MANWOOMAN IS THE WELL KNOWN CALIFORNIAN ARTIST (PAINTER & SCULPTOR)
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Library of Professor Richard A. Macksey in Baltimore
Thursday, May 5, 2011
What is the meaning of a Swastika?
A Hindu Primer
by
by
Copyright © 2007 Sanskrit Religions Institute
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
What is the meaning of a Swastika?
How the Word is Derived
In Sanskrit, the proper spelling of the word swastika is svastika. Sanskrit has no 'w'. Literally, the word svastika is a statement of affirmation, "It is!" "Life is good!" "There is value" "There is meaning!" Svastika is a term that affirms the positive values of life. The word is made of su + as. "As" is the root of the copular verb "to be" of which the third person singular is, "asti," "it is." Su is a prefix used in Sanskrit to intensify meaning in a positive way, thus su+asti means literally, "it really is!" When combined, the 'u' changes into a 'v' thus giving the form svasti. The ending 'ka' makes this verbal form into a noun. This is the linguistic morphology of the word, svastika.A Negative Symbol
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Right Handed Swastika |
Today, the Swastika is primarily known as a symbol of racism, persecution and anti semitism, which, primarily, arises from the ideology of the German Nazi party and World War II. I remember performing a wedding between a Hindu girl and a Jewish boy. Right at the beginning of the ceremony, when it is traditional to hold a decorative cloth between the boy and girl, the Hindu mother proudly presented a special cloth with a huge red Swastika in the middle that she wanted me to hold between the couple. Half the audience was Jewish! Another time, I performed a ground-breaking ceremony for a Hindu family, who was going to build a new home in an exclusive gated community. The man had me draw a large red Swastika on the ground where the house would be built. Later, as we were walking around the perimeter of the property, someone came walking a dog and saw the red Swastika. In terror, this person called the police thinking that a neo-Nazi cult was moving into his neighborhood. On many occasions, I have had to explain to confused fire and building inspectors why there are Swastikas in our Hindu temples. As a priest, I regularly bless people using the expression, svasti svasti svasti! and even inscribe swastikas on the heads of newly shaved babies for their health and prosperity!
Its History
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A Nazi Swastika |
In fact, the Swastika is an ancient solar symbol that has been used by many cultures going back at least 3000 years. It has been found used by the celts in northern Europe and by the Greeks as early has 1000 BCE. In India the symbol has been used since Vedic times. It is most commonly seen as an ancient Aryan symbol. Nazi Germany did not invent the symbol, but only borrowed it in order to show the "aryan" roots of their new German state. Today, unfortunately, the Swastika is most commonly known for the destruction of life rather then its affirmation.
Its Use in India
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Left Handed Swastika |
In India, the Swastika is used in two forms, one with the arms moving to the right, the right-handed Swastika, and the other with the arms moving to the left, the so-called "left-handed" occult Swastika. It is commonly thought that the Nazis used the left-handed Swastika and that this is the difference between the Hindu's use of the Swastika and the Nazi's use of it. But this is not the case. In fact, the Nazis used the same right-handed Swastika that is used in modern Hinduism, but gave it a 45 degree turn. This gives it the appearance of being left-handed, even though it is not. Regardless, in India many groups have used the left-handed Swastika. One common example amongst Hindu groups is the Theosophical Society, which used it on their logo. The left-handed Swastika is also associated with esoteric tantric practices. Jains and Buddhists often use the left handed Swastika as well. Today the right-handed Swastika is mainly used in Hindu temples, homes and sacred ceremonies as a symbol or affirmation of good luck, health and prosperity. A "yes" to life!
Meanings of the Swastika Symbol
Meanings of the Swastika Symbol
from Collation of Theosophical Glossaries: SWASTIKA
As differentiated from the swavastika (or sauvastika), which is similar but which has its legs take off from the ends of the cross to the right, left-handed (motion), implying counter-clockwise direction -- counter to the currents of Nature -- the swastika has legs which take off from the ends of the cross to the left, right-handed (motion), implying clockwise direction -- and therefore 'with' the currents of Nature. The symbol which Hitler used for the Nazi party was actually a swavastika (or sauvastika).
from Theosophical Glossary: Svastika (Sk.). In popular notions, it is the Jaina cross, or the "four-footed" cross (croix cramponnee). In Masonic teachings, "the most ancient Order of the Brotherhood of the Mystic Cross" is said to have been founded by Fohi, 1,027 B.C., and introduced into China fifty-two years later, consisting of the three degrees. In Esoteric Philosophy, the most mystic and ancient diagram. It is "the originator of the fire by friction, and of the 'Forty-nine Fires'." Its symbol was stamped on Buddha's heart, and therefore called the "Heart's Seal". It is laid on the breasts of departed Initiates after their death; and it is mentioned with the greatest respect in the Ramayana. Engraved on every rock, temple and prehistoric building of India, and wherever Buddhists have left their landmarks; it is also found in China, Tibet and Siam, and among the ancient Germanic nations as Thor's Hammer. As described by Eitel in his Hand-Book of Chinese Buddhism: (1) it is "found among Bonpas and Buddhists"; (2) it is "one of the sixty-five figures of the Sripada"; (3) it is "the symbol of esoteric Buddhism"; (4) "the special mark of all deities worshipped by the Lotus School of China". Finally, and in Occultism, it is as sacred to us as the Pythagorean Tetraktys, of which it is indeed the double symbol.
from Working Glossary: Svastika, any lucky or auspicious object; a sign shaped like a Greek cross, with the extremities of the four arms bent at right angles in the same direction.
from Sanskrit Keys to the Wisdom-Religion: Swastika A mystical cross with its arms bent at right angles suggesting a whirling motion; also, a symbol of good fortune and blessing. Swastika is a compound of su -- a particle meaning 'auspicious,' 'blessed,' 'virtuous,' 'beautiful,' and 'rightly'; and astika derived from the verb-root as -- to be; hence 'that which is blessed and excellent.' The Swastika is a very archaic and sacred symbol which can be found in the religious relics of every ancient nation, for it depicts the whole story of the cosmos and man, their contrasting dual aspects, the four directions of space, the revolution of worlds, cyclic progression, and the union of spirit and matter at the heart of things. In H. P. Blavatsky's words:
Within its mystical precincts lies the master-key which opens the door of every science, physical as well as spiritual. It symbolizes our human existence, for the circle of life circumscribes the four points of the cross, which represent in succession birth, life, death, and IMMORTALITY. -- The Secret Doctrine, II, 556-7
from The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects: Gammadion, a short-armed swastika, taking its name from the fact that it is composed of four Greek gammas. It was one of the most widely distributed sacred signs…Gammadions appeared on coins…Christians copied it and used it liberally on tombs and catacombs. Like its relative the swastika, the gammadion probably presented the solstices and equinoxes, or the four directions, four elements, and four divine guardians of the world.
from The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects: Swastika, Named from the Sanskrit "so be it," or "amen," the swastika has been a religious emblem of worldwide occurrence since at least 10,000 B.C. It appeared on the oldest coinage in India, on images of Buddha in Japan, and on Greek and Roman figures of the Great Goddess. On artifacts dating from the thirteenth century B.C. onward, the swastika has been found in Asia Minor, Greece, China, Persia, Lybia, Scandinavia, Britain, and Iceland. It was still used as a magic sign in Europe up to the beginning of the twentieth century. A swastika with arms pointing clockwise was generally regarded as a solar emblem. A counterclockwise one (sauvastika) represented the moon, night, and the feminine principle. The swastika was much used in medieval church decoration and heraldry…It was adopted by Hitler's Third Reich on the supposition that it was a "pure Aryan" sign. This was not true, although a variant eight-armed swastika had long represented German anti-Semitic secret societies like the Vehmgericht. A twelve-tailed German swastika appeared in magic books as a victory charm.
from Symbol Sourcebook: Swastika, the fact that an ignominious fanatic placed a Swastika on his battle flag is insufficient reason for ignoring this symbol's historic significance. The Swastika has been whirring around since prehistory and used in widely separated cultures as a favorable symbol representing many things to many people: the supreme diety, infinity, the sun's power, the four winds, well being, the succession of generations. Swastikas face clockwise or counterclockwise. in India the former relates to the masculine and signifies leading to the outer world; the latter represents the feminine and indicates leading to the inner mind of man. Time is bound to erase the association of the Swastika with the Nazi holocaust. Then one of the most distinctive of graphic symbols will be absolved of its latter-day stigma and its early meanings will again be known.
from The Secret Language of Symbols: Swastika, this widespread symbol is particularly revered by the Jains, the Buddhists and followers of Vishnu. It is essentially a cross spinning at its centre, with the angles at the end of each arm representing light streaming as the cross turns. Spinning clockwise, it symbolizes male energy; anticlockwise, female. In Jainism, the four arms represent the four levels of existence. The anticlockwise form has been debased into a symbol of black magic and negative energies.
from Signs, Symbols and Ornaments: Swastika was an ornamental sign known to the old Chinese, the Babylonians, and the Mayans in America.
from An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols: Swastika, one of the oldest and most complex of symbols, prehistoric and universal except for parts of Africa and Sumeria…The swastika did not occur in Egypt until a few centuries BC and not at all in Central Africa and Lower Mesopotamia, but it has been suggested that the four-faced gods were a swastika symbol, while Count Goblet D'Alviella suggested that the swastika and the crux ansata and the winged disk were basically the same symbol…[Its symbolism] has variously been suggested as the revolving sun; the radiate wheel of the noon sun; the sun chariot; the Pole and the revolution of the stars round it; the four cardinal points; the four quarters of the moon; the four winds and the four seasons; a whirlwind movement; the motion of revolving round the world; the Centre; creative force in motion; the generation of the cycles; the revolution of the wheel of life; the cross as the four quarters over which the solar power revolves converting it into a circle; the cross as the vertical and horizontal lines depicting the spirit and matter and the four grades of existence. It is also suggested that the swastika is a conventionalized human form of two arms and legs, or the union of the male and female principles; the dynamic and static; mobility and immobility; harmony and balance; the two complimentary phases of movement, centrifugal and centripetal, inbreathing and outbreathing, going out from and returning to the centre, beginning and end…In all circumstances it is the symbol of good luck; good augury; good wishes; blessings; longevity; fecundity; health and life. There are two forms of the swastika taken to symbolize the male and female, solar and lunar aspects; movement clockwise and anti-clockwise…The swastika appeared frequently as a symbol in the catacombs signifying Christ as the power of the world. In medieval times it was the gammadion, used to symbolize Christ as the cornerstone, also the four Evangelists, with Christ as the centre…Hindu: The origin of the word Swastika - 'It is well."…
from A Dictionary of Symbols: Swastika, Right-handedness is characteristic of all symbols of natural life…Similarly, the right side takes on an extra implication of birth and life, while the left side acquires an association with death. Another consequence, apparent in allegories and emblems, is that the right side corresponds to higher virtues…The swastika, being an intermediate sign between the cross and the wheel, is similarly regarded by some as a solar and by others as a polar sign. This sign is to be found in almost every ancient and primitive cult all the world over…The implications of the swastika are very wide, for it is a synthesis of two symbols of independent force: the (Greek) cross with four arms of equal length and the cross with four arms appearing to rotate in the same direction. The tetraskelion, or swastika with four arms at right angles, is also called the gammadion because it can be formed by joining up four gamma letters…There are in fact two swastikas: the right-handed Swastika and the left-handed Swavastika.
from The Seal of The Theosophical Society: Swastika, A Sanskrit word meaning "well-being," "auspicious" -- the perennial symbol of good fortune found in the cradle of ancient cultures of India, China, Japan, and the Americas, as well as Greece and Rome (including the early Christians). In Scandinavia it was Thor's hammer and in India Vishnu's discus and the Jaina cross. In Buddhism, it expresses the "wheel of the Law." Symbol of evolution and perpetual motion, the swastika denotes the ever-churning "mill of the gods," in whose center is the soul, while the bent arms suggest the ceaseless turning of the wheels of life throughout universal existence. When we look at photos of faraway spiral galaxies, we are wonderstruck to see that they clearly resemble swastikas in their vortical motion.
from The Men Behind Hitler, by Bernard Schreiber: The idea for the use of the swastika by the Nazis came from a dentist named Dr. Friedrich Krohn who was a member of the secret Germanen order. Krohn produced the design for the actual form in which the Nazis came to use the symbol, that is reversed, spinning in an anti-clockwise direction. As a solar symbol, the swastika is properly thought of as spinning, and the Buddhists have always believed the symbol attracted luck. The Sanskrit word "svastika" means good fortune and well being. According to Cabbalistic lore and occult theory, chaotic force can be evoked by reversing the symbol. And so the symbol appeared as the flag of Nazi Germany and the insignia of the Nazi party, an indication for those who had eyes to see, as to the occult nature of the Third Reich.
from Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 99: Swastika, an even cross, the arms of which are bent at right angles. Since all four bars point in the same direction (either clockwise or counterclockwise), the form creates an impression of perpetual rotation.
The origin of the swastika symbol is unknown. For thousands of years, it has been used as a symbol of the revolving sun, fire, infinity, or continuing re-creation, as well as a decorative motif in the Americas, China, Egypt, Greece, and Scandinavia. Swastikas have been found in the catacombs of Rome, on textiles of the Inca period, and on relics unearthed at the site of Troy. The swastika has also been important in Eastern religions: to Buddhists, it represents resignation; to Jains, it represents their seventh saint; and to Hindus, a swastika with arms bent to the left represents night, magic, and the destructive goddess Kali.
In the mid-20th century in Germany, a swastika with arms bent to the right became the symbol of the Nazi party (see National Socialism). Some members of the German Free Corps, who later formed the nucleus of the early Nazi Party, are believed to have brought the swastika to Germany from Finland and Estonia, where it had been an official and decorative emblem. In 1920 many troops wore the swastika on their helmets when they occupied Berlin in their abortive attempt to overthrow the German Republic.
From March 1933, a few weeks after the ascent of Adolf Hitler to power in Germany, the swastika flag flew side by side with the German national colors. From September 1935 until the downfall of the Nazi regime in 1945, the swastika flag was the official flag of the Third Reich and was prominently displayed. The swastika is still used as a symbol by supremacist and separatist hate groups. See also Cross.
Swastika
Right-handed motion / Clockwise
Gammadion or Tetraskelion
The Swastika Symbol in Hinduism
The Swastika Symbol in Hinduism
The swastika (Sanskrit svastika, "all is well") is a cross with four arms of equal length, with the ends of each arm bent at a right angle. Sometimes dots are added between each arm.
Swastika banner being hung for an Indian wedding, Mumbai. Photo: BigAppleOfMyEye.
Swastika on an Indian home. Photo: Premasagar.
Indian man's swastika ring. Photo: Premasagar.
Swastika rangoli (decoration welcoming visitors to a home). Photo: Azuric.
Bricks carved with a swastika and script, India. Photo: Premasagar.
Graffiti in Jamalpur, India. The Hindi writing is the mantra Baba Nam Kevalam. Photo: Premasagar.
The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been found worldwide, but it is especially common in India. Its name comes the Sanskrit word svasti (sv = well; asti = is), meaning good fortune, luck and well-being.
The swastika is most commonly used as a charm to bring good fortune (in which case the arms are bent clockwise), but it has a variety of religious meanings as well.
The right-hand swastika is one of the 108 symbols of the god Vishnu as well as a symbol of the sun and of the sun god Surya. The symbol imitates in the rotation of its arms the course taken daily by the sun, which appears in the Northern Hemisphere to pass from east, then south, to west. (It is also a symbol of the sun among Native Americans.)
The left-hand swastika (called a sauvastika) usually represents the terrifying goddess Kali, night and magic. However, this form of the swastika is not "evil" and it is the form most commonly used in Buddhism.
The auspicious symbol of the swastika is very commonly used in Hindu art, architecture and decoration. It can be seen on temples, houses, doorways, clothing, cars, and even cakes. It is usually a major part of the decoration for festivals and special ceremonies like weddings.
The Nazis adopted the swastika because it was understood as an Aryan symbol indicating racial purity and superiority. (The Nazis propogated a historical theory in which the early Aryans of India were white invaders.) There may also be a connection with the swastika's magical connections, for Hitler and other Nazi leaders were keenly interested in the occult.
Sources
- John Bowker, ed., Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions (2000).
- "swastika." Encyclopædia Britannica (2007). Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
- Swastika - Wikipedia (January 2007)
THE SWASTIKA a good luck token
THE SWASTIKA
http://www.luckymojo.com/swastika.html
GOOD LUCK EMBLEM "The Swastika" is the oldest cross and emblem in the world. It forms a combination of four "L's" standing for Luck, Light, Love and Life. It has been found in ancient Rome, excavations in Grecian cities, on Buddhist idols, on Chinese coins dated 315 B.C., and our own Southwest Indians use it as an amulet.
It is claimed that the Mound Builders and Cliff Dwellers of Mexico, Central America consider "The Swastika" a charm to drive away evil and bring good luck, long life and prosperity to the possessor.
It should be noted that this text is not entirely accurate: The Mound Builders inhabited the Ohio River Valley and the Cliff Dwellers lived in the Southwestern United States; however, both did use the swastika, as did the Mayas of Mexico. Furthermore, although the swastika may look like four "L's" to one who uses the Roman alphabet, in Greek it forms four Gammas ("G's"), in Hebrew it can be seen as four Daleths ("D's"), and among the non-literate people of North America, it corresponded to no letters at all. Thus the ascription of Luck, Light, Love, and Life to the amulet is simply an English mnemonic, although it is prettily reinforced on this card by images of a horseshoe (luck), the rising Sun (light), twin hearts (love), and Earth (life). Finally, not mentioned in the text is the swastika's use as the specific emblem of Ganesha, the Hindu god of good luck, who is also represented as an elephant.
At left is a very nice American-made beaded item from the 1920s that bears the initials J.B.Y. and a black swastika on a white background. It is a simple strap-woven seed-bead piece of the type often made for a merit badge by Girl and Boy Scouts, or, as in this case, woven on a "while you wait" basis by American Indians for tourists at places like the Fred Harvey hotel chain in Arizona and New Mexico. It was found in an estate collection of Native American bead-work that had been put away and wrapped in 1929-dated newspapers. The twisted cotton threads terminate in a brass pin for hanging.
The use of the swastika in domestic ornament was fairly common in the 19th century. I have seen a beautiful white wedding dress, circa 1900, covered all over with embroidered swastikas. It came from the trousseau of a Polish-German immigrant woman, a "mail-order-bride" who was married in the U.S.
The swastika or hackencreuz was not a Nazi symbol originally, but was adopted by them as a "lucky" logo. (Imagine a political party of butchering madmen adopting the four-leaf clover as their symbol!) Some people believe that the swastika has been permanently co-opted or ruined by its brief appropriation by the Nazis -- who stood it up diagonally and placed it in a circle rather than running it four-square, and gave it their brand-logo colour scheme of black, white, and red, thus making THEIR swastika a national seal, unlike the non-Nazi swastikas of varied colour and form one finds all around the world.
It is a common misconception, almost an urban legend of sorts, to impute directional or positional preference or meaning to the swastika, and to claim that the Nazis "reversed the swastika" or "rotated it backwards" and therefore rendered it "evil." But this idea that directionality is important in the history of swastika usage is demonstrably untrue: counter-balancing (bilaterally symmetrical) arrays of clockwise and counterclockwise swastikas are common in both ancient and modern Indian art.
I believe that these considerations concerning the left- and right-turning swastika arose after the Nazis adopted the device -- and were part of a failed attempt to salvage at least a part of its former meaning by establishing a "good swastika versus bad swastika" dichotomy. Unfortunately, this swastika purity restoration attempt failed because ancient monuments and steles do not bear the theory out: The swastika appears in both left- and right-turned models in virtually all past cultures with no "deosil" and "widdershins" thought behind the direction, nor with "good" or "evil" concepts attached. The Nazis tipped the swastika up on end (diagonally), but it is even found that way in some old historical artifacts as well, such as this lovely example of the lucky swastika -- an embossed and airbrushed American postcard of the 1905 - 1910 era, bearing the legend "To Darling Baby," accompanied by a lavender swastika and a bunch of Lily-of-the-Valley flowers.
GOOD LUCK COINS OR "POCKET PIECES"
These are primarily bronze or gold-plated bronze coins made in sizes approximating the U.S. quarter, half-dollar, and silver dollar. Similar in size and design to souvenir good luck coins and advertising good luck coins , they are distinguished by the fact that they do not bear souvenir or advertising messages, merely promises of good luck, especially in money matters. Many display the typical North America lucky icons: horseshoe, four-leaf clover, wishbone, rabbit foot, swastika, and so forth. The height of their manufacture seems to have been in the 1930s, during the Great Depression.
A4. Good Luck Sex Coin, bronze, date unknown, 38 mm.
A5. Good Luck Coin, aluminum, circa 1960s (?)
(B) SOUVENIR GOOD LUCK COINS
These are similar to regular good luck pocket piece coins and advertising good luck coins except that they promote a tourist destination. They were often given away or sold at a nominal charge. Their purpose is dual: to bring good luck and to remind the visitor of the place where they were acquired. Many display the typical North America lucky icons: horseshoe, four-leaf clover, wishbone, rabbit foot, swastika, and so forth. The height of their manufacture seems to have been in the 1930s, during the Great Depression.
LUCKY MON-GOL Brand CURIOS
The lucky numbers 7-22 also appear among the lucky symbols. Seven is a common lucky number, and coupled with 22 (twice 11, the Curio's number), it doubtless conveys a meaning related to the intended use of Curio Number XI. Since 7-11 is a lucky gambling combination and the black cat is considered to bring luck to gamblers, it may be that the 7-22 on the label of Curio Number X1 represented "double luck" for gamblers. The precise meaning could probably have been interpreted via a contemporary volume such as Aunt Sally's Policy Player's Dream Book, which gives lucky betting numbers for various dream images but can also be used backwards to supply images via number-code.
"Curio" was -- and still is -- a hoodoo mail-order catalogue code-word used to designate magical and spiritual anointing oils, roots, sachet powders, herbs, conjure bags, and amulets. The term is intended as a disclaimer to forestall prosecution for mail fraud. The Lucky Mon-Gol Company was not the only hoodoo supply company of the 1930s that numbered its "curios" rather than naming them; the Hussey Distribution Company of Atlanta, Georgia, also followed this practice, with its line of "Fine Curio Products," which included "Curio #3 Highest Quality Alleged Inflammatory Confusion Brand Incense" and "Husco Curio No. 61 Alleged Money Drawing Brand Incense."
Modern factory-based hoodoo suppliers such as E. Davis, Indio, and the Lama Temple are less likely to incorporate the word "curio" in product names, but they still remove the taint of implied fraud by inserting the words "Alleged" and "Brand" somewhere in the title to make it seem as if the name were just a coincidence and had no relation to the item's reason for existence. My own Lucky Mojo Curio Co. proudly flaunts the old-fashioned name "curio," which is in line with my policy of providing old-fashioned quality.
Modern equivalents of the purifying and love-drawing ingredients in Lucky Mon-Gol Curio Number XI are still in commerce. For instance, one can purchase Dr Pryor's Alleged 7 Holy Spirit Hyssop Brand Bath Oil (manufactured by the Lama Temple of Chicago, Illinois) and Love Me FLoor Wash (Powerful Indian House Blessing Brand). And, of course, the Lucky Mojo Curio Co. manufactures and sells such products as Love Me, Kiss Me Now!, Come to Me, and 7-11 Holy Type spiritual supplies via an online catalogue.
Cosmic and significant appearances in ancient times and the present
Cosmic and significant appearances in ancient times and the present
http://www.swastika-info.com/en/cosmos.php
When you think of it, Humans in ancient and prehistoric eras didn't possess any TV's, Radio's or other accessories for pleasure, so they probably would have had enough time to think about cosmic appearances and to recognize certain coherences. They could probably realize things that we cannot possibly remember today. Realize in any case, that the cosmic Wheel, Helix or Cross, possesses creative, fabricating, infinite and constructive energy, consequently promising hope and bliss.
Galaxy, Sun-systems, Atoms and much more [11/10/2003] |
 Galaxy, Sun-systems, Atoms and much more in macroscopic and microscopic, show the rotating principal of the Swastika. |
The constellation of the Great Bear [07/04/2003] |
 The constellation of the Great Bear forms one arm of a swastika, seen every six hours, you get a whole swastika in one day. |
General meaning of the Swastika
The Swastika symbol has been used for thousands of years already in almost all human civilizations as a sign for good luck, protection, as a materialisation of life and the changing seasons of the year.
The big Buddha statue on Lantau Island in Hongkong:
the Buddha wears a Swastika on his breast. Η ΣΒΑΣΤΙΚΑ --ΠΟΥ ΑΠΟΤΕΛΕΙ ΤΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΛΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΚΛΑΔΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΒΟΥΔΔΙΣΜΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΓΝΩΣΤΟΥ ΩΣ "ΑΜΙΝΔΑΪΚΟΥ ΒΟΥΔΔΙΣΜΟΥ"-- ΚΟΣΜΕΙ ΠΑΝΤΟΤΕ ΤΗΝ ΠΕΡΙΟΧΗΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΣ ΤΟΥ ΒΟΥΔΔΑ ΑΜΙΤΑΓΙΟΥΣ, ΚΑΘΩΣ ΑΥΤΗ ΘΕΩΡΕΙΤΑΙ Ο ΚΙΝΗΤΗΡ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ, ΔΙΔΟΥΣΑ ΤΟΝ ΡΥΘΜΟΝ ΤΟΥ, ΚΑΙ Η ΣΒΑΣΤΙΚΑ ΣΥΜΒΟΛΙΖΕΙ ΑΚΡΙΒΩΣ "ΤΟΝ ΡΥΘΜΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ"
The word SWASTIKA stems from the Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language: SVASTIKAH, which means 'being happy'. In India the word is related to things of good fortune because it means being happy. The cause of all life and all manifestations of life is movement.
The incessant movement of the universe continuously brings forth new things. This goes for the earth as well, which is in constant rotation, as are the suns, all planets and the heavens.
As such it's also the sign of the circular movement, the sign of rebirth. It also signifies those who knew about reincarnation (Samsara), who spread all over the world and where they stayed they exerted their influence.
The symbol of the Fylfot, has many names. In the primitive language of the ancient Germanic people it was often called "Vierfoss" (= foot of fire).
This form of presentation of the Swastika is often found on ancient churches and Gothic buildings in Germany and Europe. Many have already been put under the protection of the Unesco.
According to Guido von List it has the following meaning:
The 'Dreischneuss' as 'Vilfos' says: 'Generative Will',referring to the creation of the universe as well as the affirmation of living. The ' Vierschneuss' as Fyfos means :' Creation of fire' with reference to the original fire which is good.But the 'Vierschneuss' as 'Hakenkreuz' has the meaning 'allincluding cross' - 'Hagg', hegen'.
The name "Hakenkreuz" stays for good as the creator an redeamer who is included in the cosmos as well as in each single person like in a 'Haag'.
Today the name "Hakenkreuz" (Fylfot) has obtained a connotation of condemnation as something of a former dictatorship.
In many places this symbol is used as a symbol for the sun, or taken as a symbol for the movement of the sun and in other regards as a symbol for rebirth, or reincarnation, because the sun turns continuously and gives rebirth to everything, rejuvenating itself for eternityr. In regard to the relationship between "Hakenkreuz", Swastika, Sun and Sun Wheel, another remark can be made: it depicts the progression of the sun as a symbol for the changing of the seasons in the form of a ring. The golden ring of marriage can therefore be seen as sharing all joys and pains of the year together, that is the deeper meaning of the ring of marriage; therefore the symbol of marriage can only be a ring, and because of that it should be made of the sun-like gold.
Whether one leaves out the circle around the Swastika, Sun Wheel or the "Hakenkreuz", whether the wings are straight or bent, whether the beams are reduced from 4 to 3 or increased to 8 or more, or whatever artistic creativity one may apply, the meaning is more or less the same. It has however several relationships to ancient pasts, which can be found back in great historical works.
In Chinese the "fylfot" in a circle is the Chinese character for the word 'sun', without the circle it stands for infinity and for the number 10.000. That the sign figuratively speaking also stands for fertility, can be seen from the carvings and statues of various ancient peoples where the sign was used on genital parts.
The big Buddha statue on Lantau Island in Hongkong:
the Buddha wears a Swastika on his breast.
The word SWASTIKA stems from the Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language: SVASTIKAH, which means 'being happy'. In India the word is related to things of good fortune because it means being happy. The cause of all life and all manifestations of life is movement.
The incessant movement of the universe continuously brings forth new things. This goes for the earth as well, which is in constant rotation, as are the suns, all planets and the heavens.
As such it's also the sign of the circular movement, the sign of rebirth. It also signifies those who knew about reincarnation (Samsara), who spread all over the world and where they stayed they exerted their influence.
The symbol of the Fylfot, has many names. In the primitive language of the ancient Germanic people it was often called "Vierfoss" (= foot of fire).
The three pictures shown here are right-turning.
Left-turning tracery signs can also be found.
Left-turning tracery signs can also be found.
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the Zwiefoß the Zweischneuß planet Uranus | the Trifoß the Dreischneuß planet Saturn | the Vierfoß the Vierschneuß planet Jupiter |
Source: F.B. Marby "Der germanische Einweihungsweg"
This form of presentation of the Swastika is often found on ancient churches and Gothic buildings in Germany and Europe. Many have already been put under the protection of the Unesco.
According to Guido von List it has the following meaning:
The 'Dreischneuss' as 'Vilfos' says: 'Generative Will',referring to the creation of the universe as well as the affirmation of living. The ' Vierschneuss' as Fyfos means :' Creation of fire' with reference to the original fire which is good.But the 'Vierschneuss' as 'Hakenkreuz' has the meaning 'allincluding cross' - 'Hagg', hegen'.
The name "Hakenkreuz" stays for good as the creator an redeamer who is included in the cosmos as well as in each single person like in a 'Haag'.
Guido von List, Secret of the Runes
Today the name "Hakenkreuz" (Fylfot) has obtained a connotation of condemnation as something of a former dictatorship.
In many places this symbol is used as a symbol for the sun, or taken as a symbol for the movement of the sun and in other regards as a symbol for rebirth, or reincarnation, because the sun turns continuously and gives rebirth to everything, rejuvenating itself for eternityr. In regard to the relationship between "Hakenkreuz", Swastika, Sun and Sun Wheel, another remark can be made: it depicts the progression of the sun as a symbol for the changing of the seasons in the form of a ring. The golden ring of marriage can therefore be seen as sharing all joys and pains of the year together, that is the deeper meaning of the ring of marriage; therefore the symbol of marriage can only be a ring, and because of that it should be made of the sun-like gold.
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Old American sun fylfot from a mound in the state Tennessee. | 'christian cross' son gear from Nord-America before its rediscovery. |
Whether one leaves out the circle around the Swastika, Sun Wheel or the "Hakenkreuz", whether the wings are straight or bent, whether the beams are reduced from 4 to 3 or increased to 8 or more, or whatever artistic creativity one may apply, the meaning is more or less the same. It has however several relationships to ancient pasts, which can be found back in great historical works.
In Chinese the "fylfot" in a circle is the Chinese character for the word 'sun', without the circle it stands for infinity and for the number 10.000. That the sign figuratively speaking also stands for fertility, can be seen from the carvings and statues of various ancient peoples where the sign was used on genital parts.
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