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Article ON THE HISTORY OF INITIATION.* ← Page 2 of 4 →
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On The History Of Initiation.*
square , and eighteen feet high . It is supported hy four massive pillars , and its walls are covered on all sides with statues and carved emblematical decorations . Maurice says that " Some of the figures have on their heads a kind of helmet , of a pyramidal form ; others wear crowns , rich in devices , and splendidly decorated with jewels ; while some display only large bushy ringlets of curled or flowing hair . Many of them have four hands , many have six , and in those hands they grasp sceptres and shieldsthe of and ensi of ionthe of
, symbols justice gns relig , weapons war and the trophies of peace . " The Adytum , placed at the western extremity of this extensive grotto , was accessible by four entrances , each guarded by two gigantic statues , naked , and decorated with jewels and other ornaments . In this sacellum , accessible only to the initiated , the Deity was represented by that obscene emblem which was used , in a greater or less degree , by all idolatrous nations , to represent his generative power ; on each side were ranges of cells and passages , constructed for the express purpose of initiation , and a sacred orifice as the medium of regeneration .
The caverns of Salsette , excavated in a rock , whose external form is pyramidal , and situated in tbe bosom of an extensive and fearful wood , infested by enormous serpents and ravenous beasts , very greatly exceed in magnitude those of Elephanta ; being in number three hundred , all adorned ivith an abundance of carved and emblematical characters . The largest cavern is eighty-four feet long , forty-six broad , and forty high , full of cavities on all sides , placed at convenient distances , for the initiationwhich
arrangement of the dreadful apparatus of , was so constructed as to overwhelm the unconscious aspirant with horror and superstitious dread . The different ranges of apartments were connected by open galleries , and the most secret caverns which contained the ineffable symbols , were accessible only by private entrances , cautiously contrived to give greater effect to certain points in the ceremonial ; and a cubical cista , for the periodical sepulture ofthe aspirant , was placed carved
in the inmost recesses of the structure . Iu every cavern was a basin to contain the consecrated water of ablution , on the surface of which floated the flowers of the lotus : this element being considered the external medium by which purity was conveyed . And amongst an innumerable number of images and symbolical figures with which the waters were covered , the Linga , or phallus , was every where conspicuous—often alone , and sometimes in situations too disgusting to be mentioned ; and typified equally by the petal and calyx of the lotus , the point within a circle , and the intersection of two equilateral triangles .
These stupendous caverns were places of initiation into the Hindoo mysteries ; and here is indeed scope for ceremonies the most extended , and terror the most refined . They were doubtless embellished , as in Persia , with a profusion of symbolical and astronomical decorations . The sun , represented by a splendid gem , occupied a conspicuous situation iu the centre of the roof ; the planets were displayed in order round himin studs of goldglittering ou a d of azurethe zodiac
, , groun ; was in embossed gold , in which the constellations Leo and Taurus , with a sun and lunette emerging from the back in beaten gold , were peculiarly resplendent . The four ages of the world were represented by so many globes of gold , silver , brass , and iron . The whole were decked with gems and precious stones , and knobs of burnished gold , and during tilt
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The History Of Initiation.*
square , and eighteen feet high . It is supported hy four massive pillars , and its walls are covered on all sides with statues and carved emblematical decorations . Maurice says that " Some of the figures have on their heads a kind of helmet , of a pyramidal form ; others wear crowns , rich in devices , and splendidly decorated with jewels ; while some display only large bushy ringlets of curled or flowing hair . Many of them have four hands , many have six , and in those hands they grasp sceptres and shieldsthe of and ensi of ionthe of
, symbols justice gns relig , weapons war and the trophies of peace . " The Adytum , placed at the western extremity of this extensive grotto , was accessible by four entrances , each guarded by two gigantic statues , naked , and decorated with jewels and other ornaments . In this sacellum , accessible only to the initiated , the Deity was represented by that obscene emblem which was used , in a greater or less degree , by all idolatrous nations , to represent his generative power ; on each side were ranges of cells and passages , constructed for the express purpose of initiation , and a sacred orifice as the medium of regeneration .
The caverns of Salsette , excavated in a rock , whose external form is pyramidal , and situated in tbe bosom of an extensive and fearful wood , infested by enormous serpents and ravenous beasts , very greatly exceed in magnitude those of Elephanta ; being in number three hundred , all adorned ivith an abundance of carved and emblematical characters . The largest cavern is eighty-four feet long , forty-six broad , and forty high , full of cavities on all sides , placed at convenient distances , for the initiationwhich
arrangement of the dreadful apparatus of , was so constructed as to overwhelm the unconscious aspirant with horror and superstitious dread . The different ranges of apartments were connected by open galleries , and the most secret caverns which contained the ineffable symbols , were accessible only by private entrances , cautiously contrived to give greater effect to certain points in the ceremonial ; and a cubical cista , for the periodical sepulture ofthe aspirant , was placed carved
in the inmost recesses of the structure . Iu every cavern was a basin to contain the consecrated water of ablution , on the surface of which floated the flowers of the lotus : this element being considered the external medium by which purity was conveyed . And amongst an innumerable number of images and symbolical figures with which the waters were covered , the Linga , or phallus , was every where conspicuous—often alone , and sometimes in situations too disgusting to be mentioned ; and typified equally by the petal and calyx of the lotus , the point within a circle , and the intersection of two equilateral triangles .
These stupendous caverns were places of initiation into the Hindoo mysteries ; and here is indeed scope for ceremonies the most extended , and terror the most refined . They were doubtless embellished , as in Persia , with a profusion of symbolical and astronomical decorations . The sun , represented by a splendid gem , occupied a conspicuous situation iu the centre of the roof ; the planets were displayed in order round himin studs of goldglittering ou a d of azurethe zodiac
, , groun ; was in embossed gold , in which the constellations Leo and Taurus , with a sun and lunette emerging from the back in beaten gold , were peculiarly resplendent . The four ages of the world were represented by so many globes of gold , silver , brass , and iron . The whole were decked with gems and precious stones , and knobs of burnished gold , and during tilt