N —The 14th letter in both the
English and the Hebrew alphabets. In the latter tongue the N is called Nun, and
signifies a fish. It is the symbol of the female principle or the womb. Its
numerical value is 50 in the Kabalistic system, but the Peripatetics made it
equivalent to 900, and with a stroke over it (900) 9,000. With the Hebrews, however,
the final Nun was 700.
Naaseni. The Christian Gnostic sect,
called Naasenians, or serpent worshippers, who considered the constellation of
the Dragon as the symbol of their Logos or Christ.
Nabatheans. A sect almost identical in
their beliefs with the Nazarenes and Sabeans, who had more reverence for John
the Baptist than for Jesus. Maimonides identifies them with the
astrolaters.
“Respecting the beliefs of the
Sabeans”, he says, “the most famous is the book, The agriculture of the
Nabatheans”. And we know that the Ebionites, the first of whom were the
friends and relatives of Jesus, according to tradition, in other words, the
earliest and first Christians, “were the direct followers and disciples of the
Nazarene sect”, according to Epiphanius and Theodoret (See the Contra
Ebionites of Epiphanius, and also “Galileans” and “Nazarenes”).
Nabhi (Sk.). The father of Bhârata, who
gave his name to Bhârata Varsha (land) or India.
Nabia (Heb.). Seership,
soothsaying. This oldest and most respected of mystic phenomena is the name
given to prophecy in the Bible, and is correctly included among the
spiritual powers, such as divination, clairvoyant visions, trance-conditions,
and oracles. But while enchanters, diviners, and even astrologers are strictly
condemned in the Mosaic books, prophecy, seership, and nabia
appear as the special gifts of heaven. In early ages they were all termed
Epoptai (Seers), the Greek word for Initiates; they were also designated
Nebim, “the plural of Nebo, the Babylonian god of wisdom.” The Kabalist
distinguishes between the seer and the magician; one is passive,
the other active; Nebirah, is one who looks into futurity and a
clairvoyant; Nebi-poel, he who possesses magic powers. We notice
that Elijah and Apollonius resorted to the same means to isolate themselves from
the disturbing influences of the outer world, viz., wrapping their heads
entirely in a woollen mantle, from its being an electric non-conductor we must
suppose.
Nabu (Chald.). Nebu or Nebo, generally; the
Chaldean god of Secret Wisdom, from which name the Biblical, Hebrew term
Nabiim (prophets) was derived. This son of Anu and Ishtar was worshipped
chiefly at Borsippa; but he had also his temple at Babylon, above that of Bel, devoted to
the seven planets.
(See “ Nazarenes” and “ Nebo”.)
Nâga (Sk.). Literally “Serpent”. The name
in the Indian Pantheon of the Serpent or Dragon Spirits, and of the inhabitants
of Pâtâla, hell. But as Pâtâla means the antipodes, and was the name
given to America by the ancients, who knew and visited that continent before
Europe had ever heard of it, the term is probably akin to the Mexican Nagals the
(now) sorcerers and medicine men. The Nagas are the Burmese Nats,
serpent-gods, or “dragon demons”. In Esotericism, however, and as already
stated, this is a nick-name for the “wise men” or adepts in China and Tibet, the “Dragons.”
are regarded as the titulary deities of the world, and of various spots on the
earth, and the word is explained as meaning adepts, yogis, and narjols. The term
has simply reference to their great knowledge and wisdom. This is also proven in
the ancient Sûtras and Buddha’s biographies. The Nâga is ever a wise man,
endowed with extraordinary magic powers, in South and Central America as in
India, in Chaldea as also in ancient Egypt. In China the “worship” of the Nâgas
was widespread, and it has become still more pronounced since Nâgarjuna (the
“great Nâga”, the “great adept” literally), the fourteenth Buddhist patriarch,
visited China. The “Nâgas" are regarded by
the Celestials as “the tutelary Spirits or gods of the five regions or the four
points of the compass and the centre, as the guardians of the five lakes and
four oceans” (Eitel). This, traced to its origin and translated
esoterically, means that the five continents and their five root-races had
always been under the guardianship of “terrestrial deities”, i.e., Wise Adepts.
The tradition that Nâgas washed Gautama Buddha at his birth, protected him and
guarded the relics of his body when dead, points again to the Nâgas being only
wise men, Arhats, and no monsters or Dragons. This is also corroborated by the
innumerable stories of the conversion of Nâgas to Buddhism. The Nâga of a lake
in a forest near Râjagriha and many other “Dragons” were thus converted by
Buddha to the good Law.
Nâgadwîpa (Sk.). Lit., “the island of the
Dragons”; one of the Seven Divisions of Bhâratavarsha, or modern India,
according to the Purânas. No proofs remain as to who were the Nâgas (a
historical people however), the favourite theory being that they were a Scythic
race. But there is no proof of this. When the Brahmans invaded India they “found
a race of wise men, half-gods, half-demons”, says the legend, men who
were the teachers of other races and became likewise the instructors of the Hindus
and the Brahmans themselves. Nagpur is justly believed to be
the surviving relic of Nâgadwîpa. Now Nagpur is virtually in Râjputana near
Oodeypore, Ajmere, etc. And is it not well known that there was a time when
Brahmans went to learn Secret Wisdom from the Râjputs? Moreover a tradition
states that Apollonius of Tyana was instructed in magic by the Nâgas of
Kashmere.
Nagal. The title of the chief Sorcerer
or “medicine man” of some tribes of Mexican Indians. These keep always a
daimon or god, in the shape of a serpent—and sometimes some other sacred
animal—who is said to inspire them.
Nâgarâjas (Sk.). The usual name given to all
the supposed “guardian Spirits” of lakes and rivers, meaning literally “Dragon
Kings”. All of these are shown in the Buddhist chronicles as having been
converted to the Buddhist monastic life : i.e , as becoming Arhats from
the Yogis that they were before.
Nâgârjuna (Sk.). An Arhat, a hermit (a native
of Western India) converted to Buddhism by Kapimala and the fourteenth
Patriarch, and now regarded as a Bodhisattva-Nirmanakaya. He was famous for his
dialectical subtlety in metaphysical arguments; and was the first teacher of the
Amitâbha doctrine and a representative of the Mahayâna School. Viewed as the
greatest philosopher of the Buddhists, he was referred to as “one of the four
suns which illumine the world”. He was born 223 B.C, and going to China after his conversion converted
in his turn the whole country to Buddhism.
Nagkon Wat (Siam.). Imposing ruins in the
province of Siamrap (Eastern Siam), if ruins they may
be called. An abandoned
edifice of most gigantic dimensions, which, together with the great temple of
Angkorthâm, are the best preserved relics of the past in all Asia. After the Pyramids this is the
most occult edifice in the whole world. Of an oblong form, it is 796 feet in
length and 588 in width, entirely built of stone, the roof included, but
without cement like the pyramids of Ghizeh, the stones fitting so closely
that the joints are even now hardly discernible. It has a central pagoda 250
feet in height from the first floor, and four smaller pagodas at the four
corners, about 175 feet each. In the words of a traveller, (The Land of the
White Elephant, Frank Vincent, p. 209) “in style and beauty of architecture,
solidity of construction, and magnificent and elaborate carving and sculpture,
the great Nagkon Wat has no superior, certainly no rival, standing at the
present day.” (See Isis Unv., Vol. I. pp. 561-566.)
Nahash (Heb.). “The Deprived”;
the Evil one or the Serpent, according to the Western Kabalists.
Nahbkoon (Eg) The god who
unites the “doubles”, a mystical term referring to the human disembodied
“principles”.
Naimittika (Sk.). Occasional, or incidental;
used of one of the four kinds of Pralayas (See “Pralaya”).
Naїn (Scand.). The “Dwarf of
Death”.
Najo (Hind.). Witch; a
sorceress.
Nakshatra (Sk.). Lunar asterisms.
Namah (Sk.). In Pali Namo. The first
word of a daily invocation among Buddhists, meaning “I humbly trust, or adore,
or acknowledge” the Lord; as: “Namo tasso Bhagavato Arahato” etc., addressed to
Lord Buddha. The priests are called “Masters of Namah”—both Buddhist and Taoist,
because this word is used in liturgy and prayers, in the invocation of the
Triratna (q.v.), and with a slight change in the occult
incantations to the Bodhisvattvas and Nirmânakâyas.
Nanda (Sk.). One of the Kings of Magadha
(whose dynasty was overthrown by Chandragupta q.v.).
Nandi (Sk.). The sacred white bull of Siva
and his Vâhan (Vehicle).
Nanna (Scand.). The beautiful
bride of Baldur, who fought with the blind Hodur (“ he who rules over darkness
”) and received his death from the latter by magic art. Baldur is the
personification of Day, Hodur of Night, and the lovely Nanna of Dawn.
Nannak (Chald.), also
Nanar and Sin. A name of the moon; said to be the son of
Mulil, the older Bel and the Sun, in the later mythology. In the
earliest, the Moon is far older than the Sun.
Nara (Sk.). “Man”, the original, eternal
man.
Nârâ. (Sk.). The waters of Space, or the
Great Deep, whence the name of Nârâyana or Vishnu.
Nara Sinha (Sk.). Lit., “Man-lion”; an Avatar
of Vishnu.
Nârada (Sk.). One of the Seven great
Rishis, a Son of Brahmâ This “Progenitor” is one of the most mysterious
personages in the Brahmanical sacred symbology. Esoterically Nârada is the Ruler
of events during various Karmic cycles, and the personification, in a certain
sense, of the great human cycle; a Dhyan Chohan. He plays a great part in
Brahmanism, which ascribes to him some of the most occult hymns in the Rig
Veda, in which sacred work he is described as “of the Kanwa family”. He is
called Deva-Brahmâ, but as such has a distinct character from the one he assumes
on earth—or Pâtâla. Daksha cursed him for his interference with his 5,000 and
10,000 sons, whom he persuaded to remain Yogins and celibates, to be
reborn time after time on this earth (Mahâbhârata). But this is an
allegory. He was the inventor of the Vina, a kind of lute, and a
great “lawgiver”. The story is too long to be given here.
Nâraka (Sk.). In the popular conception, a
hell, a “prison under earth”. The hot and cold hells, each eight in number, are
simply emblems of the globes of our septenary chain, with the addition of the
“eighth sphere” supposed to be located in the moon. This is a transparent
blind, as these “hells” are called vivifying hells because, as
explained, any being dying in one is immediately born in the second, then in the
third, and so on; life lasting in each 500 years (a blind on the number of
cycles and reincarnations). As these hells constitute one of the six gâti
(conditions of sentient existence), and as people are said to be reborn in one
or the other according to their Karmic merits or demerits, the blind becomes
self-evident. Moreover, these Nârakas are rather purgatories than hells, since
release from each is possible through the prayers and intercessions of
priests for a consideration, just as in the Roman Catholic Church, which
seems to have copied the Chinese-ritualism in this pretty closely. As said
before, esoteric philosophy traces every hell to life on earth, in one or
another form of sentient existence.
Nârâyana (Sk.). The “mover on the Waters” of
space: a title of Vishnu, in his aspect of the Holy Spirit, moving on the Waters
of Creation. (See Mânu, Book II.) In esoteric symbology it
stands for the primeval manifestation of the life-principle, spreading in
infinite Space.
Nargal (Chald.). The Chaldean
and Assyrian chiefs of the Magi (Rab Mag).
Narjol (Tib.). A Saint; a
glorified Adept.
Naros or Neros (Heb.).
A cycle, which the Orientalists describe as consisting of 600 years. But what
years? There were three kinds of Neros : the greater, the middle and the less.
It is the latter cycle only which was of 600 years. (See “Neros”.)
Nâstika (Sk.). Atheist, or rather he who
does not worship or recognize the gods and idols.
Nâth (Sk.). A Lord: used of gods and men;
a title added to the first name of men and things as Badrinath (lord of
mountains), a famous place of pilgrimage; Gopinath (lord of the
shepherdesses), used of Krishna.
Nava Nidhi (Sk.). Lit., “the nine Jewels”; a
consummation of spiritual development, in mysticism.
Nazar (Heb.). One “set apart”;
a temporary monastic class of celibates spoken of in the Old Testament,
who married not, nor did they use wine during the time of their vow, and who
wore their hair long, cutting it only at their
initiation. Paul must have belonged to this class of Initiates, for he himself
tells the Galatians (i. x5) that he was separated or “set apart”
from the moment of his birth ; and that he had his hair cut at Cenchrea, because
“he had a vow” (Acts xviii.18), i.e., had been initiated as a Nazar;
after which he became a “ master-builder” (i Corinth. iii.10). Joseph is
styled a Nazar (Gen. xlix. 26). Samson and Samuel were also Nazars, and
many more.
Nazarenes (Heb.). The same as the
St. John Christians; called the Mend or Sabeans. Those Nazarenes who left
Galilee several
hundred years ago and settled in Syria, east of Mount Lebanon, call
themselves also Galileans ; though they designate Christ “a false Messiah” and
recognise only St. John the Baptist, whom they call the “Great Nazar”. The
Nabatheans with very little difference adhered to the same belief as the
Nazarenes or the Sabeans. More than this— the Ebionites, whom Renan shows as
numbering among their sect all the surviving relatives of Jesus, seem to have
been followers of the same sect if we have to believe St. Jerome, who writes: “
I received permission from the Nazaræans who at Beræa of Syria used this (Gospel
of Matthew written in Hebrew) to translate it.... The Evangel which the
Nazarenes and Ebionites use which recently I translated from Hebrew into Greek.’
(Hieronymus’ Comment. to Matthew, Book II., chapter xii., and
Hieronymus’ De Viris Illust. cap 3.) Now this supposed Evangel of
Matthew, by whomsoever written, “exhibited matter”, as Jerome complains (bc.
cit.), “not for edification but for destruction”(of Christianity). But the fact
that the Ebionites, the genuine primitive Christians, “rejecting the rest
of the apostolic writings, made use only of this (Matthew’s Hebrew) Gospel”
(Adv. Hær., i. 26) is very suggestive. For, as Epiphanius declares, the
Ebionites firmly believed, with the Nazarenes, that Jesus was but a man “of the
seed of a man” (Epiph. Contra Ebionites). Moreover we know from the Codex
of the Nazarenes, of which the “Evangel according to Matthew” formed a portion,
that these Gnostics, whether Galilean, Nazarene or Gentile, call Jesus, in their
hatred of astrolatry, in their Codex Naboo-Meschiha or “ Mercury”. (See “
Mendæans”). This does not shew much orthodox Christianity either in the
Nazarenes or the Ebionites; but seems to prove on the contrary that the
Christianity of the early centuries and modern Christian theology are two
entirely opposite things.
Nebban or Neibban (Chin.). The same as
Nirvâna, Nippang in Tibet.
Nebo (Chald.). The same as the
Hindu Budha, son of Soma the Moon, and Mercury the planet.
(See
“Nabu”.)
Necromancy (Gr.). The raising of
the images of the dead, considered in antiquity and by modern
Occultists as a practice of black magic. Iamblichus, Porphyry and other
Theurgists have deprecated the practice, no less than did Moses, who condemned
the “witches” of his day to death, the said witches being only Necromancers—as
in the case of the Witch of Endor and Samuel.
Nehaschim (Kab.). “The serpent’s works.” It is
a name given to the Astral Light, “the great deceiving serpent” (Mâyâ), during
certain practical works of magic. (See Sec. Doc. II. 409.)
Neilos (Gr.). The river Nile; also a god.
Neith (Eg.). Neithes.
The Queen of Heaven; the moon-goddess in Egypt. She is variously called
Nout, Nepte, Nur. (For symbolism, see “Nout”.)
Neocoros (Gr.). With the Greeks
the guardian of a Temple.
Neophyte (Gr.). A novice; a
postulant or candidate for the Mysteries. The methods of initiation varied.
Neophytes had to pass in their trials through all the four elements, emerging in
the fifth as glorified Initiates. Thus having passed through Fire (Deity), Water
(Divine Spirit), Air (the Breath of God), and the Earth (Matter), they received
a sacred mark, a tat and a tau, or a + and a ┬. The latter was the
monogram of the Cycle called the Naros, or Neros. As shown by Dr. E. V. Kenealy,
in his Apocalypse, the cross in symbolical language (one of the seven
meanings)“+ exhibits at the same time three primitive letters, of which the word
LVX or Light is compounded. . . . The Initiates were marked with this sign, when
they were admitted into the perfect mysteries. We constantly see the Tau and the
Resh united thus ♀. Those two letters in the old Samaritan, as found on coins,
stand, the first for 400, the second for 200 = 600. This is the staff of
Osiris.” Just so, but this does not prove that the Naros was a cycle of 600
years; but simply that one more pagan symbol had been appropriated by the
Church.
(See “Naros” and “Neros” and also “I. H. S.”)
Neo-platonism. Lit.,“The new
Platonism” or Platonic School. An eclectic pantheistic school of philosophy
founded in Alexandria by Ammonius Saccas,
of which his disciple Plotinus was the head (A.D. 189-270). It sought to
reconcile Platonic teachings and the Aristotelean system with oriental
Theosophy. Its chief occupation was pure spiritual philosophy, metaphysics and
mysticism. Theurgy was introduced towards its later years. It was the ultimate
effort of high intelligences to check the ever-increasing ignorant superstition
and blind faith of the times; the last product of Greek philosophy, which
was finally crushed and put to death by brute force.
Nephesh Chia (Kab.). Animal or living
Soul.
Nephesh (Heb.). Breath of life.
Anima, Mens, Vita, Appetites. This term is used very loosely in the
Bible. It generally means prana “life”; in the Kabbalah it is the animal
passions and the animal Soul.
[w.w.w.] Therefore, as maintained in
theosophical teachings, Nephesh is the synonym of the Prâna-Kâmic
Principle, or the vital animal Soul in man. [H. P. B.]
Nephilim (Heb.). Giants, Titans, the
Fallen Ones.
Nephtys (Eg.). The sister of
Isis, philosophically only one of her aspects. As Osiris and Typhon are one
under two aspects, so Isis and Nephtys are one and the same symbol of nature
under its dual aspect. Thus, while Isis is the wife of Osiris,
Nephtys is the wife of Typhon, the foe of Osiris and his slayer, although she
weeps for him. She is often represented at the bier of the great Sun-god, having
on her head a disk between the two horns of a crescent. She is the genius of the
lower world, and Anubis, the Egyptian Pluto, is called her son. Plutarch has
given a fair esoteric explanation of the two sisters. Thus he writes:
Nephtys designs that which is
under the earth, and which one sees not (i.e., its disintegrating and
reproducing power), and Isis that which is above earth,
and which is visible (or physical nature). . . . The circle of the horizon which
divides these two hemispheres and which is common to both, is Anubis.” The
identity of the two goddesses is shown in that Isis is also called the mother of
Anubis. Thus the two are the Alpha and Omega of Nature.
Nergal (Chald.). On the Assyrian
tablets he is described as the “giant king of war, lord of the city of
Cutha”. It is also
the Hebrew name for the planet Mars, associated invariably with ill-luck and
danger. Nergal-Mars is the “shedder of blood”. In occult astrology it is less
malefic than Saturn, but is more active in its associations with men and its
influence on them.
Neros (Heb.). As shown by the
late E. V. Kenealy this “Naronic Cycle” was a mystery, a true “secret of
god”, to disclose which during the prevalence of the religious mysteries and the
authority of the priests, meant death. The learned author seemed to take it for
granted that the Neros was of 600 years duration, but he was mistaken. (See
“Natos”.) Nor were the establishment of the Mysteries and the rites of
Initiation due merely the necessity of perpetuating the knowledge of the true
meaning of the Naros and keeping this cycle secret from the profane; for the
Mysteries are as old as the present human race, and there were far more
important secrets to veil than the figures of any cycle. (See “Neophyte” and “I.
H. S.”, also “Naros”.) The mystery of 666, “the number of the great heart” so
called, is far better represented by the Tau and the Resh than
600.
Nerthus (Old Sax.). The goddess
of the earth, of love and beauty with the old Germans; the same as the
Scandinavian Freya or Frigga. Tacitus mentions the great honours paid to Nerthus
when her idol was carried on a car in triumph through several
districts.
Neshamah (Heb.). Soul, anima,
afflatus. In the Kabbalah, as taught in the Rosicrucian order, one of the
three highest essences of the Human Soul, corresponding to the Sephira
Binah. [w.w.w.]
Nesku or Nusku
(Chald.). Is described in the Assyrian tablets as the “holder of the
golden sceptre, the lofty god”.
Netzach (Heb.). “Victory”. The
seventh of the Ten Sephiroth, a masculine active potency. [w.w.w.]
Nidâna (Sk.). The 12 causes of existence,
or a chain of causation, “a concatenation of cause and effect in the whole range
of existence through 12 links”. This is the fundamental dogma of Buddhist
thought, “the understanding of which solves the riddle of life, revealing the
insanity of existence and preparing the mind for Nirvâna”. (Eitel’s Sans.
Chin. Dict.) The 12 links stand thus in their enumeration. (1) Jail, or
birth, according to one of the four modes of entering the stream of life and
reincarnation—or Chatur Yoni (q.v.), each mode placing the being born in
one of the six Gâti (q.v.). (2) Jarârnarana, or decrepitude and
death, following the maturity of the Skandhas (q.v.). (3)
Bhava, the Karmic agent which leads every new sentient being to be born
in this or another mode of existence in the Trailokya and Gâti. (4)
Upâdâna, the creative cause of Bhava which thus becomes the cause
of Jati which is the effect; and this creative cause is the clinging
to life. ( 5) Trishnâ, love, whether pure or impure. (6) Vêdâna, or
sensation; perception by the senses, it is the 5th Skandha. (7) Sparsa, the
sense of touch. (8) Chadâyatana, the organs of sensation. (9)
Nâmarûpa, personality, i.e., a form with a name to it, the symbol of the
unreality of material phenomenal appearances. (10) Vijnâna, the perfect
knowledge of every perceptible thing and of all objects in their concatenation
and unity. (11) Samskâra, action on the plane of illusion. (12)
Avidyâ, lack of true perception, or ignorance. The Nidânas belonging to
the most subtle and abstruse doctrines of the Eastern metaphysical system, it is
impossible to go into the subject at any greater length.
Nidhi (Sk) A treasure. Nine
treasures belonging to the god Kuvera—the Vedic Satan—each treasure being under
the guardianship of a demon; these are personified, and are the objects of
worship of the Tantrikas.
Nidhogg (Scand.). The “Mundane”
Serpent.
Nidra (Sk.). Sleep. Also the female form
of Brahmâ.
Nifiheim (Scand.). The cold Hell,
in the Edda. A place of eternal non-consciousness and inactivity. (See
Secret Doctrine, Vol. II., p. 245).
Night of Brahmâ. The period between the
dissolution and the active life of the Universe which is called in contrast the
“Day of Brahmâ”.
Nilakantha (Sk.). A name of Siva meaning “ blue
throated”. This is said to have been the result of some poison administered to
the god.
Nile-God (Eg.). Represented by a
wooden image of the river god receiving honours in gratitude for the bounties
its waters afford the country. There was a “celestial” Nile, called in the Ritual
Nen-naou or “primordial waters”; and a terrestrial Nile, worshipped at Nilopolis and Hapimoo. The latter was
represented as an androgynous being with a beard and breasts, and a fat blue
face ; green limbs and reddish body. At the approach of the yearly inundation,
the image was carried from one place to another in solemn procession.
Nimbus (Lat.). The aureole
around the heads of the Christ and Saints in Greek and Romish Churches is of
Eastern origin. As every Orientalist knows, Buddha is described as having his
head surrounded with shining glory six cubits in width; and, as shown by Hardy
(Eastern Monachism), “his principal disciples are represented by the
native painters as having a similar mark of eminence”. In China, Tibet and Japan, the heads of
the saints are always surrounded with a nimbus.
Nimitta (Sk.). 1. An interior illumination
developed by the practice of meditation. 2. The efficient spiritual cause, as
contrasted with Upadana, the material cause, in Vedânta philosophy. See also
Pradhâna in Sankhya philosophy.
Nine. The “Kabbalah of the Nine
Chambers” is a form of secret writing in cipher, which originated with the
Hebrew Rabbis, and has been used by several societies for purposes of
concealment notably some grades of the Freemasons have adopted it. A figure is
drawn of two horizontal parallel lines and two vertical parallel lines across
them, this process forms nine chambers, the centre one a simple square, the
others being either two or three sided figures, these are allotted to the
several letters in any order that is agreed upon. There is also a Kabbalstic
attribution of the ten Sephiroth to these nine chambers, but this is not
published. [w.w.w.]
Nirguna (Sk.). Negative attribute; unbound,
or without Gunas (attributes), i.e., that which is devoid of all
qualities, the opposite of Saguna, that which has attributes (Secret
Doctrine, II. 95), e.g.,
Parabrahmam is Nirguna; Brahmâ, Saguna. Nirguna
is a term which shows the impersonality of the thing spoken of.
Nirmânakâya (Sk.). Something entirely different
in esoteric philosophy from the popular meaning attached to it, and from the
fancies of the Orientalists. Some call the Nirmânakâya body “Nirvana with
remains” (Schlagintweit, etc.) on the supposition, probably, that it is a kind
of Nirvânic condition during which consciousness and form are retained. Others
say that it is one of the Trikâya (three bodies), with the “power of
assuming any form of appearance in order to propagate Buddhism” (Eitel’s idea);
again, that “it is the incarnate avatâra of a deity” (ibid.), and so on.
Occultism, on the other hand, says:that Nirmânakâya, although meaning literally
a transformed “body”, is a state. The form is that of the adept or yogi who
enters, or chooses, that post mortem condition in preference to the
Dharmakâya or absolute Nirvânic state. He does this because the latter
kâya separates him for ever from the world of form, conferring upon him a
state of selfish bliss, in which no other living being can participate,
the adept being thus precluded from the possibility of helping humanity, or even
devas. As a Nirmânakâya, however, the man leaves behind him only his
physical body, and retains every other “principle” save the Kamic—for he has
crushed this out for ever from his nature, during life, and it can never
resurrect in his post mortem state. Thus, instead of going into selfish bliss,
he chooses a life of self-sacrifice, an existence which ends only with the
life-cycle, in order to be enabled to help mankind in an invisible yet most
effective manner. (See The Voice of the Silence, third treatise, “The
Seven Portals”.) Thus a Nirmânakâya is not, as popularly believed, the body “in
which a Buddha or a Bodhisattva appears on earth”, but verily one, who whether a
Chutuktu or a Khubilkhan, an adept or a yogi during life, has
since become a member of that invisible Host which ever protects and watches
over Humanity within Karmic limits. Mistaken often for a “Spirit”, a Deva, God
himself, &c., a Nirmânakâya is ever a protecting, compassionate, verily a
guardian angel, to him who becomes worthy of his help. Whatever objection
may be brought forward against this doctrine; however much it is denied,
because, forsooth, it has never been hitherto made public in Europe and
therefore since it is unknown to Orientalists, it must needs be “a myth of
modern invention”—no one will be bold enough to say that this idea of helping
suffering mankind at the price of one’s own almost interminable self-sacrifice,
is not one of the grandest and noblest that was ever evolved from human
brain.
Nirmathya (Sk.). The sacred fire produced by
the friction of two pieces of wood—the “fire” called Pavamâna in the
Purânas. The allegory contained therein is an occult teaching.
Nirriti (Sk.). A goddess of Death and
Decay.
Nirukta (Sk.). An anga or limb, a
division of the Vedas; a glossarial comment.
Nirupadhi (Sk.). Attributeless; the negation
of attributes.
Nirvâna (Sk.). According to the
Orientalists, the entire “blowing out”, like the flame of a candle, the utter
extinction of existence. But in the esoteric explanations it is the state of
absolute existence and
absolute consciousness, into which the Ego of a man
who has reached the highest degree of perfection and holiness during life goes,
after the body dies, and occasionally, as in the case of Gautama Buddha and
others, during life. (See “Nirvânî”.)
Nirvânî (Sk.). One who has attained
Nirvana—an emancipated soul. That Nirvâna means nothing of the kind asserted by
Orientalists every scholar who has visited China, India and Japan is well aware.
It is “escape from misery” but only from that of matter, freedom from
Klêsha, or Kâma, and the complete extinction of animal desires. If
we are told that Abidharma defines Nirvâna “as a state of absolute
annihilation”, we concur, adding to the last word the qualification “of
everything connected with matter or the physical world”, and this simply because
the latter (as also all in it) is illusion, mâyâ. Sâkya-mûni Buddha said
in the last moments of his life that “the spiritual body is immortal” (See
Sans. Chin. Dict.). As Mr. Eitel, the scholarly Sinologist, explains it:
“The popular exoteric systems agree in defining Nirvâna negatively as a
state of absolute exemption from the circle of transmigration; as a state of
entire freedom from all forms of existence; to begin with, freedom from all
passion and exertion; a state of indifference to all sensibility” and he might
have added “death of all compassion for the world of suffering”. And this is why
the Bodhisattvas who prefer the Nirmânakâya to the Dharmakâya vesture, stand
higher in the popular estimation than the Nirvânîs. But the same scholar adds
that: “Positively (and esoterically) they define Nirvâna as the highest state of
spiritual bliss, as absolute immortality through absorption of the soul (spirit
rather) into itself, but preserving individuality so that, e.g., Buddhas,
after entering Nirvâna, may reappear on earth”—i.e., in the future
Manvantara.
Nîshada (Sk.). (1) One of the seven
qualities of sound—the one and sole attribute of Akâsa; (2) the seventh
note of the Hindu musical scale; (3) an outcast offspring of a Brahman and a
Sudra mother;
(4) a range of mountains south of Meru—north of the
Himalayas.
Nissi (Chald.) One of the
seven Chaldean gods.
Nîti (Sk.). Lit., Prudence,
ethics.
Nitya Parivrita. (Sk.). Lit., continuous
extinction.
Nitya Pralaya (Sk.). Lit., “perpetual” Pralaya or
dissolution. It is the constant and imperceptible changes undergone by the atoms
which last as long as a Mahâmanvantara, a whole age of Brahmâ, which takes
fifteen figures to sum up. A stage of chronic change and dissolution, the stages
of growth and decay. It is the duration of “Seven Eternities”. (See
Secret Doctrine
I. 371, II. 69,
310.) There are four kinds of Pralayas, or states of changelessness. The
Naimittika, when Brahmâ slumbers; the Prakritika, a partial Pralaya of anything
during Manvantara; Atyantika, when man has identified himself with the One
Absolute synonym of Nirvâna; and Nitya, for physical things especially, as a
state of profound and dreamless sleep.
Nitya Sarga (Sk.). The state of constant
creation or evolution, as opposed to Nitya Pralaya—the state of perpetual
incessant dissolution (or change of atoms) disintegration of molecules, hence
change of forms.
Nizir (Chald.). The
“Deluge Mountain”;
the Ararat of the Babylonians with “Xisuthrus” as Noah.
Nixies. The water-sprites;
Undines.
Niyashes (Mazd.). Parsi
prayers.
Nofir-hotpoo (Eg.). The same as the
god Khonsoo, the lunar god of Thebes. Lit., “he who is in absolute
rest”. Nofir-hotpoo is one of the three persons of the Egyptian trinity,
composed of Ammon, Mooth, and their son Khonsoo or Nofir-hotpoo.
Nogah (Chald.). Venus, the
planet; glittering splendour.
Noo (Eg.). Primordial waters
of space called “Father-Mother”; the “face of the deep” of the Bible; for above
Noo hovers the Breath of Kneph, who is represented with the Mundane Egg in his
mouth.
Noom (Eg.). A celestial
sculptor, in the Egyptian legends, who creates a beautiful girl whom he sends
like another Pandora to Batoo (or “man”), whose happiness is thereafter
destroyed. The “sculptor” or artist is the same as Jehovah, the architect of the
world, and the girl is “Eve”.
Noon (Eg.). The celestial
river which flows in Noot, the cosmic abyss or Noo. As all the gods have
been generated in the river (the Gnostic Pleroma), it is called
“the Father-Mother of the gods”.
Noor Ilahee (Arab.). “The light of
the Elohim”, literally. This light is believed by some Mussulmen to be
transmitted to mortals “through a hundred prophet-leaders”. Divine knowledge;
the Light of the Secret Wisdom.
Noot (Eg.). The heavenly abyss
in the Ritual or the Book of the Dead. It is infinite space personified
in the Vedas by Aditi, the goddess who, like Noon (q.v.) is the “mother of
all the gods”.
Norns (Scand.). The three
sister goddesses in the Edda, who make known to men the decrees of
Orlog or Fate. They are shown as coming out of the unknown distances
enveloped in a dark veil to the Ash Yggdrasil (q.v.), and
“sprinkle it daily with water from the Fountain of Urd, that it may not wither
but remain green and fresh and strong” (Asgard and the Gods). Their names
are “Urd”, the Past; “Werdandi”, the Present; and “Skuld”, the Future, “which is
either rich in hope or dark with tears”. Thus they reveal the decrees of Fate
“for out of the past and present the events and actions of the future are born”
(loc. cit.).
Notaricon (Kab.). A division of the
practical Kabbalah; treats of the formation of words from the initials or finals
of the words in every sentence; or conversely it forms a sentence of words whose
initials or finals are those of some word [w.w.w.].
Noumenon (Gr.). The true
essential nature of being as distinguished from the illusive objects of
sense.
Nous. (Gr.). A Platonic term
for the Higher Mind or Soul. It means Spirit as distinct from animal
Soul—psyche; divine consciousness or mind in man: Nous was the
designation given to the Supreme deity (third logos) by Anaxagoras. Taken
from Egypt where it
was called Nout, it was adopted by the Gnostics for their first conscious
Æon which, with the Occultists, is the third logos, cosmically, and the
third “principle” (from above) or manas, in man. (See “Nout”.)
Nout. (Gr.). In the Pantheon
of the Egyptians it meant the “One- only-One”, because they did not proceed in
their popular or exoteric religion higher than the third manifestation which
radiates from the Unknown and the Unknowable, the first
unmanifested and the second logoi in the esoteric philosophy of every
nation. The Nous of Anaxagoras was the Mahat of the Hindu Brahmâ, the
first manifested Deity—
“the Mind or Spirit self-potent”; this creative
Principle being of course the primum mobile of everything in the
Universe—its Soul and Ideation. (See “Seven Principles” in man.)
Number Nip. An Elf, the mighty King of the
Riesengebirge, the most powerful of the genii in Scandinavian and German
folk-lore.
Nuns. There were nuns in ancient
Egypt as well as in
Peru and old Pagan Rome. They were the “virgin brides” of their respective
(Solar) gods. Says Herodotus, “The brides of Ammon are excluded from all
intercourse with men”, they are “the brides of Heaven”; and virtually they
became dead to the world, just as they are now. In Peru they were “Pure Virgins
of the Sun”, and the Pallakists of Ammon-Ra are referred to in some
inscriptions as the “divine spouses”. “The sister of Oun-nefer, the chief
prophet of Osiris, during the reign of Rameses II.,” is described as “Taia, Lady
Abbess of Nuns” (Mariett e Bey).
Nuntis (Lat.). The “Sun-Wolf”, a
name of the planet Mercury. He is the Sun’s attendant,
Solaris luminis
particeps. (See Secret Doct. II. 28.)
Nyâya (Sk.). One of the six
Darshanas or schools of Philosophy in India; a system of Hindu logic
founded by the Rishi Gautama.
Nyima (Tib.). The
Sun—astrologically.
Nyingpo (Tib.). The same as
Alaya, “the World Soul”; also called Tsang.
