Proverbs From the Ancient Egyptian Temples
There are two parts of the temple; the outer temple where the beginning initiates are allowed to come, and the inner temple where one can enter only after proven worthy and ready to acquire the higher knowledge
Proverbs From the Ancient Egyptian Temples
There are two parts of the temple; the outer temple where the beginning initiates are allowed to come, and the inner temple where one can enter only after proven worthy and ready to acquire the higher knowledge and insights.
One of the concepts that the Egyptians held was that man was the microcosm of the universe – the macrocosm. This is the reason for the saying: “know thyself.” Their spiritual aspect of this concept held that within man (which they symbolized as a five-pointed star) is the divine essence of the Creator and the Heavens. And this finds expression in their teaching: “The kingdom of heaven is within you; and whosoever shall know himself shall find it.”(1)
Below are some of the teachings, proverbs, and maxims gleaned from the works of Isha Schwaller de Lubicz who, under the direction of her husband and teacher, R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, lived for fifteen years among the temples and tombs of Luxor and Karnak, in order to try and “penetrate the secret symbolism of the hieroglyphs.” Isha has written a two volume work of a fictionalized account, based on her research, of an Egyptian initiate progressing through the stages of initiation to attain “self knowledge and cosmic wisdom.”(2) She explains in her works that if one were to focus on the principles underlying the concepts of the gods, i.e. the Neters (Neter is often translated as “god,” but it actually refers to something more like a fundamental principle of nature, or a sort of causal agent.), of ancient Egypt, then one would readily see the commonality of the concepts running throughout the differing expressions of their cosmology. Many of these teachings, proverbs, and maxims relate directly to these concepts, and are reflections others.
From the Outer Temple(3)
- The best and shortest road towards knowledge of truth [is] Nature.
- For every joy there is a price to be paid.
- If his heart rules him, his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
- What you are doing does not matter so much as what you are learning from doing it. · It is better not to know and to know that one does not know,than presumptuously to attribute some random meaning to symbols.
- If you search for the laws of harmony, you will find knowledge.
- If you are searching for a Neter, observe Nature!
- Exuberance is a good stimulus towards action, but the inner light grows in silence and concentration.
- Not the greatest Master can go even one step for his disciple; in himself he must experience each stage of developing consciousness. Therefore he will know nothing for which he is not ripe.
- The body is the house of God. That is why it is said, “Man know thyself.”
- True teaching is not an accumulation of knowledge; it is an awaking of consciousness which goes through successive stages.
- The man who knows how to lead one of his brothers towards what he has known may one day be saved by that very brother.
- People bring about their own undoing through their tongues.
- If one tries to navigate unknown waters one runs the risk of shipwreck.
- Leave him in error who loves his error.
- Every man is rich in excuses to safeguard his prejudices, his instincts, and his opinions.
- To know means to record in one’s memory; but to understand means to blend with the thing and to assimilate it oneself.
- There are two kinds of error: blind cr