Losing Common Knowledge

     We may generally accept that human knowledge doubles at an unprecedented rate. In some fields that happens every six months. Some fields nearly every week. At times I despair for the knowledge that we've lost:  The library at Alexandria; Mayan writings destroyed by the church; for that matter written history (even with symbols) destroyed by conquering armies across the planet.

  I'm not an archaeologist or anthropologist, but I do love studying their work.  Maybe that's another degree coming.  So you'll have to forgive me if the dating of the graphics posted here disagree with one field expert or another.  I'm just thinking with my fingers on the keyboard, and some of these symbols are probably more accurate if described in a range of years.

      There is, at least to me, an amazing correlation and symmetry that crosses continents and cultures. Long before written language we humans communicated with symbols.  In fact we best communicate with each other still in symbols (stories/myths/signs) if you're doing any study of leadership and organizational culture.

     The first image on the left comes from Northern Spain, though one can find concentric circle drawings and sculptures on every continent.  Some experts suggest that the Mayan Long Count calendar starts with a date of 3100 BCE. One has to wonder how the Mayans knew so much about the universe we've only recently come to understand.  The Flower of Life in some sources dates to 8,000 BCE, relating to sacred geometry, the seven days creation story in Genesis, and is found at ancient sites from Peru to England to Egypt to China (and another twenty plus countries).  The Sri Yantra from India with it's nine concentric triangles is quite similar.

     The Kabbalah Tree actually takes it's form from within the Flower of Life, and due to lack of written records, one wonders how long the Norse 9 worlds was passed down around the long house fire verbally before graphically depicted.   While I'll admit that the Chinese Wu Xing has fewer characters, that probably made it less confusing and easier to follow.  China, like Central and South America would be a place where more ancient knowledge has been lost than in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

    The Sumerian Caduceus, Old Testament description of Aaron's Rod, and Greek Hermes/Mercury all emanate from that cradle of civilization in the Mediterranean.   The distance to India and the Hindu Sanskrit Chakras really isn't that far.  We of course see that symbolism regularly whenever we deal with health care. That the Caduceus and the Chackras also resemble the double helix of our DNA is purely . . . well, I don't believe in coincidences.

     The Rumova Austra Koks comes from Prussia and Lithuania, but isn't that far removed from the Jewish Menorah, which must actually date older than the 1500 BCE I found at some point. It suddenly just occurred to me though that none of these images seems to originate in Russia.  I wonder why that is?  Russian studies scholars probably know some things I've just not had time to read yet.

    Surely you've seen the Egyptian Ankh before, and not just because you may be a child of the 1970's.  I find it interesting that the symbol for key of life or eternal life is so similar to the Chinese character for peace.  The Chi Rho was actually a Greek symbol long before Constantine adopted it as a symbol for Christ and Christianity.   That the Japanese symbol for peace would be so similar to the Chinese is logical if you look at the history of Japanese writing.

   Which brings me to this:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1); 

“All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men (John 1:3-4); “Jesus Christ is  the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages)” (Hebrews 13:8);  

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9);   

“[It is] the Spirit of God that made me [which has stirred me up], 

and the breath of the Almighty that gives me life [which inspires me] (Job 3:4).

     I could go on, but if I believe that the creator has always tried to communicate with the created, then that occurred in symbols long before there was Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, The King James, New International Version or any other translation of the Bible or holy text one can choose to read. And we as a species have much more in common than whatever separates us. I will stand upon the rock and the cross of Jesus Christ because I've seen too many miracles not to. I can even see that image in Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. 

     Yet I can grant grace to those who think and believe in other similarly historic and holy faiths because we only come together through common conversation; not crusades, jihads and resource acquisition. So maybe there's hope that we'll quit destroying each other because of different "beliefs".

   That's one of my Sunday prayers, with apologies to those who believe they have the right to determine and legislate everyone else's destiny and behavior.