Gobekli Tepe and Ancestral Reverance

How many archeological excavations changes the history books and requires history to be re-written? 

Gobekli Tepe is one of them. I remember a group of us sitting at the breakfast table during a Meditation retreat and the moderators getting excited when they heard I’m from Turkey. They said they’ve read an article in National Geographic about Gobekli Tepe and they asked me about it. They were referring to the June 2011 issue of National Geographic that introduced Gobekli Tepe to the world. Honestly I didn’t know much about Gobekli Tepe at that time, other than I vaguely remember seeing a short article in a Turkish Newspaper. They said, “This is very important; this is the first evidence of humans having faith long before they invented agriculture, the wheel or pottery.” I made a mental note to check it out. 

Fast forward to January 2020, I’m standing in front of these awe inspiring majestic structures at Gobekli Tepe. So, what makes them so special? The common thought up until the discovery of Gobekli Tepe was that agriculture came first, then faith. Humans developed faith after they discovered agriculture as they became more dependent on Nature, the sun, and the rain for the harvest. However, Gobekli Tepe proves this theory wrong. Gobekli Tepe is the world's first known sanctuary and ancient cult center, 12,000 years old, predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years and the pyramids by 7,000 years. When these large megaliths (20 ft high, weigh 16 tons) were erected, humans still lived as hunter-gatherers. They may not have yet discovered the wheel, pottery or agriculture, but they had a reason to build these structures, conduct rituals, and had a story they engraved on the stones. 

When I think of Stone Age people, I used to think of hunter-gatherer savages who lived in primitive conditions. I have an image of a stone age man with rough hair in locks, body covered with hair, and clothed with animal skin. Well, Gobeklitepe proves that these ancient ancestors were more sophisticated than we ever thought and had social norms earlier than we could imagine. They were capable of organizing massive tasks, distributing work amongst themselves, had capable skilled workers, craftsmanship and an agreement process for what, where, and how to build these structures. They had knowledge of geometry, astronomy and most importantly, they had a vision, a belief and a reason to build these structures. How can we call them primitive? 

The question is: what was it that made these ancient ancestors honor, revere, do rituals, and have faith?

There are many theories about the function of Gobekli Tepe. One theory is for Gobekli Tepe being a date stamp for an earlier apocalyptic event that erased an ancient civilization with a flood. This theory claims stone #43 carvings  commemorate a meteor hit that led to Younger Dryas, a mini Ice age; which resulted with a rise in sea levels and a flood. The theory claims the carvings represent constellations visible at Gobekli Tepe at that time.

Another theory claims Gobekli tepe to mark the beginning of an ancient brotherhood that eventually led to Illimunati today. Yet another one claims that  an ancient sound technology is used to lift heavy stones.These theories are  all interesting and entertaining for sure. Some of these theories might have merits but also hard to prove scientifically, at least until we have more evidence.

So, what is one theory that most scientists agree on?

A passage to death.

I know it doesn’t sound as fun as a lost civilization but one thing scientists agree is Gobeli Tepe’s association with passages to death and the use of ancestral veneration for it.

One thing that humans tried to understand, avoid, refrain and at least ease into, when they realize they can’t avoid it, was death. The average age in Neolithic times was 30. I can only imagine how scary it would be, being so vulnerable, so dispensable. A wild animal encounter, a simple infection, even child birth and you’re dead.  

Our ancestors knew death was not preventable so they tried to make sure, their transition to death was eased. For that reason they seeked help from ancestors who have already transitioned to the other side. Ancestor reverence is the custom of venerating deceased ancestors who are considered still a part of the family and whose spirits are believed to have the power to intervene in the affairs of the living. This includes helping with transition to the other side.

Catalhoyuk 

For our ancestors the concept of time was cyclical. Like us, they didn’t think there was a beginning (Big Bang) and that there would be an end (like the apocalypse as in most religions). They thought their ancestors lived in another realm after they died. They believed the soul is in the head and for that reason they severed the head from the body and in some cases they drilled a hole for the soul to escape. Archeologists have found 3 such sculls in Gobekli Tepe with flint carvings and one with a hole drilled. 

Skull cult is not uncommon in ancient Anatolia. We find similar images painted on the walls at Çatalhöyük, another Neolithic aged site in Konya that dates back to 7500 BC. In the drawings, headless men are portrayed while birds fly above their heads. 

There are also multiple portholes found at Gobekli Tepe, whose functions can not be verified but consistent with other portals around the world, representing a passage to the other side. 

When I was in Mumbai years ago, I noticed a tower with vultures on it. My colleague explained to me the Parsi funeral practice, the Sky burial. I saw it in a Tibetan movie before but I didn’t think it was still practiced, let alone it being practiced at the center of the city. Sky Burial is a practice in which a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop or a tower to be consumed by birds, mainly vultures. The idea behind the practice is that Earth is so sacred that it can not be polluted with a corpse. It’s still practiced in parts of China, Mongolia, Tibet and used to be an ancient practice for some American Indian tribes. Whether a sky burial site or not, scientists agree that Stone 43 depicts the soul of a departed one ascending to heaven. 

One thing is for sure, we will never know the exact purpose, practice and rituals performed at Gobekli Tepe. Passage to death is only one function of Gobekli Tepe and there could be more. We can only have glimpses of the thinking of these ancient ancestors based on more similar archeological findings and continued practices like sky burials and ancestor veneration. 

There is only one thing we can do: honor all ancestors who contributed to building Gobekli Tepe for leaving us these monumental structures that open a window into their thinking and more importantly their wisdom and capabilities. 

May they be at peace.

Here is the link to my talk on November 19,2022:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dCza-gL4NSJwi_0psTeJFTcwVYFDevL6/view?usp=share_link

 

https://www.archaeology.org/issues/281-1801/features/6165-turkey-neolithic-skull-cult

Sogmatar

 Here is a koan for you: What could a $3-discounted t-shirt possibly remind you of? 

The highlight of our South East Turkey trip for me was Sogmatar. If I could describe my experience in the Sogmatar temple in one word it would be non-duality. Let me describe what non-duality means to me. It’s when I drop all thoughts, judgements, have no expectations, feelings or emotions, and am totally immersed in the present with an open heart. It’s when boundaries disappear and there is only contentment of being (“being” written with the smallest possible letter).

If you expect to see fancy ruins, towers or temples, you’ll be highly disappointed in Sogmatar. In fact, there is almost nothing visible immediately when you get to Sogmatar. 

It is the most simple village I’ve ever seen in Turkey - I use simple for lack of a better word, almost barren, where you feel sorry for the children enthusiastically greeting you and trying to tell you stories about their antique city so they can make little money or take whatever you’re willing to give them, maybe candy or gum.

Apparently it rains a lot here in winter filling up the wells with much needed water in summer months; the name Sogmatar (or Yagmurlu) means “rainy”.

 

Soğmatar was a pagan religious center and dates back to the 2nd century. 

Close to Harran, south of Urfa, it is also known as the Town of Seven Temples, as the people of Harran worshiped the moon and planetary gods. 

I typically read about places before I visit them. I’ve read books and watched videos about the other places we visited during the past 10 days, prior to joining a tour in our last 2 days which included visiting Sogmatar. About Sogmatar, I knew nothing! Absolutely nothing! I haven’t even heard of this name before. In fact, I thought we were visiting a Moon temple in Sogmatar. But my personal experience proved otherwise. I think the experience is always more precious than the knowledge anyway.

In the center of the cult center there is what is called a “Sacred hill”, an open-air temple, also called the temple for the Lords of the Gods, surrounded by 7 temples dedicated to the Sun, the Moon and 5 planets: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury. These surrounding temples are within a half mile radius, forming a half moon shape. As our guide explained, ancient pagans used to honor each of these 7 temples on a certain day of the week, that’s where Monday comes from, in fact it’s Moon day. They also wore a certain color for each temple visit and made different offerings in each temple.

.

Before we started climbing to the open air temple, we walked by the Sun god (Shamash) and the Moon god (Sin) relics. This was extra special for me as it brought up the Reiki Master symbol, Dai Ki Myo. 

Dai Ko Myo means Great Bright Light and experientially Reiki leads the practitioner through various tools and practices to experience and to eventually become the Great Bright Light which is in practice a state of non-duality.
Reiki does this gently with the practice of visual, audio and mind tools, or in other words through symbols, mantras, meditations and the practice of precepts supported with hands-on healing. 

The word “Myo” or “Bright” in the Japanese kanji of “Great Bright Light” is depicted by the sign of the Sun and Moon coming together. Their union represents and creates the ultimate brightness as they are the two light sources for our planet, in day and night. 

Maybe subconsciously, I walked into the ritual area with this in mind and as we were led into a meditation by shamanic drumming, I kept saying this experience is not just the Moon, but the ultimate brightness of the Sun and Moon together.

I think the builders of these temples used the synergies of the Shamash (Sun) and the Sin (Moon) with other planets to bring alignment and create harmony and Oneness. It’s still palpable 2000 years later.

Speaking of energy…Sogmatar is definitely a special site for energetic qualities. As I was reading and researching, I found that a group of researchers from SB Research Group (SBRG) have studied the archaeoacoustic properties of Sogmatar. The same group does similar research for archaeoacoustic properties and physical phenomena in other ancient sites and temples throughout Europe. They think these qualities might have influenced communities to consider and choose a particular site as their sacred site. 

In silence, they recorded a strong natural frequency around 14Hz which they claim, has a strong effect on brain waves, creating a relaxing effect. They detected similar frequencies present at other sacred sites in Europe. They also observed a strong spiral magnetic field on the wall located on the right of the central niche, in the Moon temple. 

Is it the chicken or the egg?… Did they build the temple here because they felt its naturally existing frequencies and they used that to enhance their sacred experiences or has the vibration of the space been raised because of how they set up the temples and because of their continued practice? Maybe both. I’ve seen an ordinary apartment building in Northside that feels like you’re in heaven because of decades long deep dedicated practice performed in it. You certainly feel the sacredness as soon as you walk in it. 

Then a month later as I was strolling in Istanbul, this t-shirt caught my eye. It's all an Illusion after all, isn't it? 

How can you talk about non-duality if you still talk about the Sun, the Moon and the planets? How can you talk about non-duality if you say “I” had this experience”, then who is this separate I? 

Maybe it’s the chicken, maybe it’s the egg. Maybe it’s the natural energy of this sacred place. Maybe it’s the planetary objects, planetary Gods. Does it matter? 
The Sun and the Moon, Shamash and the Sin, were the fingers pointing and enabling this Union, at the temple of Gods in Sogmatar. 
For me what’s important is not getting caught up in the details, to honor them, use them as stepping stones but also know that they’re all an Illusion, pointing to the truth, non-duality.

Here is the link to the Archaeoacoustic research paper on Sogmatar:

http://www.sbresearchgroup.eu/Immagini/ReportfromSogmatar.pdf

Ancient Origins coverage on Sogmatar:

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-ancient-places-asia/celestial-temple-sogmatar-sacred-site-dedicated-sin-and-planets-009352

• * Special thanks to Gokturk Ramu author and researcher, for feeding us with his extensive research, emphasizing the importance of Sogmatar and continuously leading tours to this area for years; Neslisah Cevahir at Via Maris Turizm (viamaris.com.tr)for enabling this 2-day-packed-trip  with utmost comfort and ease , our professional tour guide, historian, Halit Aygat for giving both sides of the story, the official and the unofficial and Ates Shaman Zafer Algül for leading us into insightful meditations with his shamanic drumming.

The answer to the koan is on the T-shirt.

Zerzevan castle/Mithras Temple: Following the Footsteps of Mitra

 

How would I know a trip to Zerzevan castle/Mithras temple in Diyarbakir, southeast corner of Turkey, would trigger so many connections and open doors in my mind. First and foremost, connections on evolution of faith that took me on a journey from Vedas, to Upanishads, to Advaita, to Sufism to esoteric Buddhism to Reiki. Looks complex, right? Let me explain…

Zerzevan Castle is a recently excavated archeological site and one of the best-preserved Roman military settlements in the world. So what? There are many castles around the world. Well, this castle also hosts a Mithras temple, a temple used by the Mithraic cult prior to Christianity. For that reason, the castle gives clues not only about the life in the ancient world but also give hints about history of faith and religion and how beliefs are transformed over centuries.

Why is this important? For me it helps to bring the pieces of the puzzle to see the bigger picture, to create connections between past and present, history and how faith systems evolved and eventually how the consciousness of humanity evolved (and evolving).  For me it’s a roadmap of a journey of humanity from a hostile, fearful environment to self-realization of its Divine power.

This castle took me back to Vedas. Vedas are the heartfelt prayers of ancient humans for forces of nature. We can only anticipate how powerless they must have felt against forces of nature. As a way to cope with unknowns of the environment they live in,  tit’s understandable that they created deities/semi-gods that they identified with various forces of nature and worshipped them.  Vedas are hymns of Aryans in Sanskrit and captured in writing in 1500 BC but who knows how old they really are. Some say even 10,000 years old. We know major deities of Vedas are Indra, god of Heavens associated with thunder and lightning and oceans; Agni, god of Fire, Vaju, god of air/wind. One of these gods in the Vedas is Mitra, god of Sun, or as depicted in Vedas, as adorable, auspicious friend who sustains the Earth and Heavens.  Destroying our impurities, Mitra purifies our Intelligence. Mitra is the kinda friend /god you need by your side. 

 

It’s amazing to watch Vedas turn to Upanishads where the dualistic view of fearful Gods transform as  Rishis (enlightened ones) had ecstatic experiences and shared in the  wisdom in the  Upanishads. This is where the  humans start recognizing their power but it’s not yet until Advaita Vedanta (non-dualistic belief) that these texts claim, in fact God and the Humanity is one and the same.

In the thousands of years of journey of recognition of our own divine power, one of the steps was the proto- Indo-Aryan civilization in Persia, or today’s Iran, where the friendly god of Son, Mithra, turned to be the protector of the word, sanctifier of contracts and meetings, extending its honesty and fraternity to state affairs.

In 1st century CE, during expeditions to the east, Roman soldiers adapted Mithra belief, called him Mithras, as the God of their monotheist religion. This time Mithras depicted as a bull slayer, ending the age of Taurus, and promising a safe passage to Heavens by bringing the age of Wisdom. Yet, Romans created a cult that one can enter only with invitation, where secret initiation rites were performed. There was one underlying promise: Immortality. 

The cult members went even through torments and torture to be accepted and initiated into the secret teachings.  Even after acceptance, they had to progress through stages to become the Pater/Father. 

THE WORLD WOULD HAVE BEEN MITHRAIC IF THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY HAD BEEN ARRESTED BY SOME MORTAL MALADY”

– 19th century orientalist Ernest Renan –

Zerzevan castle has one of these caves where the secret Mithraic ceremonies are conducted. 

Later, with Christianity, after the pagan rituals were banned, these caves were filled up with soil and symbols on the walls were destroyed by their own cult members. This way the secrets were protected and  symbols  not revealed.. It’s speculated that the cult went underground and continued their rituals.

Though, that’s not the end. Interestingly, some researchers claim that esoteric buddhism is the perfected form of Mithraism.

There is  a theory that, at some point, early Buddhists interacted with Mithras belief in Central Asia and in fact the ancient Aryan beliefs in the Vedas, carried by Iranian religion impacted the concept of Maitreya Buddha.

Maitreya Buddha is the enlightened being that, it is believed to incarnate in future, when all Buddhist teachings are forgotten.  At that time, it is believed that the Future Buddha, Maitreya will come to the world and teach the pure teachings again.  This is the same concept as second coming of Christ in Christianity or the return of the Mehdi in Islam.

The name Maitreya is derived from the Sanskrit word maitrī "friendship", which is in turn derived from the noun mitra"friend". It’s  a small world after all ,isn’t it?

Could our friendly god Mitra as mentioned in the Vedas, evolved into Maitreya in Buddhism?  I guess we’ll never know, but there seems to be good evidence from Japanese dance theaters to architecture that links Japan to the impacts of the Iranian culture and religion. In Japan it is widely shared that Japanese Buddhism (Mahayana) was formed under the strong influence of Iranian religion.

In Japan, Maitreya Buddha is called Miroku Bosatu. Maitreya lives in Tushta Heaven (the Sun sphere) like Mitra does.

There is one particular researcher who put a lot of effort to investigate these connections, Masato Tojo. I’ve shared some of his articles in below links.

Tojo suggests that , Mithra became Miroku, then developed to be Mahâvairocana whose Japanese name is Dainichi  (The Great Sun God). Tojo claims, “ In China, the name of Mithra was represented by these Chinese characters: Mi 密, Mi 蜜 and Milo 弥勒. Mi 密 means both secret (esoteric) and closeness (friendship). Mi 蜜 means honey (sacred food of Persians). Mi-jiao/Mikkyô means both secret teaching and Mithra’s teaching. Therefore, they used this term to represent that Esoteric Buddhism is the perfected form of Eastern Mithraism itself. Mahâvairocana-Miroku is Mithra. Tojo claims “This view has gained much popularity and supports among Buddhists, Shugen-dô-ists and occultists of Japan today. “

What does this have to do with Reiki? For me, the goal of Reiki practice is to be Reiki, which is represented by Dai Ko Myo, The Great Bright Light. This concept represents our true nature, the luminous light that we are. In practical sense,  to be the Great Bright light means, non-duality;  not being impacted by judgments or attachments, to live in harmony and peace within and with everything around. It means to manifest one’s highest potential in life, have gratitude and love the self and all living beings with infinite compassion. 

This is no surprise, whether in Central Asia, Iran, Japan or anywhere on earth, there is only one Great Bright Light. Whether represented by the Sun or Dai Ko Myo.

 

Regardless what the practice,  the end goal is the same, to be the Great bright light, the luminous light that we are and have only One Vision when we get there.

ONE VISION

Day and night, no difference.

The sun *is* the moon: An amalgam.

Their gold and silver melt together.

This is the season when

the dead branch and the green branch

are the same branch.

Nightmares fill with light like a holiday.

Humans and angels speak one language.

The elusive ones finally meet.

Good and evil, dead and alive,

everything blooms

from one natural stem.

You know this already, I'll stop.

Any direction you turn

it's one vision.

-- Rumi --

Here is the link to my zoom talk on Zerzevan castle/Mithras temple:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ptKAod9_EHT-Gpe_EnL_hvv1DOsjQzjm/view

UNESCO website:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6472/

From ICOMOS On The Road project, a short documentary :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTlfvLgybvk&ab_channel=icorpontheroad

The Mithra Project

https://mithra-project.eu/

Mithraeum Japan

http://mithra.world.coocan.jp/english_index.html

https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/in-search-of-the-roman-mithra-in-miroku-and-maitreya

Mithra sanctifying a contract between Kings , 3rd century CE