Se aprind luminile in intreaga Romanie.

Noul an Masonic 6009 se anunta a fi un an foarte rodnic. Numai in primele 2 luni s-au aprins luminile si s-au constituit trei respectabile loji in trei zone diferite din Romania. Astfel, in ianuarie la Curtea de Arges a luat fiinta R:. L:. Maestrul Manole, in februarie, la Deva s-a nascut R:. L:. Magna Curia, iar la Piatra Neamt s-au aprins luminile R:. L:. Zamolxis. (..)

In Piatra Neamt, la data de 14.02.6009, 10 frati initiati in R:. L:. Atheneum nr 66 de la Or:. Bucuresti  au pus bazele R:. L:. Zamolxis. Numele de Zamolxis nu a fost ales la intamplare, iar semnificatia sa a fost dezvaluita tuturor chiar de catre Venerabilul Mare Maestru Viorel DANACU: “Este printre primii leguitori initiati, patriarh spiritual alaturi de Zoroastru, Ghilgames, Solomon, Deceneu, oameni care au cioplit si au slefuit intelectual scotand din sufletele lor principii folositoare lumii intregi”. Marele Maestru a continuat cu un episod prea putin stiut: “Nicu Filip mi-a vorbit mult de Zamolxis. Incepuse candva sa scrie o carte, dar a abandonat pe parcurs. Am reusit totusi sa salvez din manuscris o mare parte, care acum este la conservat, si poate, ca va fi scos la lumina tiparului.  Generalul Chelaru Mircea, are de asemenea vaste cunostinte despre Zamolxis, despre radacinile adanci infipte ale poporului roman, in acest pamant sfant si binecuvantat!” Fratii au discutat chiar si despre necesitatea infiintarii unei filiale a Centrului Regional de Studii Francmasonice Paris-Bucuresti chiar in Piatra Neamt. (..)

Hrisovul

R .·. L .·. ZAMOLXIS  de la

Or .·. Targul  Neamtului,

rostit  cu  ocazia  constituirii

Respectabilei  Loji,   si  Aprinderea  Luminilor  din  data  de  14 feb.  6009.

             Acum, la inceput de primavara, cind lumina a invins intunericul iernii, si nu foarte departe de echinoctiu de primavara cind vom serba echilibrul dual din fiecare fiinta vie si armonia,  aici la TARGUL  NEAMTULUI, constituim, consacram, si aprindem luminile   R .·. L .·. ZAMOLXIS,              cu ajutorul unui grup de 10 frati, initiati in R  .·. L .·. Athenaeum nr. 66, din Or  .·. Bucuresti, condusa de Marele Maestru Fr  .·. Viorel DANACU.

          Fratii, au participat la toate tinutele R  .·. L .·.  Athenaeum, si-au insusit continuu si cu mare interes invataturile corespunzatoare gradelor 1, 2 si 3, astfel ca pe parcursul a aproape 2 ani de zile, au capatat o maestra experienta si maturitate, pentru a-si continua lucrarea masonica,  regulara, traditionala si spirituala in Or .·. unde isi au domiciliul, conform Regulamentului General si Constitutiei Marii Loji Nationale a Romaniei.

          Alegerea numelui R  .·. L  .·.  nou constituita, acela de ZAMOLXIS, este o optiune pe care nu intamplator au cules-o, pentru ca acest nume initiatic, si acest parinte tinut in intuneric, ba chiar inmormantat, acum scos la lumina de francmasoni, este o grea responsabilitate, si o munca infinita, pentru a-l scoate la lumina, oarecum din infern.

          Marele Arhitect al Universului, sa va adune cat mai multi, si mai buni, sa va dea putere, intelepciune si frumusete, pentru ca lumina initiatului Zamolxis, sa fie raspandita peste tot globul pamantesc, pentru ca EL este printre primii legiuitori initiati, patriarh spiritual alaturi de Zoroastru, Ghilgames, Solomon, Deceneu, oameni  care au cioplit si au slefuit intelectual scotind  din sufletul lor principii spirituale folositoare lumii intregi.

          Zamolxis, coborand in pestera Ida, l-a intalnit pe Pythagora, nu stiu cine l-a initiat pe care mai intai, dar amandoi, impreuna cu alti mari binefacatori ai lumii, fiecare in epoca sa, au lasat cate o scoala de lumina,  lumina care s-a nascut din Adevar.

          Voi, fratii mei, care prin numele R  .·. L  .·. a voastre, de Zamolxis, continuati drumul initiatic, inceput cu ceva timp in urma, sa faceti cunoscut lumii nu numai pe Zamolxis, dar si tot ceea ce a insemnat practica initiatica a LUI UNU.

          Cautati si cercetati in marile biblioteci din Romania, Paris, Vatican, Atena, s.a.m.d, pentru a va aduce plusul de lumina, prezentandu-l pe marele initiat Zamolxis, in Marele Lant Universal impreuna cu Moise, Pitagora, Iisus, Osiris, Socrate, Confucius, Hiram, Mesterul Manole, s.a.m.d  

          Nicu Filip mi-a vorbit mult de Zamolxis, incepuse candva sa scrie o carte, dar a abandonat, am reusit sa salvez din manuscris o mare parte, care acum este la conservat, si poate, ca va fi scos la lumina tiparului.

          Generalul Chelaru Mircea, are de asemenea vaste cunostinte despre Zamolxis, despre radacinile adanci infipte ale poporului roman, in acest pamant sfant si binecuvantat, numit cu adevarat Gradina Maicii Domnului, cum a zis in timpul vizitei sale in Romania, Sanctitatea Sa, Papa Ioan Paul al II-lea, sfant astazi pentru toata omenirea.

          Eu am scris la Marea Loja a Scotiei, un mesaj prin care le-am prezentat cate ceva despre Zamolxis si propuneam ca impreuna,   sa continuam, sa cercetam, sa descoperim cate ceva din viata initiatica a lui Zamolxis.

          Apoi, in cadrul Centrului Regional de Studii Francmasonice Paris Bucuresti, avem activitati de cercetare, studiul privind Istoria francmasoneriei balcanice, proiect propus in cadrul lucrarilor Consiliului Coordonator al Grand Lodge Unie D’Europe, de la R.E.E.A., Tenerife, Las Palmas, din mai 6008, de catre Marele Maestru al Marii Loji a Greciei, Vasilliou Ioannis, astfel ca impreuna, Romania, Grecia, va elabora in viitor un rezumat al cercetarilor masonice din spatial balcanic, asupra amprentelor lasate de civilizatiile existente aici asupra popoarelor noastre, chiar nasterea popoarelor, cand si unde s-a facut.

          De aceea, aici la Piatra Neamt,in cetatea lui Stefan cel Mare si Sfant de la Targul Neamtului, la Iasi, Bacau, Suceava, arie geografica cu mare bogatie culturala, traditie, si spiritualitate, de inalta emulatie sufleteasca, cred ca formarea unei filiale a Centrului Regional de Studii

Francmasonice Paris- Bucuresti, este necesara, iar rostul ei, este, sa scoata la lumina, tot ceea ce astazi, din nestiinta, sta in intunericul culturii materialismului.

          Sa faceti o adevarata masonerie, sa formati o cultura masonica, o gandire masonica, o traire masonica, in cuget, in fapta si viata fara de moarte.

          Sa vegheati la pastrarea puritatii Ritului Scotian Antic si Acceptat, in toata frumuetea lui si valoarea lui milenara, Ritualul fiind coloana de sustinere a Ordinului nostru, de mii de ani.

          Inchei prin a invoca pe Marele Arhitect al Universului, sa-si deschida pleoapa larg, si sa vegheze de acolo de sus, asupra tot ceea ce veti face bun pentru noi, familiile nostre si copii copiilor nostri.

          Binecuvantate sa fie toate ceasurile de aici inainte, in pururea si veci.

          AMIN.

          Am zis !

Viorel DANACU,

Mare Maestru al

Marii Loji Nationale a Romaniei.

Marea Loja Nationala a Romaniei, B-dul. Splaiul Independentei, Nr. 202 A, Sector 6, Bucuresti

MARIAN MIHAILA

Assistant to the Grand Master, National Grand Lodge of Romania

From Zalmoxis to ”Near a Low Foothill, on Heaven’s Doorsill”

I would like, first, to underline the fact that I am not a specialist in etymology and neither am I passionate about the history of spirituality, and the lecture of a book, the source of this article, titled „From Zalmoxis to ”Near a Low Foothill, on Heaven’s Doorsill”, was a difficult one. But the more the study of the work is difficult, the more it is passionate, and this helps strengthen the vision of the future through the research of past truths.

In 1850, the poet Vasile Alecsandri published “Miorita”, a term reffering to the „micuta oaie” or, more exactly, „mioara” (small sheep). The poetic value of his work only underlines the natural propaganda for the folkloric period. In fact, Alecsandri only translated into the style of his age a popular ballad from the Mountain Ceahlau, ignorant of the effect the ballad was to have on Romanian culture. This poem has fascinated not only the Romanian people: the French poet Michelet defined it as „a holy thing that soothes the soul”. Nevertheless, the content of the poem is simple and well known to anyone who went to school not by accident.

The small sheep warns the shepherd that his friends are out to get him, and he, instead of defending himself, reveals to the small sheep his last wishes. He wishes to be buried in his pen, near his sheep and his dogs. Three flutes are to be buried at his head, so that the wind play through them and the sheep remember him, shedding tears of blood. The most important wish is that his death go unspoken, but rather that it be said that he was married, and that at his wedding with the bride, a star, sat the Moon and the Sun, holding his crown, and the great mountains would be priests and the beech-trees witnesses. In its adventures, the small sheep will meet the shepherd’s mother and it will tell her the married a queen, promised to the world, in a beautiful country, the edge of paradise, but not tell her about the start, or the sun, or the moon, or the beeches, or the mountains.

This text deserves meticulous analysis, each word and each line must be disseminated in detail. We have not set this goal for ourselves, but only to scan and interpret the text in three directions:

• The shepherds resignation in the face of death.
• The cosmic reintegration of the individual.
• Initiation.

These three themes will help us to understand the spirituality of the people presented in this ballad. In order to deepen the study we will appeal events from the past, the stories left as legacy by our Brethren, the Scythians.

According to the geographic discoveries, the Scythians got to Thracia, which covered the region of the Balkans from the West to the South-West of the Black Sea, and on the other hand, to the West of the Caspian Sea, taking the name Daos. In Thracia, there was a Daos tribe, which, in an archaic translation, would mean “wolves”.

The Dacians called themselves the children of the wolves. The parallel to this animal is found throughout the history of the Dacians, and the only nation that maintains the influence of this people is Romania, although also the genealogical myth of the Romans is built around Romulus and Remus, raised by the bitch-wolf.

The sign of the wolf appears also in three accounts of the invasions of Genghis Khan, descendent of the grey wolf from the sky, who mated with a deer.

The fact that a people takes its name from an animal has also a religious significance and one of initiation. We may consider thus the Dacians were a brethren of warriors, that, in the time of magical-religious ceremony transformed the young fighters in true beasts. This attempt does not refer only to the bravery or physical endurance, but also to a religious experience that modifies entirely the life of the young warrior, transforming his humanity into fury.

In the area of Pontus Euxinus, another tribe, with different practices came up: the Geta, who, according to Herodotus are „the bravest of the Thracians and the most just”. Herodotus underlies also the fact that this people thought itself immortal in the meaning that whoever dies goes to Zalmoxis.

At this point, man became immortal, because it was an honor to be the one chosen, once every four years, to be the messenger of man to Zalmoxis. In fact, according to the cult of Zalmoxis (one of the rare known cults) a chosen man is launched into the air and let fall on the upturned spears of his comrades. If he does not die thusly, he is exiled from the tribe, because Zamolxis rejected him. If he dies, although his broken body remains on the ground, his soul ascends to Zamolxis in order to transmit the messages of his brothers.

But who was Zalmoxis? Along time, he was described as man, god, priest, king or king’s councillor. According to the Greeks in the Hellespont, he was the slave of Pythagoras, the son of Mnesarchos, who became reach and went back to Thrace, where we built a grand mansion and taught philosophy to his fellows. According to Herodotus, Zalmoxis lived long before Pythagoras, the latter himself being considered a disciple to Zamolxis.

The legend tells that Zalmoxis gathered reaches and built a great hall of reception where he invited the elite of the people of Geta to eat with him. During the feast, he explained to them that no man truly dies, and that after so-called death they will go to a place of happiness, where everyone survives.

In all this time, he is secretly building a subterranean house, wherein he disappears for three years. The Thracians mourn him, thinking him dead. In the fourth year, he came back, and everyone believed in the world of happiness whither he returned.

His message was transmitted during meetings, as Pythagoras himself did in Crotona. His brethren was part of the elites of the Geta, that is to say, only an infinitesimal part of the dignified population, with respect to partaking in such an initiation. However, the initiatic meetings realized by Zalmoxis, they took place in establishments specifically chosen as was underlined by Andreon. During these meetings, Zalmoxis taught to them about the immortality of the soul and the after-life spent in a happy place, a doctrine known to Pythagoras as the theory of metempsychosis. One peculiar part of the legend remains in obscurity. After his disappearance, the Geta mourned Zalmoxis, for they thought him dead, although they had not found his dead body. Zalmoxis reappears in flesh and bone, and he, at no point in his life, does not speak about resurrection, but only about an after-life of the soul, and when he speaks of death, he speaks only of the ceasing of life simply. His act of reapparition is a contradiction of his message. Even with all this, an entire people built its religion on this conviction, on this man, on this god that comes from one day to another in the middle of the Pantheon.

In fact, there were other Thracian gods before Zalmoxis: Ares, Dionysus, Hera. Dethroning these old gods, Zalmoxis inaugurates a new era of the eschatological type. It is then an unveiled religion?

In fact, Zalmoxis, initiated in the mysteries of the Egyptians, according to some opinions, talked about a certain death through ritual, symbolic and a resurrection equally symbolic of a new and happy life, filled with promises that bring us initiation and knowledge.

Dionysus, with whom Zalmoxis has often been confounded, is characterized by occultism and epiphanies tuned to the rhythm of nature and vegetation. As the sun dies at sunset to resurrect at sunrise, as light restrains itself in the summer solstice and becomes more powerful with the winter solstice, as Jesus died, a man on a cross, to resurrect himself as saint, also profane life ends for re-initiation and rebirth. So his teachings refer exactly at his faith, and popular belief, Thracian mythology and the philosophy of Pythagoras only developed his teachings.

The Myth of his descent into the underground support those things said above. Thus, man needs only to go down into a subterranean chamber, the ritual equivalent of „descent into Hell”, the replacement of initiation, an idea supported by Pythagoras of Crete also.

Minos withdrew every nine years to Zeus and came back out as Moses with the Tables of the Laws on Mount Sinai, so the location is only a tenebrous place that helps us go down in ourselves.

This mythical-religious scenario is repeated throughout history and is represented by the epiphany of God, of a prophet or of an initiate.

The cavern is the place of occultism, a tenebrous place that represents total space, the universe in a miniature that the desirous one builds for himself in spirit. Mircea Eliade claims that some characters end up creating the very arc of the skies in such places. Thus, Mani announces that he will first go up to the sky to then descend into a cavern. Alburini claims that on the eve of his initiation, the king Parthe withdrew in a grotto, where his subjects would come to worship as a newborn of divine origin.

We know also the Armenian legend that speaks of the cavern where Meher goes and comes out of after an year. The new king thus becomes Mithras reincarnated or resurrected.

This legend is found also in Christianity, the body of Jesus was set in a grotto, hence, the creed saying “he suffered, was buried and resurrected the third day”, and the term „buried” has a particular significance.

Through these legends it is easy to understand more easily the poem “Miorita” with which the article started. The resignation of the young shepherd in the face of Death becomes significant and evident. He will marry death, the queen of this world „who will lead him into a beautiful country”, „on heaven’s doorsill”. In fact, he will not be united with death, but with the Cosmos. The cosmic reintegration is possible only to the soul, thus does death become indispensible.

It is about the Christian conception of the Soul, different to that of Homer and the immortality of the Geta.

The etymology of Zalmoxis, apud Russu, reminds us that Zamol or Zemelen means „earth” or the „earth’s power”, and the Thracian god can only be the source of life and the maternal breast to which men will return.

Another vision of Zamolxis was realized by Strabo, who picks up the them of Zamolxis, the slave of Pythagoras, from whom he learned certain things about the heavenly bodies, teachings that were transmitted to his people on his return to Thrace. The king became his councillor because he was capable of realizing predictions in accordance with the heavenly bodies. He withdraws into an inaccessible cave, where he only receives the king, and he was called God, and the mountain where he withdrew was sanctified. Later, the mage Decaneus comes, returned from Egypt, who helps the king Burebista to raise the country from its ruins, becoming invincible even to the Romans.

In this case, it is not longer about the mythical character of Zalmoxis in Herodotus, the old god remaining a simple priest that imposes vegetarianism, ascetism and celibacy, a purely Pythagorean discipline.

In Antiquity, Zalmoxis is worshipped as a disciple of Decaneus, a philosopher and magician of the age. In this form, it will survive with the Goths and in the books of Western mythological history, up until he disappears totally in the Dacian-Roman period, to resurrect itself in the nineteenth century in Romania, in an original form.

It is strange that this religion and philosophy of the immortality of the soul, that influenced Greek thought could disappear for such a long period of time. There is only ne explanation for this disappearance: a fusion must have come up between Zalmoxis and another religion, which probably led to the early and precocious Christianization of Dacia.

But what happened to the religion of Zalmoxis? The Geta practiced proto-monotheism. The separation of the body from the soul was taught by the Thracians. The immortality of the soul was the philosophical principle of Zalmoxis. But we know all too well that nothing can be spontaneously created, not even religion. This was part of an unending chain, in which each civilization brings, through a superior being or through an initiate that comes up every once in a couple of thousands of years, a new element of spirituality. Perhaps this is why the Jews still expect the Messiah. Perhaps he will have to resurrect himself again in order to erase the sins of mankind. Perhaps we will witness this event.