The Tale of the Heart of the Ocean
Once upon a time there dwelt a man in this land, whose name was Tkheyiwe1. He was a fisherman from a village called Akhaii, which stood upon a pointed cape in the northern reaches of the island. The island was so small that it was not even set upon the maps of men. Tkheyiwe’s father, Nerga, also was a fisherman.
Tkheyiwe spent long hours upon the ocean shore, speaking to the waves; and they seemed to answer him. By their call he knew where the storms lurked; he heard where calm abode. He foretold the thunder ere it rumbled, and the tempest ere it broke forth.
And every soul in that village believed that Tkheyiwe heard the voice of the Great Ocean — the heart of the Creator. Great was his renown throughout that land, for he had no equal in the reading of hidden knowledge.
Yet the heart of Tkheyiwe was not at rest, for he yearned after more.
One day Nerga spoke to him, noticing the yearning of his son:
“Your eyes behold the stars, your ears hear the peals of thunder and your mouth utters words — what more would you ask of the gods?”
But sorrow entered into Tkheyiwe’s heart, for he did not wish to share his father’s thoughts. Therefore doubt grew within his soul.
Though his eyes beheld the stars, his hand could not reach them. Though his ears heard the thunder, they knew not silence. And his mouth spoke, yet could not summon forth the storm.
Then thought Tkheyiwe within himself:
“Truly, the ocean echoed in my soul as my heart desired. Therefore let it be granted me to do as I desire, until the Great God guides another will.”
Thus Tkheyiwe resolved to follow the call of his name, and to descend into eternity’s depths.
Long he tarried by the waters and prayed to the great stars to grant him fins. But the stars were silent to all his petitions. Nine times did Tkheyiwe call upon them, and nine times beheld he only their light reflected in the waters, yet heard no answer.
Many days and nights he spent in solitude, and his heart alone was his companion. He lay beneath the veil of the heavens, yet dared not venture into the embrace of the waves. For he still listened to his heart.
Only when he willed to descend into the depths of the eternal waters did the stars fulfil his desire and grant him fins. Though Tkheyiwe no longer looked for aught from them, he followed not their light again;
yet still they preserved his peace as before, and they honored his freedom.
***
At the first, Tkheyiwe stepped into the shallow waters. The initial circle of the ocean, with its fair treasures, was revealed before him. Corals and seaweed, shells and shining pearls, lay scattered for many hundreds of cubits around. Tkheyiwe beheld all this, and his eyes were kindled with delight. And he thought to tarry there awhile, yet the pearls could not long gladden his heart.
Then Tkheyiwe spoke to the passing currents, ‘How may I come unto the Heart of the ocean?’
But no answer was given to him, and he swam on.
Then he came upon fish of wondrous beauty, moving as one host through a deep-sea gorge. And Tkheyiwe asked them, ‘Where dwell the Heart of the Ocean?’
But the fish were silent before him. They would not answer his question. And silently they turned away toward the surface. Then Tkheyiwe was troubled at heart, yet he swam on.
Afterward, Tkheyiwe encountered two elongated fish, swimming in disarray, as though no order bound them.
‘Have you seen the Heart of the Ocean?’ already he asked of them, hoping for some answer, be it what it may.
‘We know not what it be,’ only said they to him. And Tkheyiwe was astonished, for how might one be ignorant of the heart of the Creator Himself? Yet onward he swam.
In the cave, he found a huge turtle, which lay motionless and only reluctantly watched what was happening around.
Tkheyiwe asked her: “Have you seen where the Creator’s heart is hidden?”
The turtle looked at him and slowly answered: “There is no heart in my cave; the heart should be above, on the surface. You are swimming in the wrong direction; you are moving away from it”.
Tkheyiwe did not pay attention to her words because he knew what he was looking for. And, bowing in gratitude to the turtle, he swam on.
Then he saw a shark with teeth as sharp as a rock and fins as strong as the wind. Tired, the shark was striving upward, and with each stroke his movements seemed to become a little freer, and his breathing more measured. As if the pressure of the waters was decreasing, as if the burden was gradually leaving his soul.
“What are you doing?” Tkheyiwe asked the shark.
And the shark answered him: “I am trying to rise but I cannot, for I must swim like this forever.”
Tkheyiwe did not understand his words. But he decided to ask for help: “I am looking for the heart of the ocean. Maybe you have seen something similar on your way?”
“I have not seen anything like a heart for hundreds of cubits around,” the shark replied.
Tkheyiwe was upset, but he calmed his soul and gathered his body to swim further. He sank deeper and deeper, and the voice of the Creator sounded quieter and quieter in his heart. But Tkheyiwe knew the words that ancient times remember. And those words said that expansion always goes into the depths, and coming closer is into the distance.
Thus, Tkheyiwe swam to the great serpent called Rakh-senk(h)-hau, who lived in the underwater gardens. His tail was chained, his head was defeated. He was sitting on robes of multi-colored linen; incense and first-class oil surrounded his body. And around him was an endless amount of white gold.
“What are you searching for here, in these depths?” – asked the serpent of Tkheyiwe.
“I am greeting you, O Rakhsenkhau, the great ruler of the underwater gardens Sheu, the father of deception, the keeper of illusion. Would you allow me to address you?”
Then the serpent understood that Tkheyiwe knew his name, and therefore responded with his permission, for he was not able to cope with the newcomer.
Tkheyiwe addressed the serpent: “I am looking for the heart of the ocean and have already descended a hundred cubits down, but I still could not find it”.
“Why so deep?” the serpent was surprised. “The heart you seek is not here. There is only water here”, he pointed to his treasures.
Tkheyiwe objected to him, “But our legends say that the Heart is both the beginning and the end: it is in the very essence, as well as at the very top”.
And the serpent answered this: “Your legends also say that the Heart can be seen where the sky touches the earth –
for extremes do not seek the heart”.
But Tkheyiwe did not believe him; for he knew that the serpent’s voice could be deceiving. And he swam on in search of the heart he desired so much.
In the depths, where there seemed to be no glimmer of sunlight, Tkheyiwe stumbled upon a whale – so colossal as to encompass the very fabric of creation. Marveling at his greatness, Tkheyiwe wanted to stay beside the whale to find out how to become as large as him. He even tried to ask the whale a question, but the whale did not hear Tkheyiwe’s voice and did not give him any response. Finally, Tkheyiwe decided to swim on.
And he stepped into the last circle, where a giant octopus — the guardian of the Abyss — sat over an endless chasm. His body was taller than the largest underwater mountain, his tentacles were wider than the broadest deep-sea plain.
“What are you looking for in these depths, little one?”, the octopus asked Tkheyiwe three times.
“I call upon the Truth to be; I seek the heart of the Creator”, Tkheyiwe answered him with all the strength he could muster.
But the octopus only laughed at his words. And his laughter was like a thunderclap. After then he said: “Who are you to call upon the Truth to be? It is not the Truth that you call upon, but its shadow, it is not the heart that you desire,but your own greatness”.
And Tkheyiwe responded to him: “You who know the Abyss — you speak to me, but I do not understand your words.»
To this the octopus said: “Words do not reach here; thoughts are devoid of awareness here. That is why you cannot find understanding. Hear — if your ears are still able to hear; see — if your eyes are still able to see – the heart of the Creator shines where silence is louder than voice”.
But Tkheyiwe paid no attention to his words and stepped deeper — into the final abyss…
***
And there were only whitish monsters around him, who did not understand the human voice. How long did Tkheyiwe swim in those waters? He did not remember. In the end, he got lost. And then, overcome with fear, Tkheyiwe tried to rise. But he could not do it: the weight of the waters above him was too great. And no matter how much he rushed about, no matter how much he called out again to his heart, he could not hear the voice of the Creator — he had lost this voice.
And there was no longer an end to his voyage – and he could no longer find salvation. Tkheyiwe did not remember his home or his father. Only the eternal darkness was his companion. He came to his senses only for a moment, when the last light flashed in his consciousness. And at that very moment Tkheyiwe realized that he was now like those whitish monsters that swam around: he was no longer a man, nor a fish.
Then he completely lost the ability to think. Then he lost himself entirely. He was no longer tempted by the desire to swim to the heart because there was no heart in his desire.
Why did Tkheyiwe float down?
—
It was believed that the Creator is both above and below. Everything began with Him, and everything will end with Him.
—
«As above, so below,» said Thoth. And at the very bottom of the deepest abyss, there is light.
–
© So Dante was not at the very bottom?
It was believed that the main character of the epic encounters nine illusions on his way. There is a reference to The Doctrine of Illusions and Meanings, which was one of the key parts of the philosophical and theological system of Atlantis.
The nine layers of the ocean correspond to the nine illusions. The layers of the ocean — the layers of the universe — were represented either as a ladder or as circles gathered in a spiral. Both the ladder and the spiral had a mirror base or reflection.
- The first layer is a multiplicity of forms: corals and seaweed, shells and pearls in infinite quantity. This is the illusion of multiplicity. However, we are all one. Everything is one. There is a single sour of knowledge, but there can be many understandings (interpretations) of it. The emergence of this illusion gives rise to insatiability.
- The second layer — the fish go up, but Tkheyiwe thinks that he did not get an answer. This is the illusion of silence. Its essence is that the higher powers always hear us and guide us. A person, thinking that they go unheard, remains in their illusions.
- The third layer is fish swimming in a disorderly manner. This is the illusion of chaos. In reality, everything is ordered and operates according to established rules and norms. After the Creator took form, after he left the Primordial Ocean of Chaos, the universal balance was established and equilibrium was found. It is like scales, where there are two things – two opposites. Like karma, like the law of equilibrium.
- The fourth layer is the turtle, which represents the illusion of the path. There is a beginning of the path, there is an end of the path, but the path itself is an illusion. It seems to us that since there is movement, there is a path. However, if we move relative to our starting point, then relative to the overall picture we are standing still. It is like a circle — we always exist inside the Great Circle, inside the Creator, and do not go beyond its limits. At the same time, movement occurs deep within oneself – expansion is the knowledge of one’s inner depths. It seems that the turtle is motionless; in fact, this is an illusion – she moves, like everything else. But there is no path. Therefore, it seems that there is no movement. The turtle also symbolizes laziness and lack of initiative, which are generated by this illusion.
About the path: we always have our free will. Because there is only knowledge – movement. But there is no path – no a single road that we must necessarily follow. There are many truths and many roads. There is an awareness by the Creator of His depths. And the more we go beyond our truth, the more we enter into our change in the process of knowing our own depths, the closer we are to the original, the closer we are to the Creator.
- The fifth layer is a shark that thinks he is carrying his load and has no way to get out. This is the illusion of predetermination. One of the most important illusions. A person believes that much is predetermined. But in fact, everything is a choice.
- The sixth layer is the serpent. This is the illusion of the false beginning. Everything is Truth and everything is the Creator. The division into true and false leads to misunderstandings and conflicts.
- The seventh layer is the Whale, symbolizing the illusion of expansion. We are all equal in our essence as parts of a single divine origin. This Illusion gives rise to envy. According to the doctrine of illusions the expansion of the Creator outward is an illusion. The Creator delved into self-knowledge and expands not outward, but inward. There is an awareness by the Creator of His depths. That is, everything is present at one point in space and time. The rest is the Illusion of expansion.
- The eighth layer is the octopus. the illusion of exceptionality. Tkheyiwe stepped into the Abyss without thinking – this is hubris. The dialogue with the octopus itself and the words that Tkheyiwe says are also characteristic.
- The ninth layer is the illusion of being (it was also sometimes called the illusion of the Self). It was based on the fact that everything around is just an interpretation of consciousness. A person himself interprets the essence of everything, setting the direction of his vision – we see what we want to see. According to this, the latter can be interpreted as him being lost only in his own consciousness.
To balance the nine illusions, there are nine meanings. (Interestingly, in the ancient dialect, the word for «Truth» was the same sounded like «meaning»). Osiris spoke about this in his dialogue with Seth).
- The first meaning is the meaning of unity. Everything is one, even though it seems otherwise. (Everything is the Great Ocean – the Creator).
- The second meaning is the meaning of response (resonance). Everything has its own answer or response. (The fish show Tkheyiwe the way with their actions, not with their words).
- The third meaning is the meaning of order. Everything is ordered and operates in accordance with the established laws of the universe. (The number of fish is two. Two represents scales or balance).
- The fourth meaning is the meaning of movement. Everything has its own movement. (The turtle moves, even though she seems to be standing still).
- The fifth meaning is the meaning of choice. Everything involves choice. There is nothing predetermined;everything is variable. (The shark can always swim to the surface).
- The sixth meaning is the meaning of the plurality of truths. Everything is truth and everything is the Creator. (The serpent speaks the truth).
- The seventh meaning is the meaning of equality. We are all equal in essence. (Tkheyiwe is the same part of the Creator as the whale).
- The eighth — the meaning of acceptance. We are all unique; we just need to accept our true exceptionality, accept the true order of things, and not chase after illusions. A person already has everything theyneeds. (Tkheyiwe initially heard the voice of the Heart of the Ocean).
- The ninth — the meaning of the original (source) or starting point. The original source resides in each person’s heart, and only the heart can hear the truth. As Thoth said: «No matter how great a speaker is, he does not know the truth better than the sound of a single heart» (from The Black Kingdom: Exodus).
Other articles
- [1] Tkheyiwe [tʰei’iːvə]. The name means «He who is above» ↩︎