The end of the 20th century - the beginning of the 21st century is a unique time in many respects. Especially for our country and for its spiritual culture in particular. The fortress walls of the former world outlook collapsed, and the hitherto unknown sun of foreign spirituality rose over the world of the Russian people. American evangelism, Eastern cults, and various kinds of occult schools have managed to take deep roots in Russia over the past quarter century. It also had positive aspects - today more and more people are thinking about the spiritual dimension of their lives and striving to harmonize it with the higher, sacred meaning. Therefore, it is very important to understand what the sacred, transcendent dimension of being is.
Etymology of the word
The word "sacral" comes from the Latin sacralis, which means "sacred". The basis of the sac, apparently, goes back to the Proto-Indo-European saq, the likely meaning of which is "to protect, to protect". Thus, the original semantics of the word “sacred” is “separated, protected”. Religious consciousness over time has deepened the understanding of the term, bringing in it a shade of purposefulness of such a separation. That is, the sacred is not just separated (from the world, as opposed to the profane), but separated with a special purpose, as intended for a special higher service or use in connection with cult practices. The Jewish "kadosh" has a similar meaning - holy, consecrated, sacred. If we are talking about God, the word “sacred” is a definition of the otherness of the Most High, his transcendence in relation to the world. Respectively,as associated with this transcendence, any object dedicated to God is endowed with the quality of sacredness, that is, sacredness.
Areas of distribution of the sacred
Its scope can be extremely wide. Especially in our time - in the boom of the heyday of experimental science, sacred meaning is sometimes given to the most unexpected things, for example, eroticism. We have known sacred animals and sacred places since ancient times. There were in history, however, they are still waged today, sacred wars. But what the sacred political system means, we have already forgotten.
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Sacred art
The theme of art in the context of sacredness is extremely broad. In fact, it covers all types and directions of creativity, not excluding even comics and fashion. What do you need to do to understand what sacred art is? The main thing is to learn that its purpose is either to transmit sacred knowledge or to serve the cult. In light of this, it becomes clear why sometimes a picture can be equated, say, with scripture. It is not the nature of the craft that matters, but the purpose of the application and, as a consequence, the content.
Types of such art
In the Western European world, sacred art was called ars sacra. Among its various types, the following can be distinguished:
- Sacred painting. This means works of art of a religious nature and / or purpose, for example, icons, statues, mosaics, bas-reliefs, etc.
- Sacred geometry. The entire layer of symbolic images, such as the Christian cross, the Jewish star "Magen David", the Chinese yin-yang symbol, the Egyptian ankh, etc., falls under this definition.
- Sacred architecture. In this case, we mean the buildings and buildings of temple, monastery complexes and, in general, any constructions of a religious and mystery nature. Among them there may be the most unpretentious examples like a canopy over the holy well, or very impressive monuments such as the Egyptian pyramids.
- Sacred music. As a rule, this refers to cult music performed during divine services and the administration of religious rites - liturgical chants, bhajans, accompaniment of musical instruments, etc. based on traditional sacred music, as, for example, many samples of new age.
There are other manifestations of sacred art. In fact, all of his fields - cooking, literature, sewing, and even fashion - can be of sacred significance.
In addition to art, the quality of consecration is endowed with such concepts and things as space, time, knowledge, texts and physical actions.
Sacred space
In this case, space can mean two things - a specific building and a sacred place, not necessarily associated with buildings. An example of the latter is the sacred groves, which were very popular in the earlier days of pagan rule. Many mountains, hills, meadows, reservoirs and other natural objects have sacred significance today. Often this kind of place is designated with special signs - flags, ribbons, images and other elements of religious decor. Their meaning is due to some miraculous event, for example, the appearance of a saint. Or, as is especially common in shamanism and Buddhism, the veneration of a place is associated with the worship of invisible beings living there - spirits, etc.
Another example of a sacred space is a temple. Here, the determining factor of sacredness often becomes not the sacredness of the place as such, but the ritual character of the structure itself. Depending on the religion, the functions of the temple may vary slightly. For example, somewhere it is entirely the house of a deity, which is not intended for public visits for the purpose of worship. In this case, honors are paid outside, in front of the temple. This was the case, for example, in the ancient Greek religion. At the other extreme are Islamic mosques and Protestant houses of prayer, which are specialized halls for religious gathering and are intended more for man than for God. In contrast to the first type, where holiness is inherent in the temple space in itself, here it is the fact of cult use that transforms any room,even the most commonplace, to a sacred place.
Time
A few words should also be said about the concept of sacred time. It's even more complicated here. On the one hand, its course is often synchronous with ordinary everyday time. On the other hand, it is not subject to the operation of physical laws, but is determined by the mystery life of a religious organization. A striking example is the Catholic Mass, the content of which - the sacrament of the Eucharist - repeatedly transports believers into the night of the Last Supper of Christ and the Apostles. The time marked by special holiness and otherworldly influence is also of sacred significance. These are some segments of the cycles of the day, week, month, year, etc. In culture, they most often take the form of festivals or, conversely, days of mourning. Examples of both are Holy Week, Easter, Christmastide, solstice days, equinox periods, full moons, etc.
In any case, the sacred time organizes the ritual life of the cult, determines the sequence and frequency of rituals.
Knowledge
The search for secret knowledge was extremely popular at all times - some secret information that promised its owners the most dizzying benefits - power over the whole world, the elixir of immortality, superhuman strength and the like. Although all such secrets are related to secret knowledge, they are not always, strictly speaking, sacred. Rather, it’s just secret and mysterious. Sacred knowledge is information about the other world, the abode of gods and beings of a higher order. Theology is the simplest example. And this is not only about confessional theology. Rather, this means science itself, which studies on some supposed otherworldly revelation of deities, the world and the place of man in it.
Sacred texts
Sacred knowledge is recorded primarily in sacred texts - the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, etc. In the narrow sense of the word, only such scriptures are sacred, that is, claiming to be the conductors of knowledge from above. They seem to contain in the literal sense sacred words, not only the meaning of which, but also the form itself, matters. On the other hand, the own semantics of the definition of sacredness makes it possible to include in the range of such texts another type of literature - the works of outstanding teachers of spirituality, such as the Talmud, The Secret Doctrine by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, or the books of Alice Beilis, which are quite popular in modern esoteric circles. The authority of such works of literature can vary - from absolute infallibility to questionable comments and author's inventions. However, by the nature of the information contained in them,these are sacred texts.
Act
Sacred can be not only a specific object or concept, but also movement. For example, what is a sacred action? This concept summarizes a wide range of gestures, dances and other physical movements of a ritual, sacramental nature. Firstly, these are liturgical events - the offering of the host, burning incense, blessings, etc. Secondly, these are actions aimed at changing the state of consciousness and transferring the inner focus to the otherworldly sphere. Examples include the dances already mentioned, yoga asanas, or even a simple rhythmic swing of the body.
Thirdly, the simplest of the sacred actions are called upon to express a certain, most often prayerful, disposition of a person - hands folded on their chest or thrown up to heaven, the sign of the cross, bowing, and so on.
The sacred meaning of physical actions is to separate the body itself and matter in general from the profane everyday life following the spirit, time and space and to raise into the sacred realm. For this, in particular, water, housing and other items are blessed.
Conclusion
As can be seen from all of the above, the concept of sacredness is present wherever there is a person or the concept of the other world. But often those things fall under this category that belong to the field of ideal, most important representations of the person himself. Indeed, what is sacred if not love, family, honor, devotion and similar principles of social relations, and if more deeply - the characteristics of the inner content of the individual? It follows from this that the sacredness of an object is determined by the degree of its difference from the profane, that is, guided by instinctive and emotional principles, the world. At the same time, this separation can arise and be expressed both in the external world and in the internal one.
Anton Lashin
