"The goat idol of the "and the deity of the sorcerers'
Sabbat. The name is composed of three abbreviations: Tem. ohp.
Ab., *Templi omnium hominum pacis abhas*, "the father of the
temple of universal peace among men."
Some authorities hold that Baphomet was a monstrous head, others
that it was a demon in the form of a goat. An account of a
veritable Baphometic idol is as follows:
[describing the Levi Baphomet, perhaps Levi's descript. -- tn]
A pantheistic and magical figure of the Absolute.
The torch placed between two horns, represents
the equilibrating intelligence of the triad. The
goat's head, which is synthetic, and unites some
characteristics of the dog, bull, and ass,
represents the exclusive responsibility of matter
and the expiation of bodily sins in the body.
The hands are human, to exhibit the sanctity of
labor; they make the sign of esotericism above and
below, to impress mystery on initiates, and they
point at two lunar crescents, the upper being white
and the lower black, to explain the correspondences
of good and evil, mercy and justice. The lower part
of the body is veiled, portraying the mysteries of
universal generation, which is expressed solely by
the symbol of the caduceus. The belly of the goat
is scaled, and should be colored green, the semi-
circle above should be blue; the plumage, reaching
to the breast, should be of various hues. The goat
has female breasts, and thus its only characteristics
are those of maternity and toil, otherwise the signs
of redemption. On its forehead, between the horns
and beneath the torch, is the sign of the microcosm,
or the pentagram with one beam in the ascendant,
symbol of human intelligence, which, placed thus
below the torch, makes the flame of the latter an
image of divine revelation. This Pantheos should
be seated on a cube, and its footstool should be a
single ball, or a ball and a triangular stool."
In" of Sorcery and "(1851), Thomas Wright
stated:
Another charge in the accusation of the Templars
seems to have been to a great degree proved by the
deposition of witnesses; the idol or head which
they are said to have worshipped, but the real
character or meaning of which we are totally unable
to explain. Many Templars confessed to having seen
this idol, but as they described it differently,
we must suppose that it was not in all cases
represented under the same form. Some said it was
a frightful head, with long beard and sparkling
eyes; others said it was a man's skull; some
described it as having three faces; some sait it
was of wood, and others of metal; one witness
described it as a painting (*tabula picta*)
representing the image of a man (*imago hominis*)
and said that when it was shown to him, he was
ordered to 'adore Christ, his creator.' According
to another deposition, the idol had four feet, two
before and two behind; the one belonging to the
order at Paris, was said to be a silver head, with
two faces and beard. The novices of the order
told always to regard this idol as their saviour.
Deodatus Jaffet, a knight from the south of France,
who had been received at Pedenat, deposed that the
person who in his case performed the ceremonies of
reception, showed him a head or idol, which
appeared to have three faces, and said, 'You must
adore this as your saviour, and the saviour of the
order of the Temple' and htat he was made to worship
the idol, saying, 'Blessed be he who shall save my
soul.' Cettus Ragonis, a knight received at Rome
in a chamber of the palace of the Lateran, gave a
somewhat similar account. Many other witnesses
spoke of having seen these heads, which, however,
were, perhaps, not shown to everybody, for the
greatest number of those who spoke on this subject,
said that they had heard speak of the head, but that
they had never seen it themselves; and many of them
declared their disbelief in its existence. A friar
minor deposed in England that an English Templar
had assured him that in that country the order had
four principal idols, one at London, in the Sacristy
of the Temple, another at Bristelham, a third at
Brueria (Bruern in Lincolnshire), and a fourth
beyond the Humber.
Some of the knights from the south added another
circumstance in their confessions relating to this
head. A templar of Florence, declared that, in
the secret meetings of the chapters, one brother
said to the others, showing them the idol, 'Adore
this head. This head is your God and your Mahomet.'
Another, Gauserand de Montpesant, said that the idol
was made in the figure of Baffomet (*in figuram
Baffometi*); and another, Raymond Rubei, described
it as a wooden head, on which was painted the figure
of *Baphomet*, and he adds, 'that he worshipped it
kissing its feet, and exclaiming *Xalla*,' which he
describes as 'a word of the Saracens' (*verbum
Saracenorum*). This has been seized upon by some
as proof that the Templars had secretly embraced
Mahometanism, as *Baffomet* or *Baphomet* is
evidently a corruption of Mahomet; but it must not
be forgotten that the Christians of the West
constantly used the word Mahomet in the mere
signification of an idol, and that it was the desire
of those who conducted the persecution against the
Templars to show their intimate intercourse with
the Saracens. Others, especially Von Hammer, gave
a Greek derivation of the word, and assumed it as a
proof that gnosticism was the secret doctrine of the
temple....
Some occultists have suggested that the Baphomet of the Templars
was really the god of the witches deriving from the nature god
Pan. During the nineteenth century, the Austrian Orientalist
Baron Joseph von Hammer-Purghstall discovered an inscription on
a coffer in Burgundy which he claimed showed that Baphomet
derived from two Greek words meaning "Baptism of Metis" {Wisdom}";
the inscription exalted Metis or Baphomet as the true divinity.
When Karl Kellner and other early twentieth-century German
occultists founded the secret order".T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis
or Order of Templars in the East), they installed the British
occultist Aleister "as head of the British section, and
gave he gave himself the magical name of Baphomet.
Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2nd Ed.,
edited and revised by Leslie Shepard, Gale Research
Company, 1984; pp. 131-2.
"Bataille" and "Margiotta" claimed that the order of the Palladium
or Sovereign Council of Wisdom was constituted in France in 1737,
and this, they inferred, was one and the same as the legendary
Palladium of the Templars, better known by the name of "In 1801 one Isaac Long, a Jew, was said to have carried the
"original image" of Baphomet to Charleston in the United States,
and it is alleged that the lodge he founded then became the chief
in the Ancient and Accepted Scotch Rite. He was succeeded in due
course by Albert Pike, who, it was alleged, extended the Scotch
Rite, and shared the Anti-Catholic Masonic chieftainship with the
Italian patriot Mazzini. This new directory was established, it
was asserted, as the new Reformed Palladium Rite or the Reformed
Palladium.
Ibid, p. 330.
"
WHAT ARE THE WRATHFUL DEITIES OF THE CHONYID BARDO? Just like the peaceful deities in the Chonyid Bardo, the wrathful deities are the manifestations of the karmic fruits and experiences in our life. From the 12th until the 19th day, the consciousness of the dead person must now face the horrifying deities who appear surrounded by flames. According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, these figures are beyond one's imagination although they are often portrayed in Tibetan art as multi-limbed and multi-headed entities and the literature speak of them as manifesting in otherwordly dimensions.
The wrathful deities are the powerful counterparts of the peaceful deities. Like demonic monsters we commonly see in films, they capture the spirit of the dead and try to drink its blood (which symbolize one's desires and passions) from cups made out of human skull. Because these visions are so intensely frightening, the consciousness of the dead person tries to get away from them, eventually descending into the lower realms of the after death state until it is propelled to its proper place for rebirth. More on the gory details later.
Another characteristic of the wrathful deities of the bardo is that of having animal heads with human bodies which is something particularly comparable to the gods of ancient Egypt such as Horus (falcon), Thoth (ibis), Anubis (jackal), Bastet (cat), Hathor (cow), Khnum (ram), and Serket (scorpion). Like the animal-headed deities from the Egyptian pantheon, the wrathful deities also have symbolic meanings which can be deciphered by studying what the corresponding animals represent.
Are the Wrathful Deities real?
What is their purpose?
As mentioned in the previous article, all the peaceful and wrathful deities are only archetypal images of the mind that have no reality of their own. They are empty and cannot harm the body of an enlightened awareness. All the blood-drinking and animal-headed deities of the bardo are mere projections of the intellect and they emerge from the four directions of the third eye chakra.
However, since it was mentioned that the consciousness of the dead person is already capable of having sensory awareness after it has gone through the first bardo, it experiences the vision of the wrathful deities in full realistic horror, even more unbearable and dreadful than The Exorcist, The Ring, or A Nightmare on Elm Street in 4D. Wait... 4D?
Now, the effect of the images becomes even stronger if the awareness-body tries to evade or reject them. This is not good news for the dead person because evading or rejecting these visions would cause its consciousness to descend into unconsciousness. This basically means that instead of having power over these entities by accepting them as aspects of your own consciousness, they gain power over you. Figuratively speaking, all the demons hide inside the subconscious and wield their influence in your life now because before you were born, your consciousness wasn't strong enough to overcome them in the after death state (assuming you accept rebirth as part of your belief system). It is, therefore, reasonably important for spiritual practitioners in Tibetan Buddhism and other traditions to pay attention to this fact during their lifetime and distinguish these hidden aspects of consciousness to avoid being overwhelmed once they leave this world.
According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, all the wrathful deities appear in order to purify awareness of false thinking, ignorance, and delusion. Any kind of reaction that is the result of fear is a movement towards rebirth. If you are able to recognize the deities by name and see through them as mere illusions, they instantly lose their power over your consciousness and you achieve liberation.
The Vision of the Wrathful Deities
(12th to 19th DAY)
All the deities you will see here are the polar opposites of the peaceful deities. The wrathful deities appear on a lotus-sun throne of the forehead mandala (third eye chakra) and stand in a blazing aureole of flames. Since they are quite numerous, I can only provide a short description for each group of deities. If you are interested to know more about them, you can search their names on Google/Wikipedia or, even better, read the English translations of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Also, it's quite hard to find pictures that exactly fit the descriptions I have, so forgive me if this creates a little bit of confusion.
1. THE POWERFUL MAHASRI-HERUKA
"
Mahasri-Heruka"
The visions start with Mahasri-Heruka, the lord of the "blood-drinking deities." He is the tremendously wrathful expression of Adibuddha (the source of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas in the bardo). Mahasri-Heruka is usually depicted as red-brown in color with three heads, nine eyes, six arms, and four legs surrounded by a ring of flames. His right face is the color of smoke, the middle is white, and the left is red. In his three right hands he carries a short metal weapon called vajra, a trident, and a drum with a handle. In his left hands he carries a bell, a skull cup, and a sling made from innards. The powerful Heruka is usually depicted in tantric union or "yab yum" with his dakini, whose color is pure white. Like the Adibuddha, the powerful Mahasri-Heruka occupies a special position among the bardo deities and all of the symbols associated with him have specific meanings.
2. THE FIVE BLOOD-DRINKING DEITIES
"
The Five Blood-Drinking Deities"
The next vision involves the Five Blood-Drinking deities (a.k.a. Buddha-Herukas) in tantric union with their five dakinis. Their purpose is to annihilate the five principal failings of human behavior (ignorance, hatred, pride, passion, and envy) while the five dakinis enlighten the five elemental realms (earth, water, fire, air, ether). All of them have three heads, six arms, and four legs and are adorned with crowns of skulls and skull-necklaces. They are usually depicted in paintings with wings of the garuda bird, a mythical bird that symbolizes the power to overcome evil.
1. BUDDHA-HERUKA - appears in the center with his smoky-white dakini Krodhesvari. This wrathful Heruka is an emanation of Buddha Vairocana, manifesting himself in a terrifying flaming form. In his right hands he carries a long-handled axe, a flaming sword, and the wheel of the teachings; in his left, a kapala, a ploughshare, and a bell.
2. VAJRA- HERUKA (dark blue ) - appears in the east with his dakini Vajra-Krodhesvari
3. RATNA-HERUKA (yellow) -appears in the south with his dakini Ratna-Krodhesvari
4. PADMA-HERUKA (red) - appears in the west his dakini Padma-Krodhesvari
5. KARMA-HERUKA (green) - appears in the north with his dakini Karma-KrodhesVari
Note: The descriptions do not match the picture.
3. THE EIGHT KEURIMA ">
The next vision involves the eight Keurima and the eight animal-headed Phramenma. All of these deities originate from the various regions of the head. They wear leopard-skins and hover in empty space, surrounded by blazing flames. They should not be feared, but instead be considered as mere projections of the mind. Psychologically, they have the same purpose as the Eight Mahabodhisattvas and their Dakinis.
The Keurima are the counterparts of the Eight Mahabodhisattvas from the mandala of the peaceful deities. Their sole purpose is to purify and enlighten the eight kinds of awareness (the psychic organs of perception). The Keurima are divided into two groups. The first group of dakinis is of the cardinal directions of the mandala and of pure colors. The other four are of the intermediate directions with mixed colors.
The Phramenma are the eight animal-headed deities who rule over the eight realms of consciousness (the corresponding physical organs of perception). They are the wrathful counterparts of the eight dakinis of the Eight Mahabodhisattvas. Four of the Phramenma have animal heads and they correspond to the four cardinal directions of the eight-petalled lotus. The other four have bird heads and correspond to the intermediate directions.
4. THE FOUR ANIMAL-HEADED FEMALE GUARDIANS OF THE MANDALA
The next vision involves the Four Animal-Headed Female Guardians. Their purpose is to indicate to the dead person its four boundaries. These boundaries represent the "Four Sublime States" (compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, and equanimity).
5. THE 28 ANIMAL-HEADED DEITIES
Finally, the awareness-body comes face to face with the rest of the crew, the 28 powerful Animal-headed Deities who are enjoying their sumptuous banquet of corpses, internal organs, and blood. Their purpose is to help consciousness to overcome any remaining false ideas and karmic hindrances so that it may be freed from all passions and attachments.
THE END OF THE CHONYID BARDO VISIONS
During the entire period of the Chonyid Bardo experience, the lama or guru keeps on reminding the consciousness of the dead person through the death ritual how important it is to recognize these images as one's own thought-forms even if he spent years of his life studying scriptures or practicing tantric techniques. Failure to do so at this point means failure to achieve liberation or moksha/buddhahood. Also, if one flees from the thought-forms out of fear all-throughout the visual experience of the wrathful deities, all of them will finally transform to the most powerful and terrifying aspect of the Lord of Death, Dharma-Raja, who represents ignorance, hate, and greed. The peaceful deities, on the other hand, turn into a powerful protective deity called Mahakala representing wisdom and enlightenment, although still wrathful in form.
"They will come having their upper teeth biting the nether lip; their eyes glassy; their hairs tied up on the top of the head; big-bellied, narrow-wasted; holding a karmic record-board in the hand; giving utterance from their mouth to sounds of 'Strike! Slay!', licking human brain, drinking blood, tearing heads from corpses, tearing out the hearts..."
Source: http://www.summum.us/mummification/tbotd/book1.shtml
Now you can just imagine how this can turn out to be such a bad day for the dead person without someone reminding him that it is not real. This is also why sacrifices and prayers are given as part of the death ritual just so the dead can make it through the dangers of the afterlife. From a psychological standpoint, these visions are seen as the processes of instinctual life, the repressed emotions, and the core patterns of memory and perception that are hidden from our consciousness. Carl Jung refers to this process, taking place in real life, as an encounter with the shadow. When this happens, the elements that occupy the unconscious mind try to penetrate consciousness and force the individual to face his own demons which are projected into the outside world. For Buddhists, the only way to overcome this in life, or even in death, is through the expansion of one's consciousness. In the next article, I will discuss the Sidpa Bardo wherein the journey through the six realms of existence and the search for the next place of rebirth take place. Say your prayers before going to bed, ayt?
Read all the articles in the Buddha Mind series.
