My Understanding of Religion
Page 6
Another way of perceiving the Kundalini is as the Goddess coiled around the root of the linga. The Goddess is defined as the active power (shakti) of the godhead. Worship of the Shakti is called Shaktism. It can be thought of as a blend of Shaivism and various mother-goddess cults. Shakti is the most important contributory influence relating to the salvation of any individual and the action of the universe, because God acts exclusively through it. Shakti, imagined as a female deity, is the wife of God. As Mahayogini (Great Mistress of Yoga) Shakti brings the world into existence, preserves, and reabsorbs it. In some traditions Shiva owes his existence to Shakti. Worshipped as the ruler of the universe Shakti is seen as inseparable from Brahman, the supreme being of the Upanishads. Shakti has many names: Aditi, Vac, Lakshmi, Durga, Kali, Radha, Parvati, et al. Shakti as the Great Mother Manasa, a snake goddess who may be related to the naga race, supposedly conquered the worshippers of other deities by releasing her powers of destruction in the form of serpents.
The naga is a motif that appears inherently Hindu. That Vishnu is often depicted reclining on the coils of a naga is indicative of the antiquity of the motif, and the notion that Brahma relegated nagas to the nether regions after they became too populous on earth is suggestive of conflict or competition. Nagas are represented by Kundalini in esoteric forms of Yoga. Through the Great Mother Manasa nagas are identifiable with Mother Goddess worship. Garuda's antipathy for nagas may denote a religious conflict. The dynasties of Manipur in northeastern India, the Pallavas in southern India, and the ruling family of ancient Indochina (Funan) traced their origin to the union of a human and naga. To suppose that there ever existed a race of beings that were half-human and half-serpent would be absurd. It would be more reasonable to assume that nagas were completely human and that their association with serpents was emblematic
or totemistic. Another serpent to which human characteristics are often attributable is the dragon. Nagas and dragons may share common origins.
Stories about serpents with human characteristics appear in many mythologies: a Sioux myth explains how the Thunderbirds are constantly at war with the Giant Horned Snakes that are a potential source of knowledge about herbs; Toltec tradition relates how Feathersnake (Quetzalcoatl) rejected human sacrifice and instituted the arts of dancing, painting, and writing; Australian Aboriginal mythology contains stories of Snake-Man (Jarapiri) who arrived in Australia via Indonesia; from Brazil comes a myth about Waraku's father (a large water-snake or crocodile monster) who brought bananas, yams, sweet potatoes, and yucca to the hero Paraparawa; the Ashanti of west Africa possess a myth in which a python from the Sky God helps the first couple to have children; Wutu mythology tells of a snake who lied to the people about God's design for them and kept God's gift of immortality to himself; Slavonic mythology relates how Zmei Gorynich (Serpent of the Mountains) may appear with the head of a serpent and the body of a man; Scandinavian tradition relates how Fafnir turned himself into a dragon to guard some gold; Greek mythology contains stories of giants with serpents tails; Chinese myth explains that the sun has been replaced by a dragon with a human face; Egyptian mythology features a cobra goddess named Edjo or Buto who acted as nurse to the infant Horus and helped Isis protect him from his uncle Seth; Iranian mythology recounts how Yama, the first ruler, was overthrown by Azhi Dahaka (Dahaka the Snake).
The English word dragon is derived from a Greek term (drakon) meaning serpent and even though there are a variety of dragon forms, all remain serpentine. In ancient China the dragon (lung) was portrayed as a four-legged snakelike creature with big eyes, horns, and claws. The Japanese dragon (ryu or tatsu) can change its size and become invisible; like the Chinese dragon it is usually wingless. Jewish mythology mentions a many-headed dragon named Leviathan (Wriggly). According to poems from Ras Shamra, in north Syria, Leviathan had seven heads. Nagas, Hindu dragons, generally have one to seven hooded cobra heads. Apopis, the Egyptian dragon, is usually depicted in simple snake form. European dragons are frequently conceived as monstrous, fire-breathing, bat-winged lizards with barbed tails. Tiamat, the mother of all dragons, is portrayed as having four legs, wings, and a scaly body - amongst her offspring were giant snakes with venom for blood, cloaked dragons with a godlike radiance and terrible visage, and a horned serpent.
More often than not the dragon is seen as the enemy of a good God. Sometimes the dragon is the enemy of the sun god. A Canaanite tradition records a battle between the wicked Leviathan and the good gods Baal and Anath. A Hittite myth relates how the weather god was victorious over the dragon Illuyankas. Apopis is constantly at war with the god Re. Babylonian mythology tells how the god Marduk destroyed the great dragon Tiamat.
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