The meaning of a temple from the spiritual viewpoint

Each religion has always built temples. We can understand temples on different levels, for example as centers of religious worship, as places of offering, as a representation in symbol or image of microcosm man or of the macrocosm, and as a foundation in the spiritual world. Here i shall focus on the meaning of a temple from the spiritual viewpoint.

Suppose that you are a traveler through the spiritual world and you approach the temple of a religion on earth. The temple in spirit world is the spiritual counterpart of a physical building and site. Everything in the temple built on earth has a significance in the spiritual world.

Normally, in the spiritual world, there will be several fences with gates that you have to pass. For a well-functioning temple, these gates are guarded by angels and sometimes by human spirits. You cannot just enter the inner quarters of such a temple in the spiritual world. You will be checked at these gates and important are the offerings you carry with you.

At each level of the temple, from outer to inner, more cleansing is needed of yourself and what you carry. Suppose that you brought with you an object that belongs to an other religion, something that is considered unsacred by the angels controlling this particular temple, then your entrance will be refused.

The meaning of each temple is based on what is contained in the most inner or most holy part of the temple. Here is visible what is the center of worship. Sometimes this is a person, a saint, a founder of the religion, sometimes these are the holy books of the religion, sometimes these are objects of creation such as rocks or golden objects or flowers or fruits, and often it will be a combination of these.

In each temple there are different rooms, always organized from outer to inner or from inner to outer. There usually is a kind of front court. The meaning of this from a spiritual viewpoint is that here the visitor must put off what is unsacred. It is a place of cleansing before entering the deeper parts of the temple. In the physical world, such a space could be where you put off your shoes, where you wash your hands and face, where you leave behind the things of the world and where you maybe put on sacred clothing that you need to wear to enter the real temple.

The next level would be a place where offerings are brought, burnt offerings such as candles and the burning of incense to cleanse the atmosphere. Sometimes in the physical world in some temples of the past, animals were ritually killed here and the blood needs to run symbolizing the purification of the offering. This next level could also be a place of meeting, a place of worship, a place of offering things of creation (money for example). In spirit world, this level of the temple is that which is permitted for entrance for common believers in the faith, after they have gone through a cleansing in the hall or front court of the temple.

The most inner level of the temple is only accessible to ordained priests. Also in the spiritual world, this place is restricted to some selected angels or humans spirits who must perform priest-like functions. The angels usually have tasks of protection of this sphere.

Most external principles for temples of worship under good spirits are similar to those temples built by evil angels. There exist temples for worship of evil. In the center of such a temple in spirit world, fallen angels and fallen priests are serving.

The most inner level of God's Temple is where God's Spirit dwells. God's Spirit can come here when all the conditions for the temple are kept well, meaning that only believers and objects are allowed in the temple who and which are purified and sanctified.

The building of a central temple in a religion is first of all a spiritual accomplishment and it has tremendous importance. It needs a foundation of believers. In God's world, that foundation is called 'The Foundation to Receive the Messiah.' A temple for God is a place of power for God, a place from where God's ideal can be expanded. It cannot be built without an adequate foundation and once established, must be protected. As it is the center of the religion, if it would get invaded by evil in spirit world, it would not last in the physical world. An example for this is the temple of the Israelites that still existed in the time of Jesus, but that got destroyed about 40 years after Jesus' crucifixion.

Image:
Model of Second Temple made by Michael Osnis from Kedumim -From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Model_of_Second_Temple_made_by_Michael_Osnis_from_Kedumim_1.jpg

Some details about the relationship between the spirit self and the physical self

The Divine Principle explains that there exists a relationship between the spirit self and the physical self. Both the spirit self and the physical self have a mind and a body, the mind being internal to the body in an external position. The spirit self has a spirit mind and a spirit body and the physical self has a physical mind and a physical body.

Certain elements pass from the spirit self to the physical self and vice versa. The elements of the spirit self that nourish the physical self are called life elements, the elements of the physical self that go to the spirit self are called vitality elements.

What are these life elements and vitality elements and how do they enter and influence the spirit self and the physical self? Life elements and vitality elements can be understood as specific energies. The connection between the spiritual reality and the physical reality is through energy. There are specific energies that influence our existence on its different levels.

To understand better how the spirit self and physical self can influence each other we must introduce the concept of chakras. Chakras are energy constructions that make our minds and bodies function on the level of energy. For example, in the body is a blood circulation system and a nerve system. In addition to that and other systems of the body, there is an energy system of chakras and energy channels.

Chakras have several functions. They are motors for energy, they are gates for energy, and they are reservoirs for energy. Each trait that a person has is stored in the form of energies in the chakras in combination with the energy channels.

Chakras are not only part of the spirit body. Also the physical body has chakras, the same as the spirit body. When, for example, a spirit makes use of the body of another person in the physical world, the chakras of that spirit merge to a certain degree with the chakras of the body of the physical person. Also memories of the spirit can enter the body of that physical person. This is a process that works better depending on several factors. For example, some people have bodies of which the chakras don't work very well. In that case it is very difficult for a spirit to make use of such a body. Also when the body of a physical person is better equipped, it still takes time and effort for a spirit to enter a body and bring in all his or her energies and memories.

In a normal situation there is a constant exchange of energies between the spirit self and the physical self. Depending on what the person desires, thinks, feels, plans and acts, the elements that are being exchanged are of a higher or a lower value. For example, if a person lives a life more centered on physical values, the physical mind and body attract energies of a lower vibration and these energies can clog the connection between the spirit self and the physical self.

If a person lives a life centered on God, he or she will attract good energies. These energies will be stored both in the physical self and the spiritual self. This is how a person can nourish the spirit with good vitality elements and feed the physical self with good life elements. The process of exchanging on the life- and vitality elements is a continuous one.

In a normal situation, the person's good spiritual self is guided by God's love and truth and other good energies existing in the spiritual world. For example, good angels can inspire people or we can be feel good when we come in a good spiritual atmosphere. When the spirit self controls the physical self in such a way that the person lives in accordance with these good inspirations from God, the physical self is inspired with good life elements, the physical self will blossom because it is being fed with love and truth in the form of life elements that the spirit self gives to the physical self.

All these elements, all these energies are primarily exchanged in the chakras, but also in other parts of the body because there exist many chakras in different parts of the body. For example, there also are chakras in the hands and the feet.

Because everything was created from God's love and energy, God's love and energy should play the dominant role in all these processes. Because of the fall, also false love and harmful energies have come into the spirit self and the physical self of most people. Another problem resulting from the fall is when people forgot about their spiritual existence. In that case the lack of awareness of the spiritual self causes that the spiritual self is not fed anymore with vitality elements from the body and also not anymore with God's life elements of love and truth.