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"On the relative level of appearances we do seem to exist.....On that same relative level the Dralas can also be felt and communicated with."
(Jamgon Mipham Namgyal Gyatso).(1846-1912)..The Tibetan text: "The Lamp that Illuminates the Practice of the Miraculous Juthig of Existence" : interesting and clear descriptions of the DRALA and WERMA can be found in two passages from the monumental work on the Juthig divination. The first passage describes the 'Unicorn' Drala Seu Ruchig, one of the most important manifestations among Drala and Werma......Also information on Lha, Nyen, and Lu."
"There are many gods....They are always present everywhere.....the dieties of the indigenous traditions of Western Europe and The Americas especially were dismantled, suppressed, undermined, abused, forgotten...followers were not even allowed to mention them.....but they still have not been able to destroy them, even with the desecration of the entire planet...the drala principle exists everywhere, always."..(CTR)
dgra-bla...dgra-lha...sgra-bla...dralha...drabla...
Drala is actually a transliteration for different Tibetan terms. Therefore it stands for two slightly different kinds of deity. One is spelled sgra bla, and the other is spelled in Tibetan, dgra lha. The first one with the element, sgra refers to a kind of energy; it is a vibrational entity. The second (dgra-) word ends in the syllable lha, and it is a kind of god.....Jamgon Kongtrul the Great made it interesting when he used a third spelling .....
Drala spelt sGra bla begins with the syllable sgra which means sound, and continues with la that here means "a type of individual energy that is endowed with protective functions" (Norbu 1995.) For example, seng- ge'i sgra means the lion's roar. It is also possible to write and hence, refer to sgra'i lha since sGra means a sound or cry, but using lha here instead of la conveys the meaning of a sound deity.
Dgra-lha....the warrior god who protects against enemies.....
DRALA....There are two different Tibetan terms: Drala (sGra bla) and Dralha (dgra lha)... Whereas "la" is translated variously as "life force, spirit, soul, vital essence" and lha as "god".
.."Drala could almost be called an entity. It is not quite on the level of a gods or gods, but it is an individual strength that does exist. Therefore, we not only speak of drala principle, but we speak of meeting the dralas. The dralas are the elements of reality...anything that reminds you of the depth of perception." (Trungpa:1984..pg 105)... drala (god of war and patron of warlords and warriors) Trungpa:1978.
sGra ....sgra: sound, voice, cry....sgra'i lha: sound deity...bso sgra: war cries....seng ge'i sgra: the lion's roar..... ku bswo cha sgra: war cry...sgra od zer: sounds, lights, rays...See Bibliography: A. Clemente: "The sGra bla, Gods of the Ancestors of gShen rab mi bo according to the sGra bla go bsang from gZi brjid" in "Tibetan Studies, Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of Tibetan Studies", Fagerness: 1992...."Drala spelt sgra bla, which means la of sound, where la (soul or vitality) stands for a type of individual energy that is endowed with protective functions" [Norbu:1995]....
sGra-la...."the spelling sgra-la (la of sound) is based on a very deep principle. Although not visible, sound is perceived through the sense of hearing and is linked to the Cha (the individual's positive force, the base of prosperity), and wangthang (ascendancy-capacity, both aspects related with the protective deities and entities since birth. Sound is considered the foremost connection between the individual and his la. This is the meaning of the word sgra-la." (Norbu: 1995...pg 62)...
dGra ...dgra: enemy, foe, adversary, opponent...."He is the drala (dgra bla) who extended the power of Shang Shung"..(Mipham text in Norbu: 1995, pg 58)...dgra lha: "foe-god" (Hoffman: 1975..pg 97)... dgra lha: protective warrior god..(Lopez: 1997..pg 4)...dgra-lha (enemy god): "the enemy who prevents man from being potent" [Paul:1982].... dgra-lha (warrior gods) [Stein:1972].... dgra-lha (enemy god): King Gesar is called "the King Gesar, the dgra lha of Zhang Zhung." [Nebesky:1956..pg 318]....dgra lha (war gods) [Kornman:1997]....drala (dgra bla) literally "above the enemy" Beyond aggression. Divine principle that protect against attack or enemies. [Nalanda Translation Committee:1997]...dgra dul: to vanquish the opponents, enemies...dgra lha: war god, deity of war....dgra bla: warrior spirit...norbu dgra'dul: Gesar......Zhang Zhung Gi Dgra Lha: war goddess of Shangshung. "Great Glacier Lady of Invincible Turquois Mist"...
"Jamgong Kongtrul the Great made things more curious by writing in his work: 'dgra-bla'."..(Karmay: 1975..pg 218)...
Other spellings and meanings found: drabla (enemy god) [Samuel:1993].... drapla, (sgra bla: enemy god) Kvaerne in Lopez:1997....
"The Tibetans have very complicated linkages and overlappings among the protector gods of the person, the protectors gods of lineages (male, female, maternal uncle) and the different masters of the place or territory." (Blondeau: 1996..pg ix)...
"Let us believe that such things do exist."...(Trungpa: Poem in First Thought, Best Thought...1983..pg 125)...
FRAVASHIS...."In the Persian tradition, fravashis were powerful supernatural beings able to protect their descendants if duly worshipped. Yast 13." (Boyce: 1984...pg 10)
"The belief in a double of the living and dead, animate or inanimate things, which influences the persons involved....The fravashis are a class of higher intelligences playing a prominent part in the world of humanity. (fravashi or fravarti:the Persian King Phraortes in 647 BC). The last ten days of the year are especially set aside for their cult. The 19th day is consecrated to their memory and the first month of the Iranian calendar receives its name after them. The Fravashis resemble the Vedic Pitrs, the Roman Manes, of the Platonic Ideas. The Fravashis constitute the internal essence of things, as opposed to the contingent and accidental. They are not mere abstractions of thought but have objective existence and work as spiritual entities. They are immanent in the particular bodies that come into this world after their divine images.Every object which has a name is endowed with a Fravashi. Some Fravashi are wise, beautiful, courageous, efficacious, etc. From the greatest god down to the tiniest shrub, every object has this divine element implanted in it. During the lifetime of every individual, his Fravashi accompanies him to earth...they render great help to those who invoke them...They rush down in the thick of battle to crush the foes...They are eager to communicate with the living...loving when propitiated, dreadful when offended...(Dhalla: 1963..pg 234)...
FRAVASHIS...."A class of higher intelligences...guardian spirits and prototypes of mankind in its purest creation. The Persian name of the Median King Phraortes (647 BC), and also the Median rebel mentioned in the Behistan inscription to Darius is derived from the word fravashi or fravarti. One of the longest of the Yashts is dedicated to the fravashi. The nineteenth day of every month is consecrated to them. They resemble the Vedic Pitrs, the Roman Manes, or the Platonic Ideas, though they are wholly the same. The multifarious objects of this world are so many terrestial duplicates of these celestial originals. They are the manifestations of energy...They are eager to communicate with the living and seek their invocation...They bless those who make offerings and become dreadful to those who offend them....they come down to the rituals on the days consecrated to them...They are not all of equal rank..." (Dhalla: 1963..pg 233+)
FRAVASHIS
......"A class of higher intelligence that are ancient Persian guardian warrior spirits. The 19th day of every month is consecrated to them. King Phraortes' (647 BC) Persian name is derived from the term."(Dhalla:1963..pg 235)..... "Hence Finite Time and Finite Space control man's destiny from the cradle to the grave. Yet the whole of the macrocosm is kept in being by the Fravashis (Dralas ??), the spiritual powers that are indissolubly linked with each human being and with humanity as a whole. Finite time-space, then, is not a kenoma, an empty nothingness, but a pleroma, a 'full' and vital organism...."...(Zaehner..1961..pg 150)...
" Jehovah is a local deity who abides on Mount Sanai.............we would like to make a pilgrimage.........what we will do with Jehovah is what Padmasambhava did.... He is going to be one of our friends.........Jehovah is a "very gentle person".....He will be subjugated as the local deity of Mt Sanai. We have to look for the site.......We have to perform the appropriate ceremonies for him to come along......Subjugating Jehovah is conquering both the Christian and Islamic traditions at the same time."
"Subjugation is bringing the gods around so that they begin to realize some basic understanding. They can't be purely "I am what I am" which they have to give up ......they have to be willing to relate and be willing to work with the other world altogether...they have to work for the sake of others rather than creating their own kingdoms......"
The drala brotherhoods (Groups of 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 21) (Nebesky: 1956..pg 319)..."13 dgra bla" (Norbu: 1995..pg 60)
"The origin and importance of the nine dgra lha." (Nebesky: 1956..pg 336)
"The Gods and spirits of the Tibetan landscape are not necessarily favorably inclined towards human beings.....It is necessary to keep on good terms with the local gods to secure good fortune in this world of everyday life"...(Geoffrey Samuel..Civilized Shamans)
DEITIES...."eight classes of non-human beings: dud, tsen, lu, lha, nyen, mamo, shinje, gyelpo, and then shaza, nodjin, sinpo"..(Nebesky: 1975..pg 254)..."divine and semi-divine beings such as lha, lu, nyen, sadag, dud, mamo, shinje, tenma, kyongma, etc."..(Norbu: 1995..pg 125)...
DEGYE..."there are nine cosmos creating deities. These may be regarded as principles since they have many local manifestations. The main iconographical feature is the PER, a kimono like tibetan garment. The main degye is called SE, who wears a white PER with crystal armor and helmet. He rides a white horse." (Trungpa:1978)....."Nine gods of light...nine brothers and nine sisters." (Stein: 1972..pg 242)..."The eight degyes are thought to descend from heaven on the smoke of the lhasang. (Trungpa: 1978)..."the primordial beings are described as a King and a Grandmother; while on the other hand, they are spoken of as nine brothers and nine sisters." (Paul: 1982..pg 55)..."the lineage descends from the 'gods of light' and especially from nine or ten Mu deities." (Stein: 1972..pg 242)..."The first 3 of the nine brothers are more important than the others. They are called phyva-srid-skos-gsum"...(Karmay:1975..pg 192)..."Most of the Tibetan gods whose origin is not Indian can be traced back to the parents and the eighteen brothers and sisters."..(Karmay: 1975)
NINE LHA....
1. A-kar O kyi Migchig
2. Tongchen Log gi Pumar
3. Tragpa Tung gi Thortsug
4. Chagnag Khyung gi Yangshul
5. Phuljung Ser gyi Tangmen (Fem)
6. Gung gi Thingring Ngampa
7. Marpo Me yi Shogchig
8. Ngampa Yu Lung Trug Bu
9. Ku Lha Ye Khyen
Email...dzogchenexplorations@gmail.com
September 2012
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