Ankh - The Path in a Picture

Is there a single image that captures the path to enlightenment? That can guide and remind us, in our ignorance, of the road we must seek and of the destination to which we aspire?

The Egyptian Ankh or Crux Ansata provides just such an image, but it bears some explanation to transform a flat lifeless image into a guide and instrument of direction of the highest order.

Here is the insight gained through meditation on the Ankh, yesterday morning. I was prompted to contemplate it by a reference made in a Gnostic podcast I listened to a few weeks back. The idea that the Ankh was a symbol of metaphysical principles for initiates was intriguing and an easy object of contemplative focus in meditation.

In the diagram below, we can see the Ankh symbol in black, with descriptions and indicators detailing the significance of its different aspects.





 

 The central theme of the symbol is the horizontal line that separates the above from below. Above we observe the circular, womb shape and below, a singular line. The creative principle represented by the womb shape is obvious if considered and the fact that it is whole and undivided speaks to the greater integrated totality of creation. The vertical line that emanates from the creative principle, drives forward into the void, separating the horizontal line that demarks its emergence and instantly transforming the hitherto passive void into a seething sea of dynamic tensions of discriminative duality. Left versus right, the spectrum of subjective conceptualisations is immediately created, with an infinite array of unbalanced distortions available for the experience of consciousness.

The vertical line emanating from the creative unity, suggests a divergence from that principle the further removed one may be. In this spectrum of consciousness, one may see the wise and self-realised entities as closer to the horizontal line, while the ignorant and dependent being further removed. Which if viewed in reverse order describes a hierarchy of development bringing one closer to the infinite creative principle from which the finite, individualised consciousness was born. In fact, the vertical line indicates that not only is there a spectrum of consciousness, but that there is only a single point at which it is possible to penetrate that creative principle from the position of individualised consciousness. The vertical line delineates a path back through the void in which concepts of duality and separateness must be balanced to return to the infinite wholeness of the creative totality. The Left-hand Path does not exist without the Right-hand Path and that all such discriminative conceptualisations are but distortions keeping one suspended and isolated in the void and off the path of return. In this graphical way we can see that it is the realisation of the middle-way, of neither identifying with the self nor others while remaining detached from the conceptualisations that entrap the mind within the horizontal spectrum of discriminative subjectivity, that provides our path to enlightenment. That is, a profound realisation of Śūnyatā is the path to the Bodhi mind.

Is it any wonder that there should be such consistency in metaphysical instruction between the ancient Egyptians, the Gnostics and the Buddha? How many ways can the same guidance be given?

May we all balance our discriminative thoughts and raise our consciousness to find the middle way and attain the further shore.

Namaste.

Edit: In the diagram above I have changed the original "Self as All .. Self as Nothing" of the horizontal spectrum to "Individual as All .. Collective as All" as to better reflect the extreme perspectives of Service-to-Self and Service-to-Others conceptualisations. The description of this aspect of the diagram was a little obscure after coming out of meditation. After contemplating my unease over it, I concluded that it is the Collective that is the opposite polarity to the Individual and better represents the extremes of discriminative thought in this spectrum.