Tepe contains the oldest archeological examples of monumental architecture (Figure 10); specifically, monoliths with carved reliefs that prominently featured vultures, eagles, snakes, bulls and lions, thus mapping to the four “fixed” constellations. We can safely assume that Aryan astronomer/priests understood how the cyclical nature of their observations defined the year, linking the elements in a seasonal rotation of Spring (Earth), Summer (Fire), Autumn (Wind), and Winter (Water). During the Neolithic period, farming methods depended on the four seasons. As noted within many spiritual traditions, the cycle of four seasons metaphorically applies to the cycle of a man’s life, including: birth, growth, aging, and death, followed by rebirth into a new cycle.
From today’s perspective these four elements might best be understood as the four states of matter. For example, Earth would not have been thought of as limited to the dirt we can run through our fingers. The earliest concept of Earth would have taken on the meaning of a solid, i.e. materiality. Similarly, the body’s various liquids would have been associated with the primordial element Water, such as: blood, semen, and urine. The ancient element of Air represented the air we breath, the winds of fall, and the subtle winds of Spirit. The Hebrew word ruach translates to either breath, wind or spirit. The concept of Fire was not limited to flames. When we heat gas it ionizes, freeing electrons that were bound to an atom or molecule. The mobility of positive and negative charges make it electrically conductive. Modern science calls this plasma. It is the most prevalent phase of matter in the universe. Saint Elmo’s fire, for example, falls into this category. It has been explained as an electric field surrounding an object causing ionization that produces a faint glow. During an electrical storm this luminescence can be seen at the tips of ship masts or a bull’s horns. At various times it has been called “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “the Candles of the Holy Ghost,” or “the Candles of David.” Since prehistoric times, man’s thought separated him from other creatures, and early science described those thoughts in terms of man’s “inner Fire.” In 1791, Luigi Galvani first described bioelectricity in more modern terms. Today, we know that man’s thought processes, and indeed his entire nervous system, is driven by a complex flow of electrical signals.
The science of polytheism is based on the Riddle of the Sphinx as a hybrid of the four primordial elements (Figures 11a - e). Similarly, the science of the Bible is based on these same four elements coming together as a Cherubim, i.e., the four-headed Seraphim that pulls Ezekiel’s Chariot. This would become the template for the Creation of four “worlds” within the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition. These same four “worlds” are described in the Rig Veda’s “Hymn of Man,” where Primal man is a composite of creatures that are “three-quarters” immortal in heaven, and one-quarter earthbound.
Such is his greatness, and the Man is yet more than this. All creatures form a quarter of him; Three-quarters are what is immortal in Heaven. With three-quarters the Man rose up on high, and one quarter of him still remains here. From this he spread in all directions, into that which eats [the physical body] and that which does not eat [ the soul]. From his navel arose the atmosphere, from his head the sky evolved, from his feet the earth, and from his ear the cardinal points of the compass: so did they fashion forth these worlds.83
Figure 11a - Four “Fixed” Signs in the Clock of 12 Zodiac Constellations Defines a Sphinx
Within the ancient scientific lexicon, Fire (heat) was understood to be the catalyst between ice, water, steam and plasma. Man’s meditation harnessed his “inner Fire” and transformed the primordial elements from one state to another. At birth, man was tied to the Heavens through his umbilical cord, while at death, he would shed his Earthly skin, the body, in the manner of a molting snake. The meditation practice of Moksha harmonizes and transforms the soul’s remaining three elements, which empowers it to liberate from its Earthly container in order to find its way “home.” A High Priest, who mastered the elements in this manner, could liberate his soul at will while still very much alive. Man’s most ancient and sacred priestly practice was always mankind’s most guarded secret because one could acquire “divine gifts,” i.e., the legendary powers of the Aryan fathers. The main goal of Eastern faiths is, to this day, rooted in meditation, guided by the unquestioned belief that it can bring man to a perfected state of Enlightenment. Indeed, since the dawn of civilization, the great goal and meaning of life has been to acquire knowledge, wisdom, and the “divine gifts” of healing and prophecy by using meditation to master the primordial elements.
The baseline for the entire mythological landscape in the Middle East can be generalized as a “harmonization” of the four primordial elements. And, any syncretistic matrix of “gods on the mountain” must begin with each culture’s divine embodiments of these four elements. Ancient man viewed himself as a complex amalgam of these elements, and the primary goal of the pre-Sumerian meditation practice would have been to master them in order to “cross over” from the material to the spiritual world.
Figure 11b - Sumerian Goddess Inanna as a Sphinx Figure 11c - Assyrian Sphinx
Figure 11d - Four “Fixed” Banners Representing the 12 Tribes at the Tabernacle Encampment
Figure 11e - The 12 Tribes of Israel in Four Camps
Comparing Wisdom Traditions
To get some perspective on what it means to master the four primordial elements, it might be helpful to get a closer look at the core religious practices of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Jainism, etc., since mastering the elements through meditation is still the mainstay of these faiths. Among the first things a new practitioner is taught is how to breath properly. There is Taoist breathing, Buddhist breathing, Hindu Pranayama, etc., but, all of these ancient faiths share the belief that mastering the primordial element of Air, or Wind, is a crucial step in establishing a “sitting” practice. Each of these faiths share in the belief that the primordial element of Water, as it relates to meditation, is associated with the seminal fluids. Mastering the element of Water through celibacy or infrequent ejaculation (varying with age) is the second powerful resource for establishing an effective daily practice. Mastering the primordial element of Fire implies thought control. Just as seminal fluid can be wasted during sexual contact, a distracted mind undermines one’s ability to harness one’s inner Fire because the brain’s electrical activity is the main catalyst required to transform the other elements. Early religion was based on the idea that mastering Fire, Water, and Wind in this manner, vivifies and strengthens man’s inner energies, ultimately empowering the practitioner to liberate their soul. The human body was the eternal soul’s temporal container within the material realm.
In the West, we sometimes speak about death as “giving up the ghost.” Buddhist monks and lamas tell us that their deep meditation practice is a simulation of death, because the “illusory body” — what the New Testament calls Christ’s “Heavenly body” — is “liberated” as in death. Taoism calls it liberating the “immortal foetus.” In the West, meditation has evolved into prayer. Western prayer might derive from the ancient meditation practice, but, generally speaking, it is considerably more dilute and much less exacting as a method. If we could learn to pray like the Biblical prophets, our meditation would be focused on learning to maintain the hypnagogic state for long periods of time.
Dramatic
