The Peacemaker and the Tree of Peace
[Both the Peacemaker of the Traditional Haudenosaunee and Lord Jesus Christ were sent by the Creator to bring the important message of love, peace, harmony, forgiveness and compassion to warring humankind. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Who is the promised Incarnation of the Holy Ghost, and the White Buffalo Calf Woman of the American Native tradition, brings Jesus' and the Peacemaker's message of forgiveness and peace to our remembrance as foretold by Lord Jesus Christ.]
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, She shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said to you." St. John 14:26]
An Iroquois Legend
The story of the Peacemaker and the Tree of Peace as we know it today originated in a time of terrible conflict. It was a time when people forgot to be thankful, and a time when almost all of the people had strayed from the Creator. This is the dark period and perhaps the most violent time of our history. Once again discontentment settled in our people and bloody wars took place in every village.
A vicious cycle of war and revenge was running out of control among the Five Nations. It was amidst all of this chaos that the Creator sent a messenger of peace to be born amongst his people. The Traditional Haudenosaunee people consider his actual name to be sacred and therefore never use it. He was called the "Peacemaker." His mission was to restore love, peace and harmony back to the people. To do this, he proposed a set of laws which the people and Nations could live in peace and unity. It was a system of self-rule and was guided by moral principles called the Great Law of Peace.
The Peacemaker was born a Huron, to a young virgin woman who had not yet gone through her puberty rites. The young woman had not yet reached her time for the ceremony when she became pregnant. Her mother was worried of what the people of the village would say, so she hid her away during her pregnancy until she gave birth. She convinced her daughter that they had to get rid of the baby. The grandmother tried three times to kill the baby and failed each time. She then realized that he must be someone special and with special powers and knew that they should raise him carefully.
As he got older, it was realized that he had great powers of persuasion and of good mind. When he reached manhood it was time for him to leave on his mission to restore peace and unity to the warring villages to the east. He built a canoe of white stone and set out on his journey to establish a great peace. All the people of the village gathered to see him off and were amazed at the sight, for they had never seen a stone float before. They noticed how swift that canoe was moving as it disappeared into the distance. We are told that this event took place on the northern shores of Lake Ontario.
The first person to accept and embrace the words of the Great Peace was a woman by the name of Jikonsahseh. Her place was a neutral zone for anyone passing through. Even war parties, who would leave all their weapons outside of her dwelling. She fed them and offered them a resting place. As he spoke his words she broke down in tears for she had never heard anything so beautiful and said she'd follow it for the rest of her days. Because she accepted and embraced the words of peace, the Peacemaker told her that at the successful formation of the Great Law of Peace and for all time, she would be the symbol of the leadership of the women, which is the Clan Mothers. In this way she would never be forgotten.
The Peacemaker visited the Mohawks first. There he was to confront the most evil of them. He had to change their minds and behavior to accept the Great Peace. He was often tested and had to prove himself. Because the Kanienkehaka people were such a fierce and warring Nation, the Peacemaker worked very long and hard to convince them to accept the Great Law of Peace. With his powers of persuasion he won them over. He then left for the other Nations of the Iroquois, the Seneca, Oneidas, Cayuga and Onondaga.
The Peacemaker met two special people who were instrumental in the establishment of the Great Peace. One of these men was Ayonwatha, whose family had been killed by the evil and powerful sorcerer, Tadodarho, the other man.
The Peacemaker used the first Condolence Ceremony on Ayonwatha to remove his grief using Wampum shells. This event was the first time the Wampum was used. Wampum is used to remember words, ceremonies and agreements, and was not money. However, Wampum was used as an exchange tool. The Peacemaker asked Ayonwatha to be his spokesperson and together they traveled to spread the message of peace.
His travels brought him to the Onondaga Nation, where he met with a lot of resistance from the evil Tadodarho. Tadodarho was an evil man and is described as having snakes on his head and a crooked body. This symbolized a very evil person and because of his evil deeds it reflected on him. Tadodarho would not give in to the many attempts by the Peacemaker to get him to accept the peace.
The Peacemaker and Ayonwatha moved on to the other Nations and were successful in convincing them to accept the peace. He then gathered the forty-nine men whom he had convinced to accept the peace to converge back to the center and there they all worked together on the evil mind of Tadodarho of the Onondaga Nation. They tried many times in many ways to convince him that peace was the only way, and many times they failed. Finally all the forty-nine men sang the Great Song of Peace, the 'Hai, Hai'. The song kept in focus with the one purpose of winning over the evil mind of Tadodarho. Once Tadodarho's mind was pacified, his body straightened and the snakes were combed from his hair.
The Peacemaker offered him a special position in the Confederacy. That position was to watch over the Fire on behalf of all the 5 Nations. The offer appealed to him and he accepted. He agreed to live in peace and tend the fire to make sure that it would burn forever.
After successfully winning over Tadodarho, the Peacemaker then looked upon the men and saw that they still carried their weapons. He then said that they needed a symbol that would remind them of the promise made to each other, the promise of peace. As he looked around, he saw this very tall tree. He thought that because the tree was so tall, it could be seen from distant places, and because the top of the tree pierced the sky, attention would be drawn to it.
On the branches of this very tall tree, the needles are in clusters of five. He used this as a symbol of the Five Nations being bound together as one. He took some needles off the branch and told them that even with the changes of the seasons, the tree stays green for all time. So shall the Great Peace stay among the Five Nations, for all time.
He then uprooted the tree and it created a cavity. He instructed the men to cast down their weapons of war into the cavity to bury their greed, hatred and jealousy. The tree was then replaced and the Peacemaker then said:
"Into the depths of the earth, down into the deep under earth currents of water flowing into unknown regions, we cast all weapons of strife. We bury them from sight forever and plant again the tree. Thus shall all Great Peace be established and hostilities shall no longer be known between the Five Nations but only peace to a united people."
The roots that spread out from the tree are called the Great White Roots of Peace, and they spread in the four directions: one to the north, one to the south, one to the east, and one to the west. On top of this Great Tree was placed an Eagle. The meaning of planting the tree symbolizes the Kaienerakowa, Great Peace and Strength. The Eagle symbolizes keeping a watchful eye on the roots and if any evil or danger approaches, he will scream loudly, sounding the alarm and all the Nations of the Confederacy will at once come to the defense and rescue. This symbolizes that everyone has the responsibility to protect the peace.
The Peacemaker then took an arrow from each one of the Five Nations and bound them together. By each Nation contributing an arrow, it symbolized the combining of individual powers into one great power. The union had now been complete, a union which no one can bend or break. The Peacemaker then said:
"We have now completed our power so that we the Five Nations Confederacy shall in the future have one body, one mind, and one heart. If any evil should befall us in the future, we shall stand or fall united as one man."
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/ThePeacemakerAndTheTreeOfPeace-Iroquoi\ s.html
[To 'forgive and forget' is to 'bury the hatchet' of quarrel and strife under the Tree of Peace, as taught by both the Peacemaker and Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, the message to be taught from early childhood on is that "..nothing should be done which tends to promote a quarrel, says Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi."]
"In India, when people dine together together, no one passes salt or a salt container by his or her hand directly to the hand of another person at the table, because of the 'belief' that the person giving the salt and the person receiving it 'by hand' would tend to quarrel. The 'morale' of this practice is that nothing should be done, which tends to promote a quarrel.
The feeling has to come first, that we don't want to quarrel with anyone because it is against human dignity. Children should be made aware that human beings are at the epitome of evolution. They have to know that we should be peaceful, friendly and please others. We cannot be like animals. To please others is very important and this should be taught to children by every possible method. The children should know that avoiding quarrels is not a sign of weakness in a personality and that living together peacefully and happily is glorious. One must forgive and forget; that is a virtue. Once the children start enjoying the virtues, they will not take to foolish things.
A strong sense of self-respect must be inculcated in children to such an extent,that they should not go on asking for things and demanding things and quarrelling about things. This can be done by talking to them and telling them stories of self-respecting people.
Once we had gone to Brighton and my two grand-daughters were with me. They went for a ride on a small little railway train. When they came back, the younger one wanted to go back on the same train and she started crying. Suddenly she felt: "What am I doing?" Her self esteem came up and she just hid her face: "I'm sorry, Grandma; I'm sorry!" She kept hiding her face for quite some time and so I asked: "Why are you hiding your face?" She replied: "I feel very ashamed about the way I behaved."
Children can mature very well and very fast, in their innocence, if we give them a chance and develop the proper attitude to understand them. By positive reinforcement of their virtues and little, little attainments, they are encouraged and learn that 'what is good' is what is appreciated.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Meta Modern Era, 'World Peace', Chapter 8
29/09/95
[Shri Jesus Christ and Mother Mary reside on the Agnya chakra in the subtle system. This subtle system is known as the biblical 'Tree of Life' and is beautifully symbolised by the Native 'Tree of Peace', the White Pine.
The Agnya chakra is the narrow gate, about which Lord Jesus spoke, that leads our consciousness to its final goal, the seventh chakra of Sahasrara. Forgiveness is the golden key which unlocks the door, via Kundalini awakening, our Second Birth, to the final destination: the Kingdom of God.]
"The sixth chakra is the chakra of forgiveness and compassion. Forgiveness is the power to let go of anger, hatred and resentment and to discover, in humility, the nobility and generosity of the Spirit. It is the one that dissolves all our conditionings, ego, habits, false ideas of racialism, and all our misidentifications. It is the narrow gate which opens the way for our consciousness to ascend to its final destination, which is the seventh center.
The sixth centre is called Agnya Chakra and has only two petals. This is the centre placed where the two optic nerves cross each other in the brain (optic chiasma). The centre caters for pituitary and pineal body which manifest the two institutions of ego and superego within us.
In India I am known as Mahavishnu. But when I came to this Earth, I was crucified. My Message is that of Resurrection, to show you that you are the Eternal Spirit and not your body or your thoughts. I was born in a manger to show you that the Spirit within you has nothing to do with money, material comfort or power ' it is all powerful, all-pervading and eternal. Forgiving those who would have killed Me, I have opened in the Cosmos and within your being a narrow passage on the path which leads you beyond to God. When the Spirit is awakened in you by Kundalini, you are born again, and cross this Gate. Then you enter the Realm of Divine Awareness, becoming a child in the Kingdom of God."
NOTE: If this page was accessed during a web search you may wish to browse the sites listed below where this topic or related issues are discussed in detail to promote global peace, religious harmony, and spiritual development of humanity:
' Divine Feminine (Hinduism)
' Divine Feminine (Christianity)
' Divine Feminine (Judaism)
' Divine Feminine (Islam)
' Divine Feminine (Taoism)
' Divine Feminine (Buddhism)
' Divine Feminine (Sikhism)
great-spirit-mother.org/ ' Divine Feminine (Native Traditions)
