Down the years, Egypt has come to become synonymous with the majestic, towering pyramids. They are not only religious monuments, but a true representative of the royal Egyptian culture. They not only house mummies, but are true works of art and architectural wonders. The symbolism of pyramids, that is, what can be deciphered from pyramids, has remained the subject of much discussion and debate over the years.
Egyptologists are of the opinion that the smooth-sided pyramid, also referred to as the true pyramid, was a solar symbol. The smooth steep sides are believed to signify the rays of the Sun reaching the earth. This theory thus propagates that the pyramid’s capstone, benbenet, is a solar icon or ‘Sun-stone’.
A variant of this theory of symbolism of pyramids propagates that the true pyramid was actually a creational symbol, with its capstone, benbenet, symbolizing, in implicit terms, the insemination of the sky. The perpetrators of this theory argue that the Pyramid’s shape encoded the mystery of the creation, and conveyed the entire story in a single hieroglyph.
A pyramid usually has a quadrangular base. The steep sides of the pyramid gradually tapers to the highest point of the pyramid, the summit. This point symbolizes the Principle or Primordial Unity, from which the manifestation of our surrounding world is believed to be radiating. The symbolism of the pyramid, as depicted by the shape, goes beyond this. The true sense of this ascension consists of the idea of being reborn to the Principle we all originate from. This ascension is conceptualized to transcend the individual from its human or sensitive state back to a supra-individual or supra-sensitive state, from the manifested world to the non-manifested Principle, from the terrestrial to the celestial world, from the scattered cosmic vision to the unitary or metaphysical vision.
The spiritual development of a human being is manifested in the edifice. Each step of the pyramid stands for the steps to be climbed by a man in the course of his spiritual development. The topmost point signifies an integration of the scattered corners of our life. It signifies the marks the transcend of an individual from an individual to a supraindividual being, from specific to universal.
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