The double spiral and the double movement of emanation and reabsorption of the cosmos

di Marco Maculotti
cover: phases of the moon, taken from "Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae" by Athanasius Kircher, 1646

In the first essay of this column on the theme of the symbolism of the spiral and the "cosmic rebirth" [cf. The symbolism of the Spiral: the Milky Way, the shell, the "rebirth"] we dwelt on the esoteric meanings of the spiral symbol and the closely related ones of the Milky Way and the shell. In this second appointment we aim to analyze the symbol of the double spiral from an even more 'cosmic' perspective, with regard to the traditions that convey this symbol to concepts concerning the creation (or rather, the emanation) of the cosmos and its reabsorption. We will begin our discourse by examining the Indian Brahmin tradition and comparing it with the Tantric śivaist one of Kashmir, and then analyzing the points of contact, from a religious syncretism point of view, with that — distant in terms of time and space — pre-Columbian of the Nahua-Aztec peoples.

Emanation of the cosmos and its reabsorption in Brahmanism

There are countless passages of the Upanishad in which the way in which the universe emerged from non-existence and how it will eventually be reabsorbed is expounded. A passage states with the utmost clarity: "Brahmā the creator, sitting on the lotus, opens his eyes and a world begins to be. Brahmā closes his eyes, and a world ceases to to be".

Compare this oriental doctrine with the one, perhaps most familiar to us Europeans, enunciated by Plato in Politico (269c ff.): The cause of regression and cosmic catastrophes would be the consequence of a double movement of the universe, which the Greek philosopher states in these terms:

«Sometimes the divinity guides the whole of its circular resolution, sometimes it abandons it to itself, once the revolutions have reached in duration the measure that belongs to this universe; it then begins to turn again in the opposite direction, of its own motion ... "

The orientalist Alain Daniélou writes [Myths and gods of India, p. 269] regarding the creation of the cosmos in the Brahminical conception:

"The possibility of a form, of a perceptible reality, depends on the existence of a place where it can manifest and expand, that is to say of an oriented environment which in our universe is space-time and which results from a coordination between opposite tendencies, between a centrifugal principle and a centripetal principle. This balance between concentration and dispersion, between the tendency towards existence and that towards annihilation, between light and darkness, Vishnu and Shiva, is called Immense Being (Brahmā). The origin of the visible world can therefore be neither Vishnu, nor Shiva, nor concentration, nor dispersion; it results from their opposition, from their equilibrium, which determines the third trend, the orbiting one, called rajas. The immense Being (Brahmā) symbolizes the possibility of existence resulting from the coordination of opposites. "

This "immense Being" (Brahmā), as a "personified creator" and efficient cause of the cosmos, arises from the polarization of abstract and impersonal immensity (brahman), antecedent to him. THEl cosmos (in the sense of continuum space-time but also Hellenically of "order") is initiated by Brahmā "the Creator" as the first emanation of the brahman impersonal and therefore the source of everything, while the other two numinous powers of Trimurti - Vishnu "the Preserver" and Shiva "the Destroyer" - are configured respectively as 'guarantors' of the phases di dispersion (emanation - centrifugal movement - "escape from the center" - guṇa sattwa) to di concentration (reabsorption - centripetal movement - "(re) approaching the center" - guṇa Thomas) of Being in the cosmos.

The guṇa slits it manifests itself here according to Daniélou «in the form of a orbiting impulse, origin of space and time. Without this movement that creates the appearance of division in the continuum space-time, the substratum remains an immensity without coordinates, without limits, without place, without duration, which presents no possibility for existence ».

Remember here that i guna they can be seen as those components which, due to their incessant combination, determine the phases and details of cosmic evolution. So the Maitrī Upaniṣad (V, 2), using these concepts, exposes the creation of the cosmos:

“In truth, in the beginning, there was, only, this darkness (tamas). It was in the Supreme (Brahmā). That, induced by the Supreme, moved towards diversity (viṣama). That form, indeed, is rajas. That rajas, certainly, stimulated, moved towards diversity. This, indeed, is the nature-form of sattva. "

The "days and nights of Brahmā":
double movement of the cosmos and doctrine of cosmic cycles

Let's go back to ancient Hellas for a moment. In the De defectu oraculorum (§26, EF), Plutarch wrote verbatim words regarding the two movements of the cosmos as perceivable from our terrestrial perspective: "disintegration disperses matter by transporting it from the center upwards in a circular motion, while condensation, on the contrary, compresses it downwards, directing it to the center"- and to follow (§28, E) reports the conviction according to which"the substance is organized and held together by its own centripetal and centrifugal movements". This double movement, on the one hand of moving away from the center and on the other of (re) approaching it, is thought of as a double spiral. 

From a traditional and 'cosmic' point of view, therefore, the double spiral is the representation of a dynamic principle which, depending on how it is considered, is "s-turns " or it "wraps" itself, so that the movement moves away from the center (centrifugal) or approaches it (centripetal). René Guénon states that it represents the cosmic manifestation in its double aspect of "development" (succession of ages) and of "winding up" that occurs in the crepuscular passage from one aeon to the next (pralaya, "Flood", ekpyrosis, "Apocalypse") and, in particular, would indicate the continuity existing between the various cosmic cycles, the "expiration"And the"inspiration"Universal, which Brahmin Hinduism defines"the days and nights of Brahmā».

The descending spiral (centrifugal movement - dispersion - emanation of the cosmos by Vishnu), from this point of view, is a geometric representation of time qualified by cyclical doctrines. Remember here that Vishnu is the god who, periodically 'descending' (of Yuga in Yuga) in the form of avatara, presents itself as the 'guarantor' of the dharma, the cosmic order of Creation:

“So whenever order (Dharma) fails and disorder advances, I myself produce myself, to protect the good and destroy the wicked, to restore order, from age to age, I am born. "(Bhagavadgītā IV, 7-8)

From an even more macrocosmic point of view, passing from the order of measurement of Yuga to that of kalpas, Hindu wisdom speaks of "days and nights of Brahmā". Like this summarizes the orientalist Heinrich Zimmer in his study Myths and symbols of India [p. 24]:

A day of Brahma begins with creation or evolution, the emanation of a universe from divine, transcendent, unmanifested substance, and ends with dissolution and reabsorption (pralaya), fusion with the Absolute. At the end of a day of Brahma, the spheres of the world disappear, together with all the beings contained therein, and during the following night they exist only as a latent germ of the necessity for manifestation. "

It should be noted at this point how, with the advancement of cosmic cycles, we gradually witness the sinking of reality manifested in the context of contingency: the resulting overall picture is that which Giuseppe Cognetti - in his monograph on Guénon [The dark age, pp. 141-142] - defines:

"[...] a whirlwind acceleration of the "dance of Śiva", which brings about the definitive destruction of the old forms: that is, we are faced with a process of "contraction" of the duration of which the limit is the stopping point where "the wheel stops spinning" and the instantaneous straightening occurs that will inaugurate the new time of a new cycle. »

At this point, as mentioned above, theexpiration of Brahmā and begins theinspiration: ends the centripetal phase of dispersion (Vishnu) and begins that centrifuge of concentration (Shiva): all formerly emanated forms are now annihilated and reabsorbed, with a spiral movement opposite to that which had constituted the first phase of emanation. The cosmic manifestation that took shape during the "day of Brahmā" is now reabsorbed during the equivalent "night". Visually this inspiration of Brahmā is represented by the symbol of the ascending spiral: it is as if the previously unraveled ball of yarn was now rewound, to finally return to the original and central point of the spiral, from which a new "day of Brahmā" will start again.

The twofold movement in the Śivaist conception:
the «Dance of Śiva» and Śakti

In the Tantric Śivaist school of Kashmir we find the same beliefs, with the difference that instead of "days and nights of Brahmā" we speak of Śiva as the "Supreme Lord" and "Absolute Consciousness", and his incessant 'Dance' by means of which He gives birth to the cosmic manifestation, and then reabsorb it entirely in oneself at the end of the cycle. The energy of cosmic creation (o spreads, "Vibration"), the Power of Śiva, is called Śakti and is the 'female' counterpart of the God. Thus Abhinava invokes Śiva:

“The Supreme Lord freely manifests the manifold play of emissions and absorptions in the sky of His own nature. […] When Your nature expands, You, I and the whole universe come into being; when it is contracted, neither You, nor I, nor the universe [exist]. The universe wakes up when You wake up and is destroyed when You sleep. Thus the whole universe of being and non-being is one with You. "

Mark Dyczkowski offers a notable treatment of the subject in his book The doctrine of vibration. He observes [p. 119]:

« In this way, consciousness expands to take the shape of the universe by withdrawing into itself. In other words, veiling His undivided nature, Śiva manifests itself as the variegated game of multiplicity [Śakti, his "power" or spreads, “Vibration”, ed]. Conversely, when Śiva reveals Her own nature and withdraws the veil that contracts consciousness, the universe is destroyed. »

In this second phase [p. 139]:

« […] The contraction of Śakti marks the retreat of the universe and the expansion of the transcendental consciousness of Śiva. And, conversely, the contraction of Śiva's consciousness marks the expansion of Śakti as a cosmos. »

It must be pointed out how this Wisdom School considers the 'masculine' (Šiva) and the 'feminine' (Śakti) aspects of the divine inextricably linked by a relationship of interdependence ("The absolute is both Śiva and Śakti and at the same time none of the two"). They appear as cosmic forces that are ultimately inseparable and non-existent in the absence of the counterpart, just like the two centrifugal and centripetal movements of the double spiral. Thus Dyczkowski explains this 'mystery' [p. 98]:

“Consciousness is the fruitful womb from which all things are born and in which they finally gather to rest in bliss. The Goddess is therefore not only the power of consciousness that generates the cosmic reflection but also the mirror in which it appears. […] Therefore the Goddess Spanda is [cit. Abhinava]: “[…] the power of freedom of the Lord [Śiva, ed] which, although undivided, shows on the screen of his nature [Śakti, ed] all the cycles of creation and destruction. [It reflects them within itself] in such a way that, although they are identical to Her, they appear distinct from them, like a city reflected in a mirror. […] Therefore the Supreme Being is always one with the Spanda principle, and never otherwise ”. "

Emanation and reabsorption at the micro-cosmic level

You can also go further. It must in fact be emphasized that, especially in the Šivaist School, the meditations on this double movement of emanation and reabsorption of the macro-cosmos are extended, through the 'game' of correspondences, also to the micro-cosmos. Dyczkowski states [p. 102] that "the activity of the mind is that of consciousness itself [VAT, ed] or, to be more precise, of his reflective awareness, the power of Spanda [Śakti, ed] ». With this premise, the passage from the macro-cosmic to the micro-cosmic level is more than understandable [p. 76]:

“Consciousness [Śiva, ed] is essentially active. Full of the vibration of its own energy [Śakti, ed] intent on the perceptive act, it manifests itself externally as its own object. When the perceptive act is finished, the consciousness reabsorbs the object and turns on itself, regaining its intimate undifferentiated nature. "

It can therefore be noted that for Hindus the manifestation of consciousness follows the double movement of the spiral both at the macro-cosmic level, i.e. in the context ofemanation and reabsorption of the Cosmos, that at the micro-cosmic level, that is with regard to the perception of an object by a subject, for example. human. In other words, cosmic consciousness rules everything through this double movement, centripetal and centrifugal, which is symbolically manifested in the representation of the double spiral.

The 'dance' of the cosmos and the pralaya

For his part, the Anglo-Sinhalese scholar Ananda K. Coomaraswamy defined the dance of Śiva «the manifestation of the primordial rhythmic energy"And put the god in relation with theEros Protagonos of Luciano when he wrote:

"It would seem that the dance was born at the beginning of all things and appeared together with Eros, the ancient, in fact we see this primordial dance clearly exposed in the choral dance of the constellations, in the planets and in the fixed stars, in their intertwining and alternating and in their orderly harmony. "

In the śivaist cult, Coomaraswamy continues, Brahmā is totally confined outside the continuum cosmic space-time: in other words it is in all respects, to use an Eliadian lexicon, a deus otiosus. Instead, it is Śiva, with her double dance of creation and destruction, who emanates the world and finally reabsorbs it into itself, granting "new rest" (the pralaya between the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next). In this sense [The dance of Śiva, p. 123]:

«In the night of Brahmā Nature is inert and cannot dance until Śiva wants it: He awakens from His ecstasy and, dancing, sends through the inert matter pulsating waves of a sound that causes awakening; and here, too, the matter dances taking the form of a halo around him. By dancing, he keeps the manifold phenomena alive. In the fullness of time, always dancing, He destroys all forms and names with fire and grants new rest. "

«This - concludes Coomaraswamy - it is poetry, but also science ».

Nahua-Aztec tradition

It is worth comparing these Indian doctrines with the pre-Columbian tradition, or rather of the Nahuatl ethnic peoples (Toltecs and Aztecs). In few traditions as in those of ancient Mexico the duplicity of the numinous at every level of cosmic manifestation is emphasized.

According to the beliefs of the Aztecs the supreme god ometeotl, resident in the 13th heaven, unique to contain the seeds of any existing duality and polarity in potential in the cosmos, it has separated in illo tempore (in the 12th heaven, Omeyocan, place of the original duality) in a female part (Omecihuatl) and in a masculine one (Ometecuhtli). The 'masculine' and 'feminine' attributes then subdivided continuously, level after level, sky after sky, from above to below, thus creating a vast range of gods with ever more defined and opposing functional characteristics [cf. A cosmogonic reading of the pantheon of the Mexica tradition, in a perspective of religious syncretism].

For this purpose we consult the excellent work of prof. Federico González [The pre-Columbian symbols, p. 103] who, speaking of Ometeotl as a dual deity residing in the "fifth direction" (the center), observes how in this point "vertical energy is concentrated which descends and ascends between the two poles of an axis". He further adds that:

"[...] located in this immobile axis, there is also Xiuhtecùhtli [also known as Huehueteotl," ancient god "] as the god of fire, in the sense that this represents the central energy and constitutes the original symbolic principle that - through its splitting and its internal oppositions - it generates the alternating round of the elements, the constant warfare of vibrations and cosmic formations. This same god is the patron of the year or century, the one that represents the "new fire", that is the birth of time that constantly regenerates itself, always changing but unalterable in its essence. "

This esoteric reality is described with profound insight by Alfredo Lopez Austin [cit. p. 105] which, referring to the concept of "axis of the world" in the pre-Columbian tradition, states:

"This axis was conceived as the opposition of two helical bands, in perpetual rotational movement, in the manner of a great Malinalli [Editor's note: graphically represented by two crossed spirals, one clear (originating from celestial forces) and one dark (originating from underground). The navel of the world would be located at the point where the two spirals meet], which united heaven and 'inframundo' passing through the navel of the earth. "   

In this sense Xiuhtecùhtli who, immobile in the "center" but subjected to the influence of the double cosmic movement (olin, "Movement", "crossing of opposite energies"), "it generates the alternating round of the elements, the constant warfare of vibrations and cosmic formations» it has the characteristics of the dancing Śiva and, in Vedic symbolism, of Agni, the universal fire. González adds that, in the pre-Columbian tradition [p. 113]:

"The divinities are these energies or attributes of the indissoluble unity, of the unknown and invisible god who dwells in the highest heaven and who, immobile, perpetually invents himself, manifesting himself through descending emanations which, after having traveled and conformed all things, they return to ascend to him with the alternating and cyclical rhythm of universal energy. "

On this, Hindus and ancient Mexicans would agree perfectly. The Mesoamerican sacred doctrine, on the other hand, has peculiar traits in common with that of India: for the Nàhuatl "being born on earth is equivalent to descending from the original celestial abode to live an illusory existence, whose true meaning will actually be realized, reversing, when it will culminate again in arise to the heavens, both acts - that of the descent and that of the ascent - which are accomplished through the same central axis ".

This olin [p. 106] "would originate the continuous succession on earth of days and nights». It is about the same double movement, centrifugal and centripetal, which is symbolically manifested in the representation of the double spiral and in the doctrine of "exhalations and inhalations of Brahmā "and which has as its ultimate goal that" exit from history "of eliadian memory, that" flight from becoming " - becoming which Hindus believe, ultimately, to be an illusion, Maya.

In addition, to conclude, it should be noted how the same Hindu terminology ("exhalations and inhalations of Brahmā") is also known in the exegesis of the Nahua-Aztec tradition. Gonzalez [P. 104] in fact it underlines how:

"[...] this dual energy, continuously renewing itself, has the ability to generate the creational plane, through the opposition and the joining of its activity and its stillness, that is, thanks to the alternating and dual rhythm of universal inspiration and expiration , which expands to the four directions of the world […] configuring it and marking its limits. "

Hence, the divine emanations which are converted into pairs "symbolize and conform the dialectical game of the cosmos, the centripetal and centrifugal forces and their constant realization of stability and order, through the mediation of the track and the complementarity of opposites, which it exemplifies ».

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Bibliography:

• Joseph Cognetti, The dark age. René Guénon news (Mimesis, Milan-Udine, 2014).
• Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, The dance of Śiva (Adelphi, Milan, 2011).
• Alain Danielou, Myths and gods of India. The thousand faces of the Hindu pantheon (BUR, Milan, 2015).
• Mark SG Dyczkowski, The doctrine of vibration in Śivaism Tantric of Kashmir (Adelphi, Milan, 2013).
• Federico Gonzalez, The pre-Columbian symbols. Mythology - Cosmogony - Theogony (Mediterranee, Rome, 1993).
• Plato, Politico.
• Plutarch, Delphic dialogues (Adeplhi, Milan, 2013).
• Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and symbols of India (Adelphi, Milan, 2012).