What is the "sacred": the meaning and interpretation of the word. Sacred knowledge. Sacred place

The end of the XX - the beginning of the XXI 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 sun of foreign spirituality, unknown before, rose above the Russian world. American evangelism, oriental cults, various occult schools in the past quarter century had a profound roots in Russia. It had also positive sides - today more and more people think about the spiritual dimension of their life and seek to harmonize it with a higher, sacred meaning. Therefore, it is very important to understand what is a sacral, beyond-limit dimension of being.

Etymology of the word

There is the word "sacral" from the Latin sacralis, which means "sacred". The basis of the sac, apparently, goes back to the primordial 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 into it a tinge of purposefulness of such 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 special higher service or use in connection with cult practices. The Jewish "Kadosh" has a similar meaning - holy, sanctified, sacred. If we are talking about God, the word "sacral" is the definition of the otherness of the Supreme, his transcendence in relation to the world. Accordingly, as associated with this transcendence, any subject dedicated to God is endowed with a quality of sacredness, that is, sacredness.

Spheres of the sacral

Its area can be extremely wide. Especially in our time - in the boom of the heyday of experimental science the sacral meaning is given at times to the most unexpected things, for example, to erotica. From ancient times we know sacred animals and sacred places. There have been in history, however, they are still conducted today, sacred wars. But what does sacral political system mean, we have already forgotten.

Sacral 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 sacral art is? The main thing is to learn that its purpose is either the transfer of sacred knowledge, or in the service of the cult. In light of this, it becomes clear why sometimes a picture can be equated, say, with a sacred scripture. It is not the nature of the craft that is important, but the purpose of 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 can be identified the following:

- Sacred painting. This means works of art of a religious nature and / or purpose, for example, icons, statues, mosaics, bas-reliefs, etc.

- Sacred geometry. Under this definition, the entire layer of symbolic images is covered, such as the Christian cross, the Jewish star "Magen David," the Chinese symbol of yin-yang, the Egyptian Ankh, and so on.

- Sacred architecture. In this case we mean buildings and buildings of temple, monastery complexes and in general, any constructions of religious and mysterious character. Among them there may be the most unpretentious samples like a canopy over a holy well or very imposing monuments such as the Egyptian pyramids.

- Sacred music. As a rule, this means religious music, performed during worship services and religious rituals - liturgical chants, bhajans, accompaniment of musical instruments, etc. In addition, sometimes sacral music is called non-service musical works related to the sphere of transcendence, or created Based on traditional spiritual music, as, for example, many samples of new age.

There are other manifestations of sacred art. In fact, all of its areas - cooking, literature, sewing clothes and even fashion - can have a sacred 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

Under the space in this case, we can mean two things - a concrete building and a sacred place, not necessarily associated with buildings. An example of the latter can serve as sacred groves, which were very popular in the old days of pagan sovereignty. Many mountains, hills, glades, water bodies and other natural objects have a sacred significance today. Often, such places are designated by 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 reverence for the place is associated with the worship of the invisible beings that dwell there - spirits, etc.

Another example of a sacred space is a temple. Here the determining factor of the sacredness is most often not the sanctity of the place itself, but the ritual character of the structure itself. Depending on religion, the functions of the temple may vary slightly. For example, somewhere this is entirely the house of the deity, which is not meant for folk visiting for the purpose of worship. The rewards of honors are made in this case from outside, in front of the temple. So it was, for example, in the ancient Greek religion. At the other extreme are Islamic mosques and Protestant prayer houses, which are specialized halls for religious gatherings and are meant 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 cultic 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 complicated here. On the one hand, its flow is often synchronous with the usual everyday time. On the other hand, it is not subject to the action of physical laws, but is determined by the mysterious life of religious organization. A vivid example is the Catholic Mass, the content of which is the sacrament of the Eucharist - which brings believers on the night of the secret supper of Christ and the apostles. The time is also of sacred significance, marked by a special holiness and otherworldly influence. These are some sections of the cycles of the day, week, month, year, etc. In culture, they often take the form of festivals or, conversely, days of sorrow. Examples of both can be Holy Week, Easter, Christmas, Solstice, Equinox, Full Moon, etc.

In any case, the sacred time organizes the ritual life of the cult, determines the order and periodicity of the rites.

Knowledge

Extremely popular at all times was the search for secret knowledge - some secret information that promised its owners the most dizzy blessings - power over the whole world, the elixir of immortality, superhuman strength and the like. Although all such secrets refer to inmost knowledge, they are not always, strictly speaking, sacred. More likely just secret and mysterious. Sacred knowledge is information about the other world, the abode of gods and beings of higher order. The simplest example is theology. And it's not just confessional theology. Implied rather the science itself, studying on some supposed otherworldly revelation of deities, the world and place in it of man.

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 vehicles of knowledge from above. They seem to contain in a literal sense sacred words, not only the meaning of which, but the very form is important. On the other hand, the own semantics of the definition of sacredness makes it possible to include in the circle of such texts another type of literature - the works of outstanding teachers of spirituality, such as the Talmud, Elena Petrovna Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine or the books of Alice Baileys, quite popular in modern esoteric circles. The authority of such works of literature can be different - from absolute infallibility to questionable comments and authorial fabrications. Nevertheless, according to the nature of the information contained in them, these are sacred texts.

Act

The sacred can be not only a particular object or concept, but also a movement. For example, what is a sacred action? This concept generalizes a wide range of gestures, dances and other physical movements that have a ritual, sacramental character. First, it is liturgical activities-the offering of a guest, the burning of incense, blessing, etc. Secondly, these are actions aimed at changing the state of consciousness and transferring the inner focus to the realm of the beyond. Examples are already mentioned dances, asanas in yoga, or even a simple rhythmic swinging of the body.

Thirdly, the simplest of the sacred actions are designed to express a certain, most often prayerful, arrangement of a person - folded on the chest or arms thrown up to the sky, a sign of the cross, a bow and so on.

The sacred meaning of physical actions is to follow the spirit, time and space from the profane daily routine and elevate both the body itself and the matter in general to the sacred realm. For this, in particular, water, shelter and other items are consecrated.

Conclusion

As can be seen from all of the above, the concept of sanctity is present wherever there is a person or the concept of the other world. But often those things fall into this category, which belong to the field of ideal, most important representations of the person himself. Indeed, what is sacred, as not love, family, honor, devotion and the like principles of social relations, and if more deeply - the characteristics of the inner content of the individual? Hence it follows that the sacredness of an object is determined by the degree of its difference from the profane, that is, guided by the instinctive and emotional beginnings, of the world. At the same time, this separation can arise and be expressed both in the external world and in the internal world.