with their power of logic and reason now were given free will to make decisions. They could follow the lord of darkness or they could be emissaries of light on the Earth and in the universe. Babies cry because they leave the realm of the spirit into the place where the struggle between light and dark, good and evil are played out. But armed with the very spirit of God, the plans of the devil are thwarted. Thus, it is God who has the last laugh as the once boastful Satan is silenced. The Lord of the dark hasn't come up with a better match than this, as God is the master player, the greatest and most clever trickster there is.

The struggle continues to our own day, and will continue forever. Mankind continues to produce good and evil people, as the blending has produced saints and sinners, enlightened leaders and tyrants alike. The lord of darkness continues to succeed in his creations, causing much pain and suffering among humanity and animals. Not every being has the ability to consider free will. We must make a choice at some point in our lives to manifest light or darkness, to follow God or the Satan. Some of us try to recreate the gardens of light on Earth, while others seem to never tire of thrusting everyone and everything around them into darkness. And there are those who are victims of this cosmic battle. It is the spirit within us that recognizes the light eternal and it is the nature of light to produce more illumination. Thanks to the mercy of the Lord of Light, we exist and can make that choice to illuminate or darken our world and our sky, or decide what to do and how to react to that which we have no power over. 

You are a being of light, thus a child of God and a ship of illumination. Though you might be good, bad things will happen to you in your life, as our very existence is a duality, and you will inevitably commit some negative act during your lifetime. But know that you have been imbued with light, pure and clean, fresh and crystalline, shining and dazzling. Be a ship of illumination and lighten the sky with your being, as you too are part of God's eternal plan, his light post on the street of duality. It is because of your life the devil laughs no more as he knows what you have within you, a reminder of the day when he challenged the Lord of Light and lost the gamble to control the very universe of our being. You are imbued with the Holy Spirit, which will continue when the material body, brought forth from the darkness, ceases to exist. When we become conscious of our true existence, our spirit, we no longer care to donate more of our time and efforts to that which is temporary. This is called self realization. Some call this the realization of truth.

Thus, the laugh is on Satan, the lord of the dark who thought he was clever. Light is sufficient unto light, truth sufficient unto truth, love unto love.

Mani, On Becoming A Prophet

According to traditional historical interpretations from ancient sources, the Prophet Mani received his first 'revelation' when he was but a child of 12 or 13. This indicates that he certainly had a deep soul and an inquisitive mind, much as we know from Christian writers that Jesus also was a gifted boy who could debate with the elders of the temple.

The Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf describes in his brilliant novel 'The Gardens of Light' Mani's first encounter with inspiration from the place of divinity. From this work I was inspired to share with you the story of Mani's encounter with the divine, a touching story we all can relate to. The story of Mani takes place in the region of the fertile crescent, during a time when religion and faith was being influenced by the search for mystical experience rather than stagnant dogma and adherence to rules and rites. This era saw the rise of such notable personalities that began with the likes of Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptist, along with the Gnostics and the hermits of the deserts and the mountains such as the Essenes. Many faiths developed at this time, and many paths were being created. Some would go on to be great world religions, others would die or be put to the sword by empires intent on unification under one set of dogmatic rules that would unite for political, rather than spiritual reasons. Mani was born in what is now known as Iraq at this tumultuous time.

Visiting the home of Chloe, a young girl who was attracted to him, in the way of young, innocent love and attraction. Mani however became intrigued by some old frescoes in the outdoor patio of her home. The girl's father was an old Greek who's ancestors came with the armies of Alexander the Great many centuries before. Mani's friend, a Phoenician lad named Malchos had a crush on the young Chloe, so while visiting Malchos engaged in conversation with her father, trying to impress the man to like him. This Greek who would recount tales passed on to him from his father and grandfather of Alexander's battles and exploits, a topic for storytelling that was quite popular in the Middle East at the time. Mani however was more interested in the frescoes outside in the patio. Uninterested in the common stories and exploits of the late great Iskandar, as Alexander was known in Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers, he simply excused himself and walked outside to inspect the ancient frescoes on the walls.
The frescoes were old and darkened from years of age and exposure to air and the elements. Mani had a talent for art. He went out and found some materials with which he fashioned brushes, and asked the maid of the house of the Greek for pigment so as to paint the frescoes and make them new. Seeking permission to do this, the old Greek smiled and told Mani to go ahead and do with the frescoes as he liked. There was one fresco Mani was drawn to a figure of a solitary man with rays of Sun seemingly emanating from his crown. As Mani was brought up in the church if the Brethren, the Mandanean followers of John the Baptist, he thought this figure to be that of the Prophet himself, the announcer and anointer of Jesus of Nazareth. Mani had been a member of that community since he was a child, as his father sent him to be one of them, much against Mani's wishes. Over the years, though he loved John the Baptist and the path to divine enlightenment, he had grown discontent with the strict dogmatic rules of the Brethren and he left their church, seeking to find his path and calling in life. At this time he was thinking about painting. Performing some work on these frescoes, redoing them and making them new and beautiful again would be a good way to practice, maybe get the word out that there was a new artist on the rise. Mani was ecstatic to update a painting of a great Prophet whom had touched his life early on in age.

He worked diligently all that afternoon as his friends sat and listened to the stories the old greek had to tell. Mani heard the mumbling of the old man's voice, and his friend's ecstatic "oohs" and "ahhs" as the storyteller unraveled his tales of battles and heroism. But Mani was unmoved by the story, totally uninterested, preferring to be engrossed in his work which he viewed as an act of devotion. He cleaned the frescoes, prepared the lines on the figure to be painted, then added the colored pigment. Then, in the late afternoon, he sat back and glanced at his work, with which he was more than content with. It was good work, very good,and he began to feel confident and somewhat proud that what he took to be his calling in life was unfolding in front of his eyes. He certainly knew, in his heart, that he was a gifted artist. As if by the hand of fate or a stroke of divine intervention, his host and his friends entered the room, having had enough of Alexander stories for one day. They stood there in awe and amazement at the talent that had just unfolded in front of them: Malchos his Phoenecian friend, pretty Chloe, bearing a plate of watermelon, and her father, his voice now hoarse from reciting for more than four hours now. They looked at the beautiful work Mani had done and smiled with approval. Mani asked the father of the house "do you like my work, lord?" He replied that the work was excellent. "Thank you for renewing these old frescoes, Mani. I never new how beautiful they really were. You have given life to something I though long dead, as I never thought they could look like this". Mani asked if he also admired John the Baptist. "John the Baptist?" There is no likeness of John the Baptist here boy, this is a portrait of the god Mithras, which you have brought to life with your wonderful talent."

Mani was in shock and could not move or utter a sound. Mithras was, for Mani, an idol, a god of the heathens and polytheists, the lord of a cult. How could he have done this? Why would the God of goodness who blessed John and spoke with Jesus allow him to be fooled by this god of idolatry and paganism? "This cannot be, he cried...it just cannot be!" With tears running down his face, Mani threw his brushes to the ground and ran out of the house. His friends ran after him but he ran so fast they lost him. Mani ran and ran, and didn't turn around once to look back. He had performed an evil duty, beautifying the face of an idol whom he considered as evil, wrong, pagan. How could he have been so stupid and trusting, he thought to himself as he ran through the town and outside of it's suburbs. He went to a spot he always went to, a secret place where he always found solitude and peace, a place known only to he and he alone. He had been there many times before, as a child when he used to ask forbidden questions of the Brethren and they would beat him. He would run and hide here, his secret place, his garden in the shade as it were. There on the banks of the Tigris river, a quiet spot under the lowering branches of a date palm tree laden heavy with golden sweet fruit, bowing as it were to the water which nourished and purified it. Here Mani was shaded and protected from the rays of the hot Sun. A cool breeze blew across the face of the water, the life giving Tigris which gave birth to mankind's earliest civilizations, where humanity began to contemplate existence, being and the possibility of divinity.

Mani lay facedown by the bank of the river, protected by the seemingly loving, lowering branches of the date palm trees. The wind rustled the leaves, as if playing music on a thousand lutes which quivered and danced just above the periphery of the waters of the sacred Tigris. He was panting, almost out of breath, and tears streamed down his face, upon which he gazed in the reflection in the water. He looked at his reflection and began to berate himself; "cursed, you are, Mani. Fool. How could you allow yourself to be fooled like that? You let your pride get the best of you as you thought yourself a great artist. Little did you know that you were being played and fooled all along. The artist! Take the future in your hands! Be what you want to be, the commander of your own ship, so you thought. And what do you make beautiful? An idol, the false god of a pagan cult! Cursed you are, and cursed you should be, damned forever! Damn you, damn you, damn you...idiot!" Mani continued to stare at his reflection, his face contorted in anger and disgust. "I Hope you burn in the fire of hell for your insolent act!" he yelled out. There was nobody there, nobody around, but if there were they would have heard him holler across the river on the other side, such was his anger and passionate hatred for himself.

He continued to stare at his reflection in the water and the tears rolling down his face as he cried profusely. He was surely in a state of grief, as if he lost a mother or a lover. He was mourning his self and his inability to go out on his own and be a good judge of situations. Perhaps the Brethren were right after all. On his own they said, without guidance and instruction, Mani would lose his way and falter spiritually. Maybe he shouldn't have left the security of the Brethren after all, he thought to himself as he stared at the reflection of his face in the water.

Then, something mysterious happened. His face, reflected in the water, seemingly looked at him, directly into his eyes. The tears stopped. His face became, as he noticed in the reflection, less contorted as a feeling of calm began to replace the pain he felt in his heart so deeply. Then the face in the water looked at Mani, and spoke; "Mani, calm yourself. You did nothing wrong". Mani touched his own lips and realized that as the reflected face spoke, his own lips did not move. "Mani, fear not. Be not sad. You made something beautiful. Your intention was to bring about beauty. It matters not what you painted or what you tried to make beautiful. You brought about beauty, that is all that is important. All things are material, all things hold light. The material will fade away, as your won material body will one day fade away. But your soul of light shall live on, forever, in gardens of light. Your work today was like the work we do in this world. We work to understand the soul, and make our lives beautiful, as you made that fresco beautiful. It was fading away, you gave it life, and it will one day fade away again, forever. But your work, your intention to bring about beauty, this is how darkness is canceled, with the light of love".

Mani stared at the water as if in a trance, though he was fully conscious. His tears had dried, and he no longer felt doubt and pain. He knew now that he did nothing wrong, for all things will pass. But his intention to imbue the fresco with a soul, as every human being needs to be imbued with the knowledge of the soul so as to attain enlightenment and escape the realm of darkness we have been cast into. We are here, this is the reality of our situation. We worry about things that really mean so little in the scheme of it all. In this encounter with his self, Mani broke the chains of dogma he was tied to when he was a devotee to a religious group he felt had erred somehow. He was not proud nor was he incapable of learning on his own. God is light and all things good, and God will lead you to the garden of light, step by step. We all need to run from what we fear most, our own egotistical, commanding self, and seek the shade of the date palms on the Tigris river of our being. There, we can be enlightened, illuminated by the crystalline light-truth which lies within each of us.

Mani would go on and find that he was not destined to be an artist, though he would paint and draw from time to time. He would also use his talent for medicine and healing to help those in need, for every body is matter and matter eventually fails from time to time. The act of caring and curing is a lighting of the soul, the blaze of health which, even if only for a short while, describes the eternal gardens where there is no more sickness or sadness. From this, Mani would go on to announce to the world his message of light and salvation, the freeing of the soul from the prison in which we find ourselves. On that late afternoon on the banks of the sacred river Tigris, under the branches of the date palms, Mani broke free from one of the cells of his imprisonment. One day he too would be free from the prison of this world, to go on to the gardens of light beyond from whence we came, our permanent and true abode with the Lord of light, power and beauty.

Our body, though a necessity in this life, in this state of existence, is our prison. Our soul is our hope and our true self. Seek the shade under the branches of the date palm, and let your inner self speak to you and point the way to salvation, a light illumines your conscience and your surroundings. This is how each of us can truly become free.

Not What We've Been Told, But Something Else

We strive daily, diligently, always trying to do the best we can
Living life day to day, minute by minute
Supporting ourselves, our families, our habits and practices
Rites and ceremonies, meant to keep us in check and balance
In harmony with the universe...
So we think.
We smile at the elderly, treating them with respect and admiration
We pat the heads of children, bright eyed and innocent
Looking into their eyes
Recalling our past or the broken promises of our tomorrows
We give our all to love, wishing and doing for the other
More than we would consider for ourselves
Sacrificing our desires on the altar of dedication
To the notion of the beloved, the family
Or the deity we think we know and adore as devotees
So many dreams that sank into oblivion, forgotten
Like some ancient vase from a sunken Phonecian galley
Hoping, wondering, praying
Wishing them all well
The young, the old, the wayfarer
The mailman, the lawn cutter, doctor, dentist, shopkeeper and tailor
Schoolteacher and plumber, fisherman and grave digger, all of us
Going about our business, putting out of our minds
The inevitable reality which will overtake us all

Death....the name reverberates terribly in our mind
Without pronouncing it on our lips
Lowly is resounds, suggesting impending doom
Like the sound of a deep church bell
Or the beating upon a lone drum
Keep busy, keep busy, work, mend and get on with your chores!
Visit your church on Sunday, or mosque on Friday afternoons
Synagogues filled with the devout on Saturday Shabbas
In temples and ashrams, cave and cloister
Devotees seeking the reasons for life and living
And why it is that the inevitable, which brings our day to a close
With no guarantee of heaven or the promised gardens
With cushions, upon which the elect recline
Rivers of wine served to the blessed by angels...supposedly
As the clergy of all the faiths tell us, as if it were fact
As if they really know

With these promises in mind we are ever reminded to accept a truth Which cannot be proven
On pain of torture or excommunication we are forced to accept That which in our hearts we question 
In the depths of our soul, knowing full well our heart, our instinct Never lies to us
Because society said so, because we are afraid of the unknown...
"It would be better for thee, if ye but knew" we have been told
Time and again, century after century, millennia, over the ages
Heaven or hell, take your pick, for free will is yours for the asking
Even though the millions lost in wars and famines 
In shipwrecks and plagues
The murdered, the raped, those beaten and crippled
By those abusers of their granted free will
Or those struck down with incurable disease, or born with defects Inherent in their genes
This notion of free will, granted by god or by the gods equally
If only the victims of terror and pain or the dying, innocent child
Had such free will to make but one wish...
That they had not been born at all

Light and dark on a collision course, ever blending
Always creating and bringing forth
We are the final outcome, a result of that primordial collision
Of two opposing forces
This is why where there is love there too we find hate
War, peace, sickness, well being, encouragement and sheer jealousy
This is the nature of our existence

Free yourself from that which you have been taught
Forced to accept
From those who feared to speak the truth
Yes, Divinity is goodness, peace, harmony and light, seek this light
But know that it is not the nature of the universe
Nor the ability of the beneficent light
To stop evil on it's own for if it could, it would...
Deep within, permeating your body of matter formed
From the darkness is a luminescent soul, an inner being of light
The real and true you
Death is a victory for the soul, a rite of passage
Freedom! Liberation! At last!
We join the eternal light, forever, illuminating the heavens
To the chagrin of the lord of darkness
Extinguishing black, stinking, dank negativity
We join the realm of the crystalline
On that fateful day all our pain and sorrow
Regrets and disappointments, finally comes to an end
So strive with all your will and power, inspired by light
For this realm and garden of luminosity
Is your final and permanent abode, your goal
And darkness will just have to deal with it's own defeat
The chaos that it has brought forth over eons of time
Will implode, collapse upon itself and crumble
Under the severity of it's own weight
Every time we die, a new light is lit
A light which can never be extinguished...
Ever