The Temples of India in The Black Books
Carl Jung Depth Psychology Facebook Group
Psychology of Yoga and Meditation
The Konark Sun Temple in Odisha (Bengal) is also referred to as the Black Pagoda. It was built in the thirteenth century in the shape of a giant chariot. The temple shows an abundance of sexual scenes and is said to have shocked European visitors. Lowell Thomas referred to it as “at the same time the most beautiful and the most obscene of Hindu Temples” (Thomas, 1930, p. 330). Jung visited the temple on 13 January 1938. In his note book “Excerpta” (vol. 7, p. 20) he gives a description of the temple [reproduced in Shamdasani (2012), p. 82]. ~Psychology Yoga Meditation, Vol. II, Page 22, fn 142
Jung follows his notes from his notebooks “Excerpta” (vol. 7, p. 26; JL): “On the summit of Observatory Hill near Darjeeling is a circular open space surrounded by a field thick with flagstaffs: The flags are block-printed” (Text with a horse carrying Cintamani). Cintamani=lapis. Phil. B.L. Atreya: Yoga-Vasistha. Adyar. p. 36″ [reproduced in Shamdasani (2012), p. 184]. ~Psychology Yoga Meditation Vol. V, Page 52, fn 206
In his note books “Excerpta,” (vol. 7, p. 18; JL) Jung described his visit to the Shakti temple in Trichur: “The temple is dedicated to Siva and Kali. Siva is perambulated on a carriage and always carried clockwise. Kali on the other hand is carried around in a circular fashion upon the lake in a boat, also clockwise. If the movement were counter-clockwise, this would be inauspicious” [reproduced in Shamdasani (2012), p. 180]. ~Psychology Yoga Meditation Vol. V, Page 52, fn 205
On the occasion of his visit of the Shakti temple in Trichur, Jung noted: “a so-called flagstaff (dhvâjastambha), a pillar divided into segments, standing on an altar and slightly curved at the top, bedecked with little bells at the upper end. These apparently depict the centers of the senses and the segmented pillars the spinal cord. But this is a great secret. All of this is related to the physiology of the body” (Jung’s copybook “Excerpta,” vol. 7, p. 18). See also Jung’s sketch of the flagstaff; reproduced in Shamdasani (2012), p. 180. ~Psychology of Yoga and Meditation, Vol. V, Page 55, Fn 210
In the seventh volume of the copybooks “Excerpta” (p. 15) Jung describes his visit to the Shakti Temple of Trichur: “Sakti Temple: Around the central garbahgrha is a cobbled path for circumambulation. A clockwise semi-circle is taken for Siva, then back again, and then the other semi-circle is taken counterclockwise for Sakti”‘ [reproduced in Shamdasani (2012), p. 179]. ~Psychology Yoga Meditation Vol. V, Page 58, fn 214
Mandalas found in monasteries and temples are of no particular significance…
Psychology and Alchemy (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.12)
In 1938, I had the opportunity, in the monastery of Bhutia Busty, near Darjeeling, of talking with a Lamaic rimposhe, Lingdam Gomchen by name, about the khilkor or mandala.
He explained it as a dmigs-pa (pronounced “migpa”), a mental image which can be built up only by a fully instructed lama through the power of imagination.
He said that no mandala is like any other, they are a individually different.
Also, he said , the mandalas to be found in monasteries and temps were of no particular significance because they were external representations only.
The true mandala is always an inner image, which is gradually built up through (active) imagination, at such times when psychic equilibrium is disturbed or when a though cannot be found and must be sought for, because it is not contained in holy doctrine.
The aptness of this explanation will become apparent in the course of my exposition.
The alleged free and individual formation of the mandala, however, should be taken with a considerable grain of salt, since in all Lamaic mandalas there predominates not only a certain unmistakable style but also a traditional structure.
For instance they are all based on a Quaternary system, a quadratura circuli, and their contents are invariably derived from Lamaic dogma.
There are texts, such as the Shri-Chakra-Sambhara Tentra, which contain direcctions for the construction of these “mental images.” ~Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, Paragraph 123
