The Howard Thurman National Obelisk
The Magic of the Ben Ben
Stone
It was the tendency of the
ancient monument-builders of the Nile to codify their
symbolic teachings in stone. Thus, for those who knew the
"language," the physical structure and placement of a monument, temple, or other
sacred building unveiled a deeper story.
The Ben Ben, or
"obelisk," was such a monument that, during its New Kingdom heyday (1580-1200
BC), came to symbolize Kemit itself. The Ben Ben was clearly a sun---and-light symbol,
dedicated to Ra, embodying the transcendence immanent in Ra's Light. The Ben Ben's soaring
lines were meant to evoke this transcendence and its connection to the solar light was
imbued in the capstone or pyramidion, coated in a gold-silver alloy called nub hedj
("electrum"), whose brilliant reflection could be seen 50 miles away on a clear
day.
The term Ben Ben is a
doubling of the old Kamite word ben meaning "man, phallus, beget." It is the
source of the Hebrew ben or Arabin ibn meaning "son of." The ancient Nile
dwellers clearly understood that the rays of the sun fructified the earth and all life
upon it and therefore made that all-important heavenly body the archetypal symbol of the
Heavenly Father whom they called Ra. The Ben Ben, though, is more than a mere
"phallic symbol;" it is a sign of the sun (or Ra's) fructifying light-ray
materialized in granite.
In the mind of the ancient
priests of the Nile, light, consciousness, and understanding were synonymous. Thus the Ben
Ben codified the process of enlightenment, achieved through the correct acquisition of
knowledge and the slow revelation of cosmic wisdom. Under such influence, dark mysteries
and unexamined secrets were made manifest.
The Ben Ben yet retains its
power to inspire the imagination, to encapsulate transcendence. Again and again, the
modern architect re-erects obeliskoid forms because the elegant, geometric harmony of the
Ben Ben speaks a language that continually excites the creative instincts of man. Time and
again, we return to this ancient architectural form not because we lack other models but
because it expresses for us the cosmic imperative of our indwelling spirit. Through the
Ben Ben, we pay homage to the Light Bringer, the Father of All, and the best of His
Creation.
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The
Howard Thurman Flag - The Meaning
Dr. Thurman loved to paint
penguins. He thought that the human family could learn a great deal about shared
responsibility from the Emperor Penguin.
The Emperor penguin, the
only living thing known to live on Antarctica during the winter months, lives in the seas
most of the year and mates for life. Late fall, the females travel inland for about 100
miles to the rookery, which contains thousands of females. At this time, she lays a single
egg, which she carries on the top of her feet and shields with a flap of feathers that
form a pouch. In about thirty days, the male makes this 100 mile journey and locates his
mate by voice, and they perform their mating dance. The female transfers the egg to the
feet and pouch of the male; an exposed egg will die in two minutes. The female then leaves
the rookery and returns to the seas to feed.
The male carries the egg on
his feet for the next 90 days, during the worst of the Antarctic winter, when temperatures
average -45 degrees, and darkness occurs 24 hours. In order to survive, the whole rookery
of males rotate counter clockwise, with each male taking his turn on the windward side of
the rookery, rotating around to the inside of the rookery. Survival of the egg depends on
the male carrying the egg and cooperating with all the other males. In about 90 days
(spring), the egg hatches. The chick is carried by the male and fed with a milky secretion
from his stomach...by this time he has not eaten in over 90 days and is near starvation.
The female times her return
journey of 100 miles to the rookery in order to arrive within ten days of hatching. If she
does not arrive during this ten-day period, the chick dies, and frequently so does the
male. Upon her arrival, the chick is transferred to her feet for care, and the male makes
the journey to the sea for food. The female continues to feed the chick until it has grown
enough to make the journey to the sea. Despite the harsh conditions of Antarctica, over
75% of the chicks survive!
Mrs. Sue Bailey Thurman
presented one of Dr. Thurman's portraits of penguins to Morehouse, May 16, 1981. The
portrait hangs in the Thurman Meditation Room in George Sale Hall.
On the Howard Thurman flag
two Emperor penguins, one male, the other female, are depicted supporting a golden crown
on their heads, symbolizing commitment, perseverance, and wisdom. The image recalls Dr.
Thurman's statement "above the heads of her students Morehouse holds a crown that she
challenges them to grow tall enough to wear."
Each of the eight flagpoles
are crowned with golden eagles, which symbolize God in both the Old and New Testaments.
The eight flags are for Christianity, World Council of Churches, United Nations, United
States, Morehouse College, Martin Luther King Jr., King International Chapel, and Howard
Thurman.
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The Reflecting Pool - The Symbols
The following are the symbols of the twelve great
ways of being religious, both theistic and nontheistic:
Egyptian sign for divine wisdom,
The Center of the
Ancient Religious Mind
Australian Aboriginal hunting symbol,
The Center
of Non-Literate Religions
(Hindu) Om: Mantra expressing the unity
of reality,
The
Hindu Center
Wheel: Buddhist symbol for the dharma or
teaching,
The
Buddhist Center
Chinese character of Dao
("Way"),
The Chinese
Center
Zoroastrian fire symbol representing
purity,
The Ancient
Near-Eastern Center
Jewish menorah,
The Jewish Center
Cross of Christ,
The Christian Center
Crescent and Star: Ancient Byzantine
symbols taken over by victorious Islam,
The Muslim Center
A modern symbol suggesting human
control,
The Humanistic Center
A symbol of the concentricity of the
natural, the social, the divine, and
the personal that religious searches for
the center revealed.
Torii: Gate to Shinto shrines,
The Japanese Center
These inter-religious
symbols create an ecumenical reflecting pool around the Thurman Obelisk. The pool is an
international tribute to the fact that Howard Washington Thurman is the most widely-read
Christian theologian of African-American heritage in this century. He is believed to be
one of the greatest psychologists of religion in the history of Christendom.
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