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📚 New book-review!

The Serpent Symbol in Tradition by Dr. Charles William Dailey

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• René Guénon and Mircea Eliade
• Metaphysics and the Neoplatonic One
• The Serpent Guardian of Enlightenment
• The Caduceus
• Aryan Patriarchy and the Earth Mother
• Thunderweapons and the Axis Mundi
• Chinese Dragon-Emperor and the Axis Mundi
• Ouroboros – Anima Mundi – The Soul of the World
• Sacred Mountains
• Epic Quotes
• Quetzalcóatl
• Conclusion

Only the most Cultured of Thugs will enjoy this.

https://thegoldenone.se/2022/04/10/the-serpent-symbol-in-tradition-by-dr-charles-william-dailey/

"Ancient and traditional science, to which initiatic knowledge is related, has followed an essentially different path, namely the path of knowledge of the effects in their real causes, of the "facts" in the powers of which they are the manifestations, which is the equivalent of the identijication with the causes in the terms of a "magical" state. Only such a state can lead to the absolute rationale of a phenomenon; only this state can "explain" it in an eminent sense, because in it that phenomenon is grasped, or even seen, in its real genesis. The important consequence of this is that on the initiatic path the acquisition of knowledge parallels the acquisition of power, since the active dentification with a cause virtually confers a power over that same cause."

"Modern men believe that this is the same in the case of their science, since through various techniques science brings about well-known material realizations; and yet they are grossly mistaken, since the power afforded by technology is no more a true power than the explanations of profane sciences are true explanations. The cause, in both cases, is the same; it is the fact of a man who remains a man, and who does not change his nature to any significant degree. This is why the possibilities afforded by technology have a "democratic" and even immoral character, like its corresponding knowledge: differences between individuals mean nothing to them. It is a power consisting of automatism, which belongs to everyone and to no one; a power that is not value, nor justice, which can make a person powerful without making him superior at the same time." - Ea, Introduction to Magic I

Every day I am more convinced that Life is magic and that art is its sole expression. You who seek out magical things—are you blind to the enchanted rituals constantly performed? You who struggle to be artistic—are you deaf to the eternal symphonies? You have always possessed Life, the most magical and artistic of things! To even question the meaning of life is preposterous. How dare you look this gift horse in the mouth, this greatest of gifts from God Himself? Live!

Pranayama : Getting Started

This is a completely practical guide for beginning pranayama. There is very little theory provided.

Yogic Breathing (abdominal breathing)
Stage 1: https://t.iss.one/PerenNat/604
Stage 2: https://t.iss.one/PerenNat/768

This can be done in either Shavasana or, later, a sitting position, such as Swastikasana or any of the sitting positions here: https://t.iss.one/PerenNat/888

Nadi Shodhana
Stage 1: https://t.iss.one/PerenNat/831
Stage 2: https://t.iss.one/PerenNat/836
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iDQtqBJqrw&t=565s

Bhastrika
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z954F3JR4NI

Kapalbhati (Shining Skull)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UURgA8Rf7E&t=11s

Abdominal breathing, Bhastrika, and Kapalbhati will increase body temperature, so do not be alarmed if you begin to sweat. In fact, when performed properly, you should notice an increase in body temperature.

"Nirvana, according to Zen, is a state of inner freedom; a state which is free of the Ego's passions, anxieties and bonds. This state can be preserved in any kind of activity and in any aspect of everyday life. The state of Zen is a different dimension and encompasses life as a whole; it consists of a different way of going through and experiencing life. The "absence of the ego," promoted by Zen, is not the equivalent of apathy or atony; but rather induces a higher form of spontaneity, self-assurance, freedom and calmness during action. It is like one who, after spasmodically grabbing onto something, eventually lets go and in doing so acquires an even higher sense of tranquillity, a higher form of freedom and of security." - Julius C. Evola, The Religion of the Samurai

"The vicissitudes of this war have exposed contrasts in this respect [on 'inner race'], which we would like to discuss briefly here. We shall limit ourselves essentially to the extreme cases, represented, respectively, by Russia and Japan.

It is now well known that Soviet Russia’s conduct of war does not attach the slightest importance to human life or to humanity as such. ... In general, as recent events have shown, the Russian can always face death readily because of a sort of innate, dark fatalism, and human life has been cheap for a long time in Russia. ... The death of the bolshevised man on the battlefield represents, thus, the logical culmination of the process of depersonalisation, and of the destruction of every qualitative and personal value, which underlay the Bolshevik ideal of ‘civilisation’ all along. ... We see here one specific form, albeit one almost incomprehensible to our European mentality, of readiness for death and self-sacrifice, which affords perhaps even a sinister joy in the destruction both of oneself and of others.

Recent episodes of the Japanese war have made known to us a ‘style’ of dying which, from this point of view, seems to have affinities with that of Bolshevik man in that it appears to testify to the same contempt for the value of the individual and of personhood in general. ... Once again, there is something in this which is hardly comprehensible to the Western mind. However, if we try to understand the most intimate aspects of this extreme form of heroism we find values which present a perfect antithesis to those of the lightless ‘telluric heroism’ of Bolshevik man. The premises here are, in fact, of a rigorously religious or, to put it better, an ascetic and mystical character. We do not mean this in the most obvious and external sense – that is, as referring to the fact that in Japan the religious idea and the Imperial idea are one and the same thing, so that service to the Emperor is regarded as a form of divine service, and self-sacrifice for the Tenno and the state has the same value as the sacrifice of a missionary or martyr – but in an absolutely active and combative sense. ... Behind this, according to Zen, that is, the religion of the samurai, there is something incomprehensible and uncontrollable, infinite in itself and capable of infinite forms, so that it is called symbolically sunya, meaning ‘empty’, as against everything which is materially substantial and bound to specific form. ... One can take hold of one’s own life and cast it away at its most intense moment out of super-abundance in the certainty of an eternal existence and of the indestructibility of what, never having had a beginning, cannot have an end. What may seem extreme to a certain Western mentality becomes natural, clear and obvious here.

Here, a little historical reminiscence is called for. Although this is not widely known, our ancient Roman traditions contained motifs concerning the disinterested, heroic offering of one’s own person in the name of the state for the purpose of victory analogous to those which we have seen in the Japanese mysticism of combat. We are alluding to the so-called devotio. ... According to the ancient Roman ritual of devotio, as weunderstand it, a warrior, and above all a chieftain, can facilitate victory by means of a mysterious unleashing of forces determined by the deliberate sacrifice of his own person, combined with the will not to come out of the fray alive. ... And so, in our heritage, points of reference are indicated which stand in radical opposition to the sub-personal and collectivist heroism we discussed above, and not only to that, but to every tragic and irrational vision which ignores what is stronger than fire and iron, and stronger than life and death."

- Julius Evola in Varieties of Heroism

“To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods.”
-Lays of Ancient Rome

Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat - and by so doing you shall never incur sin.

Bhagavad Gita 2.28

You understand through poetry. Perhaps it is the only way to understand the extremely sacred or profound."

Yukio Mishima

After pondering it thoroughly for four years, I have decided to sacrifice myself for the old and beautiful traditions of Japan, which are fast disappearing, day by day. This is my last letter. I wish you a very happy life.

Yukio Mishima

The point Mishima wants to emphasize is that this heady sense of freedom always requires a countervailing force that represses and subjugates self-awareness. In order for us to experience the whole of life, our individuality must be destroyed.

Andrew Rankin

"Wherever a man in obedience goes out of his own and gives up what is his, in the same moment God must go in there, for when a man wants nothing for himself, God must want it equally as if for Himself. So in all things that I do not want for myself, God wants for me. Now see - what does he want for me that I do not want for myself? If I abandon self, He must want everything for me that He wants for Himself, neither more nor less, and in the same way as He wants for Himself. And if God did not want this, then by the truth that God is, God would not be just and would not be God, which is His natural being.
In true obedience there should be no trace of 'I want so-and-so,' or 'this and that,' but a pure going out of your own. And therefore, in the best prayer a man can pray it should not be 'give me this virtue or that habit,' or even 'Lord, give me Yourself,' or 'eternal life,' but 'Lord, give only what You will, and do, O Lord, whatever and however You will in every way.' This surpasses the former as heaven does the earth. And when such a prayer is uttered one has prayed well, having gone right out of self into God in true obedience. And as true obedience should have no 'I want this,' so too one should never hear from it 'I don't want,' for 'I don't want' is an absolute bane of all obedience. As St. Augustine says, 'The true servant of God does not desire to be told or given what he would like to hear or see, for his first and highest care is to hear what pleases God best.' "

- Meister Eckhart, The Talks of Instruction

"The aristocratic view of contemplative asceticism reappears in the doctrine of Meister Eckhart. Like Buddha, Eckhart addressed the noble man and the 'noble soul' whose metaphysical dignity is witnessed by the presence of a 'strength,' a 'light,' and a 'fire' within it—in other words, of something before which even the deity conceived as a 'person' (i.e., theistically) becomes something exterior. The method he employed consisted of detachment from all things (Abegescheidenheit), a virtue that according to Eckhart is above love, humility, or mercifulness, as he explained in his sermon On Detachment. The principle of 'spiritual centrality' was affirmed: the true Self is God, God is our real center and we are external only to ourselves. Fear, hope, anguish, joy, and pain, or anything that may bring us out of ourselves, must be allowed to seep into us. An action dictated by desire, even when its goal is the kingdom of heaven itself, eternal life, or the beatific vision, must not be undertaken. The path suggested by Eckhart leads from the outside to the inside, beyond everything that is mere 'image'; beyond things and what represents the quality of a thing (Dingheit); beyond forms and quality of form (Formlichkeit); beyond essences and essentially. From the gradual extinction of all images and forms, and eventually of one's own thoughts, will, and knowledge, what arises is a transformed and supernatural knowledge that is carried beyond an forms (überformt). Thus one reaches a peak in respect to which 'God' himself (always according to his theistic view) appears as something ephemeral, that is, as a transcendent and uncreated peak of the Self without which 'God' himself could not exist. All the typical images of the religious consciousness are swallowed up by a reality that is an absolute, pure possession, and that in its simplicity cannot help but appear terrifying to any finite being. Once again we find a solar symbol: before this barren and absolute substance, 'God' appears as the moon next to the sun. The divine light in comparison with the radiance of this substance pales, just as the sun's light outshines the moon's."

- Julius Evola in Revolt Against the Modern World

One of the long-lasting legacies of Alexander's Indian conquests was a later East-West cultural syncretism creating a Greco-Buddhist art. Compare the above Gandhara Buddha with this Alexander-Helios image.

Gilt-silver roundel engraved with Alexander Helios, Hellenistic, 4th c. BC