Tao, Book Of The Earth

There are many books given to humanity, and one of them is the Book of the Earth. The earth can indeed be read like a book, for all truths and principles that exist in higher realms have their representations on the earth! This principle of reflection is referred to by the phrase “As Above, So Below”. The Earth is able to teach all those who watch and study her patterns, and follow her guidance. Our own work, The God Principle, can be seen as an exploration of this Great Book, in more or less scientific terms.

Those who have tried to read and interpret the Book of the Earth intuitively, in the past, have primarily been aboriginals and native peoples of various lands. The American Indians for example, had attained high levels of intuitive wisdom and enlightenment through their spiritual practices centered around the natural world. But there is one group of peoples from ancient times who have explored the wisdom of the earth, par excellence. We refer to the culture, traditions, and spirituality of the ancient Chinese.

It helps to consider the nation of China specifically in this context. In this epoch, China is a manifesting arena for those souls who struggle primarily with the raw physical aspect of existence than any other. While much of her citizenry must cope with physically strenuous and laborious work, or drudgery as it were, they are also well equipped to do so. Part of that ability is imparted to them by their spoken languages, such as the very phonemes used in the naming of individuals. The ringing syllables and nasal tones that are often used help accentuate various energy centers of the physical body. The result has been an extraordinary fascination of her citizens with all endeavors of a highly physical nature, such as gymnastics, athletics, martial arts and war.

This focus on the physical also pervades her political, social, cultural, economic and spiritual domains. Systems like Tai Chi, Qigong, acupuncture, Feng Shui and so on focus on energies coursing through the body or through the earth. Much of Chinese traditional music is set to the pentatonic major scale. This scale, though simple, is also quite beautiful and very reminiscent of the splendors and harmony of the earth. Indeed the notes of this scale in ascending and descending order correspond to the Hindustani raaga Bhupali (Keeper of the Earth). In the South Indian Carnatic tradition, these notes form the raaga Mohanam (the beautiful). The colors of China, particularly in décor, drapery and art tend to be composed of the additive primary colors (red, green, blue), with a preponderance of red – the color of the earth. I-Ching, the most prominent divination system of ancient China, relies on the inherent binary symbolism of the local universe (the earth), rather than on extraneous sources of manipulation such as found in other types of divination. Chinese spiritual traditions too focus either on nature per se (like Taoism that we will discuss here), or with atheistic notions that have non-existence as a stated goal (the term 'nirvana' literally means 'to extinguish'). Moving on to modern times, the political philosophy of communism neither recognizes nor tolerates anything non-physical (such as notions of Deity), thus fostering an atheistic, materially focused way of life. And finally, China’s main vocation today is manufacturing - again a materially oriented activity that works primarily with the body of the earth.

We will add another interesting side note, which may strike as odd or far-fetched to many readers: A racial genotype that is more grounded and intuitive tends to have less facial hair, as opposed to those that are more mentally inclined. The Chinese, the Native Americans, Inuits (eskimos), Pacific islanders, African subraces and such, are racial types that are much more intuitive and grounded than the average westerner. The chin corresponds to the physical and intuitive aspect of the body, its genetic inheritance to be precise. The jaw lines on the side represent mental aspects of that genetic inheritance. Indeed men tend to stroke their chin along this jaw line to stimulate the thinking process. Women on the other hand tend to rub the chin proper, stimulating their intuitive side. Going up further, the jawline takes a turn upwards, representing the spiritual aspect. The jaw lines end at the lobes of the ears which are a microcosm of symbolism unto themselves. Suffice it for now to point out that figures of the Buddha are often shown with large pendulous ear lobes.

Note that the above description of the jawline applies strictly to attributes superimposed on the personality by the genetic inheritance of the body, and says nothing about aspects of the higher self. A jawline naturally devoid of hair (hair represents energy pure and simple!) does not imply that the individual lacks strong mental abilities. It could, for example, mean that the personality is very well rounded in this area and does not require any additional genetic overlay influences from the body to stimulate mental processes. Or perhaps that the higher self in this experience is focused on certain other aspects of being. And there are many other possibilities. The term ‘mental’ is also used in scientific terminology referring to the chin area (see mental artery, mental nerve, mental foramen etc.), though the term in this context is meant to have no connection with mental processes! And finally, the male human form is more inclined to mental pursuits than the female form which is rather more intuitively developed. Accordingly, facial hair tends to be a primary characteristic of the male form.

Many of the above mentioned races tend to have very little of facial hair, and when they do, it comes usually on the chin proper – highlighting physical and intuitive development. Chinese sages, for example, tend to be shown this way sporting a goatee. All of the above races had developed spiritually by tapping into the wisdom of the earth, and inculcated many practices which now have mostly degenerated – because man has lost that grounding and intuitive connection with mother earth. When Western man shaves off facial hair, it is an unconscious reflection of his strong adherence to *materialism* rather than to any spirituality that is associated with the earth. Indeed, the fast rise of materialism in the last century has seen a widespread acceptance of the clean shaven male figure as a symbol of material sophistication.

Back to Taoism which can now be succinctly described. Taoism per se is a way of connecting with the wisdom of the earth (or the ‘universe’ as adherents like to call it), and following its guidance. Energies that course through the earth can also move through a properly attuned physical body, and get transmitted up to the personality. This process is enhanced by the racial genetic inheritance of a suitable body. The personality submerges itself into these coursing energies and often becomes one with these processes on the earth. Such identification enables the higher self to watch, observe and learn intuitively much of what the earth can teach her children. This method, or rather this source of guidance, is known as the Tao. Tao represents the Great Order that lies behind manifestation and is accessible through the natural world. It is also called the pathless path, for no path or method can be shown or taught by the master, other than follow what naturally comes into the personality intuitively. To listen to the Tao as it is practiced, there needs to be great reverence for mother earth, and an abeyance of the mind, for the approach is highly intuitive rather than mental. The Taoist sage may not understand the whys and wherefores of manifestation, but instead attains a highly intuitive grasp of how the universe works, and how to harmonize with the Great Order he calls Tao. Much of the outcomes that we discuss in The God Principle through mental logical analysis are intuitively reached by the Taoist.

For as we stated in that book: All the truths of all the worlds are written all around us. And nature shows all, and tells all. This is, in essence, a Taoist understanding.