Body Space Cosmos

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DOI: 10.1177/006996677601000202 1976 10: 213Contributions to Indian Sociology

Brenda E.F. BeckThe symbolic merger of body, space and cosmos in Hindu Tamil Nadu

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The symbolic merger of body, space and cosmosin Hindu Tamil Nadu

BRENDA E.F. BECKUniversity of British Columbia

In his famous work, The Golden Bough, Frazer attempted to distinguishmagic from religion. He argued that the first presupposed a world subjectto natural laws and the second a world dependent on the caprice of variousspirit beings. These two ideas, he argued, represent two stages in theevolution of mans theorizing about his cosmos. Frazer focused many ofhis inquiries on what he considered to be the first stage in this evolutionaryscheme, the stage of magic. He believed magic to be based on the idea thatobjects at a great distance from one another could share a secret sympathy.A magician was someone who performed actions on one such object withthe belief that corresponding changes could thus be effected on the secondby means of contagion.

Since Frazers time the specific stages in the evolution of thought whichhe envisioned have been rightly called into question. If we leave aside thequestion of stages and concentrate on his basic concept of secret sympa-thies, however, we find an important correspondence between Frazer andmore modern religious theorists. Victor Turners recent reports on Ndemburitual, for example, suggest a belief in the existence of a secret connec-tion between the human bodys internal substances (blood, milk, semen)and the sap of certain plants (Turner 1968). Mary Douglass writings (forexample, Douglas 1966) point to a number of cultures where such externalfeatures as body shapes and body peripheries are believed to be secretlylinked to order and boundary maintenance of the society at large. Stillother authors have written of a belief in correspondences between variousdivine beings or animal species and the caste or clan categories that seg-ment human society (Dumont 1959; Levi. Strauss 1963).The evidence of recent studies like these leads one to conclude that

ideas about mysterious structural correspondences, joining what may seem


214

to be otherwise unconnected domains, are important in many culturaltraditions. Indeed, the sense of sympathy between the human body (physi-cal or moral) and the non-human spheres of mans experience may turnout to effectively underlie many religious traditions. The present paperexplores the evidence for a concept of secret sympathy in one particularcultural setting, the Tamil-speaking area of south India. In this explora-tion two interesting south Indian Hindu concepts will be found central.,,The first is the idea that the body must be continually realigned in spacein order to make the most beneficial use of shifting lines of cosmic force.The second is the idea that in specialized Hindu rituals the individualjoins with and even becomes identical to the cosmos itself. In this culturaltradition, under certain conditions the individual body and the universeare thought to actually merge.2The interesting question, in studying a religious perspective that stresses

correspondences is, what is the nature of this sympathy that man can playupon? Are man and cosmos like two concentric forms, one inside theother? Or are they related as an object is to its mirror image? This ques-tion and others will be repeatedly discussed in the pages that follow. In theconclusion it will be suggested that certain kinds of spatial paradoxes arein fact central to many southern Hindu ritual concerns. Furthermore, suchdilemmas seem to provide some sort of creative tension. They become well-springs that inspire continuing thought.

THE FORCES OF OUTER SPACE

My own major research work has been focused on the Coimbatore Districtof Tamil Nadu (Beck 1972). Hence, this exploration of spatial conceptswill start with certain popular ideas that I know to be shared by nearly allthe rural residents of this area. For example, there is a belief that the bodsmust be properly aligned in space in order to make the most out of thevarious lines of cosmic force. The most basic of these forces are fixed inassociation with the various compass points. The east, for example, is thedirection from which many beneficial forces emanate. The front door of a

1North Indian parallels can probably be found for many of the ideas and customsto be discussed below. It just happens that the author is more familiar with thesouth and so has drawn most of her material from there. Many of the concepts to beoutlined, however, are probably familiar throughout.2A belief in the possibility of a complete merger of the devotee with the divine is

the monist position. The extent to which actual merger is possible, however, is notthe question here. Getting as close as possible is what is important. Stated this way,the problem is equally salient for Hindus of dualist persuasion.


215

house should open to the cast, therefore, to insure familial well-being.3People, when they undergo any of the auspicious life-cycle rituals, such asear-piercing or marriage, are careful to sit facing east. The shrines of mostof the great gods also face in this direction.The explanation of the importance of the east rests on its association

with the rising sun. The light rays emanating from the sun as it comes overthe horizon are said to be very beneficial. People stand outside and wor-ship these first rays at the traditional winter equinox festival (Tai pongal)held in January. Some shrines have indeed been aligned so precisely thatthe suns first light reaches directly into the innermost sanctum only atsunrise on this day. Linguistically, various Tamil terms for the east conveythe same idea. Mfidu, for example, refers to the direction in which the sunrises, and the related mcitu, to the root, cause or origin of some-thing. The term for east as a compass point (fir), however, refers to aplace or space below (Emeneau and Burrow 1961: 4133 and 4348). Takentogether, these several words seem to link the idea of origins or beginningswith emergence from below.The west, of course, is contrasted with the east in many ways. It is

inauspicious to have the main door of a house facing west, for example.This would encourage the entry of upsetting influences into ones home.If the main door must face west for practical reasons, then an old broomor a couple of old sandals are kept near it to ward off the possible illeffects. Furthermore, the only time a person would be required, ceremoni-ally, to sit facing west would be for a ceremony where an evil spirit wasabout to be exorcised from them. The several terms for west have mixedword associations, however. Patu, which means to set (as the sun does)equally means to perish or to die. Yet the term for the associatedcompass point (mekk) also means height, superiority, or excellence. Hence,west clearly contrasts with the idea of lowness or of being below, one ofthe main associations of the east. Interestingly, this makes the west moreambivalent than the east in terms of its symbolic associations. The west isnot all-malevolent as the east is all-beneficent. In keeping with its mixedqualities is the fact that several prestigious temples in this area face west.4 4The other two compass points, north and south, also have important

symbolic associations. The south, for example, is the direction in which

3The houses of orthodox Brahmin families, furthermore, often have a great openpassage stretching through them from east to west intended to maximize this bene-ficial influence. In urban areas where this is not always possible, mirrors are some-times used to give the substitute visual impression of such a corridor when none, infact, exists.4The great shrine dedicated to Murugan at Palani, for example.


216

the god who announces human deaths (Yama) is said to reside. A corpseshould, therefore, be laid out (on its back) with its head to the south, bothfor the funeral ritual and later for cremation or burial. Similarly, ancestralshrines are traditionally found set against the southern wall of a house. Yetthese sacred alcoves and their associated objects are said to face north,just as a shrine built over a tomb should face north.5 Many local deities,especially local goddesses, also face the north. Thus, while the messengerof death inhabits the south, the north is thought to be more auspicious.More generally, there is an idea that culture (especially the Vedas andother learned writings of the ancients) originally came from the north.While east-west serves as the axis of cosmic force, then north-south can beviewed as containing a secondary polarization of those forces that bearmost directly on the human condition.

In addition to this rather permanent and static set of directional con-cepts, however, there are several more mobile sources of cosmic influence.. The best known and best codified of these are the five visible planets, thesun, the moon, and two personified nodes which provide an opportunityfor eclipse (technically, those places where the suns and the moons orbitscross). Each of these nine beings has a distinctive personality; some aremore malign and some more beneficent. However, their rather irregularmovements are subject to prediction only by learned astrological specialistswho make themselves available for hire everywhere. For a fee they willtell one where these nine will be (in terms of the cardinal points) at anygiven time and hence what activities and orientations of the body are mostlikely to be beneficial during certain periods. The calculations are alwayspersonalized, when done carefully, by consulting the clients personalhoroscope. The initial angles of influence the nine planets took at themoment of a persons birth, fix an individuals make-up to a large degree.Their initial placement determines ones future susceptibility to similarplacements at later points in tie.6 6

Lastly, there are a few totally unpredictable influences on an individualswell-being. These are the souls of local residents who have died untimelyor unnatural deaths and which later hover about a village. These beingsattack the timorous when they pass under certain trees, walk near a grave-yard or cremation ground, or happen to express fright, especially at night.5An ascetic will sometimes be buried in a seated position. When this is done his

body is seated facing the north.6Indeed, temples have horoscopes too. The nine planets are always represented at

a special square shrine inside the whole. Their varying configurations are said torecord their alignment at the time of that particular temples construction. (Seesubscript s., Diagram 9.)


217

In sum, then, a person must consider the fixed cardinal points, the move-able but predictable positions of the nine planetary beings, and also certainlocal danger spots in organizing his day-to-day activities.One might well ask how the common man manages to cope with such a

hopelessly complex cosmology. Simplification is a common strategy, ofcourse, and yet people certainly do remain. continually aware of their cos-mic self-positioning. A stranger, when asked for directions on how to getsomewhere, for example, will respond with directions that assume a know-ledge of the cardinal points. But for most matters, the degree of calcula-tion required is tailored to the seriousness of the task at hand. All localalmanacs contain simplified schemes for day-to-day use, even these bits ofadvice are ignored by the less devout. Advance calculations concerning theplanetary positions are generally made only in preparing for importantoccasions. Yet everyone blames their misfortunes on the influence ofplanetary beings. Furthermore, it is believed that all such cosmic forcestravel in straight lines. Thus an unpleasant one can usually be avoided bya change of bodily position that gets one out of the direct path of its male-volent rays. People often blame insomnia on such unidirectional forces,for example, and it is common to see someone get up and move his cot toanother part of the room while cursing them. When a family suffers a longstring of misfortunes, they may even call in a builder to wall up an oldentrance to their house. In cutting a new one leading in from a differentdirection they hope to evade the impact of a given malign influence,The same assumptions about ones orientation in space also have a lot

to do with divination rituals. Thus, many divination specialists explainillness by suggesting that an evil spirit seized a person while he was walk-ing in a certain direction, that it attacked from a particular side of theroad, etc. The remedies a diviner will commonly suggest for individualproblems caused by such spirits often involve directional calculations.Thus one may be told to place charms or perform small rituals in a parti-cular place with the body oriented to space in some particular way.

THE SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BODY

The above ideas lay out certain popular, universally familiar conceptsabout the forces of outer space and how they affect the day-to-day life ofthe individual. We will now describe certain aspects of body space that aresimilarly codified. Instead of two main axes of orientation, we must nowdeal with four. The first is the vertical contrast of the head with the feet,and the second is the opposition of the surface of the body to its interior.The third is the separation of the right from the left side of the body, and

,


218

the fourth, the contrast of the front with the back. No one can conducthimself in the simplest of matters without an awareness of his movementsin terms of the framework of these four overarching principles.The head, for a start, is the first organ of the body to be protected in

times of illness. People often wrap their heads in towels of various sorts,as a sort of turban substitute. A woman who feels ill will pull the end ofher sari over her head. The feet, by contrast, are considered lowly. Extend-ing ones feet towards another person or towards a shrine is an insult, whileextending ones head (as in lying down) is a compliment. Lowering thehead to the region of anothers feet has a similar connotation. Such agesture says, in effect, the most lowly part of your body (your feet) arethe equal of the most exalted part of my body (my head). In the areawhere I did fieldwork, people were always very conscious of the placementof their feet, lest they should insult someone accidentally. Indeed, the worstinsult one can give, all out of proportion with the actual pain inflicted, isto kick them or beat them with a shoe. Passions can be so inflamed bysuch behaviour that murder will be contemplated in revenge.

There is a similarly developed symbolism for the use of the right andleft hands. Thus the right hand is taken as the hand that must execute anyimportant act. One eats only with the right hand8 and accepts all gifts withthe right hand. Where two hands are used to receive something, the rightwill be extended first, often with the left held underneath it. Often the lefthand can be seen hanging limply at a persons side. Sometimes it is eventucked behind the back to hide it from view, or held cupped under theright elbow as if to lend the former support. Impure actions should beexecuted with the left hand and most refuse is handled with the left hand.Respect, on the other hand, is shown to a deity or to a person by placingthem to the right. This is particularly common in temple ritual where oneof the most frequent modes of worship is to circle a deity while keeping itto ones right.9 In the wedding ceremony of most castesl the groom standsand sits on the brides right.The use of the front and the back of the body is similarly codified. Thus

one should always face an object of respect while turning ones back isconsidered an affront. On the other hand, if something is considered to be

7I have several examples of this extreme response (some fantacized, some attempt-ed) from my field notes.8All eating, of course, is done directly with the hand.9We would call this clockwise movement in English, but in India it is described as

keeping the object of respect to the right, a point clarified for me by Dr Veena Das.10Surprisingly, the major agricultural caste of the Coimbatore district (the Kavun-

tar) is an exception. In their wedding ritual the bride must sit on the grooms right.


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debilitating, lowly or polluting, then it is entirely proper to turn onesback on it. Indeed, this gesture affords a certain measure of protectionfrom attacks of malign spirits. And finally, things that go into the bodymust meet higher standards of purity than those merely touched. Thus,what is eaten is always subject to great scrutiny. The condition of theeater, of the cook, and of the server must all meet high standards. Thefact that one may only accept the most vulnerable foods, that is boileddishes, from cooks of equal or superior ritual status suggests that thesymbolism being allowed inside has almost inseparable social and bodilyaspects. Cooked food not yet eaten must be especially protected from theeyes of outsiders. By contrast, anything that comes out of the body isimmediately allocated an inferior status. Thus urine, faeces, spit, ear wax,nail clippings, nose mucus, semen and hair clippings are all treated aspolluting and as potentially insulting to others.

In concluding this description of everyday usages we must also note theimportant tendency of these various dimensions of body symbolism tooverlap. For example, in lying prone to face a deity it is difhcult to saywhether placing the top of ones head towards god or at his feet ismore important. Both are done simultaneously. Even more ambiguous isthe overlap between injection via the mouth, the head as the summit ofthe body, and the right hand which is used in the feeding process. Thusthese four abstract dimensions of the body form have a certain tendencyto intermesh and to share the same symbolic overtones. The same wouldbe true of the two axes of the compass. North and east tend to be inter-changeable directions where auspicious matters are concerned, and thewest with the south where malign influences are uppermost in local thought.We have now examined what might be called the first level in an elabo-

rate cultural codification of space. This is the level of general knowledge,shared by almost all adults. Indeed, it would be difficult to move comfor-tably in the rural areas of Coimbatore and be accepted as a native unlessone knew this much. The next question follows directly upon these ideas.If one can link or overlay the various dimensions of body symbolism canone also map the entire body, in some way, onto outer space? The answeris certainly yes, but this mapping requires some esoteric knowledge. Mostof the details that follow, then, are known only to people who are learnedin ritual matters.

. THE CEREMONIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SPACE

Let us now turn to tbe representation of space in ceremonial contexts. Wewill first consider the principles that underlie the drawing of ritual designs


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on the floor of the average home on festive occasions. These geometricalpatterns, traditionally made of rice flour and laid on a moist, dung-basesurface, are always made by women. They underlie areas later to be coveredby objects of ritual importance. They are also commonly drawn in door-ways, or under windows. No overt explanation is given for their use, ex-cept that they are thought decorative and generally auspicious. However,it seems likely that these designs were once intended to map out spaceshaving a magical and protective significance. As such, these maze-likedesigns may have once been thought to trap malevolent influences thatmight otherwise enter the house and attack a place where ceremonies wereto be performed (Layard 1937).

These floor designs appear to be based on a core pattern employing asquare oriented to the cardinal points of spaced The basic shape is usuallymarked by four corner dots and/or four mid-points. One additional pointis added to locate the centre.l2 The drawer begins by laying down eachpoint. Then the space is outlined. Slowly each point becomes trapped orcontained by a series of lines drawn around it. Finally the centre is filledin.I3 Two such basic designs are illustrated below. It seems that the fouror eight starting points for such drawings serve to mark the basic direc-tions of space while the central point serves as a sort of cosmic mid-pointfor the whole.

In the home, these ritual designs are not given anything more than acertain general, festive significance. However, we will now see the sameprinciples operating much more explicitly in the layout of a sacred spaceby a specialist. Since Siva is acknowledged as the supreme god by the greatmajority of rural residents in the Coimbatore District, we will follow theSaivite tradition in this. Priests and others learned in ritual matters usuallydescribe Siva as having five faces. Indeed, this god is associated with thenumber five by popular tradition as well.&dquo; These five faces, also, are

11The squares simply become multiplied for large designs. However, some drawingsrepresent specific things such as temple carts or ritual lamps. Under these circum-stances it is permissible to break out of the basic format.12This basic ritual form is probably not only pan-Hindu but also pan-Indo-

European. Thus, the quincunx was once used as a format for planting a grove ofsacred trees in Europe. The same structural form also serves as a cardinal principleof church architecture. A more extended discussion of 4-5 and 8-9 as numbers thatdelimit the sacred in Hindu art and textual tradition can be found in Bosch (1960:84-89)13Some designs are made by connecting the original dots rather than by encircling

them.14For example, the popular mantra or sacred verse addressed to him is referred to

as the five syllables chant. It is: na-ma-ci-v&amacr;-ya.


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always laid out in a square space and oriented carefully in terms of thecardinal points. Each of Sivas heads is further represented by a separatesacred pot placed in its appropriate square. These are then worshipped inthe order indicated. Each head is thought to face a particular direction ofspace, the primary head being described as oriented upwards.1-5 When Sivatemples are constructed the ground plan underlying them is similar. Themain image, Sivas lingam, is located at the centre of the whole and itssummit is associated with Isana or the upward-looking face. Any well-trained priest would be familiar with these details though the ordinaryworshipper is not.

Often, however, the centre of ritual attention will not be Siva himselfbut some other deity. In such a case a sacred pot symbolizing the lattermust be given the central position. Thus would be the case, for example,when Murugan (Sivas second son)is serves as the focus of ceremonies. Insuch circumstances Sivas fifth head, which would otherwise occupy the

_ centre, now has to be placed somewhere else. The north-east corner is al-ways chosen. Since Tgdna is the face that belongs in the centre looking up-wards, we can say that it is the only one to be vertically oriented. Theother four faces are understood to be horizontally directed. In ritual, fur-thermore, the north-east corner is commonly called the water corner orjala mula. It is also the corner where the well for a temple or house is tra-ditionally dug. Wells are depositories of rain water and are commonlyassociated with the descent of divinity to earth in local myths. The nameIsana is also associated with the idea of movement or flow (Bhattacharji1970 136). In a functional sense, then, the face of Isana can be thoughtto somehow involve movement between heaven and earth. Elsewhere Isanais said to be lord of the Yaksas, a kind of half divine, half human type ofbeing (Bhattacharji 1970: 7). This also suggests the idea of a go-between.

Sivas lingam is also commonly spoken of as connecting heaven andearth. This is especially true of the Jyotir,inga form (Agrawala 1963: 44).

15When Sivas five-headed form is visually depicted in sculpture, four of his headsactually face outwards from the neck towards the four cardinal points while the fifthsits on top of the others and looks upwards. In early wall reliefs the upward lookingface was shown on top of three others. The final head was imagined to face into thewall and was hence not visible. Interestingly, however, after about the third centuryA.D. the upward looking face was eliminated and said to be invisible. Thus thefamous statue of Siva in the Elephanta Caves is three-headed, but is said to depictthe five-headed form (Agrawala 1963: 52).16He is also known as Skanda, Karttikeya or Subram&amacr;niam. Murugan is an extre-

mely popular god in the south of India, though not particularly well-known in thenorth.


223

Furthermore, when the lingam is symbolically moved from its normallycentral position to the north or north-east, a tree with a milky sap oftenseems to serve as a ritual substitute. This is the case, for example, in thefestival for an important local goddess of the Coimbatore area, Mdriyam-man, who is spoken of as a form of givas wife. There, a milk-sapped tree,

DIAGRAM 2

LAYOUT OF THE FIVE FACES OF 91VA FOR WORSHIP

explicitly identified as her male lover, is planted (to the north) right outsidethe door of her temple during her annual ceremony. A branch of a treehaving a milky sap is also planted in the north-east corner of the squarearea that is used for the wedding ritual. 17

THE SACRED SPACE BROUGHT TO LIFE

While still considering the underlying principles of sacred space in thisregion we should now consider one more dimension of the problem. Thisis the existence of five special mantras or magical verses that are to beaddressed to Sivas five faces by the priest. By reciting these verses thepriest concretely establishes the various parts of a divine body within thesacred space. It is interesting that these verses should be called the Brahmamantra though they are explicitly linked to the worship of Siva. Brahmais the Hindu creator god whose own body was once dismembered and thepieces dispersed in order to generate the discrete beings and qualities of theworld known today.&dquo; In reciting these mantras, the priest alternately touches

17That is, the wedding ritual of the dominant Kavuntar community.18A popular description appears in the Visnu Pur&amacr;na, where Brahm&amacr; is said to have

made sheep from his breast, goats from his mouth, cows from his stomach and sides,horses from his feet, etc. (OFlaherty 1975: 45). But this seems to be a late adoption.Earlier myths describe Brahm&amacr; in more abstract terms, as a Universal Soul, while the


224

various parts of his own body and gestures towards the five directions ofspace. The underlying idea appears to be that the priest is symbolicallytaking pieces from his own body in order to accomplish a magical reuni-fication of Brahmas once scattered beingThe idea of cosmic reconstruction is very fitting, furthermore, to the

context in which this ritual is commonly used. It is usually performedwhen the images of local giva temples need a cosmic recharging. Eachtemple should have this done once every twelve years, though many waitlonger because of the considerable expense involved. The ritual recitationof the special mantras is thus explicitly linked (at least in this area ofIndia) to a process of rejuvenation. Furthermore, as soon as the fiveBrahma mantra have been recited, six more (the Ai1ka mantra) must follow.These latter are placed on the parts of the newly joined body as a kind ofprotection of the new whole (Somasambhupaddati, Vol. l:p. 325 and alocal priest). These two sets of mantra and the specific gestures associatedwith them are outlined in Chart 1 1

CHART 1

BRAHMA MANTRA

act of creation is attributed to a more concrete being named Praj&amacr;pati or Puru&scedil;a.In these earlier texts the idea of a great sacrifice and subsequent dismemberment isquite explicit (Rg Veda, 10.90 and Satapatha Brahmana, Vol. III, pp. 303-7). In laterperiods, however, the creators role is more that of transformer, maker or insemi-nator. Interestingly, the ritual described here bears its strongest affinity to the earlierforms of this Brahm&amacr;-Praj&amacr;pati-Puru&scedil;a complex.19This idea is explicitly endorsed by Eggeling, editor of the English translation of

the Satapatha Brahmana (Vol. IV, p. xv),


225

ARKA MANTRA

Beyond the idea of a recreation of the original cosmic body in this cere-mony, however, one may study the interesting spatial imagery that derivesdirectly from it. Each of the five Brahma mantra, as said earlier, refers toone of Sivas five faces. Each is also unambiguously associated with oneof five specific locales within the ritual space. When the parts of the body

DIAGRAM 3

THE FIVE FACES OF viva AS DESCRIBED BY THEBRAHMA MANTRA


226

described by the various verses are mapped according to this plan, it willbe discovered that they seem to describe a human body, lying prone on itsleft side, and having its head extended towards the east.2 This mappingis provided in Diagram 3.

For those who are learned in matters concerning Saivite ritual, then,the original sacred space now becomes identified with the body of a greatcosmic being. Ordinarily, this being is simply described as the five-facedgiva. At the core of the ritual proceedings, however, there are magicalchants that transform these faces into body parts and identify S~iva withan original, unsacrificed, Brahma. In this transformation we have nownoted three important themes: (1) The ritual puts back together what abasic creation myth says had once been rent asunder,21 (2) This undertak-ing involves an identification of the basic body form with a ritual represen-tation of the cosmosat large, (3) This magical body-cosmos match-up isachieved within the confines of the sacred square.

THE BODY OF VASTU

We will now look at some of the other ways in which Hindu religiousthought attempts to link the human body to the structure of the cosmos atlarge. Some of these, too, are known at the popular level, while others areesoteric and belong to a vocabulary of ritual initiates. Through these exam-ples we will illustrate how many of the more concrete mappings of a hu-man body onto a directional and square cosmos have proved contradictory.Perhaps this is one reason why the problem has retained its interest for somany generations of Hindu thinkers.

Folk tradition in the Coimbatore district holds that there is a being in orof the ground, called Vastu, who must be propitiated every time a buildingis constructed. A non-Brahmin priest will be called for this purpose, andhe will mark out a ritual square where the new structure will eventually

20All the necessary details for this reconstruction are common knowledge topriests, but the explicit reference to a prone body is my own idea. Support canperhaps be found for this interpretation in Volwashen (1969: 45), where he mentionsthat something similar existed in Aryan sacrificial ritual. There a human being wasrepresented on the altar by the arrangement of sacrificial vessels. The five faces ofSiva are also represented in this ritual by sacred vessels.21This idea fits well with what Levi-Strauss has argued is the basic purpose of all

ritual activity, e.g., to reunite what has become differentiated into a new and unparti-tioned whole (Levi-Strauss 1971: 596-611). Although I would be hesitant to agreethat all rituals are of this type, the above example certainly seems to suggest thatsome are.


227

stand. He then plants a branch of a tree having a milky sap in the north-east corner of this space and proceeds to perform certain rites over it. Theofferings he makes are said to be for Vastu. If this ritual is not performedproperly it is believed that Vastu may later sabotage either the buildingitself or its inhabitants. Similar offerings are made to certain points on theground around the circumference of a Siva temple each year by the Brah-min priest. These, too, are for Vastu, even though the priest I spoke todid not know the meaning of his gestures.Thus there is a firm tradition that there is some male being associated

with the ground around all buildings and that he must be propitiated. Butfor a more detailed explanation we must go to ritual texts that are knownonly to specialists. Here we discover that Vastu is some sort of corpse thatfell to earth as what was left-over after the great, original sacrifice.22 2

DIAGRAM 4

THE BODY OF VASTU AS FILLING THE SACRED SQUARE

22Left-overs have a great significance in Hindu ritual more generally. They areusually food offerings of which god is said to have eaten the substance but left-oversare considered sacred and are later eaten by devotees.


228

Vastu now lies face-down on the earth and forms the substratum on whichall temples are built (Kramrisch 1946, Vol. 1: 73-76). His body is thoughtto exactly fill a square space, and his bead is said to be located in thenorth-east corner, as shown in Diagram 4 (adopted from Volwashen1969: 96 and Agrawala 1963: 346).Here, then, we have another representation of the great autochthonous

being, fitted to a sacred square. As before, its head lies to the north-east.But in this alternative mapping, the parts of a great body are no longergiven distinctive locations around the circumference. Instead, limbs take upmost of this space. Their length, furthermore, is now neatly divided intotwenty-seven smaller square spaces (plus one blank and four spaces for thecompass directions). This whole serves as another type of diagram of spaceto be used in ritual. And the twenty-seven squares around the circumfe-rence further cosmocize the enclosure by linking it to the stars above.

THE TWENTY-SEVEN LUNAR MANSIONS

There is a very old Hindu tradition, known (in outline at least) to almostall residents of the Coimbatore area. This is that the sky contains twenty-seven star groups23 which mark the monthly movements of the moon ac-ross the heavens. Moreover, in the specialized rituals performed by SaiviteBrahmins, these twenty-seven lunar mansions seem to have a special place.In sum, after using the Brahma mantra and A1ika mantra referred to earlierand then symbolically bathing and dressing the newly constituted image ofgod, the Saivite priest must further provide his deity with a court.24 Thisroyal audience usually consists of twenty-seven seats marked off aroundthe circumference of the ritual area.2-1 The names of these twenty-seven

23In English these are usually referred to as lunar mansions.24In theory the gods own body is divided into parts for this and each part is then

personified in a fashion that enables it to render homage to the whole. The simileused is that of a wick being held to an already existing flame so that the flame itselfis duplicated (Somasambhupaddhati).25More elaborate representations, however, are possible in which there are several

rows or layers of seats. Interestingly, in architectural, as opposed to strictly ritualtradition, the twenty-seven star groups become augmented to thirty-two. Presumablythirty-two makes a much neater subdivision of the sides of a square (nine on eachedge) than does the former number. Volwashen (1969: 45), Kramrisch (1946: 31-32),and the editors of the Silpa Prak&amacr;sa (p. xxxiii) all mention the idea that the thirty-twosegments of the circumference represent lunar mansions. To understand how twenty-seven can so easily become thirty-two see Diagram 5. Note also that the square con-taining Vastus folded body, shown earlier, has its border subdivided into thirty-twounits.


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courtiers are not the same as the names for the lunar mansions in the as-trological tradition, but their number and placement are very suggestive.Perhaps each of these twenty-seven divinities was at one time thought to

. DIAGRAM 5

LAYOUT OF THE COURT OF AUDIENCE FOR A GODDURING AN ELABORATE WORSHIP

(Corresponding to a plan of the 27 lunar mansions)- Key: X=4 dvdrakala, 0=8 dvarapala, Z=10 lokapala, plus 5 (uncategorized)

Total=27

Note: 27 divinities -t-1 blank -1-4 directions of the compass=32 (Spelling in thissketch follows the Sotnasambhupaddhati, Vol. 2, p. 3)


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rule a particular star group, just as the twelve solar houses are stillthought to be ruled by the various planets. In any case, the ritual layoutis fairly standardized and has been illustrated in Diagram 5.26 Our in-terpretation is clearly strengthened by details given in various manuals on ,temple architecture where it is said that the lunar mansions are to be ins-talled around the borders of the square temple site (Kramrisch 1946, Vol.1: 34). If one accepts this idea then we find this theme directly links thebody form to a basic celestial structure. Furthermore, the linkage is suchthat the movement of both becomes equally contained within a squareform.

Equally interesting is the mythological tradition amongst Hindus thatthe birth of the lunar mansions occurred at the time of creation itself. Thestory goes that when the great ocean of milk was churned (producing anumber of important items including an immortal ambrosia), the greatchurning stick nearly sank in the cosmic mud. Visnu then appeared in theform of a tortoise and held the churning apparatus on his back. Since hisback had twenty-seven tortoise-like markings on it, these afterwards be-came the twenty-seven lunar mansions of the sky (Sircar 1968: 6 and 7).&dquo;Early representations of these star groups employed a tortoise-shapedspace, but later the diagrams became squared.

THE TWELVE SOLAR HOUSES

The twelve solar houses are also represented by south Indian tradition aslaid out around the edges of a sacred square. As one turns the pages of anylocal almanac the movements of the major spheres around the edges of thesquare are charted visually to aid the reader in making his calculations.Each of the twelve houses corresponds to a sign of the zodiac and thenames used are roughly similar to the names Aries, Cancer, etc., fami-liar to Western readers. In addition to their specific names, however, in

26The diagram comes from Somasambhupaddhati, Vol. 2, p. 334, and chart 1. A verysimilar version is given in the Mrgendr&amacr;gama, pp. 126-27, and I also collected adiagram showing the same layout from a local priest.27Some Indian sea turtl es indeed do have 27 segments marked along the outer rim

of their shells and one variety, the caretta caretta gigas, also has an inner ringmarked by twelve subdivisions. The two rings overlap by one segment, that nearestthe turtles head. Together, these two make a lovely model of the basic astronomicalsystem which of course has 27 lunar mansions and 12 solar houses. Since this parti-cular turtle is the biggest variety found in the Indian ocean and is noted for its savagebiting (it is called the nai amai or dog turtle in Tamil) it may indeed be the originalnatural model on which both the astronomical scheme and the myth were able tobuild. For a further description of this turtle see Deraniyagala (1939: 164-66),


232

both traditions each solar house also corresponds to a specific part of thehuman body. Furthermore, it is clear that the order in which the sunmoves through its several houses during the course of a year is equivalentto a steady progression downwards in bodily terms. Thus the year beginswith the sun located in the skull of the human frame, and ends with itsarrival at the feet. A table of correspondences and a sketch of the southIndian layout of these twelve houses is provided on p. 231.2$

THE EIGHT DIRECTIONAL GUARDIANS

There is yet another and much better known ritual tradition that furtherrelates human and celestial forms. This is the idea that Vastus fallen bodyis held in place by eight guardians located at the eight compass points(Volwashen 1969: 43-44 and Silpa Prakdsa, p. xxxiv). These guardians, bytheir individual qualities and compass positions (as we shall see) embodyforces that are linked to the daily cycle of the sun. Thus their role in pin-ning Vastu to earth can be seen as a further way of containing the motionsof the sun within the borders of a square space.Note that south Indian astrological tradition again places the head in

the north-east corner of the sacred space. The year, for astrologers, beginsat this point, just as the sun can be understood to rise in the east after abrief dawn. It is also interesting that the feet in this cosmic scheme lienext to the head. At the beginning of the new year, then, a great leapmust occur. If the movement during the year has been generally down-wards from head to feet, then there must be a sudden vertical rise in thenorth-east corner before the cycle can begin again. Such an upward thrustis fully appropriate to this particular position in space, as we have alreadyseen. In addition, the hiatus between feet and head that is crossed at thispoint suggests a more general mystical theme in which two opposites arebriefly and suddenly united. Finally, the progression of time downwards28This can be found in many astrological handbooks, for example Anantapatini

Cutta Tirukkanita Panc&amacr;nkam, 1972, p. 96. I have added the directions of spacethrough discussion with Indian astrologers personally. However, the same informa-tion is given in Diehl (1956:61), who cites a Tamil astrological handbook as his source.The figure in the centre is my own. In south Indian tradition the zodiac signs arelaid out clockwise. In north Indian and European culture, however, the generaltradition seems to be to make them go counterclockwise. Either would be observa-tionally correct in the sense that the zodiac belt itself appears to rotate slowly clock-wise, or (equivalently) the planets, particularly the sun and moon, appear to displacethemselves along this belt gradually, anticlockwise. The European list of body partscomes from MacNeice (1964: 126 and 276). The Indian ones are taken from Tecikar(n.d.: 33).


233

is quite in keeping with the well-known Hindu concept of larger yuga timecycles. The yugas, too, suggest a gradual falling off, a progressive degene-ration of the cosmic condition. And at the end of both cycles we find theidea of a rejuvenation or rebirth.Now, let us consider the eight guardians who hold Vastu down and who

mark the daily rather than the yearly progress of the sun. The classicalrepresentation of these eight guardians of space is not esoteric knowledge.Sometimes these divinities are represented by actual human beings whosit in their assigned places around the circumference of a square sacredspace for the south Indian wedding ceremony (Thurston 1909, Vol. 1: 13).More commonly they are represented by small pots that demarcate theboundaries of a sacred space for a special ceremony. In such a ritual set-ting the cosmos is given a manageable size. Usually a ritual enclosure is nomore than ten to fifteen feet along one side. This very simple act of dec-reasing the difference in scale between man and universe helps to encour-age the sense that a sympathetic correspondence exists between the two.

DIAGRAM 7

LAYOUT OF THE EIGHT GUARDIANS


234

The standard layout of the eight guardians is shown in Diagram 7. 29One may understand these eight guardians as personifications of the

four basic elements (fire, earth, wind and water) plus four elemental forces(sun, rain, life and death). Interestingly, Europeans tend to think of ele-ments as static and forces as active. But here it is the elements that areplaced at the four corners of the cosmos. This tends to link them with theidea of dynamic movement (Boner 1962: 27) while it is the forces thatoccupy the more static midpoints.3 Thus wind is diagonally paired withfire, and water is paired with earth. This fits with the popular idea that thechariot of Agni (fire) is drawn (upward) by Vyu (wind) (Gopinatha Rao1916: 524) and that the earth draws water downward from the sky.Furthermore, these ideas link the south-east to upward movement and thesouth-west to the opposite.The above analysis suggests that an important principle of paired oppo-

sites may lie behind the placement of these eight directional divinities. Butone can go further, and also see in them a means of linking the underly.ing structure of the cosmos to the daily movements of the sun. It is com-mon knowledge, for example, that the sun appears to move upwards atdawn and downwards at dusk. Furthermore, for anyone north of the equa-tor the sun passes south of the zenith point on its way during a majorityof the days in the year. At night, therefore, it may be imagined to comp-lete its cycle by moving eastward along a more northerly (but hidden)course. If we understand the formal layout of the guardians to reflect thesenatural events, then the location of fire in the south-east makes its heatappropriate to the period after sunrise. Wind, found in the north-west, has

29These guardians are mentioned in some of the most important popular religioustexts of Tamil Nadu. Commonly they are seen as threatened by demonic forces(acuras) so that the social life of the community becomes endangered (La Legende deSkanda, p. 62, and La Legende des Jeux de Civa, story 28). Sometimes these guardiansbecome associated with Sivas eight lingams (La Legende des Jeux, story 56). Thefull list of names is found in the Manaiy&amacr;ti C&amacr;stiram. A convenient reference inEnglish is Gopinatha Rao (1916, Vol. I, pt. 2: 515). The glosses in brackets are myown, but are common knowledge, except perhaps for Indras associations as a solardeity (extensive evidence is provided by Bhattacharji 1970) and for Niruti as earth.I derive the latter idea from Nirutis association with a hole or low spot on the earthand also with the processes of decay in general.30This reversal of the European perspective finds collaboration in another opposi-

tion common to both, namely the male/female pair. In Indian tradition, as in theEuropean, female qualities are most often associated with the element earth, andmale qualities with the wind or ether. But the European view considers the male to bethe more active of the two, while a Hindu associates the female with the dynamicprinciple (Sakti), and the male with the idea of unchanging essence (purusa).


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a fitting association with the period just after dusk. The gods of the eastand west also are well..named, as if they were intended to distinguish thedirection of the sunrise and light from the direction of sunset and darkness(as dark as the black clouds that come with rain). In its most abstractform, therefore, this tradition of the existence of a set of active, personifiednatural forces can be seen to be linked to the daily pattern of the sunsmovemets. It is as if the universal experience of the suns basic cycle hadbeen codified and also humanized at the same time.

LINKAGES BETWEEN THE PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR MOVEMENTAND POPULAR TRADITION

There does not seem to be any place in the classical literature where suchan explicit interpretation of the symbolic undertones of these guardiandeities can be found. Though these gods themselves are very well known,their underlying structural principles have remained implicit. A partial con-firmation of the correctness of the above analysis can be found, however,in the realm of traditional Indian folk theatre. Here is an example, it seems,of how the same great cosmic plan of the suns movement becomes appliedin popular life. Village dramas are traditionally performed on a squarestage that is divided along its east/west axis by a hanging cloth. The actorsare made up behind this curtain in the so-called green room. When theactors pass around the ends of this hanging cloth at the beginning of adrama, they can be seen to be like the sun at sunrise. They are also likechildren exiting from a womb. The darkened backstage area is a place ofsecret growth. It is also the place to which all actors must return. It is likethe sun entering its secret abode again at sunset.31 The oil lamp is used bythe actors for worship, and to dedicate their dramatic performance to thegods. It is no accident that such a lamp is traditionally mounted on a tallstand, and that it is placed in the north-east corner where its potentialfor contact with the divine is maximized.One further example of the reference made to this cosmic plan in ordi-

nary life can be found in a traditional architects plan for the ideal city.According to theory, and at times actually realized in fact, the great cityshould be square (Volwashen 1969: 46-47). At the centre of the great settle-ment should be a fine temple surrounded by streets that form concentric

31The accompanying diagram is taken from Kambar (1969), but the interpretationis my own. Since Kambar does not include the compass directions in his descriptionI have taken the latter from a description of the traditional stage and audience inBoner (1972: 213-14).


236

DIAGRAM 8

THE STAGE USED IN FOLK THEATRE

Key0 Place of posts which support the cloth roofX Audience seated on three sidesa Curtain dividing light and dark halves of the stageb Entrance and exit points of the actorsc The stage properd Backstage, where the actors rest and the chorus sitse An oil lamp on a long-necked standf Curtain marking back wall of the whole

squares.32 Four great arteries should pierce each of the four sides of thewhole so that one can enter the city from any of the cardinal directions.In travelling to and fro, the citizens of such a city will stand to benefit bymoving along these axes that have been so carefully oriented in a greater32A good example would be the old sections of the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu.

Here a great and almost square temple is to be found surrounded by square streets


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cosmic space. Also, in order to move about within the city the inhabitantswill be forced to continually circle the central temple, thus automaticallyworshipping as they work.

Within such a city, furthermore, the Brahmins ideally reside in thesouth. As they face the great temple from this position they will automati-cally face north, the direction associated with gestation and rebirth. Theseare values with which Brahmins are, of course, greatly concerned. Thewest, on the other hand, is to be occupied by Kshatriyas or members ofthe ruling class. These men, in facing the great temple, will face the east andthe rising sun. This is a very auspicious orientation and is associated bothwith the beginning of day and with a focus on practical matters in general.The two lesser classes of society, the Vaisyas and Sudras are to reside inthe north and east respectively. Here they face the south and the west, thetwo least auspicious directions of this great plan (Manaiyti Cstiram,p. 5). Whether it be in the city, or on a stage, or in the home, therefore,Tamil Hindus devote much thought to aligning themselves correctly withregard to the structure of the cosmos as a whole.

THE TEMPLE AS A COSMIC BODY

Let us now consider the evidence on one final point, that complex of ideasthat associates the sacred or divine presence with a cosmocized body con-fined within a square space. Temple compounds in south India are nor-mally built on square spaces. Indeed, a large temple will often exhibit awhole sequence of concentric square areas, each marked off by its ownretaining wall. Entrance routes will pierce the centres of these just as theypierce the four outer edges of the ideal city. Generally there will also be aprogressive narrowing of temple space as the worshipper progresses fromthe outer, uncovered square compounds to inner, covered, square rooms.As one moves towards the centremost shrine, then, one moves towards ageometrically central area, from light to dark, and from airy openness to awomblike core. Furthermore, the innermost chamber of a great templeshould have the shape of a perfect cube. This is a kind of secret, enclosed

pierced by arteries oriented in the four directions. In addition, these main streetsforming squares around the Madurai Minaksi temple are named after three impor-tant festival months, Cittirai (April-May), &Amacr;vani (September-October) and M&amacr;ci(February-March) during which the great chariots of the sacred shrine are pulledalong these routes. Here the city space becomes identified not only with the sacred-ness of the square itself, but also with time and with the festival cycle. A similardescription can be found in Volwashen (1969: 46 and 56-57).


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space, lying at the heart of the main shrine. Indeed, it is called the garbha-grha (literally the womb room). The image of the main temple deity willbe kept in this room and great precautions must be taken to keep it pure.Only the priest (not the worshipper) is allowed to enter this final chamberand only the most correct and pious behaviour is sanctioned in this area.Furthermore, such rooms are supposed to be lit only by the light of oillamps.33 Despite the general enthusiasm for neon lighting in Tamil Nadu,neon illumination is almost universally forbidden inside a garbhagrha room.Such light is said to be inappropriate here, and if electric current is allow-ed at all, it is usually of the more yellow, bulb type.

According to architectural manuals, below the garbhagrha lies a squarefoundation that is supposed to be equal in depth and breadth to a manstanding. Indeed, this space is supposed to be exactly as deep as the measureof the particular patron who has financed the temples construction (Kram-risch 1946, Vol. 1: 105). This suggests that, in principle, the patron himselfcan be thought of as buried here as an ascetic or yogin. This would makethe temple a kind of superstructure over a metaphorical tomb.34 Indeed,the whole exercise suggests a correspondence between the patron and Vastuhimself, that great cosmic body that is said to underlie all temples. Later,during worship, this buried body is thought to turn upwards and acquirenew life, rising into the garbhagrha. Interestingly, the womb room lies justabove what we have suggested is a symbolic tomb. From there this rege-nerated life is thought to ascend further, via the superstructure on the tem-ple until it reaches the divine world itself. At the completion of a templesconstruction there is always a consecration ceremony intended to imbuethe major image in the garbhagrha room with life.35 And last of all there isa special eye-opening ceremony. To perform this ritual the priest mustclimb to the top of the main sanctuary and pierce a place on thecentral cupola with a needle (Kramrisch 1946, Vol 1: 359).36 This ritualsymbolizes the ascent of this new life through the entire vertical mass situ-ated above the shrine.

Still more significant, perhaps, is the fact that the ideal form of the hu-man body in Hindu tradition is said to be square The height of the per-fectly proportioned man, as measured from the roots of his hair to the

33This is reminiscent of the light in darkness theme associated with some festivalrituals that bear a link to pregnancy.34Examples of the burial alive of ascetics can be found in Banninga (1913: 1281)

and Srinivas (1952: 87-88).35This ceremony, called Kumbavicekam, is too complex to be described here in any

detail.36The ritual is very common and can be used to bring any image to life.


239

soles of his feet, is supposed to equal the width of his arms stretched hori-zontally when the latter distance is measured from the tip of one middlefinger to the tip of the other. Such are the proportions attributed to theMahdpurusa or Universal Being (Kramrisch 1946, Vol 1: 42-43). This makes

DIAGRAM 9

THE TEMPLE AS A BODY TURNED UPWARDS

the perfect body the same in shape as the perfect shrine. And the identi-fication of these two, that is, speaking of ones own body as a temple, ispart of popular as well as learned Hindu tradition. This idea supplies onemajor rationale for keeping the body pure. For the faithful, furthermore,every mouthful of food eaten is also a sacrifice to the internal fires of


240

digestion (Malamoud 1975: 100-1). Eating, too, becomes a ritual of plac-ing of food in a temple and each bite is now understood to be an offeringdestined for the gods.Yogic tradition carries this identification of the body with a temple even

further. Here the progress of a devotee from the outer entrance of a tem-ple to its innermost shrine is compared to the movement of life force ayogin experiences along the seven nodes of his spine. Through a series ofexercises involving successive degrees of awakening, such practitionershope to move the centre of their concentrated life force gradually upwardstowards a final point near the top of the skull. In entering a temple, then,the worshipper automatically becomes involved in this process of yogicregeneration. For according to some, the entire temple structure is itself aperfect human form. As the worshipper progresses inwards towards thecentral garbhagrha he simultaneously moves along the temples own spine,gradually approaching its head. A diagram of this process, as depicted byone south Indian author, is provided in Diagram 9.37

CONCLUSION

In the foregoing pages we have looked at the many ways in which humanbody form and concepts of cosmic structure are linked in southern Hindutradition. We have provided many examples of this theme as expressed inthe popular culture of the Coimbatore district. In addition, we have shownthat scholarly codifications and elaborations on this core principle areplentiful, The same idea undoubtedly underlies the religious traditions ofmany other cultures as well. But a few things may be tentatively identifiedas unique to the Hindu perspective. First we may mention the emphasison spatial form. In this culture, unlike many, body and cosmos are viewedas related topological spaces that exhibit similarities at the level of visiblestructure. Second, it is thought that the 1Bvo may be united by their success-ful containment within the same magical space. Third, the ideal 1 shape ofthis magical space, in Hindu tradition, is a square or cubic form.At another level, however, this striving to unite bodily and cosmic being

leads to unresolved new problems. The crux of the paradox that results ishard to pinpoint exactly. However, it appears to revolve around certainfundamental criteria of perspective: for one, is the unity of body and cos-mos to be viewed from the inside or the outside, and secondly, is it static

37This particular diagram is copied with minor modifications) from Vamikanathan(1971: 17 and 20). Kramrisch (1946, Vol 1: 266 and 359) and Curtis (1973: 49) describea similar symbolism,


241

or dynamic in quality? The first question can be shown to lead rapidly toparadox. Simply take the point of view of a worshipper. If one is the ob-ject of a ritual one will normally sit facing east, oriented towards the risingsun. Oriented in this direction, as we have seen, one is considered to befacing the central force of the cosmos. At the same time, however, onefaces west to worship others whose shrines or ritual spaces have been cons-tructed here on earth. To a worshipper any shrine is a physio-magicalrepresentation of the cosmos as a whole. But where, then, is that whole?Is it like a series of receding mirrorS?311 Individuals, in worship, orient them-selves towards foci of divine power greater than themselves. Those foci areagain oriented to face still greater forces. Thus the containment principleis many-layered. What is outside and facing the self from one perspectiveis the self from another.The second problem mentioned was whether these body-cosmos corres-

pondences are static or dynamic in quality. The concern with confiningthe body inside a square space suggests that the linkages are static. Butsome representations link the edges of that square to celestial movement,as if the different planets moved through these spaces and were responsiblefor the animation of the body form. Furthermore, linking both issues, isthe interesting symbolic relation of the womb and the head, or of the hol-low/invisible/inner space with the surfaced/visiblej exterior one.39 We sawthat in the Tamil language, at any rate, the suns progress through the dayis linked to a rising movement. From a place below, in the east, it goesupwards in moving west. Similarly, in the architects understanding of atemple, the divine force within moves upwards from a womb-like innerspace to the top of the highest cupola rising about it. Complementarydownward motion, however, is important too. Vastu, after all, is thoughtof as having fallen from above, and at night the sun itself must movedownward so as to begin its cycle again at dawn.The whole set of body-cosmos correspondences must, then, also involve

a concept of movement. If the very innermost places are full of sacredpower, just as the very outermost ones are, then man is somehow caughtin between. How can he orient himself to both the inside and the outsideat once? No matter how he tries to fuse himself through ritual, with amultitude of cosmic forces, he can never satisfy all the dimensions ofpossible correspondence at once. Inside the magic square there is still38Indeed. in the kumpavicekam ceremony of renewing the powers of a divine image

(described in the text) one of the final steps is showing the god a reflection of itselfin a mirror.39A similar theme has been reported from the island of Malaita in the British

Solomons (Maranda 1970).


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great scope for imaginativc arrangement. A number of partial solutionsused in south India have now been outlined.But no one solution can satis-fy all of the possibilities for harnessing these secret sympathies simultane-ously. As long as the concept itself remains salient, therefore, we can expectnew solutions to continually appear. Living religions feed on paradox: theydo not seem to thrive (as modern science does) on simple solutions.

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