Axis mundi: Part 3- Eutopia or Utopia

"Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all." Mircea Eliade

The axis mundi is a ubiquitous symbol found in just about every religion and civilization throughout history. It is the navel, the center of the world and the universe, a sacred space set aside that has been represented in a variety of shapes be it natural or man-made. They represent man's attempt at unifying around a common deity, concept, or belief. Although the axis mundi is represented by various symbols it is what the symbol represents that unifies Man.

[Left panel (The Earthly Paradise, Garden of Eden), from Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. This is one part of a three panel triptych. It is a wildly vivid and imaginative painting. Click on the above link to read the full description.]

Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.

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Utopia. This is the the place that Man desperately seeks to build but struggles against himself to grab the hammer. The word comes from Greek: οὐ, "not", and τόπος, "place". Utopia written in 1516 by Sir Thomas More describes a "fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system." Sir Thomas More used the Greek word Utopia as an allegory and did not consider the place to be realistically possible. Yet, we continue to use this word in our literature and film as a place of perfection, peace, and harmony. Sadly the hope in building our earthly Utopia seems to be fading into non-existence every day.

So what is keeping us from building our own Eutopia ( "perfect" but not "fictional")? I guess we can't stand our neighbor being as happy as us. Or maybe we realize we don't deserve to live in Paradise. If I remember correctly there was a line in the Matrix: Reloaded where the architect built the first matrix as a Utopia; "it failed miserably and many human lives were lost when the inhabitants refused to accept it." So I guess we as a species can't accept living in harmony and peace with each other. We may yearn for it, but deep down inside we can't accept it and even completely hate the idea.

Is it because we find more excitement in conflict? Name one movie, or book you read that is either a box office hit or has been on the New York Times Best Seller list that HAS NO conflict whatsoever. Can you name five more? Ten more? Without conflict, there is no action, no drama, no excitement. If we as a nation can't find another country to start a war with we create an enemy or poke at one with a big stick until they fight back.

Were we like this before Sin? I personally don't believe there was ever a literal Garden of Eden, but the fact that there are over 6 billion of us now means we aren't blood thirsty animals although I can't say the same for some of our extinct gods. (Can gods go extinct?) There may have been a period of time where humans coexisted peacefully before pre-recorded history. Some may call this Atlantis, Shangri-La, or the Garden of Eden. So how do we return to this idealistic society? How do we move forward? Some propose that there will be a global Utopia at the end of history. A few say that a cosmic battle (Kralizec, The Apocalypse, The Last Hour) will be fought and bajillions will be slaughtered. Bajillions. So can we skip over the worldwide slaughter directly into Paradise? I sure hope so, not because I'm an unbeliever (which doesn't help) but because I don't think I could enjoy Paradise if billions of people had to die first. Certain religions shrug this off as "weeding out" those that don't deserve it (i.e. sinners and unbelievers). I believe everyone deserves to be happy, and any personal action, or attitude, that attempts to take that happiness away is exactly what has splintered humanity and caused us to lose paradise in the first place.

Pride. It has served as our downfall and continues to this day. I am willing (although my wife might say differently) to swallow my pride and work towards a better world. We might not have a Utopian society in the next 1000 years but it has to start sometime and with someone (Barack Hussein Jesus Obama?). I just hope we start before we nuke ourselves. Then it will be the apes turn to take over. Good luck Dr. Zaius.

Axis mundi: Part 2-The Tree of Life

"Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all." ~Mircea Eliade

The axis mundi is a ubiquitous symbol found in just about every religion and civilization throughout history. It is the navel, the center of the world and the universe, a sacred space set aside that has been represented in a variety of shapes be it natural or man-made. They represent man's attempt at unifying around a common deity, concept, or belief. Although the axis mundi is represented by various symbols it is what the symbol represents that unifies Man.

[From Northern Antiquities, an English translation of the Prose Edda from 1847. Yggdrasil painted by Oluf Olufsen Bagge]

Click here to go for Part 1 and Part 3.

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The World Tree is present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions. The world tree is a colossal tree which supports and connects three planes of existence: the heavens (sky), the earth (terrestrial plane), and underground (underworld/Hell). The World Tree acts as a symbol that ties and interconnects all planes of reality. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil (represented as an ash tree), the world tree, is central and considered very holy where the Æsir, gods of the Norse pantheon, go to hold their courts.

Among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures the world tree embodied the four cardinal directions, and to the Maya the world tree was represented by a ceiba tree.

In Hindu mythology, the ashvastha ( the sacred Fig) is a sacred tree mentioned extensively in their texts. Buddhist call it the The Bodhi Tree, a tree where Siddhārtha Gautama, the supreme Buddha, sat under until gaining enlightenment.

There are two trees that carry strong symbolism throughout Christianity: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. In Genesis the Tree of Life is a tree planted by God whose fruit gives everlasting life. The Eastern Orthodox Church has understood the Tree of Life as a foreshadowing, a prefiguration, of Christ's sacrifice in which the Cross came to be called the Tree of Life.

In Galatians, Paul speaks of two paths that the church could take: the path of (Jewish/Old Testament) Law, and the path of (Christ/New Testament) Faith. Those who follow the Law are under a curse (Gal. 3:10) whereas in Galatians 3:13

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Galatians 3:13 (NIV)

At the end of the verse Paul is quoting Deuteronomy where the Law instructs the Israelites to treat the body of a dead person with enormous respect even the bodies of an executed prisoners and military opponents. This might have something to do with the body being ritually unclean after death occurs which might desecrate the land.

²² If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, ²³ you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21:22- 23 (NIV)

There is another allusion to Christ being 'lifted up' in John.

¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15 (NIV)

John was referring to the story of the Nehushtan where the Israelities were once again complaining ("Oy, G_d, where's the meat!") about lack of water and the miserable food. So the Lord sent poisonous serpents into their camp for speaking against Him. The people begged and pleaded with Moses to speak to the Lord, and The Lord told Moses to fashion a serpent onto a pole. Anyone bitten by the serpents may look upon the bronze serpent and live.

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Here is how all of this ties together. Jesus compared himself to the Nehushtan, the bronze snake on a pole, that through him all may receive eternal life. He is hung on a cross (historically some people were crucified on a single vertical stake) which later comes to also represent a "tree of Life". The Nehushtan bears a striking resemblance to the rod of Asclepius ⚕, which also consists of a serpent on a staff, "is an ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and with healing the sick through medicine." The serpent wrapped around the staff (axis) is portrayed as a guardian of knowledge. In Shamanism, Shamans, healers and communicators with the Spirit Realm, "gain knowledge and power by traversing the axis mundi and bringing back knowledge from the heavens." The shaman's staff is the physical representation of the axis where the two realms (earthly and spirit) the shaman walks in join.

The Cross then become a nexus of the three realms of existence: the heavens, earth, and underground. "Anyone or anything suspended on the axis between heaven and earth becomes a repository of potential knowledge." Jesus, suspended on the staff/cross/pole is a symbol of spiritual healing brought to humanity. We too can connect with the Divine realm by following Jesus' teachings of Love, Compassion, and Justice. Jesus and the Cross became a gateway, a bridge to the heavenly realms for the world too receive heavenly knowledge. It is with Jesus' teachings (heavenly knowledge), brought back to the earthly realm, that we can begin to heal the wounds of humanity caused by man's hatred, ignorance, cruelty, and injustice.

Axis mundi: Part 1- The Tower of Babel

"Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all." Mircea Eliade

The axis mundi (cosmic axis, world pillar, center of the world) is a ubiquitous symbol found in just about every religion and civilization throughout history. It is the navel, the center of the world and the universe, a sacred space set aside that has been represented in a variety of shapes be it natural or man-made. They represent man's attempt at unifying around a common deity, concept, and belief.

[Tower of Babel by M. C. Escher. Woodcut, 1928. He later commented, "Some of the builders are white and others black. The work is at a standstill because they are no longer able to understand one another. Seeing as the climax of the drama takes place at the summit of the tower which is under construction, the building has been shown from above though from a birds eye view."]

Click here to continue to Part 2 and Part 3.

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Genesis 11:1-9(NIV)
The Tower of Babel
¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

⁸ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

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As a boy I remember being told this story how Man united to build a tower as a gesture of human progress and pride in the face of the Divine. The Lord then taught humanity a harsh lesson: progress ceases when we can't communicate, when we let our differences define us. If you take this story as historical, instead of symbolic, the story illustrates how humanity's prideful nature led us to the differences that continue to divide us today. I also remember being told that after the Lord confused their tongue and scattered them God also destroyed their tower. To my surprise I can not find it's destruction anywhere in my Protestant Bible. [The tower's destruction is found in other sources like the Book of Jubilees.] This sounds a bit out of place for a God who as the author of Order to cause such chaos, but as Christians would explain it "humanity was punished for their disobedience".

The one line that really caught my attention was when God came down (twice in a row for some reason) and said "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." Forget God's subtle jealousy for a moment and think about that line. Even God acknowledges that when we surpass our differences and reach a level of complete unity nothing will be impossible for us. NOTHING. So why do we fail to unite? What is keeping us from coming together and accomplishing the impossible when we act alone?

This story is an attempt to explain the origins of the various differences that divide us: language, religion, race, etc. There are thousands of axis mundis all across the globe and throughout history. After the Tower of Babel each culture, civilization, nation, country, people, and religion has established their own navel of the world: Mount Fuji (Japan), Jambudweep in Hinduism and Jainism, Garden of Eden in Genesis, the Ka'aba in Mecca, Mount Olympus in Greece, Black Hills (Sioux), etc, etc. Since we are so focused on our individual axis mundis we can not yet unite behind a common cause, a common flag. Some religions would say that when we (global 'we') follow God's commandments/Law/Word we will once again be a united people behind a common cause. But we bicker and peck at each other over how that axis mundi should be represented. All of us yearn for Love, Compassion, and Justice but first we must transcend and unchain ourselves from the symbols that bind us to "one spot" before we can realize that we are all after the same thing. Unchaining ourselves from our personal axis mundis doesn't mean that we are floating in chaos; these chains were fashioned by Man and can be broken by Man. By liberating ourselves from one fixed point we can take on a bird's eye view,begin to feel the interconnectedness of all centers, and once again accomplish the impossible.