The Greek philosopher Plutarch (c46–c120 ad) said in on the Soul that the journey of the soul at the time of death was like the experience of someone being initiated into mysteries, such as the Eleusinian mysteries. Plutarch wrote: “At first one wanders and wearily hurries to and fro, and journeys with suspicion through the dark as one uninitiated: then come all the terrors before the final initiation, shuddering, trembling, sweating, amazement: then one is struck with a marvelous light, one is received into pure regions and meadows, with voices and dances and the majesty of holy sounds and shapes: among these he who has fulfilled initiation wanders free, and released and bearing his crown joins in the divine communion, and consorts with pure and holy men, beholding those who live here uninitiated, an uncleansed horde. . . . huddled together in mud and fog, abiding in their miseries through fear of death and mistrust of the blessings there” (Eliade 1967, p. 302).
In the first century ad, Manilius composed an astrological treatise in which he compared the universe to a living creature permeated by a single spirit, which gives it form (Luck 1985, p. 332). Here we have further echoes of the Indian concept of God distributed in nature, and of the vishvamurti, or Universal Form, the universe conceived as the body of God. According to both Manilius and the sages of ancient India, God is the soul of the universe, giving it life. It is this unifiying presence of God’s spirit in nature, said Manilius, that establishes a connection between human destiny and the stars (Luck 1985, p. 333). Furthermore, he says that this God “brings down from the heavenly stars the creatures of the earth” (Luck 1985, p. 333). I find this view quite compatible with my own, which also involves a descent of humans and other living things from higher planes of existence.
Around 217 ad, Philostratus composed the life of apollonius, recording the travels and teachings of the Pythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana. Scholars agree that Apollonius was a genuine historical figure, but they disagree as to how well Philostratus’s account reflects the actual life of Apollonius. In any case, the cosmological and metaphysical content of the the life is of most interest to me, and whether it derives from Apollonius or Philostratus does not make much difference for my purposes. The citations I give from Philostratus are from the translation by Conybeare.
As a Westerner who has journeyed to India and taken up the practice of an Indian philosophical and religious system, I find it interesting that Apollonius, according to Philostratus, traveled to India, where he encountered brahmanas with mystic powers. These brahmanas could mys-teriously sense that Apollonius was coming, and sent a messenger to greet him by name while he was still far away from their dwelling place. The chief of the brahmanas, Iarchus, knew that Apollonius was carrying a letter for him, and correctly identified a particular misspelling in the unseen document (Philostratus III, 12, 16). Iarchus also displayed knowledge of many things that had happened to Apollonius during his life. According to the account, the brahmanas could make themselves invisible whenever they chose and could also levitate (III, 13, 17).
When the local king came to visit the brahmanas, Apollonius noted that vessels bearing food and wine appeared mysteriously from out of nowhere (III, 27). Iarchus and Apollonius also spoke of reincarnation (III, 19). In the course of this discussion, each gave details of his own previous existence. On being questioned by Apollonius, Iarchus claimed to be a reincarnation of an Indian warrior much like the Greek hero Achilles (III, 19), while Apollonius, on being questioned by Iarchus, revealed he had been in a previous life the pilot of an Egyptian seafaring boat (III, 23).
Apollonius asked Iarchus and his Indian companions about the composition of the universe. They said it was composed of elements. “Are there four?” asked Apollonius, referring to the earth, water, fire, and air of Greek cosmology. Iarchus replied that there were five: “There is the ether, which we must regard as the stuff of which gods are made; for just as all mortal creatures inhale the air, so do immortal and divine natures inhale the ether” (III, 34). Lists of the five elements mentioned by Iarchus, including ether, are found in Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic texts. Responding to questions by Apollonius, Iarchus said that the universe is to be seen as a living creature, with a soul. This soul adjusts the conditions of the universe to the actions of the creatures inhabiting it. “For example,” said Iarchus, “the sufferings so often caused by drought are visited on us in accordance with the soul of the universe, whenever justice has fallen into disrepute and is disowned by men” (III, 34). Here we find an account of the laws of karma, which are administered by God in His form of Supersoul, the witness present in the hearts of all and even within the atom.
Iarchus compared the universe to a ship: “They set several pilots in this boat and subordinated them to the oldest and wisest of their number; and there were several officers on the prow and excellent and handy sailors to man the sails; and in the crew of this ship there was a detachment of armed men. . . . Let us apply this imagery to the universe and regard it in the light of a naval construction; for then you must apportion the first and supreme position to God the begetter of this animal, and subordinate posts to the gods who govern its parts; and we may well assent to the statements of the poets, when they say there are many gods in heaven and many in the sea, and many in the fountains and streams, and many round about the earth, and that there are some even under the earth. But we shall do well to separate from the universe the region under the earth, if there is one, because the poets represent it as an abode of terror and corruption” (Philostratus III, 25).
Once when the city of Ephesus was suffering from a plague, Apollonius determined that the cause was a demon disguised as an elderly beggar. Following the orders of Apollonius, citizens of Ephesus stoned the beggar. As soon as the order was given, fierce rays of light shot from the beggar’s eyes. After the stoning, the people removed the stones and found instead of the beggar’s body that of a demonic hound, smashed to a bloody pulp (Philostratus, IV, 10). Such incidents provide evidence that certain beings have the power to change the appearance and form of the gross physical body. If this can be done, perhaps beings with greater powers could be responsible not just for the changes of physical bodies, but their very production.
Some say Apollonius of Tyana died a natural death in Ephesus, attended by two maidservants. Others say he went to Lindus, where he entered the temple of Athena and mysteriously disappeared. Still others say he continued on to Crete, where he is also said to have disappeared in a temple, behind closed doors, outside which people heard a chorus of maidens singing, “Hasten thou from earth, hasten thou to Heaven, hasten” (Philostratus, VIII, 30).