Miri Piri & Thelema -

One of the things I've learned from my Sikh friends that' I've found has many parallels with Thelema is the idea of "Miri Piri." The Sikh notion, embodied in their symbol of the Adi Shakti,

is of the integration of worldly (Miri) and spiritual (Piri) power. The two swords on either side represent these two powers.

Central to this idea is the valuation of the householder, the person who works, maintains a family, and goes about in the world. By taking the world by the horns, the householder roots their spiritual practice in the firmament, and grounds it in daily activity.

But this is only half of the equation. The other side is the centrality of spiritual practice (Sadhana) which anchors the person to a transcendental root from which all of their efforts derive.

This simultaneous valuation of both the worldly and spiritual is found throughout Thelemic Magick and Mysticism, and visible in Crowley's essay on the dangers of Mysticism."

By pointing out the importance of the necessity of engagement and struggle with the world, Crowley provides a critical reality check to any escapist fantasies of spiritual attainment. If both Miri and Piri, Kether and Malkuth are equally valued, then the work becomes knitting all of the pieces together in between them to assure their harmonious equilibration. This equilibration is seen in the central sword of the symbol which, like the middle pillar, represents the dynamic union of opposites of severity and mercy in a higher order synthesis.

In Book 4 (Ch. 21) Crowley explains:

"As was said at the opening of the second chapter, the Single Supreme Ritual is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. It is the raising of the complete man in a vertical straight line...Any other operation is black magic...If the magician needs to perform any other operation than this, it is only lawful in so far as it is a necessary preliminary to That One Work."