| |
In this section, I will attempt to
describe the Order of Chilam Balam's background, and the great
spiritual mystery of the Indwelling God.
In the Order of Chilam Balam's chronicles
(1876), the group is said to based its philosophy from the
right branch of the Order of Hiram of Tyre, the principal
architect and engineer of Ancient Master Builders of Ur of
the Chaldeans. (A.J. Holman Company Dictionary-Comcordance,
1925). We do not know at what time nor from what source the
legend of the Master Builder came into the ritual, but there
is evidence that it was known to the English Craft before
the so-called "revival" of 1717. "The Master's
Part" as the legend was then called, appears to have
been separated from the work of the entered apprentice, and
fellow-craft degrees and elaborated in substantially the form
of the present Third Degree sometime between 1717 and 1738.
A model of the Temple of Solomon, or what purported to be
such, was exhibited at London in 1724 which attracted many
spectators, doubtless including Freemasons, and aroused much
interests with comments and discussion. The drama of the Master
Builder, the origin of a Fraternity, the ritualists, all came
under the inspiration of the Temple, and thus encouraged freely
upon the sacred volume and to enshrine the drama in a setting
of scriptural symbolism (Rafael Girard, Los Chortis Ante El
Problema Maya, 1949).
Currently, the Mayan Order of Chilam
Balam (Orden de los Balam y sus Nueve Grados) consists of
36 members (seven members in each continent plus the Divine
Tzaddik), the Jewish concept of the Lamed-Vav Tzaddikim, and
they are considered people in exile. The lam-who what? Lamed
is the 12th Hebrew letter with the numeric equivalent of 30,
vav is the sixth Hebrew letter equating to 6 so Lamed-Vav
is another way of saying 36. Tzaddikim are considered righteous
men.
In the Talmud - Mas. Sanhedrin 97b,
Abaye said: "The world must contain not less than thirty-six
righteous men in each generation who are vouchsafed [the sight
of] the Shechinah's countenance, for it is written, blessed
are all they that wait lo [for Him]";
the numerical value of ‘lo’ is thirty-six and refers to those
who see Him through a bright speculum. Shechinah is roughly
translated to mean Holy Spirit or Divine Presence and only
thirty-six people see Him with absolute clarity."
Therefore, there are at least 36 righteous
men in each generation who have a special bond with Hashem
(God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and without these lamedvavniks
the existence of the earth is threatened.
These men are humble, nondescript persons
hidden throughout the world who are only brought to the forefront
when disaster is threatening to strike. If you were to meet
one on the street you wouldn't be able to tell as they are
concealed until the time they are needed. When danger appears
they come out of their self-imposed anonymity and with their
close bond with Hashem defeat the foe and then sink back into
the sea of humanity. Discovery of the identity of any of these
righteous men is to be kept in strictest confidence.
They perform Tikkun Olam - the healing
of the world. They go unnoticed by others because of their
humble nature and commonplace vocations, such as archaeologists
and artisans. However, in times of great danger, the Lamed
Vav Tzaddikim make a dramatic appearance, using their hidden
powers (supralogic and metaperception) to defeat the enemy.
Then they return, as mysteriously as they appeared, back to
anonymity (in Hebrew, nistarim).
As long as the Lamed Vav continue to
serve humanity and God in this fashion, the world will go
on. But if at some point God will not be able to find someone
just and good enough to replace a dying Tzaddik, the world
will end immediately.
According to Yoma 38b, one righteous
man can ensure the existence of the world, and he's included
as the Divine Tzaddik (not to be confused with the Messiah
or Moshiach) in the group, the one with psychic powers to
see the future. No sooner is one righteous man removed from
the world then he is succeeded by another righteous man as
good as he. The righteous man is he who is saturated with
the Sacred Word (e.g., Torah, Bible, Koran, Popol Vuh, etc.)
and possesses within himself the instrument of dealing a deadly
blow to the evil inclination (yetzer ha-rah). "The righteous
are considered as alive even when they are dead because they
can appear again in future generations." (Berachot 18a).
The marks of a righteous man, according
to Jewish principles, are the sincerity of purpose and the
strenuous endeavor to accomplish it. The righteous man who
has fallen into sin is distinguished by his repentance, as
in the case of King David. The last Pakal is the last Divine
Tzaddik, and said to descend from the Great Davidic House.
He has ruled that among the 36 members, 7 women should be
admitted in the group, and his decision was agreed. He lives
in anonymity until the gathering of the 36 takes place in
the year 2012.
THE SACRED INTRO OF THE RITUAL
When the world was an abyss, when there was neither light
nor darkness, the cosmic star was born, after the divinity
of the ruler was created, when there was no light. Then there
were born seven tuns, seven katuns, hanging in the heart of
the spirit, the seven chosen ones. Then, they say, their seven
words stirred also. Seven also were their holy images. While
they were still untarnished, occurred the birth of the first
creature, the first infinite, when there was infinite night,
when there was no God. Not yet had he received his Godhead.
Then he remained alone within the dream, within the night,
when there was neither light nor darkness. Then he departed
at the end of the katun, as he could not be born in the first
katun. There were his long locks of hair as his Crown, his
divinity came to him when he departed. Thereupon he became
man in the second infinite time. Then there arrived in the
second katun, Alpilcon, as the creature was named when she
was born. The second creature was permitted to depart in the
second infinite night, when no one was present. Then she received
her divinity, alone and through her own effort, when she came
to depart. "O firmar" she said, when she received her divinity
by herself and through her own effort. (As originally learned
from the traditions of the Chilam Balams).
LINK: For more information, please
read Esotericism
of the Popol Vuh (Theosophical University Press Online
Edition, Pasadena, California) written by archaeologist Rafael
Girard, and originally published in Spanish in 1948.
DIAGRAM OF THE NEW TEMPLE OF PAKAL
AHAU FOR 2012
NOTE: Although the symbolism of the
Order of Chilam Balam and the Nine Degrees has dissapeared
as a ritual, it continues as a group in modern times under
the name The Pakalian Group. In our current mission, the Pakalian
Group serves as an information repository of Mayan Patrimony
that have been lost or disappeared during our time. The volunteer
program consists in distributing this information of Mayan
artifacts, disseminated throughout the world, to the original
source, which is the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico
City. If you know of objects that could be returned to the
original source, please click here to contact The
Pakalian Group or you can contact the Institute directly
through their website.
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
|
