'The Temple Of Man'

Luxor temple by moonlight. It seems to symbolise all that is most mysterious and intangible in Egypt, evoking feelings that go beyond mere emotion, grasping for something higher, out of reach to the rational, 20th century mind. Banks of floodlights strangely enhance the magic, here turning a colossus of Ramesses II into a gigantic prop from a Hollywood epic, there casting pools of inky shadow dark as the midnight sky. As you creep, insect-like, between the huge statues into the vastness of the temple, its famous skewed axis seems to move and float around you. It is like being inside the skeleton of a still-living, breathing being.

And that is exactly how it was designed to be.

That was the conclusion of one of the greatest esoteric thinkers of the 20th century, R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz. A man of vast erudition and spiritual vision, Schwaller's breadth of knowledge ranged across the entire Western esoteric tradition, and he was also a trained chemist with wide knowledge of other scientific disciplines such as mathematics, physics and geometry. In addition he was a practising alchemist. This unusual breadth of expertise enabled him to combine scientific rigour and intellectual analysis with his spiritual insights - in much the same was as Rudolf Steiner he was a "scientist of the spirit".

While visiting Luxor in 1937, Schwaller had a revelation in which he realised that the temple was a deliberate exercise in harmony and proportion - the 'Parthenon' of Egypt. He spent the next 15 years at Luxor, making a systematic and meticulous record of every aspect of the temple, assisted by his wife Isha (author of the Her Bak books) and her daughter, Lucie Lamy (author of Egyptian Mysteries.)

According to Schwaller, this unified body of universal knowledge is encoded into the art and architecture of Egypt. The temples embody it by means of an architectural 'grammar' in which every element of the building contributes to the 'parts of speech' which enable the initiated to read the message of the stones. And this message is always an elaboration of the same theme - the universal cycle of spirit becoming matter and returning again to spirit, or as he put it, "the Becoming and the Return".

Therefore nothing in Egypt is accidental or purely ornamental - every element from the type of building material used, the size of the blocks, the dimensions of the walls, number symbolism, the placement of hieroglyphs and symbols, the orientation of the site - all were consciously chosen to have a predetermined effect.

Even apparently mundane scenes of daily life can have profound symbolic importance. For example, scenes of the Pharaoh single-handedly overcoming an enemy army are not merely vainglorious boasting; they represent the forces of light overcoming those of darkness - the same battle that each evolving human being must fight every day.

In Le Temple de l'Homme, Schwaller demonstrates how the Egyptians were aware of, and consciously used, advanced mathematical concepts normally attributed to the Greeks. One of these was the Golden Section, a mathematical function which occurs throughout nature, for example in the ratios of a spiral galaxy or the orbits of the planets. When used in architecture, it allows the building to become an embodiment of these same universal principles, which were later used in Greek temples and Gothic cathedrals, and which account for some of their power.

All these elements work synergistically together to express the particular nature of the Neter (god, or more precisely, cosmic principle) which is incarnated in the temple.

Of course, the visitor does not have to be consciously aware of the builders' intentions to be moved by the mysterious power of the temples. Schwaller's doctrine of the Anthropocosmos states that we, as human beings, are the embodiment of the universe, an "incarnation of cosmic functions", the "final cosmic fruit". So the universal laws expressed in the structure and artwork of the temples will resonate within us on a level which cannot be analysed rationally, but which must be experienced with the whole of our being.

Yet, for all his accomplishments, Schwaller has been virtually ignored by the Egyptological establishment, and is little known outside of a small circle of supporters.

There are several reasons for this:

Firstly, orthodox Egyptologists are working from an assumption of 20th century superiority, which is generally based on a rationalist and materialistic outlook.

Second, the very complexity, length and erudition of his work makes for difficult reading, and only those who are willing to have their minds expanded to accommodate it are likely to make the effort. It cannot be boiled down into a Reader's Digest condensed book format or 30-second sound bites.

At Luxor we enter into the 'Temple of Man', where Schwaller had the revelation which he would explore in detail for the remainder of his life. For the 'Temple of Man' is not just a figure of speech. In this extraordinary structure, Schwaller intuited a master plan - the temple, in every aspect, embodies the laws relating to the creation of mankind, its spiritual development and destiny. It is uniquely constructed on three separate axes relating to the sun, moon and Jupiter, the planet of growth.

Even more astonishing, Schwaller claimed that a human skeleton superimposed over the plan of the temple relates in all its parts to the symbolic functions and activities portrayed in the corresponding part of the temple. For example, in the Lower Court, which relates to the leg of the skeleton, West points out the colossal statues of Ramesses II striding forth, drawing the viewer's attention irresistibly to their huge trunklike legs. At the site of the umbilical chord, the king's birth is announced. His names are written in the sanctuary corresponding to the vocal chords, showing his spiritual birth through the power of the Word uttered by the Neters. The names of the Neters themselves are written at the site of the mouth.

Finally we arrive at the Triple Sanctuary, corresponding to the skull and the three endocrine glands contained within it - the Triple Word or three-in-one of virtually every major religion. Interestingly, the crown of the superimposed skeleton would extend outside the sanctuary, and Schwaller states that this is because the cranium contains the portion of the brain controlling the self-will or ego, the dualising function. The temple itself represents man before the 'Fall' into ego-consciousness; it is a diagram of the cosmic human, in a state of unity with the universe. The ego structures, although vital, deal in duality and separateness, so they must be excluded from the temple.

Luxor was begun under Amenhotep III (1391-1353 BC) and completed in four stages, each leaving an 'anchor' for the next, with the final additions being made in Roman times. Yet even then, the original axes were strictly adhered to - proof, West says, that the temple was constructed according to a master plan handed down throughout the ages.

The approach to the temple is dominated by an avenue of human-headed sphinxes (as befits the symbolism of the Temple of Man) and was originally part of a processional way leading to Karnak temple some two miles away. At Karnak, the approach is lined by ram-headed sphinxes, representing the god Amun, and relating to the Age of Aries (c2160 BC - 1 AD), when the temple was begun, and when the cult of Amun was prominent. (More ...)