– The two triangles symbolize the masculine and feminine principles, spirit and matter
In the past, religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and even Christianity, urged human beings to detach themselves from the physical world and seek to approach God and become one with him. The earth was nothing but a `vale of tears’ and life an illusion from which man was advised to detach himself as quickly as possible so as to return to heaven or nirvana. Each individual was encouraged to think only about saving their own soul so as to enjoy the splendours of heaven. Now I am not saying that this point of view is bad, but it is imperfect. It is a point of view that has enabled men to discover a great deal about the inner life, but it is no longer appropriate to our times.
Now I will digress for a moment to explain the two triangles you will have seen in the lecture hall at the Bonfin: the red one with the apex pointing up and the blue one pointing down. I have often talked to you about the symbolism of these two triangles.
These two triangles symbolize the masculine and feminine principles, spirit and matter. For this is what the universe is: spirit and matter, the work of spirit and matter. Or—for the sake of materialists who do not like us to talk about the spirit—energy and matter. For the spirit is energy. The only trouble is that by speaking of ‘energy’ rather than ‘spirit’ we are failing to attribute to energy all the other properties of the spirit: intelligence, consciousness and love.
Energy is a force that is blind and without consciousness. But however you look at it no one can deny that the universe is held together by these two realities; spirit and matter, energy and matter: the masculine and feminine principles. The triangle pointing downwards represents the spirit that descends into matter in order to animate and breathe life into it, and the triangle pointing upwards represents matter as it evolves toward reunion with the spirit. When these two triangles are combined they form the Seal of Solomon.
Now let us look at the two triangles in the seal of Solomon and what they mean in the spiritual life. The feminine triangle points upward towards heaven, and to adopt this philosophy is to reject matter and all the activities and duties attached to it, and this leads to certain anomalies. The masculine triangle points downward and today we must work with it. It is the triangle of the spirit, the triangle of realization, of manifestation in the world, in our physical bodies, in matter. We must no longer concentrate on elevating ourselves above the world; on the contrary, we need to descend.
I am sure that there will be a few ‘mystics’ who will object in horror, ‘But that is terrible! That is the way of perdition! Religion has never taught us to descend; on the contrary, we must elevate ourselves and rise above the world!’ Well, have it however you wish, but such an attitude will never bring about the kingdom of God and his righteousness on earth. The few who seek to save their own souls will simply leave the rest of mankind sunk in disorder and misery, because this philosophy of flight is incapable of transforming the world.
We need another philosophy today, the new philosophy that is coming with the Aquarian age. This new philosophy is water from above, a fountain of life flowing from the heavenly regions, and it will transform the earth and cause the seeds of the kingdom of God to germinate with new life. Heaven, of course, is a perfect world, a world of blessings and splendour in which we may find freedom and happiness, but if everyone abandons the earth for heaven, the earth will continue to be a wilderness.
Some people wish to flee the world, because flight suits those timid souls that are so anxious to save themselves. But today, instead of trying to save our souls, we must throw ourselves whole-heartedly into the glorious work of bringing heaven down to earth. You will protest, ‘But how could we ever do that? It is quite impossible!’ Not at all, the triangle of the spirit shows us how to do it. A disciple must still seek heaven, that is true, but once they have found it they must bring down to earth all the light of heaven, all the love, all the power, and all the purity of heaven, and introduce them into their own physical body, into their brain, their lungs, their stomach, their whole being. In this way, after years of striving, they bring spirit and matter together again within themselves and attain the fullness of perfection symbolized by the Seal of Solomon.
Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
Complete Works Vol. 26, A New Dawn, Chapter 2
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