Lesson 21: The lion and the lamb
This part will become more of a history lesson and less of a mystery lesson, although history and mystery are connected due to lack of knowledge. Mystery is simply all the things we don't know much about, which means there is a lot to learn from it. The lion is one of those historical mysteries. Not many people know of the philosophical meaning of the lion. Most of us know the lion as the king of animals and as a horoscope connected to people born in a period during summer. It use to have a lot more meaning and is used as a symbol in many teachings.
To fully understand why the lion is such an important symbol it is important to look at its behavior and it's way of life. There aren't any real enemies for this magnificent hunter, only competition. The lion has nothing to fear really, it stands on the top of the food chain, being only hunter and never prey. But besides that, a lion has it's dignity as well. Even though it can kill almost every animal in its habitat, it doesn't kill for fun. If they would, a lot of animals would already be extinct. The most interesting thing is the fact animals don't really think, but act only on needs. This aspect is also one of the most important things to learn in many different spiritual teachings. There is a huge difference between behavior based on needs and behavior based on desires. One of the most important differences is the fact it is a lot easier to fulfill our needs then it is to fulfill our desires. Living based on desire creates a lot of disappointment. We aren't always able to fulfill all our desires. The only way to deal with this is acceptance. Still, this isn't the most important thing. What's really interesting is the fact the lion has been used as a very important symbol until the uprising of Christianity. In the bible the known philosophy of the Greek which compared leaders and followers to sheep and lions suddenly got a bit softer. We are now speaking of sheep and shepherds, which is quote strange. Nothing changed to the comparison of followers with sheep, but the lion became a shepherd. What a lot of people don't realize is this is a corrupt statement. When comparing human behavior to the behavior of animals, there shouldn't be any sign of a shepherd, since it is a profession of a human being instead of an animal type. Truth is, there isn't a single type of animal which guides a herd or defends it against another species, this is pure human behavior. So what's really going on?
To find the truth, it's always important to compare similarities as well as differences. So what differences do lions and shepherds have when it comes to managing a herd of animals? Not many to be honest, they just have a small difference in image. But make no mistake; both the shepherd as well as the lion feed of the herd. The only true difference is the shepherd actually thinks he owns the entire herd, while the lion only feeds of it occasionally. Lions chase the herd and take those who can't keep up with the rest or who are unable to protect themselves. They speed up the evolutionary process within the herd by pushing it to the limits of its survival capability and eliminating all weak links. With every chase the herd becomes faster, more agile and more aware of any threats. Every time the herd becomes faster, more aware and more agile, the lions have to keep up the pace to be able to capture a good meal. Lions and sheep stimulate each other to achieve constant progress. The shepherd doesn't fit the picture that great. He protects the sheep from any wild animals, therefore blocking development for the animals inside the herd and making them more weak and vulnerable. Eventually, the sheep are so adapted to the protection of a shepherd they might not even be used to the feeling of being hunted and forget how to flee. They become easy targets. So did the bible eliminate the symbolic meaning of the lion completely? Not exactly, it still mentions the lion as a brave heroic creature. Revelations even mention the coming of the so called lion of Judah as the savior of mankind. So why did the writers eliminate Alexander the Great's philosophy of lions and sheep and replaced it with the philosophy of shepherds and sheep? The funny part is, in revelations the bible states that the lion of Judah is similar to a lamb with seven horns. There's a very deep meaning in this. A lot of people suffer from a constant internal conflict while trying to decide whether they are a sheep or a lion. The sheep are constantly under threat by lions, the lions feel a constant rejection from the herd of sheep. These are two very opposite types of human behavior. Still, they are both types of human behavior, like two sides of an incomplete paradox. Divided forever, so we can easily be conquered. As with all paradoxes it is not dividing opposites which unleashes the energy but combining opposites. A good example is nuclear energy, where we combine small atoms with large atoms to release energy. So maybe the apocalypse isn't about divine fire raining from the sky and angels flying around, but it is the final phase of human development. The phase in which we combine our two opposite behavior patterns so we cannot be conquered anymore. But for the lion and the lamb to meet, the shepherd has to leave first leaving the herd vulnerable. When this happens the people who belong to the herd will find out why they never should have followed the shepherd in the first place. It may even lead to global chaos as predicted. All conflicts, whether inside or outside, start with war, but eventually they will all lead towards peace.