Oldal 27 [27]
INITIATION IN THE HERMETICA
by the ambrosial water." I think it is very likely that ambrosial water? plays
thesameroleastheambrosiainthe Korekosmou: itisaninstrumentofinitiation,
in aconcrete and in a spiritual manner at the same time. In a concrete sense,
it may refer to a real, empirical initiative ritual, in which the act of drinking
a special mixture plays the central part. In another sense, however, it is also
a spiritual process, because through this act, the initiate gains knowledge of
the divine world and immortality. This is why it is a drink that the souls get from
the gods and the initiates from the prophet. For the spiritual interpretation of
this section, the passage of the Gospel of John gives clear evidence where Jesus
says the following to the Samaritan woman about the water of life (to téwp
tO C@v): “whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.
But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water
springing up into everlasting life.”°°
As can be seen from the tractates, the Hermetic ambrosial water could be
handed over only to those worthy of divine knowledge; so it is the device for
the initiation process which leads to a new life of immortality.
Our investigation shows that the parallel features strengthening our thesis
that these allusions can be interpreted as marks of real religious practices
are found in many kinds of religious literature, from pagan cults to early
Christianity. I would like to highlight this with another example. In the Avesta,
we read the following about the so-called soma or haoma: “We just drank
the Soma, we have become immortal, we have come to the light, we have
found the gods. What can enmity do to us now, and what the mischief of
a mortal, o immortal one?”*” Whatever soma or haoma is, it has the same
function as the Hermetic ambrosial water.
We see now that the water which gives life, partly as a device in baptism,
and which cleans the initiate, partly as a drink for ritual use, plays a special
part in the Hermetic initiation.
34 CHI, 29. (Copenhaver, 6.)
35 Cf. CH XVIII, 11; Acts of Thomas 2, 25.
36 Jn 4,14: Tlic 6 tivwv éx tod bSatos tovtov Siytoet näAıv- ög 6° Av tin ék tod bôatos où y
Wow AUTW, od un Sty tjoet cig TOV aiW@va, GAAG TO KSwp 6 SWow adTH yevijoetat Ev aÜTÓ "nyi
bdatoc GAAOpEvVOD Eig Cwiyv aiwviov.
Jan E. M. Houben, The Soma-Haoma Problem. Introductory Overview and Observations
on the Discussion, Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 9/1a (2003); Harry Falk, Soma I-II,
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 52/1 (1989),
77-90.
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