20-06-1995
The ancient Balts believed that the world and life is a manifestation of secretive, holy life forces. The power of life permeates everything, dwelling in all animate and inanimate things. It, creating eternally, is the source of the universe and of human existence. People worshiped and deified this life force as well as its revelation in nature. They believed only a reverent relationship to the world and to nature helped them survive and revel in the beauty of life.
The life of the world is not only a biological phenomenon. It is also the power of divine holiness. Holiness or godliness is the fundament which unites all joining nature, the Gods and people. Godliness resides hidden in this world and in people, but not elsewhere. The ancients did not so much believe in their knowledge about godliness, but rather incarnated that knowledge in themselves and through themselves. Holy lakes, holy groves, trees, megaliths, holy bread, holy flax, the house shrine and the sacred chair are all expressions of the holiness and godliness of our ancestors.
The mysterious creative power was personified so that it would be possible to approach divinity in visual or emotional manifestation. From the most ancient of times the Great Goddess Mother Earth was worshiped. In Lithuania, she is known as Zemyna or Laima. Those times were the epoch of the godly and motherly reign of Zemyna, Love respectful subordination, and emotional attachment to, the Divine Mother and her children goddesses and living nature finds expression throughout Lithuanian history. The Goddesses of the Old Religion, such as Laima, Austeja, Gabijac, Medeine and others, are her daughters. They are aspects of the Goddess revealed in different manifestation of the live force: human, bird, animal, etc.
The heaven with its brilliant Sun, Moon, Stars also form a divine family which influences and encourages the life processes of nature. Dievas, the God of the Heavens, is light, and his name is related to the Lithuanian word diena, `day'. Dievas of light is worshiped as a Father for he is our protector. God was also called by the name of Perkunas. Perkunas is the active principle of the heavens, the God of maleness, energy and heavenly fire. He revives life everywhere, reawakens life for a new cycle of life. Vytis, God the Ruler, evolved in historical times when Lithuania was engaged in several centuries of defensive warfare. During the epoch of Perkunas, the female principle and Goddess faith descended to a lower status. In Lithuanian culture, the status of women was always very high.
The basic foundations of life were not always harmonious: when in conflict, they threatened people and their natural context. The principle of darna, harmony, always was important in our faith. Such opposing pairs as light-day, fire-water, man-woman, etc., were not equated with "good-bad". Their cooperation is a condition of life and of moral growth. Such pairs of opposites are not solidified because they constantly change and interact. From the human perspective, there is no absolute good or bad. Goodness is born from the interaction of different and even opposing forces. People actively participate, creating and sustaining darna. Evil is the failure of darna, its absence, and the inability to reestablish it. We can most clearly see this in the destruction of nature a human act directed against the life of nature. The belief in the Goddess sank during the formation of the Lithuanian State, and it was further denigrated with the onslaught of Christianity. The traditions of the mother survived in Lithuanian villages, especially in traditions and folk songs. It is amazing that songs are still sung about girls and women who sit in golden chairs. The cult of Mary, which is exceptionally popular in Lithuania, is an echo of the worship of the Baltic Goddess. The tradition of respecting the life of the world is the old Lithuanian faith. Even today, it reminds us that the human way is the path of the creative powers of nature. We must seek agreement and cooperation in all levels of the world: human and natural, male and female. We must seek the Gods as during the summer solstice holiday of Rasa. Then, our Gods Laima and Perkunas appear and bless blossoming nature.
Listen closely to the silence and you will again hear the forgotten voices and old truths. They will sound new and meaningful today. They are needed by our nation by the world of the future.
Jonas Trinkunas
Lietuvos Ramuva Sajunga
Jonas Trinkunas
Vivulskio 27-4
2009 Vilnius Phone: + 370 2 262966
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The original document is at
http://www.ifispan.waw.pl/research/paganism/lithrel.htm