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Tales of the grail
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Prologue
The
Holy Grail by Richard Wagner
„In
far’way lands
A
temple lightful stands
Of
miraculous conduct
Of
angel crowd
From
heaven nears
History
claims
Supernatural
powers
All
deceptive evils
Sent
by it to countries even far
Of
such proficient appeal
The
noble knights doubts
Now
hark, how I reward forbidden quest!
Introduction
This
narrative of the Holy Grail summarizes in short core and substance of the
medieval legends of the Holy Grail and its Knighthood. Emma Jung in her
book „Die Gralslegende“ (The Legend of the Holy Grail) writes:
„...As
if a subterranean string of water had been tapped in, towards the end of
the 12th and 13th century developed shortly after
one another a whole number of various treatments on the same subject - not
only in French, but also in German, English, Spanish and Nordic. Many of
these stories though are based on Chrétien, but yet again many differ in
quite important aspects and point towards another origin.“
An
idea that the tale of the grail is older than the versions passed down to
us could be attained
by
a passage from a chronicle of a monk from Frodmont named Heliandus, which
closes with the year of 1204. Heliandus:
„...At
this time (717 -719) a hermit in Britain had an apparition of an angel who
blessed him with a miraculous vision of Joseph the noble decurion, who
took the Body of Christ off the cross, and of the cup the Lord used with
his disciples at the last supper.
A description of the vision was written by the hermit himself,
which came down as „the tale of the gradale“. In French „gradalis“
or „gradale“ means a wide and somewhat deepened bowl...“
This
commentary shows us also how „grail“ derives from „gradale“, an
definition which is generally
considered valid.
The
tale of the Britannic hermit is sustained by other sources as well.
The
most well-known accounts of the grail are those of Chrétien de Troyes and
those of Wolfram von Eschenbach. The latter refers to a certain Kyot
(Guyot), of which he claims to have heard the fable, and his version of
the legend clearly shows oriental traits.
Also
other poets works relating to the grail indicate an even older, especially
more Easterly orientated model, which points at a pre-Christian origin of
these legends.
The Grail
Most
authors describe the grail as bowl or chalice. Wolfram von Eschenbach
though refers to it as a stone, rsp. a precious jewel.
In
some variations of the tale, besides the grail a wand or a sword is
mentioned, some mention both.
The
wand, the grail and the other objects are carried around in a ritual
procession.
This
ceremonial showing around of the holy items reminds a lot of classical
ancient mysteries. At the
mystery cult of Eleusys e.g. magic-sacred objects were solemnly carried
around and exposed to the people.
In
Celtic mythology sword as well as wand or javelin play an important role.
We find there the four divine rsp. magic jewels:
the
stone of fate or crowning
These
four items can be found in the mythologies of all people of all times and
cultures. They are the four colors of the Tarot: clubs, hearts, spades
and diamonds, rsp. wand, cup, sword, coin or pentacle.
Certain
legendary variations make reference to the grail as being cut from an
emerald, which originated from Lucifer’s crown. Here the grail is thus
stone and cup in one.
Another
version again speaks of a relic shrine or box. In any case however, the
grail possesses vast powers of benediction and is of inconceivable value.
It
is so precious that, especially on its behalf, a temple and a fortress
have been built on a big mountain range.
For
its protection and to his service a knighthood of the grail has been
called to life, whose members are chosen by the grail itself, an
inscription appearing on the chalice naming the preferred devotee.
Other
people cannot gain access to the Gralsburg,
even the territory surrounding the fortress is inaccessible.
The
myths of the grail were soon interwoven with another old belief of Celtic
tradition, that is with the one of King Arthur and his knights of the
round table.
Keep
in mind that the Christian archetype (the circle around Jesus and his
disciples) as well as the number of Arthur’s knights at the round table
count 12 rsp.13 persons.
The Legend of Shambhalah
Now,
before we turn to the question if and if yes which kind of reality stands
behind this myth of the Holy Grail, we would like to inquire about similar
fiction also outside Christian belief.
As
already mentioned, the medieval grail poets very often claim to cite
older, mainly oriental sources. So in the Orient there should identical
legends be still alive today.
If
we put our attention particularly to the Sanctuary, the fortress rsp. the
temple and the knighthood, and not so much to the grail for once, we find
such tales greatly present in the East. They are even extremely numerous
and popular.
The
most widespread and famous one is the one about Shambhalah.
First
implications of Shambhalah can be found in the holy books of Tibetan
Buddhism. We detect them in the „Kangyur“ and the „Tengyur“, the
Tibetan Buddhist canon covering more than 300 volumes.
Nevertheless,
about the most secret aspects of Shambhalah nothing has ever been brought
down on paper. They are passed on from teacher to pupil only by word of
mouth.
Interesting
is that the oldest volumes referring to Shambhalah have been translated
from Sanskrit into Tibetan in approximately the 11th century;
interesting because of the Western trend in grail poetry soon after that
time.
According
to the oldest scriptures Shambhalah is situated in the region of the
Himalayas or north of them. It is completely surrounded by a ring of
snow-covered mountains, whose glaciers shimmer and sparkle. Nobody not
belonging to this place can pass them. The texts indicate that one can
pass these mountains only on the wing, but it emphasizes that this is a
kind of flight stemming from spiritual powers. A picture shows e.g. a
couple of travelers wandering on a rainbow bridge to Shambhalah.
Shambhalah is divided into eight regions with twelve principalities each.
In
the center of the kingdom lies Kalapa, main city of Shambhalah. East and
West, flanking Kalapa, crescent shaped and filled up with diamonds, two
beautiful lakes are located.
South
of Kalapa is a holy wood called „Malaya“, the cool grove. Here the
first king of Shambhalah built a giant Mandala, a mystical circle which
embodies the essences of the secret teachings, a symbol for the
transcendent unity of spirit and universe. To the North, ten cleft
mountain ranges arise, which harbor shrines of important deities.
The
jewel palace of the king in the center of Shambhalah shines and radiates
so brightly, that night becomes day and the moon deteriorates to a dull
celestial body.
Diverse
crystals set into floor and ceiling regulate room temperature by either
cooling or warming. In the understanding of the Tibetan people, the
Sanskrit word „Shambhalah“ means „out spring of joy“. Each king of
Shambhalah is a Bodhisattwa, this means a human being who has reached
Nirvana and stays in the earthly realms of mankind only out of love for
those left behind.
All
these wonderful descriptions could lead to the conclusion that Shambhalah
is wishful thinking or a kind of heavenly hereafter.
But
Bernwald, who suggested this towards the Dalai Lama, received a decisive
answer: „This... (notion about Shambhalah as a kind of hereafter)... is
most certainly wrong. Shambhalah is of material existence and is on this
Earth.“
All
other Lamas, to whom Bernwald was able to speak about Shambhalah, emphasized
that Shambhalah was existent since the beginning of the world,
but that about its early history little is known.
It
is of interest that also the Bön-pos (=“supremes“ in Tibetan), the
followers of the old, pre-Buddhist religion, have a similar tradition.
They call Shambhalah „Olmolungring“, and it is a immaterial kingdom
surrounded by snowy mountains Northwest of Tibet. Their textbooks relate
to customs 18'000 years old handed down by word of mouth.
Considering
age and geographical spread of this legend, it can certainly be regarded
as „blueprint“ of all
other analogue myths thus including the tale of the grail.
In
the East, the legend of Shambhalah is linked with the one of the
Kalachakra. This is a kind of Eastern version of the Revelation of John,
and, as the latter, at the same time a very efficient practice of
spiritual development, and conjunct with an account of mankind’s
spiritual path of evolution. The Kalachakra is the most complex and the
most secret system of spiritual apprenticeship in Tibetan Buddhism. The
Lamas stress that only few people who are not
inhabitants of Shambhalah are capable of understanding the symbols
of the scriptures and the meditations of the Kalachakra. In the East, the legend of Shambhalah and the one of the Kalachakra fused, whereas in our hemisphere the according revelation of John and the tale of the grail remained two separate cultural myths.
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