by Dr. Ekkirala Krishnamacharya Book Presentation Overview General
Overseas Messages Vol. 1 | Overseas Messages Vol. 2
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Overseas Messages Vol. 5 | Overseas Messages Vol. 7
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Overseas Messages Vol. 12

The Science of Symbolism, of course symbols are daily used by every one of us. Without symbols, no one can live his daily life. Now what we are going to do is to understand the scientific aspects of symbolism. It is important in the sense that all the ancient scriptures happened to be the most important texts of the esoteric school of the world. These scriptures are full of scientific symbolism which includes three or four different methods of application. Without going into the ancient scriptures of the different nations, we have no basis at all for our modern esoteric studies. If we want to go into the depths of spiritual experience, there should be a methodology to approach. Because the alphabet we use to understand something is rather abstract and not as concrete or gross as the man-discovered symbols or alphabets.

For example, if we take the man-made symbols, this symbol for the sound “A”, this symbol for “B”, it is concrete and easier to follow and there is nothing abstract about the alphabet we use but we cannot rely upon this symbolism for the simple reason it received the curse of the Babel Tower. That means, it has reached the stage of different symbols in different corners of the world. In some places, we use like this. For the same sound, in some places, they use this symbol. And in some other language, for the same sound, they use this symbol. If we begin to follow any one of these symbols, only a fraction of humanity can follow. The barrier of language is there. This barrier is symbolically called the curse of Babel because the tower was being built which we call the tower of individual consciousness which has the soul consciousness as the basis and has the thought as the second level of the tower, and then when it begins to reach the third stage, everyone translates the thought into his own language and there it is stopped. There cannot be a communication.

So, we should understand the various aspects of symbolism because the ancient esoteric schools were teaching about the eternal wisdom; whereas man-made symbols differ from place to place and from time to time. Even the most popular language like Sanskrit or English which has grown global cannot serve as a universal study for symbolism. So, we can understand that the Science of Symbolism is very important if we want to make a correct approach into the spirit of the scriptures.

When you really make a proper approach to all the scriptures of the world, you will understand one point. There is a common wisdom which has been revealing itself to the human mind, and the human mind becoming responsive of it and at some stage of evolution, the individual begins to feel the presence of such wisdom. And then as it begins to feel its presence, it makes an attempt to absorb what it feels from within himself and try to express to others what it has absorbed. In making such an attempt, it has produced some symbols and through thousands of years, from the many corners of this earth globe, many nations and races have made the same attempt and the attempt included much personal and much more impersonal about the wisdom. The wise ones every time tried to filter the personal aspect and take only the impersonal aspects of these teachings. Then they came to understand wonderfully that there was something common even in those symbols they used. And that every time the human mind begins to express its response to the wisdom, it expresses in terms of those symbols that are common to all religions.

When you pick up from all the scriptures, the teaching which is common, you will find the symbols also commonly used. For example, if you draw some regular figure like a triangle or a square or a cross, and if you draw some lines like this and ask hundred people to sit here, ask them what the difference is, at least 90 people will express the idea that these figures are regular and those lines are irregular. What do they mean by regular and irregular? There is something which is making them understand the difference. This something has nothing to do with the literacy which we know.

There is a sense in the human nature itself, which the ancient ones, the seers called by the name ‘beauty’. So, it is that sense which makes you differentiate between regular figures and irregular figures. This gave rise to the need of the study of a subject which we call symbolism.

So, remember whenever the word symbolism is used, it is not correct to remember that symbols are man-made. We should distinguish between the two types of symbols. One type, the man-made symbols that are conventional and personal, commonly accepted and that have nothing to do with Nature and its phenomenon. For example, the alphabet of any language expressed through script. So, they are man-made symbols and the real symbols are quite different from the man-made symbols. Unless we make a differentiation of these two, we cannot accept the existence of a science in Nature called the Science of Symbolism. Unless our mind accepts the existence of the real science in Nature, it is not at all possible to go into the esoteric studies of spiritualism, for the simple reason that esoteric study is not man-discovered, but it is given by Nature to the mind of man.