The end of the 20th - 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 worldview collapsed, and the hitherto unknown sun of foreign spirituality rose over the world of the Russian man. American evangelism, Eastern cults, various kinds of occult schools over the past quarter of a century have managed to take root deeply in Russia. It also had positive aspects - today more and more people think about the spiritual dimension of their lives and strive to harmonize it with the highest, sacred meaning. Therefore, it is very important to understand what the sacred, transcendental dimension of being is.
Etymology of the word
The word "sacred" comes from the Latin sacralis, which means "sacred". The stem sac seems to go back to the Proto-Indo-European saq, the probable meaning of which is "to protect, protect". Thus, the original semantics of the word "sacred" is "separated, protected". Religious consciousness over time deepened the understanding of the term, introducing intoit has a connotation of the purposefulness of such a branch. 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 Almighty, his transcendence in relation to the world. Accordingly, as connected with this transcendence, any object dedicated to God is endowed with the quality of sacredness, that is, sacredness.
Regions of distribution of the sacred
Its scope can be extremely wide. Especially in our time - in the flourishing boom of experimental science, sacred meaning is sometimes attached to the most unexpected things, for example, erotica. Since ancient times we have known sacred animals and sacred places. There have been in history, however, they are still being waged today, sacred wars. But we have already forgotten what the sacred political system means.
Sacred Art
The theme of art in the context of sacredness is extremely extensive. In fact, it covers all types and directions of creativity, not excluding even comics and fashion. What needs to be done to understand what sacred art is? The main thing is to learn that its purpose is either to transfer sacred knowledge, or to serve a cult. In light of this, it becomes clear why sometimes a picture can be equated, say, with a scripture. Nature is not importantcrafts, but the purpose of the application and, as a result, 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 includes works of art of a religious nature and/or purpose, such as icons, statues, mosaics, bas-reliefs, etc.
- Sacred geometry. The entire layer of symbolic images falls under this definition, such as, for example, the Christian cross, the Jewish star "Magen David", the Chinese yin-yang symbol, the Egyptian ankh, etc.
- Sacred architecture. In this case, we mean the buildings and buildings of the temple, monastic complexes and, in general, any buildings of a religious and mystical nature. Among them may be the most unpretentious examples, such as a canopy over a 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 performance of religious rites - liturgical chants, bhajans, accompaniment of musical instruments, etc. inspired by traditional sacred music, such as many new age samples.
There are other manifestations of sacred art. In fact, all of its fields - cooking, literature, tailoring and even fashion - can havesacred meaning.
In addition to art, such concepts and things as space, time, knowledge, texts and physical actions are endowed with the quality of sanctification.
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 old days of pagan dominion. Even today, many mountains, hills, glades, reservoirs and other natural objects have sacred significance. Often such places are marked 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 the place is associated with the worship of the invisible creatures living there - spirits, etc.
Another example of sacred space is a temple. Here, the determining factor of sacredness most often becomes not the holiness 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 visitation for the purpose of worship. In this case, the retribution of honors is carried out outside, in front of the temple. This was the case, for example, in ancient Greek religion. At the other extreme are Islamic mosques and Protestant prayer houses, which arespecialized halls for religious meetings and are intended more for man than for God. In contrast to the first type, where holiness is inherent in the temple space itself, here it is the fact of cult use that transforms any room, even the most ordinary, into a sacred place.
Time
A few words should also be said about the concept of sacred time. It's still more difficult here. On the one hand, its flow is often synchronous with normal everyday time. On the other hand, it is not subject to the action of physical laws, but is determined by the mystical life of a religious organization. A vivid example is the Catholic Mass, the content of which - the sacrament of the Eucharist - over and over again takes believers to the night of the last supper of Christ and the apostles. The time, marked by special holiness and otherworldly influence, also has 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 festivities or, conversely, days of mourning. Examples of both are Holy Week, Easter, Christmas time, solstice days, equinoxes, full moons, etc.
In any case, the sacred time organizes the ritual life of the cult, determines the order and frequency of the rituals.
Knowledge
Extremely popular at all times was the search for secret knowledge - 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 everythingsuch secrets belong 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 it is not only about confessional theology. Rather, science itself is meant, studying the world and the place of man in it on some supposed otherworldly revelation of deities.
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 writings are sacred, that is, they claim to be the conductors of knowledge from above. They seem to literally contain sacred words, not only the meaning of which, but also the form itself has a meaning. On the other hand, the semantics of the definition of sacredness makes it possible to include another type of literature in the circle of such texts - 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 be different - from absolute infallibility to dubious comments and author's fabrications. However, by the nature of the information contained in them, these are sacred texts.
Action
Sacred can be not only a specific object or concept, but alsotraffic. For example, what is a sacred act? This concept generalizes a wide range of gestures, dances and other physical movements that have a ritual, sacramental character. Firstly, these are liturgical events - the offering of a host, the burning of incense, blessings, etc. Secondly, these are actions aimed at changing the state of consciousness and transferring the internal focus to the otherworldly sphere. Examples are the already mentioned dances, asanas in yoga, or even simple rhythmic rocking of the body.
Thirdly, the simplest of the sacred actions are called upon to express a certain, most often prayerful, disposition of a person - arms folded on the chest or raised to the sky, the sign of the cross, bow, and so on.
The sacred meaning of physical actions is to separate, following the spirit, time and space, from the profane everyday life and elevate both the body itself and matter in general to the sacred realm. For this, in particular, water, housing and other items are consecrated.
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 that belong to the realm of the ideal, most important ideas of the person himself fall under this category. 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 this or thatanother 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.
