Five Trees
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The Five Trees in Paradise is an esoteric or allegorical image from the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, a collection of logia (sayings) of Jesus.
(19) Jesus said, "Blessed is he who came into being before he came into being. If you become My disciples and listen to My words, these stones will minister to you. For there are five trees for you in Paradise which remain undisturbed summer and winter and whose leaves do not fall. Whoever becomes acquainted with them will not experience death."[1]
"Blessed is he who was before he came into being" is similar to other enigmatic statements commonly found in mysticism, and may[citation needed] refer to the benefits of self-awareness (knowledge of one's true nature) before developing one's ego-identity. "If you [listen], these stones will minister to you," may refer to "listening" to the true self within – accurately tracing the internal by observing the external — or it may[citation needed] mean that only through self-awareness are we able to understand Jesus' symbolic language and master external reality.
In the
Marvin Meyer writes: "The "five trees" in paradise are mentioned frequently in gnostic texts, ordinarily without explanation or elaboration. In
Senses
According to the Naassenes,[citation needed] "Paradise" in this allegory represents the human head. It has been suggested[by whom?] that the "five trees" represent the five human senses which produce one's internal worldview, knowledge of which is a requirement for purification and enlightenment. However, the body's five senses – representative of lower-level egoism and learned misperception — would more likely[citation needed] be considered an impediment to reunion with the divine.
Kabbalah
The "five trees" may[
- yechidah(oneness with God)
- chayah(partaking of God)
- Beri'ah ("creation"), associated with neshamah (moral sense)
- ruach(intellect)
- Asiyah ("action"), associated with nephesh (natural instinct)
Hindu parallels
There is a theory that Jesus traveled to India during his "
The Hindu gods' celestial abode, Svarga, features a garden (Nandana) with five trees, whose species may be identified as:[5]
- Mandara (Erythrina stricta)
- Parijata (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis); the specific tree in the garden,
- Samtanaka, "a tree of wonder having leaves which promote fertility in men"[5]
- Haricandana (Santalum album), the sandalwood tree, which keeps away evil spirits
- Kalpavriksha, the tree of eternity, which arose from the churning of the ocean of milk[5] and can grant wishes
Temples dedicated to Lord Shiva will also be surrounded by five species of sacred evergreen tree, as detailed in the
]Furthermore, "the flowers of five trees — asoka, mango, navamal lika (
See also
- Arich Anpin
- Christianity
- Genesis
- Five Seals
- Gnosticism
- Gospel of Thomas
- Jesus
- Kabbalah
- Logia
- Mysticism
- Nag Hammadi Library
- Partsufim
- Tree of Life
- Zeir Anpin
References
- ^ Thomas Oden Lambdin. Craig Schenk (ed.). "The Gospel of Thomas". sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ISBN 9781087965710.
- ^ Franz Cumont (1908). Recherches sur le manichéisme. Vol. 1. Bruxelles: H. Lamertin. p. 19, note 3.
- ISBN 006065581X.
- ^ a b c d "Sacred Trees". salagram.net. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
External links
- "Five" in Manichaean myth Archived 2004-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
- Gospel of Thomas