Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl00043)

Wesak is the Festival of the Buddha.  It is a celebration of His
enlightenment, as the expression of the Wisdom of God, the Embodiment of
Light and the Indicator of divine purpose.  It is held annually in relation
to the full moon of Taurus and besides the esoteric significance, it is also
a secular holiday in many Eastern regions.

Taurus is the 2nd of the labors of Hercules: after crossing the waters to
the island of Crete, Hercules passes through the maze and subdues the bull
(or Minotaur, in some versions).  The bull is not slaughtered, but is
brought back across the waters and delivered to the Cyclops waiting onshore
["If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light"].

Hercules finds the bull from its LIGHT, the radiance of the third eye, the
"bull's eye".  The animal nature symbolism is obvious in this labor, and
after Hercules begins his spiritual journey in Aires by taming the restless
mind, his next step on the path is to subdue the lower, animal nature in
Taurus.  It is LIGHT that leads Hercules to the answer of this problem, and
it is the accomplishment of the Buddha -- the Enlightened One -- that is
remembered and celebrated at the Wesak Festival.

Jim

note: there is a group meditation on the theme of illumination that takes
place at 7:00pm, EST on Thursday May 2nd, and again at the actual time of
the full moon which is 7:49am EST on Friday, May 3rd (11:49am GMT).  The
title of this post, "Wesak and Group Opportunity" is taken from this month's
Cycles, which is a monthly publication of the Agni Yoga folks down in
Arlington, Texas.  There is a community there grown up around the Agni
Yoga/Alice Bailey texts, and a kindergarten through highschool system based
upon Theosophy and the Robert Muller curriculum teachings (UN).  "The
members of the School are experimenting with rejoining astrology and
astronomy.  The experiment is called Astrochemistry and involves using
astronomical calculations to determine cyclic energy patterns and the works
of Alice A. Bailey and the Agni Yoga series as aids in determining the
meaning and significance of these cycles.  This information is intended to
be useful in the daily life."
School of Ancient Wisdom             (a truly hokey name, IMO, but nice folks)
6005 Royal Oak Drive
Arlington, Texas  76016