Encoding Wisdom in Symbols
The modern era in which we live makes it possible to share knowledge in depth. We have computers, the internet, social networks, televisions, etc. These are all means of broadcasting our thoughts and ideas to the public. But have you wondered how it worked back when these technologies were not present?
Human history is also filled with stages around the world where libraries full of books, research, and advanced works were destroyed! How was it then possible to safeguard this wisdom for generations to come? Of course, knowledge has sometimes remained intact at a certain level through folklore, popular songs, etc. in India as in the rest of the world. But what is fascinating in India is that this has given rise to the encoding of wisdom in symbols, symbolic stories!
The beginning…
Today, when people think of Indian spirituality, they often confuse it with religion, they often think of various symbols like Shiva, Ganesh, and various gods, goddesses, etc. considering it to be the Hindu religion.
But in reality, few people realize that this is not the true source of Indian spiritual wisdom. This may surprise many of us, but ancient Indian spiritual wisdom comes from texts called "Vedas", which literally means "Knowledge" or "Knowledge of the secrets of the universe".
These books are believed to have been heard/received (i.e. Shrutis in Sanskrit) in their meditations by the Rishis, and they are writings on the five elements that constitute the universe and life on earth. In fact, the whole concept of Sanatam Dharma is based on working on oneself while living in the material world, understanding these elements and how the entire creation is made up of them.
This is why you will see Indians worshiping trees, rivers, mountains, the sun, the moon, etc. The concept of temples/statues emerged much later, perhaps as recently as two thousand years ago, as a way of bringing people together.
The detailed writings explain the mechanism of these elements to create and animate life, but most people forgot this source and, with time, began to believe more in other forms of gods and goddesses, mentioned in other other books called “Puranas”, “Upanishads”, etc… in order to share the teachings on life with sometimes more ordinary, less spiritual people, who did not know Sanskrit and did not have access to in-depth interior studies.
It was a time when technologies did not exist, when people lived in small groups, in villages, without any access to the outside world, and where work was distributed among people for harmonious social functioning. These symbols were spoken of to share knowledge with less spiritual people, by telling stories through dance forms. All this was done to introduce Dharma among people, that is, to give them a sense of responsibility through their different roles, while remaining detached so as to always remember the existence of a power superior, which many would call “God”.
Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh – The Trinity
Often when people think of Indian spirituality, these three names come to mind. Did they really exist in physical reality?
Well, maybe or maybe not, because it doesn't matter when you want to learn everything receptively. Brahma symbolizes creation, Vishnu symbolizes perseverance and Mahesh (i.e. Shiva) symbolizes transformation by ending an old cycle and starting a new one. The Ancients introduced these symbols to represent the natural cycles of creation and the magnitude of these was indicated by these symbols. What's interesting is that most people don't always know the full story that is shared about this.
In the scriptures it is said that at the very beginning was “Shakti”, meaning femininity, receptivity, the life force. Then she gave birth to Vishnu, the preserver (contrary to what most people think, Brahma did not come first). Brahma emerged from Vishnu's navel on a lotus, as seen in stories and statues in temples today. Then Vishnu and Brahma had ego conflicts, wanting to prove that they were more important than the other. To solve this problem, the energy of Shiva was revealed. They both realized that it was an endless beam of energy, that it was infinite! This is why Shiva is also known as Mahesh, the Supreme God.
Without the symbolic language, it all seems weird...
If we read all of this as a story, then it may seem unrealistic and we may wonder why they encoded it into a story, instead of clearly revealing the whole truth... Why did the ancients have to symbolize these deep secrets on the Universe?
Well, this was done to protect them, because they knew that everyone would decode them according to the availability of their soul, to only receive what they are ready to receive. This was also done to help people remember it, as the human mind remembers more what is described in the form of a story, given that we are very emotional and symbolic beings.
The mind tends to easily forget what seems only intellectual to it. However, with time, people forgot the deep encoded wisdom that lay behind it, and what remained were the rituals which were mostly fear based or led by priests for power for some, while there were also very good priests… As in all other traditions.
But what were the ancients really trying to say with this story? We must decode it symbolically to connect to its deep wisdom.
Opening the veil with symbolic language
Through symbolic wisdom, it becomes possible to revisit the deep ancient Vedic knowledge, to connect to our ancestral wisdom which never ages, which always remains true in the Vedas when decoded symbolically.
The knowledge of the Vedas was not easily understandable by the common man, it was not only spiritual but also very scientific. In fact, today we can see how science is once again discovering what is mentioned in the Vedas. Thus, the representation of concepts was done symbolically in the form of stories so that it becomes more accessible to everyone. The lessons have been simplified to adapt to daily life.
The symbols continued to be transferred through these stories and rituals from generation to generation, but over time the symbolic essence was lost and the symbolic language was forgotten by humanity until today. today. This is changing today thanks to the UCM Teaching & Research Center, which brings back this source language through which the intelligence of the Universe communicates with us all via Dreams, Signs and Symbols.
Coming back to the story of the Trinity, we can understand what the Rishis (the ancient scientists and researchers) were trying to say when we open the veil behind the symbols.
It all starts with “Shakti”, that is to say love, receptivity, the feminine principle that exists in each of us. Everything that manifests indicates “Prakriti”, that is to say the nature of this principle in creation.
All the goddesses in the stories indicate what works well or creates distortion when this principle animates our world of emotions. Vishnu is symbolically responsible for establishing all Divine Laws and Principles before anything is even created, in order to set expectations and goals, just as we do when we want to create a family or an organization.
In fact, everything begins in the world of concepts, of thoughts, as an idea first, before it one day takes physical form. It is then that Brahma enters the scene through his navel on a lotus, that is to say the chakra of power, fire, which leads to motivation, to the will to Create.
We see the lotus symbol in many traditions, as the lotus flower symbol represents the feelings of an initiate who is focused on Self-realization through deep inner work. A lotus blooms in a muddy pond, symbolizing how true Self-realization takes place when memories regarding matter, the use/abuse of power in it are cleansed, memories where the power of emotions has been distorted into the matter world, creating excessive fire. And when people enter into ego-fueled consciousness, then conflicts for supremacy begin. “Which is more powerful: the one who creates or the one who preserves? ”, all this is the game of the ego.
Often, as humans, we also become possessive of material things, forgetting the true intention behind it, which is to develop qualities through learning and experimenting in the material. We as humans sometimes defy divine laws and principles throughout our lives, in ignorance, feeding the ego and ending up trapped in the conflict between good and evil, due to lack of knowledge. To free himself from it, Shiva is revealed. Shiva means moving from ignorance to knowledge, from the state of death to that of being truly “Alive” in terms of state of consciousness and existence. Shiva reveals that we are in an infinite cycle of learning which will lead to many creations and the maintenance of learning, then ending this cycle to begin the next, for continuity of evolution. Shiva therefore symbolizes the state of being “Conscious”. What begins must end one day, once its objective has been achieved, to give rise to a new cycle or stage of learning. Thus, Shiva here brings the symbolism of Detachment, its other Sanskrit name – Vairagi Yogi.
There is so much to say about this story when we begin to decode it symbolically. Indeed, we realize that it is not possible to understand Indian spiritual wisdom without symbolic language! What a joy to share with you the ancient Indian spiritual wisdom, in the light of decoding the deep symbols that are also hidden behind everything we experience every day... Everything that Life brings us on the path can be understood, decoded and analyzed with the understanding of symbolic language. With this Knowledge that you can learn through the UCM Teaching and Research Center, you can rediscover what has been lost... Find ancient wisdom, in your modern life. Therein lies the great story of evolution…
