Kolbrin - The Book of gleanings - Chpt 1 Maya and Lila.

We have now finished the all important first book which compares to our Genesis.  It is also apparent that much of Genesis was informed by this material but that it was heavily edited likely out of an inability to properly translate, perhaps by Moses.  He did after all have access to Egyptian texts and certainly the Kolbrin claims to have a partial Egyptian attribution.

Please note that the struggle toward light is the spiritual journey we are all on.

We now start a collection of folk stories or legends that firstly set out to explain mankind's fall from a well ordered culture into barbarism.  This is blamed on a specific woman  and much is made of this in the first chapter.  I find it interesting that an ideal society can be imagined and that its downfall so well engineered.

THE BOOK OF GLEANINGS

Being writings from Various Old Culdee books which were partially destroyed in Ancient Times.

Chapter 1 - MAYA AND LILA

Chapter 2 - ELOMA

Chapter 3 - THE FLOOD OF ATUMA

Chapter 4 - THE DELUGE

Chapter 5 - THE BIRTH OF HURMANETAR

Chapter 6 - THE COMPANIONSHIP OF YADOL

Chapter 7 - THE DEATH OF YADOL

Chapter 8 - HURMANETAR JOURNEYS TO THE NETHERWORLD

Chapter 9 -ASARUA

Chapter 10 - THE DEATH OF HURMANETAR

Chapter 11 - THE TEACHINGS OF YOSIRA

Chapter 12 - THE RULE OF YOSIRA

Chapter 13 - THE WAY OF YOSIRA

Chapter 14 - THE TRIBULATIONS OF YOSIRA

Chapter 15 - THE VOICE OF GOD

Chapter 16 - THE SPIRIT OF GOD

Chapter 17 - THE SONG OF THE SOUL 

CHAPTER ONE

MAYA AND LILA

This was formerly called The Book of Conception and said to be The First Book of the Bronzebook. It concerns man's conception of The True God in olden days, during the struggle back towards the light.

Once all men were dark and hairy and in those days woman was tempted by the strength and wildness of the beast which dwelt in the forest, and the race of man was defiled again.

Therefore, the Spirit of God was wrathful against woman, for hers was the responsibility to reject the beast within and without, that she might bring forth children of the light to walk in the light; for in man there is beast and god, and the god walks in light and the beast walks in darkness.

Now, because of the wickedness that was done, there are among men those who are the Children of the Beast, and they are a different people. The race of man alone was punished, for the beast acted according to its nature.

In man the beast and god strive to decide whether he shall take his place among the gods that live or the beasts that die, and woman, in her weakness, betrayed him to the beast.

Men struggle daily with the beast and wrest their living from the soil, their day being encompassed with strife and toil. So women bring forth children with suffering, and because they are frail their husbands rule over them.

Man is conceived in the womb of woman and she brings him forth to life. Therefore, when God raised man up from among the beasts, choosing him as His heir and endowing him with an immortal spirit. He placed a veil over the portals of life. This, that woman should not forget she is unlike all other living creatures and the trustee of a divine mission. For a woman not only gives life to a mortal being, she also bears a spark of divinity to Earth, and there can be no greater responsibility.

The eye that sees earthly things is deceitful, but the eye that sees spiritual things is true. Then, because of the things that happened, the Great Eye that saw Truth was closed and henceforth man walked in falsity. Unable to perceive Truth he saw only that which deceived him, and so it shall be until his awakening.

Not knowing God, man worshipped Earth who mothered him and supplied his needs. God was not displeased, for such is the nature of children; but when no longer children they must put aside childish things. Nor, having blinded them, was He wrathful that they could not see, for God is, above all else understanding. The face of a good father is stem and his ways are hard, for fatherly duty is no light burden, but his heart is ruled by compassion. His children walk in Truth and uprightness, their feet do not wander, nor are they willful and wayward.

Man is bom of mud, sun and Spirit. In the days of conception the Spirit of God impregnated the receptive Earth, and she brought forth her children. Then came man who walked like a little child, but God took him in hand and taught him to walk in the uprightness of God.

A race of men came out of the cold northlands. They were under a wise father and above them was The Grand Company which later withdrew in disgust. This race was The Children of God; they knew Tmth and lived in the midst of peace and plenty. The Children of Men about them were wild and savage; clothed in the skins of beasts they lived like beasts. Even more wild were the Men of Zumat who lived beyond them. Among the Children of God woman had equality with man, for her counsels were known to be wise. She heard with understanding and her speech was considered; in those days her words were weighed, for then her tongue did not rattle in her head like seed in a dried pod.

Woman knew that though man could subdue her with his strength, he was weak in his desire for her. In his weakness lay her power and in those days it was used wisely, it was the foundation of people. The race was good, but because of its goodness it was destined to be smitten, for only the good vessel is worthy of the fire. It is bumt, that its shape may be set and its design endure. This path of peace is not the path of progress.

  

The people were not governed by princes or by statutes, but wise men sat in council. They had only a code of conduct and moral tradition binding each one to the others in symmetrical web of life. Those who transgressed the code and tradition were deemed to be unworthy of life among the people and were banished into exile. Among The Children of Men woman was a chattel. She was subject to man, an object for the satisfaction of his lust and the servant to supply his needs. He subdued her and kept her in servitude, for her betrayal of man was known even among them, and it was never forgotten, nor could it be forgiven.

The Children of God valued woman highly and protected her from crudeness and cruelty, and her standing was such that she was awarded only to the most worthy of men. They held her in respect, for to them she was the fountain of life within their race, the designer of its future. Yet even so they had to restrict her, for she was inclined to be wilftil and unheeding of her responsibility.

The people flourished and, from generation to generation, grew in stature and comeliness. They were the rising tidewaters of mankind surging towards its destiny. The right of a man to mate was decided according to his standard of thought, his uprightness, the manner in which he upheld the code and tradition and his dealings with man and woman. The fittest men could choose a mate among all woman, but lesser men could seek only among the less desirable, according to a known standard. To some, having only the outward appearance of men, no mate was given, while the noblest men could take additional ones from among the ranks of lesser women. Thus, the race ever tended to improve, to accord with its design. 

[  Unbelievable but this is an effective doctrine for breeding up quality stock.  If our natural communities set a similar system the effects would be seriously beneficial and not just in terms of breeding success. - arclein ]

The council of the people knew well the strength of man's desire for woman. The force of the urge was not wasted, for their forbears had harnessed it to the vehicle which carried their race to greatness above others. The race which could properly channel the forces contained within itself was ready to control the forces beyond itself. The greatest forces man can harness to his benefit are those lying within himself, but the underlying strength of the people lay in the morality of its women, for this was the strength that governed, because it was the safe guard for something of value.

  Men strive for gold, and value it because it is something not easily attained. If gold would be gathered by the handful, men would scorn it, its power is in its scarcity.

Then it happened that one man became arrogant in the strength of his manhood and pride of place, his thoughts inclined towards himself rather than towards the welfare of the people. He scorned the old ways, declaring the code and tradition an unnecessary burden laid on the backs of men. He said, "Why should we carry the burden of things which have come down to us from our fathers? How do we know they walked with wisdom? How can we say that what was good for them is good for us?" Because of his unruly speech and wayward ways, the council banished him for a time and had he remained apart, his heart would have been humbled in wisdom. But among The Children of God there was a woman, one of the most desirable and fair, who interceded for him so he might return to dwell among them, it being in their code that the wajward could always regain their place.

The woman sought him out in the wilderness and, coming upon him,, said, "Though, because of my heart, you appear to me as the finest of men, in the eyes of the elders you are unworthy to claim me. Therefore, I have spoken for you; now come, go before them yourself and say the wilderness has changed your ways. By so doing you will find favour with the council and, perchance, I may become your mate. The strength and courage I admire place you high in the regard of men and in favour with the elders, but your wayward and inconsiderate spirit is unworthy of your body. Though you find favour in the eyes of the young and foolish women who see only the outwardness of your body and thereby become more foolish, the eyes of the wise women see your naked spirit and are not deceived. Therefore, disregard the glances of foolish maidens and carry yourself well.

Act in such manner that you find favour in the sight of the wise women". And, said she, "Am I not Maya, the most desirable of women, one whom all men seek? Yet will I remain reserved only for you, therefore be not unworthy of me".

The man came out of the wilderness and wastelands. He went before the council of wise women and said, "What must I do that I may have this woman for a mate? For I desire her above all things, even above my own life. For her I will become the most worthy of men among the people, her standard being high I may not possess her otherwise". The wise women answered him, saying, "For so long shall you conduct yourself in this manner", and they set him a time and a task. That it should be well, the task was to be done with heart as well as deed, but the man accepted it gladly, his heart not in that day but in the days to come. The council and the elders said, "what the wise women have done is good, it will be well and to the people's benefit".

The man rose manfiilly to the task and was magnificent in his manhood, his new ways gladdening the hearts of all the maidens, many of whom were disturbed by strange stirrings within their breasts. Among these was one less comely and desirable whose heart burned hotly for him, her thoughts resting upon him continually; but she knew that in his sights she was of little account. Here name was Lila.

It happened that, arising early one day, she saw the man depart into the forest by the swampland, going about his task, and she took counsel with herself and followed him. She came upon the man while he rested in a place of solitude and approaching spoke softly, saying "It is your servant Lila. O my Lord, are you not weary with the task burdening your days, also that you lack companionable gladness to lighten it? Where is she who set the load upon your strong back? Where is my kinswoman who, without doubt, is more comely and very much more desirable than I and therefore a very fitting reward for your heavy labours? Does she rest in the shade or is she gathering fruit back in the gardens? Without doubt her thoughts are with you, but is she not unduly hardhearted in that she fails to comfort you, for is it not in the nature of woman to come to man and lighten his burden with her softness? Is it not in the nature of woman to be yielding and submissive, that man may rejoice in his strength? Is it, perhaps, that despite her loveliness the heart of this woman of your desire is not the heart of a woman? Is it like the mock orange, sweet to look at but bitter to bite?

"Or is her heart in the keeping of the elders, that she prefers the ways of the old to the ways of the young? What has she done to you, has she not humiliated your manliness by harnessing it like an ox to the customs of the people? Can it be right that the decrees of old men long dead should come between living man and woman? Is it not more fitting that the customs of men submit to the law of Her who gave us our natures? This desirable woman is yours, providing you toil and wait. She is yours, but not without conditions. She does not come without reservations as a woman should, but like a man who comes to an ass bridle in hand. Alas, that I lack the loveliness which places the yoke upon you, but beneath I lack nothing and am as much a woman as any. My heart bums for you with a flame that comes nigh to consuming my body. Take me, accept my humble offering. I give all freely, I will be yours without any conditions. O my Lord, which of us women truly offers the most? She who concedes nothing, or I who will even be accursed by God and men for your sake? I who am nothing in your sight require no sacrifice from you on my behalf I ask nothing and I offer all a woman can". Then Lila knelt at the feet of the man and placed her head on his knee.

The man was sorely troubled in his body and he wrestled with it, but his spirit brought before his eyes the vision of the more desirable maiden, and he was strengthened. He arose and said, "Begone and tempt me no more!" Then Lila departed and went her way, but within herself she brooded and in the course of days her thoughts hatched a dark scheme. She mixed a forbidden potion from herbs and, putting it into a pitcher of water with honey, took it to the man as he toiled in the heat of the declining day. Seeing her, the man said, "Wherefore have you come again?' And she answered him, saying "My Lord, your servant brings a much lesser offering, one you need not fear as you did the greater one, a humble gift of refreshment". The day being hot and the toil arduous, the gift was not unwelcome. The man drank heavily from the pitcher and because of the potion his spirit slept while the beast entered his body in strength.

When the fire of his passion was quenched by the waters of lust, his spirit returned and he reviled the woman, saying, "What have you wrought? Would you destroy me in this manner?"

The woman replied, "The deed is yours, my Lord, for you are a man and I am a woman". Then the man became afraid, for he knew the code and custom. He became angry after the maimer of frightened men and shouted, "Begone from my sight, you viper, lest I crush you!" Lila answered quietly, "My Lord, why be wrathfiil or afraid without cause? For this thing shall be a secret between us, none will ever know of it. Behold, my Lord, are you not free again and the yoke removed from your neck? Now you may know the joys a woman can give, without submitting to the task; therefore, take your ease, for life is good to you".

The words of the woman were not sweet to the ears of the man, for he was filled with remorse for what had been done. He said, "You are not the maiden of my tender desires, in whom my heart delighted and for whom I gladly undertook the task. What now of her whose beauty compares with the glory of the sun, whose gentleness caresses as the sunbeam, beside whose brightness you are no more than a gloomy shadow? Lila replied, "She is indeed as the sun, you may worship from afar but never touch lest you be burnt and destroyed".

"I am the woman of your body whom your flesh has chosen. What has this other woman done for you? Did she not sharpen the sword on which you cut yourself? If one lights a fire among reeds, knowing a man sleeps there, who is to blame for his burning? The fire, he who lit it or the reeds? It is beneath your manliness to turn on me thus, am I not shamed for your sake? And who among women would invite the wrath of gods and men as I have done? Be content with the wrong your lust has already wrought. This is an evil deed you have committed, but because we are now united in the flesh no harm shall befall you through me".

Thenceforth, among the people they went their separate ways, but flesh called to flesh, bringing them furtively together in secret places. Each dwelt with the reproachfiil whispers of their spirit, and each walked in the shadow of fear because of the code and tradition.

Now, the elders were not without shrewdness and they saw that the man was no longer diligent in the task and had returned to his former ways. Also he avoided the eyes of Maya and was no longer reserved with women, having sampled forbidden fruit he now sought other varieties. He was not a man with an end in view towards which he strove, his bearing was not that of a free man. The glances between the man and the woman, and their uneasiness, were not difficult to interpret.

The elders and wise women said among themselves, "Such is the manner of those carrying a burden in their hearts, whose shadowy love is a feeble fiirtive thing blooming shamefully in dark and hidden places". Therefore, they set a watch on the pair. The watch came upon them as they lay together in nakedness upon their skins and mocked them with ribaldry, for their passion was profane and a thing for jest. It was a fungus upon the tree of love.

They were brought before the high council, which was the council of elders, and the council of wise women, which questioned them, saying, "Wherefore have you done evil unto us?" The man answered, "The woman put my spirit to sleep with an evil brew, and my body became weak because of my manhood". They replied, "Truly you have little manhood now and are a lesser man because of this woman".

The woman stood up before the high council and answered them boldly, "Am I then the stronger of the two?

Can I lift the biggest stone or run the fastest race? Do not the strong always prevail against the weak, and is not this man the strongest among men? Is this even a matter for your concern? For in what way have we caused harm to any but ourselves? Shall we be punished for that which concerns us two alone and wrongs no other?"

The high council replied, "The deeds of any person affecting the lives of others are the concern of others. 

Though it were done in secret between yourselves, were not the effects displayed in your eyes for all to see?

Does the man serve the people better because of this thing, or does he serve them less well? Has something been added to the people, or has something been taken away? Have not the people lost?"

"Therefore, is not that which you did the concern of the people and not of yourselves alone? The deed of itself was not wrong, except in the manner of its accomplishment. A woman who places no value on herself steals something from all women, for they are then less valued in the eyes of men. Would men value gold were it gathered by the wayside? Above all this, what of God-given love? Have you elevated or degraded its means of expression among men and women? Among people who value gold above all else, he who debases or adulterates it commits a wrong against them. Here, where love is valued above all else and woman honoured as its custodian, those who debase it are regarded likewise".

"We dwell in a pleasant place, amid peace and plenty, an inheritance from our fathers. The Children of Men have inherited the wastelands. Are our fathers less wise than theirs, that the customs of our fathers should be spumed? What you have done relates to your two selves and by your two selves shall your punishment be carried out. This is not a punishment for any wrong done to us, for we are old and it affects us little. We punish because we have a duty to the young, to the unborn of our race. We have an even greater duty to the hallowed things which inspire mankind and enthrone man above the beasts".

"Your wrongdoing affects no one man or woman, yet it affects all men and women, and if left unheeded would not be without effect on children yet unborn. The code and tradition is the pillar of our people, and the pillar may not be struck with impunity. Though it be strong and one blow will not damage it, many blows will bring down even the stoutest pillar. A blow left unheeded encourages another. A deed disregarded is a deed encouraged".

"A people can be judged by the things it punishes and the things it permits. The swine revels in filth and therefore attacks anyone who enters his pen. Were we wholly of the Earth, we need only protect earthly things".

"Thus we banish you for ever from among us, unless in your old age you are permitted, in mercy, to return".

In this manner were the man and woman banished from the tilled land to wander the wilderness beyond. They dwelt in a cavern in the wasteland, against the outer border of the tilled land, and they ate weeds and wild creatures. There they were in a place defended from hostile men and made safe from ambushes. In the first days of their banishment the man was wathful against the woman and spoke to her spitefully, saying, "Like a lamp that gives no light you are a woman without womanly virtue, no longer deserving of the honoured treatment accorded women of our race. You spoke truly when you said that I am strong and you are weak. So be it, henceforth your weakness shall be my strength; no longer will the weakness of man be the strength of woman and the backbone of a people clinging to things without substance. Henceforth, 1 am obligated to no one and owe a duty to none but myself Man is weak only in his desire for woman, but the weakness of woman shall henceforth assure satisfaction of the desire".

So the man subdued the woman after the fashion of The Children of Men; she was the wife who ministered unto him, saying "My Lord, I am but a woman and your handmaiden".

The beast of the wastelands were the keepers of the woman and she was in bondage to the barrenland, for the wilderness was beyond reach of the waters, a place of desolation yielding only weeds and thorns. The man hunted afield for wild creatures while the woman delved for roots, seeking sustenance among the weeds.

Thus it happened that one day, being overcome with hunger, the woman went among the reeds growing on the edge of the tilled land, for flowering plants grew there, the roots of which could be eaten. While engaged in gathering she was seen by a husbandman tilling the fields, who, coming upon her stealthily, said, "Woman I see you, are you not the one who was banished? If so the custom decrees you will have to die, for it is forbidden to re-enter the fertile land, having been cast out".

Then the woman, being still in the water, loosened her girdle and, letting down her hair, said, "honoured 1 may no longer be, perhaps die I must, but am I not still a woman while I live? If you see me otherwise than as a woman who can please a man by the ways of women, then I say you cannot be a man. Yes, I am the woman your brother seduced, the frail victim of his lust. Perhaps it is better that I die quickly by your hand than starve slowly in the wasteland. Death can hurt me no more than life which has revealed me to the evil of men. Let me die now for the wrongdoing of your brother". So saying she came out of the water.

The husbandman did not slay, but instead he dallied with her until the evening. The woman said, ere he departed, "This shall be a secret between us, for there is none other nearby to see us here.

Give me food, that my flesh may be firm and my heart gladdened, that I may come often to this place".

Thus, in the days that followed the woman went many times to the waters and in other places where there were other men. Therefore, she no longer had to delve for roots, nor did she toil in the wilderness.

Then The Children of God banished other men into the wastelands because of the woman, and the man, seeing how this came about, said, "Is my affliction because of you never to end?" The woman answered, "My Lord, this thing I did for your sake; see these others, are they not outcasts in the wilderness, men without a chief to rule over them or a hand to guide? Gather them together, that they may hunt for you and serve you, rule over them and become powerful. What I have done I have done for you alone. To your strength will be added their strength, and the loss of the people in fertile lands will thus become your gain. What is there that strength cannon obtain? If your desire is for other women, will not strength obtain them? Therefore, revile me not, because I have now placed in your hands the means to that which you desire".

"Now I say to you, and speak truly of things only a woman can know, that you are a better man than those who live bound to the tilled lands, whose women secretly despise them for their servility to the code and tradition".

The man was stirred up by these words and went out and about to the others, approaching them, sajdng, "Behold, we have been cast out because we have followed the ways of men according to the nature of men. Our manhood is good within us, let it therefore assert itself so our strength may be greater".

So it came about that the men who were outcasts entered the fertile tilled land stealthily at night time, burning the houses and overthrowing the water towers, saying, "Let this land rejoin the wilderness".

They slew menfolk and carried the women and children away. They stole sheep, goats and cattle. Then they withdrew to the fastnesses of the wastelands. There they built an encampment and fortified it about with walls and ditches, and they made war upon The Children of Men and prevailed against them. They ruled their women sternly and made them chattels, buying and selling them like cattle. When man said "Come", the woman came, and when he said "Go", she went. On her yielding back and on her submissive head he dissipated his wrath, on her servile body he satisfied his lust.

Lila was a true daughter of the woman who betrayed the first race of men. It is written of her that when her sons grew to manhood, she caused then to kill and eat their father, so they might gain lifelong strength and wisdom.

Man kept woman in bondage, for he knew from his own knowledge of her ways that she was not to be trusted.

Henceforth, she could not walk freely among men, for they knew that though woman was weak and man strong, by womanly guile she could exploit his weakness. Among the outcast people and The Children of Men woman was subject to man, and he imposed his will upon her and dominated her.

In this manner woman wrought her owm downfall and the destruction of those who held her in high regard. Her charms she cast at the feet of those who trampled them underfoot. Woman was not yet fitted to be the free guardian of the portals of life. She was never wise enough to choose the fathers of the race, for she was ruled by womanly waywardness, not by wisdom.