In essence, the creation and development of an “intellectual empire” on the part of the “Primordial man” amounts to the passage of a rite which signifies the connection between a symbol on one hand and the “Divine root” or “Archetype” behind the symbol on the other hand. One must note that the “Primordial man” is a saintly person, and once a person achieves sainthood, a person is no longer in need of passing conventional or ordinary religious rites. However, the choice of passing through a certain rite on the part of the “Primordial man” is aimed solely at reinforcing the symbolic effect which is carried alongside the passage of a particular rite, even though the “Primordial man” is in no need of passing such rites after having achieved sainthood.
Moreover, the “Primordial man” also arrives at a basic understanding as it pertains to the relationship between man and the cosmos which man occupies, in the sense that the “Primordial man” realizes that man is comprised of the same “stuff” which makes up the cosmos. Man is then understood to be a “microcosm” of the cosmos, and in turn, the cosmos is understood to be the “macrocosm” in relation to the “microcosm” which is man. Given that the cosmos is embedded with mysteries and secrets that are unveiled or unlocked through the passage of certain rites, it follows that man also wields certain mysteries and secrets within himself which are to be discovered through the course of time, given that both man and the cosmos are made of the same “stuff” per se. As Rumi wrote in a poem titled “Locked Out of Life”:
Again it happens in my sleep.
A core of wakefulness opens.
But I have ways of ignoring that.
You say, How long will you beg from others,
when there are things born of you
that emperors want?
Why waste time in meanness?
Who else can say what you say to me?
If I could repeat it,
people passing by would be enlightened and go free.
You are an ocean in my chest,
where everyone changes places,
believer-unbeliever, cynic-lover, dervish-king.
Last night, you came to my sleep asking, How are you?
Locked out of life, waiting, weeping.
Arguably, to be “Locked out of life” in the sense that Rumi has suggested is to be locked out of the mysteries and secrets embedded in one’s existence and inner self. And to comprehend and to fathom the mysteries and the secrets embedded in one’s existence and inner self, one must first pass the rites which ultimately unlock the door to such mysteries and secrets. Hence, the passage of such rites – including the one which involves the creation of an “intellectual empire” on the part of “Primordial man” – is not without aim, nor is the passage of such rites superfluous. In a nutshell, there is more to life than the bipartisan pandering to high finance in Washington which made George Santos look like a fool.
And in a sense, if we were to look at these mysteries and secrets and their importance and significance from a collective standpoint, these mysteries and secrets converge upon the issue of “the establishment of a spiritual center” and in turn the establishment of “a place of divine manifestation” which in turn fulfills the purpose of the ‘celestial intermediaries’ that occupy an important place in the various Abrahamic faiths, namely, the Metatron and Shekinah. In turn, the interplay of all of these mysteries and secrets defines and shapes both the role and the symbolism of the Israelites or the Jews in general and highlights the fact that “everything the Israelites do on earth is accomplished according to the archetypes of events in the celestial world.” Losing sight of the role and the symbolism of the Israelites and the Jews in general – which happens to be just one of these inner mysteries and secrets of man – manifests in a variety of ways, with their role and symbolism being intertwined with the establishment and management of a “spiritual center” or a “place of divine manifestation” that reflects a divine order and a divine postmodern peace.
Adam A. Azim 