By Bruna Carvalho

This will be a follow-up to our “Force of Vril” articles. 
Vajra is the Sanskrit word for Thunderbolt or Diamond, symbolizing its impenetrable, indestructible, and invincible Force.
The Vajra (aka Dorje), has been an important weapon in Hinduism and Buddhist Cultures, however, it is actually an artifact that appears throughout different cultures around the world. Maybe not as the Vajra we know of, but different, with its meaning remaining the same. An example of that is within the Greek Mythology, where Zeus, (God of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, justice), received a weapon from Cyclops, ( one-eyed creatures), of the Golden Race. The weapon would either Kill or turn one into “God”. In other words, it would either be used for the evolution or the destruction of mankind. For war or peace. 

Of course, one cannot take its shape bluntly as it is, it is definitely metaphorical, symbol language for something that is hard to explain with words. There are various depictions of what this Artifact could really mean, some of them being esoteric, others being historical, with all of them being ancient science. 

The Birth of Vajra: The Master of all Weapons

According to the Puranas, It is said that it all started with Dadhichi (a great sage and devotee of the Lord Shiva). 

Dadhichi had an important task to do, mainly, to protect the weapons of the gods and to let no enemy steal them. Hundreds of years passed, and there was still no sign of the Gods returning. Dadhichi started to notice that the weapons of the gods were losing their glow. Not knowing how to preserve them, he decided to wash them in Holy water. This caused the Powers to get dissolved in the water, so Dadhichi decided to drink them up, preserving the energy and power inside his body. The material of the weapons faded and disappeared soon after. When the enemies of the gods became stronger, the gods came up to Dadhichi once again, requesting their weapons back. He told the Gods what had happened and that he had to drink the energy of their weapons. Because of this, Dadhichi decided to give up his life so that the gods could make great weapons out of his bones and save the world. 

Even though the Gods, were unwilling to do it, they knew that there was no other way. If they wouldn’t accept Dadhichi’s sacrifice, they wouldn’t be able to save Mankind. Once Dadhichi sacrificed himself for mankind, the Gods proceeded in making the weapons out of his bones with the name “Vajra” given to them. (In another description, it is claimed that Indra (The king of heaven and God of thunder) was the one who killed Dadhichi and made the Vajra out of his Bones). 

In the meantime, Dadhichis’s Wife had been away while this occurred, after her return, she was filled with sorrow and wished to end her life. Since she was pregnant at the time, she waited until the child was born, handed the child to a fig tree for rearing, and killed herself shortly after. 

After the gods regained their weapons, the story mainly revolves around Indra (The king of Heaven, of the Devas, the divine beings). Asura-Vritra, the Demon of Drought, (Asuras also known as Suras are Devas who decided to be malevolent towards humanity and the Gods), knowing that the Gods had regained their powers, immediately came to challenge Indra. Eventually, the Gods or/with Indra won against the Demon. 

The different depictions of the Vajra

An interesting thing about the Vajra is that while its name is mostly known on the eastern side of the world, we can actually find cave-engravings, hieroglyphs, tablets depicting a weapon as strong as lightning, and in the shape of a Vajra. This is what questions many historians. Did these ancient civilizations have some sort of contact with one another? Did they pass their knowledge from generation to generation? Did they simply just found this knowledge from previous civilizations? Or is there a truth, a universal story of how we came to be, that all these civilizations were trying to describe? 

Zeus and his Thunderbolt

As mentioned above one example of the Vajra existing in other Cultures is within Greek mythology, depicting Zeus (Sky Father) and his Weapon of Lightning. Zeus was the youngest son of the Titan, Cronus (The devourer of children), and Rheia (both children of Ouranos and Gaia). Cronus would devourer every recently born child he would have, Rheia however didn’t let that happen to Zeus so she fled and handed him over to Mount Dikte. Once he grew older, Zeus recruited Metis to his cause, where she later served the Titan Cronus (Zeus Father) a magical drought. This caused the Titan to spit out all the Six-Giant sons he had eaten. It is said that, in gratitude for that act, the Weapon of Lighting was given to Zeus by the Cyclops, the master builders, who were at the time of the great battle imprisoned by the Titans. Zeus eventually defeated the Titans and the Hundred-Headed Serpent Typhon. 

The Sumerians and the Vajra

The Vajra can also be seen in Sumerian history, written in about 7 Clay-tablets. The Tablets describe the Enuma Elish, a great battle, the creation of man, and the praise of Marduk. Like Zeus, Marduk too was the Sumerian “Sky God”, who also fought for justice, law and order. The story explains how Tiamat (the goddess of the sea, represented as the primordial chaos), her army of dragons and demons, led by the God Qingu (the unskilled laborer) were defeated by Marduk. 

In the Battle against the serpent Tiamat, it is said that Marduk ordained the wind to enter Tiamats mouth and puff up her body. Soon thereafter, he shot the Serpent with an arrow that eventually split her into two halves. With one half he created the heavens, with the other half he created the physical world. 

The Popol Vuh of the Mayans

Lightning is an important factor in the Mayans Popol Vuh description of the creation of our universe. While I must admit that the Mayan myths are quite complex to understand without doing long deep research into them. Here is what I found which could relate to the Vajra. According to the Popol Vuh, In the beginning, there was absolute silence, along with the endless black sea (cosmos). With no light to be seen, nor life to be heard. There were great makers, builders in this sea, they were known as the Plumed Serpent. There were makers, builders in the sky as well, these were known to them as the “Heart of the Sky” (also known as Huraqan “one-legged” both from the concept of a hurricane and of a lightning bolt). Together these builders were the ones to plan their way to create what we today call “our universe”. 

Now if you have read my last post on the Vril Force, you will realize that I have mentioned this plumed serpent, which leaves me to think that we indeed are on the right path. (I will still leave the link here to that post if you haven’t read it yet)

Through their words alone, the land arose from the never-ending Black sea, mountains formed and from those mountains were the waters divided. Until the sky was set apart, while the earth was set apart in the midst of the waters. 

Soon thereafter the Heart of the sky, made every living animal, first those of the mountains and then those of the sky. However, they could not speak the same language, leaving the Heart of the sky to know that some of those creatures would be possessed by the other. The Heart of the sky, with the wish to create a being who would nurture and respect, formed humanity out of the mud. Yet this too failed, while they did talk, they immediately crumbled, not functioning properly. This made the Heart of the sky seek guidance through their grandparents, the diviners. The Grandparents suggested creating humanity out of wood, while this did indeed work, while humanity multiplied and spoke, there was nothing in their minds. No memory of their builders, no memory of the Heart of sky. No soul. (And maybe this meant, no sense of consciousness, no purity in the world) 
This caused the Heart of sky to send a great flood, that wiped all of humanity. Realizing that there was no Sun or Moon, the Heart of the sky decided to create them. The sun for the day and the moon for the night. In the end, the Heart of sky manages to create humanity, with a true and living soul, from white and yellow corn. 

It is very interesting how the Plumed serpent comes into place in this story as well, one could almost connect it to the Norse depiction of the Ragnarök, when Jörmungandr (the sea serpent, the serpent biting its own tail) also known as the Midgard (World), releases her tail. Causing the Ragnarök to happen, the chaos or apocalypse. 

The Torah: Arrows of Elohim 

In the Bible, the Torah, the 10 commandments of the people, came to humanity along with a set of Thunders and Lightning-bolts representing the voice and strength of God. Believe it or not, even the word Torah has an interesting meaning and reference to the Vajra/Lightning-bolt.

As a few examples, these are a few Verses of the Bible depicting the power of the Lightning-bolt: 

And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them

2 Samuel 22:15

Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

Psalm 18:14

The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.

Psalm 77:17

Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your arrows and confuse them.

Psalm 144:6

The word “Torah” also has a fascinating meaning on its own, while it means “Instruction”, “Teaching” or “Law” it also has a deeper meaning when you dive deeper into the Hebrew language. The word consists of the Hebrew letters (yud, resh, heh), while they are connected to the ancient practice of archery, meaning “to flow” or “to shoot an arrow in order to hit a mark” there is another meaning in those letters that is very interesting and true. 

י The Letter Yud/Iod: The source we can not understand

The letter Yud/Iod is the 10th letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. To understand Iod we need to also understand Kether, since the Iod and Kether were the ones causing the first Emanation, the first Knot in the Tree of Life of Kabbalah. Kether is the Father of the Father, the first manifestation of existence, of life as we know it. 

When the of the non-existent yet existent, the spirit between God and creature, the Ruach (Wind/Breath) Elohim, the Spirit which floats above the waters of life in order to originate Life. The Ray of creation, the son, as a lightning-bolt flashes downwards which resulted in the creation of our Universe. 

The Iod that first emerges out of the womb of the Divine Mother, Space. 
As an example, we have with Zeus or Indra, the Light that descends like a lightning bolt symbolized in the hands of Zeus/Indra/Jupiter (The Vajra symbol), which is Kether. 

Iod: Door, dot, that which mind can not understand, the intelligence which in conjunction with the Kether, manifested and created Beauty, Kingdom, Foundation and the Universe. 

ר The Letter Resh: The Mind

“R” meaning “The Mind” goes hand in hand with “esh” meaning fire. The letter Resh follows the letter Beth (Meaning “to create”, “the divine Mother”, “The Kundalini”. Representing the creation that occurs in the real man (man in the sense of the being))

In Greek mythology we have Athena/Minerva the divine Feminine force, the intuition, the knowledge understood, born from the head of Zeus. This force is depicted in us as Fire, as esh.

If we look into how the Kundalini/Chakra energies work, the root chakra (our Sexual-organs) is where our nervous-system collects the most potent, vital forces/energies. Through Tantra (Transmutation, turning something into something else, metal to Gold), that Fire is harnessed, purified, and transformed. (This is not to be confused with Tantric-magick or Sex-magick, since those practices lead to impurity, not to the purity of the soul). 

ה The Letter Heh: Behold!

Lastly, we have the letter Heh/Hei, the fifth letter in the Hebrew language. The letter Hei represents Creation, it consists of both the letter Daleth ד  (the Physical world) and Iod י (the world to come) emerged together. Therefore, the letter Hei represents both worlds, all that is above and all that is below. This term might sound familiar to the saying “As above so below”, which did not come from Aleister Crowley, but from Hermes also known as Thoth. Unfortunately the term “As above, so below” has been twisted by humanity to eventually represent “As in heaven so in hell”, “As in good so in Evil”, “As in purity so in impurity”, when in reality the term is referring to the ways things should be. The Phrase Yud, Resh, Heh allows us to understand that term at some level, which I will be explaining further in the next paragraphs. 

There is a lot to uncover and study about these 3 Letters, however, for this post, I decided to keep it short, in order to keep things clear. (We will be doing a Qabbalah/Kabbalah series soon, so stay tuned to not miss it) 

The meaning of Yud/Iod,Resh,Hei/Heh

If we combine the meaning of these 3 Letters, we come up with an interesting phrase that eventually explains what the Torah (Yud,resh,heh) is in the first place. 

The world that is to come/ the unexplainable source (Yud), The Mind (resh), That which is above that which is below, Behold (Heh)

If we read this from the right to the left we end up with: “Behold, That which is above and that which is below, the mind of the world to come/the unexplainable source”

This is exactly what the Torah/The 10 commandments stand for, they are the mind of the source, the whole, that which we can not explain how it came to be in the first place. The Law to become the perfect being, the being God/the father of the father wants us to be.

Thanks to these depictions, one can finally come closer to a solid definition of what the Vajra/the lightning (a weapon so admired by the ancients) really represents, knowledge and understanding. 

The Quran: Lightning of Allah

Even in the Muslim faith, we can see how lightning plays a big role in representing this unknowable, invisible force/energy that the root of creation consists of. Either by being its voice of warning, hope, danger, or awakening.

 It is He who shows you lightening, [causing] fear and aspiration, and generates the heavy clouds.

Quran 13:13

And the thunder exalts [Allah] with praise of Him – and the angels [as well] from fear of Him – and He sends thunderbolts and strikes therewith whom He wills while they dispute about Allah ; and He is severe in assault.

Quran 24:43

 Do you not see that Allah drives clouds? Then He brings them together, then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of clouds] within which is hail, and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightening almost takes away the eyesight.

Quran 30:24

The Meaning of the artifact Vajra

Today’s depiction of the Hindu lightning or Vajra/Dorje is commonly seen with its counterpart the Ghanta/Drilbu (aka The bell). Together the Vajra and the Ghanta symbolize the ultimate balance between female and male both in the material and spiritual world. They are seen by the Hindus as forces/symbols/sounds that represent what scientists refer to as the Big Bang, the divine mother and divine father derived from the eternal silence. These artifacts are used by Hindus and even Buddhists, throughout their Mudra practices. Ghanta is held on the left hand, symbolizing the feminine energy, while the Vajra is held on the right hand, symbolizing the masculine energy, that each of us possesses in our body and spirit. Together they symbolize the perfect union between wisdom and the action upon that wisdom. (Ghanta: Wisdom / Vajra: action, skillful) 

The Vajra Symbology: 

The Five prongs (Can also be identified as Lotus petals), (Four encircling one) of the Vajra represent the five perfections of the male energies, generosity, morality, patience, perseverance, and concentration. In other depictions, they are seen as flames of the Five Dhyani Buddhas. Which are meant to rejoin the flames of the One, whose mind is emptiness and boundless. 

The Eight petaled lotus on the Vajra represents the eight Bodhisattvas, while the syllables symbolize the Eight female Bodhisattvas.   Another interesting fact about the Lotus is that it represents “Being born of the Mud”, but it has the capacity to cross existence (physical) without damaging itself to impurity, being able to flourish in Nirvana. 

In the middle of the Vajra, aka Bindu, means the balance of energies and matter, the indestructible material of the mandalas, symbolizing the eight or sixteen emptiness. (The Heart of the spirit, of the Universe)

At the base of the handle, are a series of three small rings, which are combined with the other three rings on the bells crowning.

As a whole, the Vajra shows two identical parties, like two mandalas, which are symmetrically “divided” by the central sphere. To express its differences yet similarities. (example; female and male, positively charged or negatively charged particles…etc) Consisting of the universal love with the skillful as its opposite, which together achieve liberation. 

Ghanta Bell Symbology: 

The sixth perfection belonging to the five of the Vajra is the mouth of the bell, symbolizing the perfect feminine, wisdom. 

Overlapping the lotus base of the bell, there are five pearls of wisdom with those of the vajra, this represents the embodiment of the five Buddha wisdom forms (the crowning symbol of the bell). 

As stated above the sound of the Bell represents the void, silence, emptiness before creation came to be. Perfect stillness. The cosmos before any of its creation. Therefore combining a Vajra and a Ghanta bell symbolize the Unity of all Duality. The duality that in reality isn’t dual at all. 

The Crossed Vajra: The heart of the All

(If you swipe left you will see all the colors belonging to the crossed Vajra.)

In the image above you can see a crossed Vajra, one without the colors and the other with its given colors. The crossed Vajra symbolizes “Universal”, it points towards all our cardinal directions; West, East, North, South representing stability. The given colors symbolize the four elements of creation/world; Fire, Water, air, and Earth. 

East = white / West = red (together making the horizontal line representing love), North = green / South = yellow (together making the vertical line representing knowledge)
Here too we can see how its purpose is to mean Balance.

These colors have profound meaning throughout cultures, mythologies, and religions. They are mentioned in almost every existing Religion and even science. Even though many refuse to consider mythology as the way ancients expressed their scientific knowledge, with all of this, we should really start considering that perhaps these mythological stories are indeed scientific explanations shaped into the culture, or made in a way to be taken upon the next civilizations. Us being one of those upcoming civilizations. These colors being part of the Four elements and four poles of the world have an interesting relationship with the Prisma. In fact, much of this and the following has something to do with what we call “The Prisma”. Which I will be writing about in a further post. 

The Three Vajras (Three Roots)

Another name given to the crossed Vajra is “Three Roots or Three Vajras”. This name was given to the vajra to uplift its meaning, even more, the number three stands for the three foundations of the world. 

Vajra one; Is the Body/Essence 

Vajra two; Is the Voice/Nature 

Vajra three: is the Energy/the Mind

In the end, these three Vajras represent our Crown (OM), Throat (AH), and Heart (HUM) chakras. Without having these three foundations in balance with their main purpose, nothing else will work properly. In other words, if the heart is tempted with evil, the mind and the actions/words will result in being corrupted. Just like without the voice, the wisdom and the understanding of the Mind and Heart won’t have a way or voice to be taught/spoken unto the world.

While the Buddhists and Hindus have the Three Vajras, in Norse mythology they have the Three wells. 

The Three wells of Yggdrasil

In Norse Mythology the Yggdrasil (Tree of Life) consists of three wells, these three wells are the only source of water for the roots of this tree, if these water wells drought or get poisonous, even if one of those wells does, the tree will get sick or die. 

The Urdarbrunnr Well: In this well, a council takes place, where Thor (the Norse Zeus, justice/law god) goes to take his inspiration. This well represents Law and justice as well as the Past, Present, and Future. 

The Hvergelmir Well: Here it is said to inhabit all the frost creatures, one of them being Nidhogg (a dragon/Serpent) that has tried to destroy the roots of the Yggdrasil Tree, aka tree of life. 

The Mimisbrunnr Well: It is said that whoever drinks of this well, will attain all true and real wisdom/knowledge. 

Here again, we are warned to take these roots that stabilize us, that keep us sane in balance. This particular story led me to see how connected everything truly is. How all these civilizations had their own way to spread, share this knowledge that is actually implanted deep in our hearts, minds, and bodies. This serpent/dragon seen in all these cultures, most of the time being associated as being a demon of drought makes much more sense now. It has the capacity to live in each of us. This drought being spread to different lakes, seas, trees are meant to show us how without one of them we get sick and without all of them, we die. If our heart, mind, and actions/bodies do not work with one another. Our real self dies. Making us live in misery while spreading more misery. 

Achieving Unity of all Duality

The meaning of achieving Christ consciousnesses, one-ness, or Atma Buddha is by achieving a Diamond Soul, a Vajra soul. A soul like diamond indestructible, impenetrable of any corruption or wickedness. Not that we won’t be tempted but that we will just like a diamond, reflect that temptation/energy, and never let it corrupt/consume/break itself. This is what the Vajra is meant to symbolize to us. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can see how all these stories, being so different yet similar are meant to tell us the same thing. The simplicity of the knowledge these different civilizations realized or received from even more ancient civilizations. It is meant to teach us the same thing. They do not talk about any lightning-, Godlike- power one can achieve in the egoistic, materialistic sense. That power was a power given to all creation, a power we are all meant to control, our hearts, minds, and words. As little of significance as they can seem to us, those were the very first requirements for creation to exist. Whether you believe in it or not, all you have to do is to look around and you will see that all we process started with an idea. A thought. The fruit of that thought, the essence we put behind it, determined its effect on our planet. Perhaps this was not just a religion, not just a belief, but a concept these people hold on to so tight, because they knew, that if they couldn’t control it, it would lead them to their very own destruction. How can we seek to understand God/the source and creation when we can not even understand ourselves in the sense of being the best version we can be. Not just towards ourselves but towards others. These ways, just like the 10 commandments, are the rules, the laws passed from generation to generation, hoping to one day be taken seriously. And to be acted upon.

There is no outside magic to be possessed, we are that power, we live within that power and our goal is to find that harmony within it. Not to be less, not to be more, not to be equal, but to be one day “One” with it.

Bibliography: 

• The Vajra: An Ancient Weapon of War (ancient-oringins.net), 2017
• ZEUS – Greek God of the Sky, King of the Gods (Roman Jupiter) (theoi.com), 2017
• Chandra Sekhar Singh / Google Books: The Puranas Volume II
• The Mayan Pantheon: The Many Gods of the Maya – World History Encyclopedia (ancient.eu), 2012
• Mythic Monday: Marduk of Babylon | World Book, 2017
• ר Resh (glorian.org), 2020
• י Iod (glorian.org), 2020
• ה Hei (glorian.org), 2020
• Serindia Publications, Inc / The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols – Google Books, 2003
• Jean Chevalier + Alain Gheerbrant / Dictionnaire des Symboles – Page 1144
• Richard Leviton / The Emerald Modem: A User’s Guide to Earth’s Interactive Energy Body (Google books), 2003
• Yggdrasill (britannica.com), 2018