Sacred Mountains

[Solon]

As an archetype, the pyramid shape is without doubt a sacred mountain. Triangular structures ( viewed full on) stretching skywards are often the central point of Hindu Temples. This triangular profile of the vimana refers to the cosmic mountain and axis mundi of Mt Meru, around which the universe is thought to spin.

Hindu philosophy lies behind architecture based on the form of a pyramid: a temple is a divine form that has descended from heaven and signifies the transition from One to the multiple.

The bindu ( imaginary point at the apex of construction) is directly above the cella, which is also known as the garbhagriha ( chamber of the embryo) and represents ' the womb of the sacred building'.

Obviously, there is much much more to hindu symbolism than this. Our point is to note some shared messages which pyramids across the globe signify.

In common with the pyramids of Egypt, we see a sacred mountain, a structure connected with birth/rebirth and also the womb of the earth mother. The plain facts are that pyramids represent not one idea, but rather the many.

Following this, it isn't really enough to offer one theory for the pyramids. We should at least be considering the pyramid as operating on many levels of the human psyche.

Therfore, there is room for a new synthesis to understand everything encoded in a pyramid.

Silbury hill in England, is an example of a pyramid where there are non supposed to be, most scholars now think Silbury is connected with Fertility, Ancestor worship and Sun Rituals, and as with the others, is a place where the spirit world and that of humans comes together.

Solon

 

[Nehustan]

I would concur with the idea of mountains as sacred images, which do often occur throughout 'myths' and religious traditions. To name but a few, Noah's 'Mount Ararat', Abraham ascending a mountain to sacrifice his son (let's not get into the Ishmeal /Isaac debate here!!), Moses' ascent up a mountain to receive the ten commandments, and of course Muhammad's frist revelation delivered by Gabriel in a cave upon Mount Hira.

I am however not convinced of the pyramid as a representation of a mountain, to my mind they represent the combination of the four primordial elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth. The Sphinx which sits near the great pyramids shows these four elements clearly, Lion, Eagle, Man and Bull, tho' comparatively the Meso-american pyramids are not accompanied by sphinx. The image of the cross is said to also symbolically represent the same, thus the 'crucifixion' is symbolic of the messiach conquering the created world. I am not sure of 'Hindu' (I find this word itself a misnomer and recently created appellation) temples being the same as the pyramids. Having travelled a little in the Indian subcontinent and Aegypt I do not see any direct connection between the traditions, other than maybe both possessing pantheons. Arguably there was contact between early Aegypt and Sumer/Mesopotamia with the introduction of domesticated crops being mooted as occuring as a diffusion from the near/mid east. Despite Indian's desire to be seen as the prototyical root of mankind, i.e. earliest lanuage etc., there is little archaeological/lingusitic evidence to support such claims.

 

[Azakel]

Ok yes I know the post is old(Zombie Thread). But I am going to agree with Solon on this. The pyramid is a representation of a mountain. I can remember in full, but I was watching the National Geographic channel on a show about Egypt, the where talking about pyramid and how the and to be made to a certain type of rule, and be made to look like the first Mountain which was a Holy Mountain.