Daughter of Isis, Lilian Nirupa [books to get back into reading .txt] 📗

through his long, matted hair, absorbed in thought. “Do you remember Ketu’s position in your natal chart?”

“Oh yes,” Lizla said, “It is exactly on my ascendant.”

“Aha,” the sage concluded, “That was it. And it is an important rule for us to contemplate. The planet that is closer to the ascendant is the third most important one for us, after the ruler of the moon sign and the ruler of the rising sign. Because your First house or rising sign represents your personal destiny, a planet close to you personally tends to filter his energies to you more closely too, so when you opened up to contact the planetary powers, he showed up. Also, he seemed to have a powerful message for you. In addition, Ketu rising makes one psychic. Thank you for sharing. We will continue our lesson on planetary powers after lunch. Class dismissed.”

The lunch pause lasted two hours. The heat of the desert sun made these noontime hours hot and some rest was indicated before continuing. The students left the room silently as it was prescribed in golden hieroglyphics in every wall of the auditorium. Lizla felt some strange glances directed at her. Between the power of the experience, her embarrassment at sharing and the feeling of being scrutinized, she hardly touched her lunch.

One look was more insistent than any other. It was her cousin, Psusennes. He had heard Ra-Ta, his master and spiritual mentor comment on Lizla’s gifts, but today he had the opportunity to see his cousin in another light. Beautiful as ever, she had stood firm sharing her experience, her brief blush turning to pale embarrassment at the reaction from teacher and from students alike. But now he had seen her exquisite glow serene and shining like a bright new lotus out of the Nile, Psusennes thought to himself. He could not stop staring at her.

Lizla caught him and already irritated with the events of the morning, she silently returned his annoying stare with one with a ferocious look, but still her anger made her even more fascinating in his eyes.

After the lunch pause was over, the class returned to the hall of the stars. Suryananda had organized more charts at the front of the auditorium. But once the students were placed in their respective seats, he pulled a slow curtain over the charts.

“Before we continue, we will recap and answer questions. We were talking about the planetary power and how the planetary energies intersect with our own. That is all part of the original energy of the Creator as it manifests in this our planet Earth. Any questions?”

This time Psusennes raised his hand. His tall, athletic figure and his reputation as a warrior and favorite of the court ladies provoked some muffled comments and some malicious glances. But he stood alone, trying to keep his eyes away from Lizla, as he respectfully addressed the Indian sage. “You mentioned the planets as divine beings and as agents for the will of the creator. What about our own Gods, Horus, Ra, Isis and Ptah? Don’t they have any part in the Creator’s play and if so, why do we pray to them?”

The bold question was unexpected and this time electrified the audience. There were Greeks and Cretans, Egyptians, Babylonians and Hebrews plus the Indian sage and his daughter Lakshmi sitting net to Lizla. Many they did resonate to the question, “But what about their own Gods?”

Suryananda smiled and asked him to sit down. Then he replied, addressing the class, “That is another excellent question and it also helps us to continue with the next part of our lesson. But before, let us consider the skies.” And he pointed to the above ceiling where the constellations were painted in many colors over a deep blue background. “Those are the stars constellation that made the zodiac. These are the path of Ra, in his imaginary road – which represents our own point of view – around the earth. The signs of the zodiac are ruled by the planets. The signs are the 12 subdivisions of the zodiac. From Aries to Pisces, named after the constellations that constitute their background.” And he pointed to the shining points of light on the ceiling that marked the shape of the constellations behind each sign. “These constellations are owned by certain Gods. In India we call them Devas (divine beings). In other traditions they are called angels. But it is a question of translation only. They are the divine forces of the creator in action. Does that answer your question?”

Suddenly, an atmosphere of unrest, sudden mistrust and religious zeal was disturbing the minds and hearts of the students. Suryananda felt it too and wondered if perhaps he had gone too far with his explanations for a single class.

Psusennes found he had more questions than answers. He took a quick look around him and saw some signs and looks of confusion too. They were all from different countries and cultures. They all had different Gods. But there was only one sky...how to understand that? He also felt compelled to get up again to take a look at his lovely cousin. At this point he felt even irritated with himself. He was acting like an infatuated teenager. So in answer to both his confusions and his desire he raised his hand again. His handsome figure dominated the auditorium but he ignored the longing looks from the ladies and the envy of men when he stood up at Suryananda’s invitation, all the while without taking his eyes off Lizla.

Suryananda was an experienced teacher. He knew how to restrain emotions in front of this class, but he could not help a bemused smile and a quick look at Lizla, who was seated next to Lakshmi, Suryananda’s daughter. Lizla looked back and blushed when she felt the burning look of Psusennes, agitating her mind, against her will.

Lakshmi took her hand as a sign of friendly support and whispered in her ear, “Be careful. I don’t think my father believes you are blushing about Ketu.” She could not contain a giggle.

Lizla had enough of embarrassment for a day. She turned around and gave her cousin a furious look of reproach. Again Psusennes felt her disdain, adding another link to the claim of affection he was feeling for her. He had never felt like that about a woman. He felt he could be her slave for ever, if she only gave him a smile.

Suryananda needed to control the silent drama that had different ripples of reaction among the students. But instead of dismissing the class in the midst of confusion and possible gossip, he inwardly prayed for strength and inspiration.

Immediately he saw the face of his beloved guru, Brighu, who smiled and said, “Continue with the class. This is the time to talk about divine power, not to fear the demons of the flesh or of the spirit.”

Suryananda put himself together and addressed the class, “Let us hear what the prince has to say. He is a well known devotee of Isis and a remarkable Egyptian warrior. He has won brilliant military campaigns for the Pharaoh and also devotedly supported these Temple Grounds. This auditorium was built with his wealth and his own slaves’ support. We are grateful. But we are here to learn and to learn is to expand our minds. Please, prince, speak.”

Psusennes took a deep breath and making a supreme effort to avoid staring at his cousin, he pointed to the stars in the ceiling. Then he voiced his concerns about the multitude of Gods and the simple face of the zodiac constellations. “Whose power commands our lives? Who is the Creator? Didn’t the Gods create the stars themselves? And is not man a spark of divine light incarnated in flesh?”

His heart ached and his mind burned as he pronounced the last statement with great force. His passion resonated through the audience.

Suryananda answered, “My beloved prince. Thank you for your questions. Those are most precious questions. They relate God and man in the true link of philosophic wisdom. I will give you the answer from India, which is my tradition but you will see, upon meditative contemplation that the answers in your hearts do resonate with the true teachings of every religion.”

And he made a sweeping gesture with both arms, signaling he included the whole assembly of multinational students.

“There is only one God, the Almighty. We call him Brahman. But this divine power manifests through different forms according to the five divine functions. Those are: The creator, the sustainer, the destroyer, the concealer and the blesser. Each of these forms has a different God name. The most important are the first three: The first is the Father or the creator. We call him Shiva, you call him Nun. The Hebrew call him Jehovah or Yahweh. The second power is the Son or Word incarnate that takes human form every cosmic age to correct the ways of men into dharma. We call him Vishnu. You call him Osiris. The Hebrew wait for him as the Messiah. He is the Prince of Peace. The third one is born of the other two and has the function to impart wisdom, grace and understanding. He is called Brahma in India, Horus in Egypt, and Jupiter in Greece. Do you understand?”

Silent expectation ran through the room. Suryananda added, “Man is born as the living image of the creator. In him there is a will who partakes of Divine will or Shiva, a heart which is part of Divine love – Vishnu, a mind which carries the power of Brahma. These forces impel man to act, to love, to think. These are the manifestations of the Divine Creator in the flesh as you were asking. The planets belong to the different Gods and in their presence and movement; they affect these forces in man. But that it is the subject for another class. I believe we had enough for one day. Class dismissed.”

Lizla looked at Mikos who was also puzzled by the explanation. He came close to her. “Is this the Prince of Peace on the engraved ancient coin? Next time I will ask.”

Lizla nodded as she left the Hall of Stars auditorium. She could still feel Psusennes burning look as she glanced back. With an imperious gesture of disdain, she walked quickly to her apartments.

Chapter 17 – Psusennes confusion

Psusennes’ emotions were in turmoil as he left the Hall of Stars. He did not know if he could accept Suryananda’s explanation. It seemed very much a systematic view of Heaven, just like the accounting records the managers of his state granaries put on his desk every week. So impersonal. If all the Gods are the same with different names, how can one feel true devotion to any one?
Psusennes had been fortunate to be the son of a beautiful princess. Younger sister of Ramses IX, Nefertis had died when Psusennes was 12. Psusennes worshipped her all his life. She had the most beautiful dreamy sweet eyes and a soothing melodious voice that brought comfort to his childhood little hurts and disappointments. She was his refuge as his father was a famous general and favorite military aide of the Pharaoh. It was Pharaoh’s friendship that allowed Psusennes father to marry Pharaohs’s beloved sister. He had been devoted to her until her untimely death as she gave birth to their daughter.
Psusennes grew up in the constant care of his father and the memory of his mother. It was she who inspired his devotion to Isis. But for him, it was also personal. That was one of the reasons why he felt so unsettled. The other one