Symbolism 5 – Cross and Swastika
A Right Understanding
Some of the ancient spiritual symbols are very improperly understood as well as irresponsibly used. Through ignorance, any sublime activity can be nullified and desecrated. The ignorant can even wreak havoc with things like money, power and sexuality while people of goodwill can work miracles with them. Everything depends on intention and how the energies are handled.
Often in the world, untruth is seen as truth, while truth steals away shyly and hides in a corner. Because of ignorance, we perceive a symbol of light as a symbol of darkness, and a symbol of darkness as a symbol of light. When symbols and wisdom teachings are not properly understood or are misinterpreted and the art of reading them is also lacking, it is our task to strive for a proper understanding of things. We can then offer people right understanding and right use of the symbols and the teachings.
The four-armed cross belongs to the cosmic symbols. It is a symbol of the cosmic Christ, who in the East is called Vishnu, the four-armed Lord of Permeation. He is the cosmic person, the Purusha, who pervades and fills all space as awareness. In the Purusha Sukta, the hymn of the cosmic person, it is said of him that he has been fixed in space by the cosmic intelligences, fixed on the four-armed cross. This is called the crucifixion of the cosmic person. Through this sacrifice the ten stages of creation emerge.
Purusha is the cosmic form of the human form. The God who has no form and no name can be concretised in our form. For this, it is recommended to visualise him in our own being and to recognise ourselves as the cosmic human being with arms, feet and hands. The four arms symbolise the fourfold existence on all planes, the spirit, the soul, the mind and the body. Existence is there first and underlies everything. Then there is an impulse that comes to us as an idea. We speak it out as our ideas. The idea details itself into a thought and the thought is translated into visible action.
The worship of the cosmic person through the symbol of the cross has existed since time immemorial in different parts of the world. The cross is a most ancient symbol and it appeared long before the appearance of Christianity. Therefore, we cannot say that it is primarily a Christian symbol. In the Vedic system the cross is called Chatur Bhuja and means 'the four-armed one'. We have to work with all the four arms. Without the fourth dimension of existence, we are not even left with three dimensions, but only two, the mind and the body. When we contemplate on the fourth dimension, existence, the light of wisdom dawns within us.
Cross and Resurrection
The original classical cross has four equal arms circumscribed with a circle. It is a symbol of the heart with a centre and a circumference. The centre represents the consciousness of the human being, and the circumference represents the consciousness of the cosmic human being. The centre is equidistant from all the arms of the cross. We have to work out all four arms. In more recent times, the cross has been distorted from its original equal forms by the downward extension of the lower arm. When the lower arm is extended, the symbol loses its sacredness and it indicates excessive growth into the material. It is in this form that many people are worshipping at present in the Kali Yuga, and as a result they fall even more into the material world. If looking at the cross, we only remember the crucifixion of the initiate called Jesus and the pain and suffering that Jesus went through, it stimulates the emotional centres within us.
Sacrifice is a means of freeing ourselves from all aspects of personality and surrendering ourselves to the Soul. The more we sacrifice, the more we are liberated from the personality. The selfless and unlimited sacrifice of everything always takes place within. It was demonstrated by Jesus Christ on the outside. We elevate ourselves through the sacrifice of the energy of our personality. The sacrifice part is followed by the resurrection. Instead of looking at the resurrected Christ, Christians mostly worship the crucified Christ and the cross as a symbol of his crucifixion. As a result, the Christian system is surrounded by a certain sadness, and the naturally smiling Jesus has been replaced by a sorrowful crucified Jesus. The Masters of Wisdom say that this has seriously damaged the life of Jesus and his message of immortality. When Jesus rose from the grave, he demonstrated that resurrection and triumph is the final step.
The Meaning of the Swastika
Another symbol that has been much abused, misunderstood and misrepresented is the Swastika. It is one of the most sublime Vedic symbols and its meaning should be clarified. The Swastika conveys a much deeper symbolic messages to us than the four-armed cross, if it is understood correctly. The word 'Swastika' means: The One who builds self-existence: 'Swa' means self; 'asti' means existence. Swa plus asti is Swasti. The seed sound 'KA' can manifest. The Swastika is the sublime symbol that leads us to manifest self-existence - not the individual self, but the Self of the One existence that is common to all individual forms of existence.
Swastika also means renewal or restoration of the original order. It is the process of restoring balance. If the symbol is applied correctly with the appropriate sound, it will bring back the divine order. If it is not applied properly, it will create great chaos. It is like electricity. If we know how to make the connection properly, we will get light or even music from the loudspeaker. If we don't handle electricity properly, then we can lose life in the process. Electricity is not something negative just because it can also be deadly.
One person, with limited knowledge, tried to expand what he thought was the New World Order and also misused the Swastika symbol. We want to offer the correct understanding of the Swastika here and not judge Hitler, his actions and what happened as a result. Hitler had contact with certain Tibetan lamas through whom he received this symbol. He experienced the sublimity of the Swastika, which enabled him to achieve his feats. But sublime symbols do not support selfish actions to be performed. If we use them in an inappropriate way, the sublime symbols will bring us harm. So it was with Hitler; his ideas, power and actions went in a wrong direction. He was very powerful; his eyes reflected that power and his magnetism swept people along. When we evolve and achieve power, there is always the possibility of falling at some point. Then self-destruction will set in. Thus, it is with other sacred symbols like the OM. The symbol of the Swastika cooperates constructively when the personality tries to merge with the soul.
The Swastika has four arms and at the end of each arm are lines at a 90-degree angle. These lines indicate the constant change in creation and also in our lives. We live in conditions that are constantly changing. But we are the One who does not change. This unchanging One is in perfect constant transformation. In order for us to experience the glory of transformation, we should rise above the changes. The symbol of the Swastika was used in ancient times to achieve this original state of existence. It is the soul breathing through the pulsating principle. Master DK says, “The soul breathes and its form lives thereby.” Whether we live in a body or not, we are always in this pulsation of the soul. This pulsation is compared to a flying bird and the Swastika is seen as a geometrical representation of the bird.
Working with the Symbol
The Swastika can move clockwise and counterclockwise. In this way it brings in the necessary changes for something to manifest or dissolve. The Swastika moves clockwise when something is to be manifested externally and it moves counter-clockwise when it is about evolution and about liberation from the material. So, we can work with the Swastika moving counter-clockwise when we want to turn inwards and work for the Plan.
It is enough if we visualise a triangle and the Swastika in it. It will then do its work clockwise or anti-clockwise as needed. For establishing physical health or for neutralising personal restlessness, the Swastika moves clockwise. When personality and body are in a certain balance, moving counterclockwise helps us reach the soul. If we change the course of direction, the personality may become restless.
The colour of the Swastika is dark blue or any shade of blue. To eliminate old thought patterns and free ourselves from the heaviness of the past, we can visualise a fiery Swastika within a triangle. This exposes the mental plane to fire and quicker transformations to an enlightened mind occur. We can visualise the Swastika in orange or red and use the sound RAM, the seed sound of fire. This sound helps in the work.
Sources used: K.P. Kumar: The Aquarian Cross. Div. seminar notes / E. Krishnamacharya: Book of Ritual. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India