The Holy Grail

THE HOLY GRAIL

What is the Holy Grail in reality? What is it about it that is able to hold people's imagination with so much force and persistence? What is it about it that is able to induce men to abandon all else in its quest? The idea of a chalice is not new to humanity and it was to be found in the folklore of the peoples of Europe even before they were converted to Christianity. The Grail itself only became a Christian symbol as a result of a conscious attempt by some medieval writers as mentioned above. Drawings of the chalice have been found in the caves of early man and it is also an important symbol in Greek philosophy where it was considered to be a bowl in which the Creator mixed the elements of life. The symbol of the cup was therefore, known to many races but why was this symbol so universal? Could this vessel be something that exists independently in Creation, to which each tribe had access? In almost every tribe it has been associated with power, with knowledge, with cosmology and even with the origin of life. Could this symbol be universal just like the stories about the fairies has been universal? Through studying the legends we get a picture of the characteristics of the Grail.

It was associated with purity and required that its guardians be the purest of men. Failures in the ranks of its guardians led to catastrophes as we see in the picture of the Waste land. It was also associated with blessings. It brought undreamed-of blessings to those who served it as portrayed in the peace and happiness that characterised the land when its service was pure. It was also an object of worship as many came from distant lands to worship through it. In fact in one of the legends it was during this time that the high priest failed when he happened to have looked lustfully at a maiden whose dress was torn when she came to worship. The lance fell on him as a result giving him the wound.

The Grail was therefore considered to be a spiritual object more so as it had the power to veil itself from humanity's gaze when there was no longer purity among the people. It was also an object that had the power to impart youth and even eternal life as long as one was able to eat of the wafer that came from it and as long as one was able to gaze into it. Because of these qualities, its withdrawal or the inability of its guardians to perform its service led to widespread disaster. Its blessings no longer flowed, the knights grew old, some died and the land became a desert thereby specifying also its effects on Nature. The natural harmony in everything even family life was disrupted as we see in the work of Chrétien when he said that ladies would lose their husbands and so on. To uphold its service was therefore, of the greatest importance if there was to be peace and plenty.

The failure of the fisher king or Anfortas as he came to be called by Wolfram or Amfortas as Wagner referred to him who was the first guardian led however, directly to these disasters. The reasons for their failures or inability to serve the Grail may differ depending on the version studied, but the effects are the same. Closely considered, Wagner's version seemed to be the most logical. Examining Chrétien's work, though left unfinished led to more questions than answers nor do the "continuations" of the work fully resolve the mystery in a satisfactory way. Chrétien claimed that the fisher king was wounded in the thighs by a javelin and the only cure for him was for a stranger to appear in the castle and ask some questions unprovoked. Parsifal failed to ask the questions, the king was not cured and as a result could not rule his land in the proper manner leading to famine and other natural disasters.

The failure of Parsifal therefore, led directly to all these disasters and the king himself is absolved of all blame. Parsifal's failure is in turn attributed to a sin he had committed against his mother in having left her against her will. This sin prevented him from asking these questions. Parsifal therefore, takes all the blame for the king's inability to serve the Grail. But then Chrétien did not explain the significance of the Grail nor did he as such attribute abundance in the land to the pure worship of the Grail. The blessings on the land depended on the king' ability to rule the land in a justified way. How that burden now came to fall on Parsifal is far from clear nor was there any supplication for help from the king which would probably have led to a prophecy of a helper.

Chrétien's work is so disjointed that it is very difficult to make a logical appraisal and part of the problem may have been the fact that the work was left unfinished. What we can conclude is that the Grail according to his work was in a way associated with a miraculous cure for the king because Parsifal had to ask the question "Whom does one serve with the Grail?" This question about the Grail held the cure for the king and only Parsifal could pose this question. The power of the Grail in bringing blessings on the land was therefore, associated in an indirect way with the healing of the king through a question asked about it by Parsifal. Therefore, the Grail was indispensable to the prosperity of the land. The Grail still holds it central place in its ability to make the land prosperous through making its ruler whole.

The ruler's physical well-being therefore, was impossible without the Grail and Parsifal held the key to it. Nobody else could ask the question, only he. The prosperity of the land therefore, depended entirely on Parsifal and the Grail and this thread we see in most of the stories. What may be illogical is the issue of sin transference. We know that his mother was unhappy but Parsifal left with her approval as she had given him advice and had told him to go to Arthur's court. How then could he be carrying a sin he had not committed.

Much of what has been said above will also apply to Wolfram's work. The only significant difference was that as has already been mentioned he considered the Grail to be a stone rather than a chalice. Much of the blame for the catastrophes was to be taken by Parsifal. Wolfram however, went further and placed his work in a prophetic context for he mentioned that the agony of the king was so great that the brothers in the realm prayed to God for a deliverer and a prophecy that a knight would come and he would ask the relevant questions on his own accord, (the king would be healed as a result and would be succeeded by him), appeared on the Grail stone. The predicted deliverer appeared however, failed and the kingdom became a waste land. He however, after many years found his way, asked the questions, restores the king's health and becomes king himself.

The same difficulty is encountered as to how Parsifal could take on blame for what he had not done. The Grail, though considered to be a stone still held the same characteristics of restoring the kingdom as long as Parsifal asked the right questions. Its spiritual origin was undoubted as it was said to have come from heaven through angels who were neutral when war broke out between God and Lucifer. Chrétien did not specify the origin of the Grail, but dealt only with its qualities. Wolfram's inconsistencies could be borne out by the fact that it is difficult to explain a situation where Parsifal, the knight who had been predicted to heal the king would already be coming with a burden of guilt on his shoulders. In that case he could not have been pure enough to serve the Grail, as the Grail required the purest of men to serve it.

With Wagner, Amfortas took the blame for everything as his failure to serve the Grail was his own fault and this failure led directly to calamities even the death of his own father. Here we have an almost perfect work with not too many loop holes. The prayers of the brotherhood, combined with that of Amfortas led to a promise of a helper. This helper would be sent by God to help deliver Amfortas from his pains. Wagner's works also suffers from this problem of always burdening Parsifal with some kind of guilt. Parsifal's own guilt however (that of abandoning his mother) did not prevent him from asking the relevant questions as he asked the old knight Gurnemanz what the Grail was. The question however, was not important as it was not relevant to the king's well being.

The king's well-being depended on his being able to serve the Grail unblemished free from pain, from his wounds. Where Parsifal contributed to the death of Titurel and the development of the waste land was in his getting lost and not finding his way to the castle early enough. But he was not to blame for that as this was due to the curse of Kundry on him. Therefore, looked at critically Parsifal, even in Wagner's play had no guilt as he was not really responsible for the death of Titurel. He lost his way not of his own accord but as a result of some measure of fate. He still had a burden of guilt on him however, as Wagner insinuated that he had left home against the will of his mother thereby continuing in the vein of Chrétien and Wolfram.

It could be assumed that Wagner still introduced this theme to make way for the scene between him and Kundry where she would attempt to use this against him in an attempt to break down his defences. But as mentioned above, Parsifal could not have been guilty of leaving against his mother's will as he was given leave by her and even got some good advice from her. In Wagner's work we see the direct effect of the Grail itself. In earlier works it had been indirect and depended on the healing powers it would have if the right questions were asked about it. Here the Grail itself was the central symbol with its hero Parsifal.

Its proper service had led to blessings undreamed-of but when its first guardian failed as a result of his own guilt we also saw the consequences of its direct neglect. The failure to uncover the Grail had disastrous consequences. These consequences has nothing to do with Parsifal as he had not caused the Grail not to be uncovered even though Wagner still tried to imply this in the delay Parsifal suffered when he lost his way although due to no fault of his. The healing of Amfortas depended not on questions about the Grail but according to Wagner through pity, through knowing. The healing of Amfortas and consequently the service of the Grail depended on the personal involvement of Parsifal.

It is difficult to understand what Wagner meant by those words just by reading or hearing them but as the play unfolded one was forced to conclude that Parsifal would have through his own experiences come to know what the problem with Amfortas was. He had to follow the same road as Amfortas did, he had to be exposed to the same temptations and through his own experiences realise what exactly had befallen the Grail kingdom. On kissing Kundry he shouted "Amfortas! The wound! The wound!" revealing that he had received the knowledge and as such the solution to all the problems. The Grail would never fail to release its blessings as long as there was somebody to uncover it. Amfortas, in blind pain had at last defied everybody and refused utterly to serve the Grail because as long as he continued to look into the Grail he would never die thereby making his pain eternal. He therefore, by this refusal wished for death.

He was ready to take everybody with him as the consequences of this refusal to uncover the Grail is a slow death for everybody as happened with his father. Having won the holy spear back in a grievous battle with Kundry and Klingsor, Parsifal now set to look for Amfortas. The Grail, in Wagner's work received one of the most beautiful treatments and was certainly a vessel of the greatest spiritual significance. The power that emanated from it led to the greatest reverence and worship as could be seen from the attitude of the knights. It was an independently radiating vessel whose light outshone the surrounding lights, a characteristic also mentioned in Chrétien's work.

Now the question is, could such an object of such spiritual significance be of earthly origin? Could it really be the cup that was used by Jesus during the last supper and in which His blood was later collected? Though this vessel could be considered as sacred since it was associated with Jesus but could that cup of the last supper be the cup that could hold men in such rapture? As mentioned above, diagrams of the chalice have been seen in caves of ancient men and the chalice was certainly known even before the advent of Christianity and was only adopted as a Christian symbol only relatively recently in the Middle Ages. Why did the Greeks consider it as the matrix of Creation? Why this consistency in its association with power, blessings, purity and service? These are questions that have not been resolved.

The Grail has also many times been associated with Paradise as can be seen in the earlier works on the Grail legend. Because the chalice or the Grail was already known even before the advent of Christianity, the idea that it was the cup, which Jesus used during the last supper is already out of the question. That single fact alone completely disqualifies this concept. That cup of the last supper moreover was a physical cup, which in any case over time would have to decay, a concept totally inconceivable with the Grail. The legends surely did not convey the idea of a cup that would age and decay. In addition how could a cup, which was supposed to impart eternal life itself decay which would in the natural course of events would have to happen.

Some might say that since it had been associated with Jesus then it at the same time acquired the quality of remaining eternal. Lofty as this idea may sound, it did not detract from the fact that in the end this cup was a physical one whereas the actual Grail from what one can garner from the legends is spiritual. It even had the power to conceal itself from the gazes of sinners. It is difficult to accept that any physical cup had that quality.

What then is the Grail? In the book "In the Light of Truth" the Grail Message by Abd-ru-shin, we read "At the summit of the eternal sphere of Spiritual Substantiality stands the Castle of the Grail, spiritually visible and tangible, because it is still of the same species of spiritual substantiality. This Castle of the Grail contains a Sanctuary which lies on the outermost border adjacent to the Divine Sphere, and is thus of still finer consistency than the rest of spiritual substantiality. In this Sanctuary, as a pledge of the eternal Goodness of God the Father, as a symbol of His Purest Divine Love, and the point from which Divine Power issues, stands the Holy Grail! This is a chalice in which it bubbles and surges unceasingly like red blood without overflowing. Enveloped as it is in the most Luminous Light, it is granted only to the purest of all spirits in the Realm of Spiritual Substantiality to look into this Light! These are Guardians of the Holy Grail!"

The Holy Grail according to this book lies at the summit of the spiritual creation. This would identify the Grail as a spiritual object, a view, which is consistent with the legends where the Grail had been associated with Paradise.

The Grail therefore has a spiritual origin but more than that it has its origin at the summit of this realm. As we find in the legends, the Grail always resides in a castle called the Grail castle and this would be consistent with what Abd-ru-shin says of the Holy Grail occupying a sanctuary called the Castle of the Grail. Abd-ru-shin gives a clue as to why the Grail had been associated with power and with blessings when he referred to it as the point from which Divine Power issues. This Divine Power that issues from it is what is responsible for the blessings and the immense effect it has on people. The Holy Grail therefore, has its origin in the spiritual realm and only the purest from this realm are allowed to be its guardians. If the Holy Grail therefore has its origin at such height, a height as we are told in religion that no sin can ever enter, a realm synonymous with Paradise, how then are we to explain the failure of the fisher king or Amfortas or whatever we may want to call him.

If the guardians are the purest of spirits, then it is impossible for them to fail. If therefore, no sin can ever enter into Paradise, why this apparent contradiction because as mentioned above, if the paradisal realm is perfect and as indeed it should be, then there could be no question of a failing of its first guardian. Certainly not at that point where Divine Power issues. Certainly such a place cannot be transformed to be a waste land. Paradise cannot from what we know so far about it be transformed into a waste land as a result of the failure of its first priest. This cannot be explained away by saying that after all Adam and Eve failed in Paradise.

This is also one of the inconsistencies that characterise the human story. Adam and Eve could not have failed either in Paradise as no sin could ever enter into this. We would divert a little and say that there could have been no question of a failure of an Adam and Eve because their expulsion from Paradise was not a consequence of any failure for the reasons already mentioned. If they were expelled from Paradise it would have been for quite different and much more plausible reasons, not a failure which was impossible in any case. Please see the lecture "The Development of Creation" in the book "In the Light of Truth", The Grail Message by Abd-ru-shin.

If therefore, no sin could ever be found in the spiritual Grail, which Grail was then referred to by the legends? We quote again from Abd-ru-shin's book "If it is said in the legends that the purest of men are destined to become Guardians of the Grail, this is a point about which the blessed poet has drawn all too earthly a picture, because he was unable to express himself differently! No human spirit can enter this holy Sanctuary! Even in its most perfect state of spiritual substantiality, after having returned from its wanderings through the World of Matter, it is still not so fine that it could cross this threshold, i.e., the boundary line! ... The Guardians of the Grail are Eternal Primordial Spiritual Beings, who were never human beings. They are the highest of all in the Realm of Spiritual Substantiality."

Fallible human beings therefore were never guardians of the Holy Grail. The actual Guardians of the Grail were higher spiritual creatures described as Primordial Beings. We read further "There actually is a Castle where an Amfortas dwelt, who for a time was considered the first guardian there. In this castle there is a vessel called the "Grail", which is faithfully guarded by the knights.

It was indeed there that Amfortas actually met his downfall, and where a great helper was promised. But this happened neither on earth nor in the high Light Castle of Primordial Creation! The Castle which is revealed there (where Amfortas was) is even today still to be found as the highest point on a plane in which the Created Beings have their field of activity towards the developed ones. In their purest volition and worship of God, they possess only an imitation of the Light Castle. This Light Castle radiates down from the highest place in Primordial Creation and as the actual Castle of the Holy Grail, also forms the exit gate from the Divine Sphere of Radiation." The actual Grail was therefore not referred to in the legends but only an imitation present in material creation although at its summit.

It is only at this place, which already is part of the material sphere can imperfection enter and the first guardian fail. Never could this failure happen for purely logical reasons in the actual Grail Castle where its Guardians were perfect spiritual creatures, not fallible human beings. The guardians of the Castle where Amfortas was once active where human beings and this would explain their fallibility. The legends were therefore happenings, which a few writers were able to receive through inspiration and set down. Inevitably however, their imagination crept in which led to inconsistencies and variations depending on how big a role the imagination played.

We have therefore, made mention of two Grails: the actual Grail, which lies at the summit of the spiritual realm and an imitation of the first, which lies lower down in material creation. The first is the actual real Grail, the point from which divine Power issues. It has its actual existence in a place where no sin can enter. This fact eliminates the possibility that an Amfortas could have met his downfall in such a place. The second is an imitation of the first, present in material creation although at its height, where evil is already to some extent established and it must have been at this lower lying imitation that Amfortas met with his downfall.

What does the Grail signify however? We have already examined what the legends say about it. Let us however, go a bit further. The Grail signifies more than what we have hitherto been able to depict. The Greeks as mentioned above have associated it with the matrix of Creation and to almost all peoples who have been able to divine it, was regarded as a symbol of immense power. Abd-ru-shin in his book as was already mentioned also says that it is the point from which Divine Power issues.

Could this explain why without the proper service of the Grail during the time that it was left uncovered in Wagner's work or during the time when supposedly Parsifal fails to ask the question, the land becomes wasted and the guardians' bodies degenerated? Denied of this power, the land could no longer regenerate. The knights too who depended on this power for their sustenance also slowly shrank away. Looking at the legends, one could conclude that everything in the realm depended on the Grail including even the natural world.

The rivers, plants, animals even the lives of people, family life and so on. Could it be that being denied the power that issues from the Grail was being denied the Power that issues from God? At least this was how the writers of the legends perceived it. For those who believe in God, Nature and everything in it depends on His Power. Could this Power be equivalent or identical to that which issues from the Grail? Why do calamities arise when the realm was denied the Grail?

Why does the place become a desert? Why do rivers no longer flow? Are these stories to be dismissed only as legends and sagas or be seen as a reflection of what actually takes place? We quote again from Abd-ru-shin "From time to time on the Day of the Holy Dove, the Dove appears above the Chalice as a renewed token of the unalterable Divine Love of the Father. It is the hour of communion, which brings about the renewal of power. The Guardians of the Grail receive in humble devotion and can then transmit this magic power. On this depends the existence of the whole Creation! It is the moment in which the Love of the Creator radiantly flows forth in the Temple of the Holy Grail, bringing new life and a new urge to create, pulsating downwards and diffusing itself through all the Universe. A trembling and a holy awe, with forebodings of joy and great happiness, vibrate through all the spheres. Only the spirit of earthman still stands aside, without intuitively sensing what is happening particularly to him at that moment; or in what a dull-witted manner he accepts such an immeasurable gift....It is the moment when a new supply of vital energy is sent out into the entire Creation! It is the necessary, ever-recurring ratification of the Covenant between the Creator and His Work! Should this supply ever be cut off, should it ever fail to come, inevitably all that exists would slowly dry up, grow old and disintegrate. The end of all days would then come, and only God Himself would remain, as it was in the beginning, because He alone is Life!"

The Grail legends therefore, may not be seen or dismissed just as sagas or stories but may well represent a particular reality of life. Abd-ru-shin's description here uncannily resemble what the legends themselves have depicted about the Grail. Life-giving, source of power and an object held in awe and worship. An object that showers blessings on those who recognise it. An object through which power is given to the lands for their renewal and regeneration and without which they would be turned to waste. This object therefore could not possibly have been the cup which Jesus and His disciples used for the Last Supper. This cup is more.

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