A discourse on the revival of Manaism Mana as a cross-cutting category of ontologies rooted in a large part of spiritual traditions across the planet, including in Slovenia By Marko Hren Upasana research papers, www.upasana.si Ljubljana, Slovenia, Europe, 2024 The paper was prepared for two conferences held in India in January 2024: ICPNA (International Conference for Peace and Nonviolent Action), traditionally organised by Jain organisation ANUVIBHA and ICCS (International Center for Cultural Studies) conference with participation of Nature-centered Faith/communities representatives in Dibroughar, Assam, India. Homage to dr. Mira Omersel Mirit (1957-2024) 1 A Discourse on the Revival of Manaism. Mana as a cross-cutting category of ontologies rooted in a large part of spiritual traditions across the planet, including in Slovenia A homage to the lifetime sound-print of Slovene ethno-musician, researcher, shaman, nature-centered faith priestess, (1957-2024) Mira Omersel Mirit. In Appendix: The fare-thee-well eulogy by Jaromir Stanislav Marko Hren, GM NVVZ, chief priest of Cosmological Society UPASANA and Head of Upasanas Academy for Research of Nature-Centered Faith Rituals. Žale Cemetery; Plečnikove Žale, Ljubljana, 25.9.2024. Information for citation and copyright: HREN, Marko, A Discourse on the Revival of Manaism. Foreword by Dr. Janez Kopač.. A homage to the lifetime sound-print of Slovene ethno-musician, researcher, shaman, nature centered faith priestess, dr. Mira Omersel Mirit (1957-2024) . © k H UPA ANA- Staroslavov hram - Academy for Nature Centred Faith and Traditional Mysteries Research, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2024. Electronic version is available under CreativeCommons - 4.0 CC-BY-NC. Author grants permission for publication at www.dlib.si, www.academia.com, and www.upasana.si Published by UPASANA –Staroslavov Hram. Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2024. E-book, format pdf. Kataložni zapis o publikaciji (CIP) pripravili v Narodni in univerzitetni knjižnici v Ljubljani COBISS.SI-ID 212439811 ISBN 978-961-95451-3-3 (PDF) Contact: prostost.duha@gmail.com, 2 Content Prologue: to Patti Smith .......................................................................................................................... 4 Foreword by Dr. Janez Kopač: Mira, the priestess of sound ................................................................... 5 Preface: from Schools of Ancient Wisdoms, via Manaism, to Spiritual Liberation of future generations ................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Ground Braking research in Slovenia calls for the Revival of Manaism .................................................. 9 Symposia 2025– Kabrca – the sound-bond between the silence within and the silence in space; Kabrca as a bridge between M@N and NIK@R@M@@N@ ................................................................ 14 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................ 17 Appendix: Prešern prize for Mira Omersel Mirit; Eulogy, September 2024 ......................................... 19 Paying Homage to dr. Mira1 Omersel Mirit (+2024) Slovene pioneering scientist and practitioner in ethnomusicology, advanced priesthood, and spiritual liberation. 1 The heritage of Miras' life effort is evident for example here Ansambel Vedun - Vstopna stran, and here Katedra Veduna 3 Prologue: to Patti Smith Patti Smith tributed a song to all Indigenous people and to all who struggle for respectful relations between the human race and nature at her opening concert of the European Cultural Capital which will be held in Slovenia, Nova Gorica in 2025. Her song - a tribute to indigenous peoples and their cosmologies across the world - is titled The Ghost Dance. The cutout of the lyrics follow here and the author's personal letter of thanks to Patty is attached to the proceedings2 of the last symposia held in the Soča Valley region of Slovenia, in the historic city of Kobarid, north stream of Soča river from Nova Gorica. The lyrics and Patty's dedication match well the core of discussions during Symposia related to Slavic Deity Nikrmana and indicate, how strongly the concept of MANA is embedded until today also in most Catholicised Cultures (i.e. Northern Americas). We shall live again We shall live What is it children that falls from the sky? Tayi, taya, tayi, aye, aye Mana from heaven from the most high Food from the father, tayi, taye, aye We shall live again, We shall live again (We shall live again) Shake out the ghost dance (We shall live) HOMAGE TO MIRA OMERSEL MIRIT The publication is tributed to Mira Omersel Mirit, paying homage to her life achievements. Paying Homage to Mira is expressed in a ceremonial funeral address of the author at the Žale Cemetery in Ljubljana, 24th of September 2024 published as eulogy in an appendix to this publication. This volume was a subject of the authors’ last in a row of 50 years long-lasting collaborations with Mira. She kindly reviewed the sections on Nikrmana and Kabrca. Slava, Bow, Mira. 2 Available free at: https://www.academia.edu/112589661/SLOVENE_NATURE_CENTERED_ETHNIC_FAITH_STATE_ OF_THE_ART_OF_THE_RESEARCH 4 Foreword by Dr. Janez Kopač: Mira, the priestess of sound Marko Hren's analysis of mana and Nik(a)rmana is a fascinating reconstruction of the universal spiritual message of the Posočje Nature-centered faith believers about the cosmic, and supernatural, which they passed on to today's generations. Hren is an archaeologist and an anthropologist at the same time, assembling fragments from India, through Egypt to Posočje. Sound and relevant instruments, e.g. kabrca, were for Nature-centered faith believers a tool for connecting with the cosmic, not just a means of communication between people. This text, which is also a tribute to Dr. Mira Omerzel Mirit, is the most beautiful possible song about spirituality and sound because Mira was the priestess of sound and the personification of the connection between mana and the world around us, between the heavenly and the earthly. She handled sound responsibly and respectfully. In internalized silence, she knew the synchronicities of vibrations that are expressed in all levels of being and consciousness. She picked up an inaudible sound wave and converted it into an audible one. She harmonized the space and helped us by inspiring, arranging, and healing the world. Unfortunately, dr. Mira Omerzel Mirit passed away much too soon and her sound is now in an eternal relationship with silence. Glory to her. Janez Kopač3, October 2024 3 Dr. Janez Kopač is an independent consultant, expert in energy policies. He serves as lecturer at Symposia held in Kobarid on the topic of revival of Slovene Nature-centered Fait. He co-authored Prirodoverje (Nature-Centered Faith) with Marko Hren in 2023 bringing abbreviated explanation of key cosmological terms to wider public. In 2000-2004 he served as a minister responsible for environment in dr. Janez Drnovšeks’ government that brought Slovenia into a family of EU members; the last dossier negotiated with European Commission was the dossier on Natura 2000; dr. Janez Kopač as a minister was responsible for identification of more than 1/3 of Slovene territories as Protected territories under Natura regime. Consequently, Slovenia holds the largest (37%) share of its territory amongst EU Members as regards to share of NATURA areas. 5 Preface: from Schools of Ancient Wisdoms, via Manaism, to Spiritual Liberation of future generations John B. Sparks, in his snapshot poster on world spiritualities, down in 1943, therefore, at the peak of the IInd world war, established a narrative for the idea of manaism. He timely sparked the idea of worlds cultures on-going search of spiritualities and genuine philosophies as central for the Unity of Humanity and Peace. He sub titled his work THE HISTOMAP OF RELIGIONS adequately: “The story of mans search for spiritual unity.“ We could also say that Sparks’ contemplation was all about M@Ns search of M@NA, the metaphysical origin and spiritual food of M@N. This volume is to support such search for spiritual unity of Humanity by presenting a ground breaking research in Slavic - Slovene - supreme spiritual deity, NIKR-MANA. We will present some etymological arguments that can inspire us to contemplate the Slavic deity NIKR-MANA, and we will argue why we spell this category as NIK@R@M@N@. In parallel, we will revive the discussion of the potential of the concept of “mana” to serve as unifying agent for different religions and schools of wisdom. Sparks thought was preceded by extensive debate4 on MANA as a possible center of gravity of global spiritual teachings, at the eve of the 19th century. The idea was abandoned after the Second World war but the scholars’ debate on so-called manaism fortunately remains relatively well documented. UPASANA’s Academy for Research of Nature centred faith rituals Staroslavov Hram suggests a revival of this debate on unifying building blocks of different religions and spiritual teachings. It calls for collaborative research on the uninterrupted threads of explorations and knowledge transfers of separate nations to protect their spiritual roots, and to strengthen the relations to ancient wisdom centers and foster exchange amongst them. Simultaneously we shall review the epochs in history when the flow of ancient knowledge was (attempted or in fact) interrupted or even nearly annihilated, as was the case in Slovenia (in Middle Europe), the author’s home land. In the context of 19th-century research in manaism, it would be of value to conduct collaborative research on reasons why manaism as a research topic was first discredited and then quickly almost disappeared from scholars' agendas. No major effort was maid to further connect the dots. We have no room here to lay down the whole terms of reference – however, we contribute some indicative information - for such future research. Let us only note that M. Eliade5 at certain stage of the evolution of his 4 For example Campbell and a range of other researchers at the break of 19 and 20 century, based on discoveries and anthropological research of indigenous cosmologies in Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand and Guinea. The concept of mana was discussed as possible unifier of spiritual teachings https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Review_of_Manaism:_A_Study_in_the_Psychology_of_Religion. The research thread was demobiised and demonised. 5 Mircea Eliade in his Patterns in Comparative Religion, Eliade 1958. 6 reflection on religions, explicitly rejected mana as a key category for the analysis of religion. In the present era, leaders of Abrahamic religions remain passive and/or powerless when it comes to a need to resolve core political tensions and wars (Karabah, Ucraine, Gaza, Lebanon; Sudan, Koreas’, etc.) in a nonviolent manner, even though the conflicts are often also of religions nature, or even pour additional “religious fuel” to the hatred, while the leaders of the states engaged in armed conflicts are often closely tied to religious hierarchies - which pins the direct responsibility of religious leaders for ongoing wars. At the same time, the traditional schools of wisdom are called again to offer their simple, basic, fundamental unifying fragments. These have the potential to pave the ground for the new age of non-anthropocentric ethics, the ethics and the faith of Nature, the imperative of sustainability. In this respect we are provided with a crystal clear reference in Vedic scriptures, notably, the triple of values consisting of Asteya, Aparigraha, and Ahimsa. The triple A could – when adopted by critical mass of cultures as a robust, however designed in simple, lean value system - instantly demobilise colonial (predatory) culture and post-colonial reflexes. Non-violence, Non-stealing, No-Greed → Sustainability. This is a simple recipe for the Withdrawal and annihilation of the Colonial, Predatory Culture/Era. The Planet was promptly gifted With an Anthem of Such a New Era of Values: Imagine by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Europe therefore finds itself at the dawn of the colonial age, entering a post-colonial, non-predatory era. We simultaneously observe the revival of pre-colonial ethnic cosmologies as a promising phenomenon that offers firm foundation for the new ethics of non-stealing, modesty, and sustainability when it comes to the resources of the Mother Earth, and ethics of nonviolence and compassion when it comes to relationships of people with all other species on the planet and amongst the members of diverse human race communities (ethnic or cultural or subcultural) themselves. Respect to Life (in dense as well as in intangible dimensions) is grounded on awareness and consciousness that goes beyond anthropocentrism. The conscience is universe-all (in the Slovene language we are gifted with a meaningful word for a universe – VSE-MIR-JE, meaning All-IS-PEACE). In other words, only when we acknowledge all knowledge, and all truth, there will be peace. Any (ANY SINGLE) ignorance leads to a potential of disbalance within a holistic realm of micro or macro cosmos, and hinders peace and/or the tranquillity of the dynamic order. In Slovene cosmologies, this is reflected by the dual/triple meaning of the word svet. On the one hand svet relates to the World as a whole - Macro, and on the other hand svet relates to Microhabitat, the land that is used or managed by an individual/family/community (today normally addressed to as a “property”). The root svet also offers ground for the third use of svet to form a triple: svet-loba means LIGHT in many Slavic languages and is synonymously used as adjective meaning SACRED. Svet is sacred. The habitat (world as a whole and micro) is equally sacred. In Slovene, this cosmology is coded in one single word indicating the holographic nature of hierophany – the seed-mantra SVET. Such cosmological ontology hints to a sacred simplicity of true, trustworthy perennial spiritual teaching. 7 This volume is to unveil the core of the true marble of Slavic, pagan, pre-colonial cosmology. As there is no peace without the tiniest piece of truth, this volume contributes a brick-stone to intercultural reconciliation in the sense of Gandhian Satya Graha. Pavlo Medvešček6, further referenced in abundance in this paper, reports about the rediscovery of the Slovene traditional deity Nikrmana and about the sacred music instrument, kabrca, related to Nikrmana. Medvešček unveils but fragments about kabrca and Nikrmana. He recorded that kabrca was used by community leaders for the connectivity with universal consciousness, the cosmic basin of peace, in the Slovene language, the vse-mir-ska Nikrmana. As Internet Search Engines replaced the introspective knowledge/ability of brokerage (intuition, introspection) into “all-knowledge”, knowledge of Holistic awareness, the presented research also reminds on the - almost forgotten - introspective abilities of the human race. Following this ground breaking research discovery, the next symposia in a row of symposia dedicated to the revival of Slovene traditional faith will be organized on the theme of Ethnic Spiritual Wind Instrument Kabrca, and the supreme spiritual Slavic deity Nikrmana. An introductory hypothesis on this specific phenomenon discovered in Central Europe Slavic tradition of Slovenes is presented below, offering also an overview of the current state-of-the-art research concerning the interpretations of Nikrmana7. 6 MEDVEŠČEK, Pavle also MEDVEŠČEK KLANČAR, Pavlo, graphist, painter, primary school teacher, educator, publicist, collector of ethnological records and material was born in Anhovo, Soča valley in western Slovenia on 8. avgust 1933, Anhovo, passed away recently, on 22. oktober 2020. He authored monumental and ground braking volume From the Invisible Part of the Sky in 2015, published by Scientific Research Center of Slovene Academy of Science under editorship of dddr. Andrej Pleterski; further referenced as Medvešček, 2015. 7 A snapshot on the state of the art of research conducted in Slovenia regarding the heritage of indigenous, authentic Slovene faith – nature centred cosmology: https://www.academia.edu/112589661/SLOVENE_NATURE_CENTERED_ETHNIC_FAITH_STATE_ OF_THE_ART_OF_THE_RESEARCH. 8 Ground Braking research in Slovenia calls for the Revival of Manaism We will argue, that Slovene deity Nikrmana could be spelled as NikaraMaanas, pronounced as Nik@r@m@n@, because of the reasons of comprehensive phono linguistics. The Academy Staroslavov Hram compares it to Vedic Prajapati/Brahma as a cosmological deity overarching the concept of MAANAS, MANA, and also to other (etymologically similar or even the same) comparable cosmological entities from the rich heritage8 of the humanity’s genuine, ethnic, nature-centered spiritual traditions. This includes the Roman ancient belief that MANIS are the spirits of ancestors, the Egyptian cult of the first man, and dynastic ruler Menes (pronounced as Manis) which can be compared to the Indian figure of Manu. While Persian Avesta also uses MAN in the same sense as Vedas. The long story concludes with the appearance of prophet Mani and the movement of Manichaeism in the early centuries of the New Era, followed on European Continent later by dualistic European Heresies such as Paulicians, Bogomils and Cathars which are all backed by gnostic traditions when it comes to concepts such as quintessence or pane supersubstantialis and were surviving in Europe over centuries until must harsh inquisitions during the late middle ages. In this sense several traditional beliefs, and also European-Asian religious9 concepts, hint at the hypothesis, that mana could present a spiritual, mysterious, meta-physical force, essential for the existence. Common attributes of such force/deity include categories of wisdom, knowledge, awareness, insight, therefore , consciousness as such. In all traditions, consequently, due to the intangibility and omnipresence/complexity of the notion of consciousness, the related entities/deities/forces were embraced in the mystical sphere and were armoured with the mystical powers that derived from the complex, holistic nature of awareness of the Whole. The notion of mani was present in the time of enlightenment in central Europe to the degree that principal Slovene poet, who folded into verses the glorious Epic “Baptism at Savica Spring”, unveiling the determined resistance of Slaves against the Christianisation, their loyalty to old beliefs and expressed clear condemnation of brutal Christianisation. France Prešeren, tributed his chef-d’oeuvre to the manis10 of his late best friend, his contemporary intellectual Matija Čop. Prešerens’ masterpiece 8 See for example Campbell in Manaism, A study in the philosophy of religion, The American Jorunal of Philosophy. Where the Melanesian cosmology is presented as being centered around the concept of mana, and other cases in world cultures are presented as comparable in terms of ontologies. For example, Masai people in Keny and theri belief in Ngai, or Cenrral African belief in Mulunga force, explaining everything that could not be understood by members of the tribe. Similarly to African tradition, we find tradition of Wakanda and Orenda in North Americas, always indicating to the existence of mysterious force. 9 including The Bible and The Kuran . 10 Manis in a sense of above described Roman pagan traditions: manis as spirits of ancestors. 9 proves that the ideas of transcendence (in time and in spheres of existence/life/conscience) as well as the ideas of reincarnation (in cosmologies the reincarnation beliefs are grounded on the belief in transcendental nature of the being) reappeared in the epoch and gravitated around different interpretations and the ontologies of mana. The Patty Smith poetry quote from the prologue is yet another proof of the existence of such Fille Rouge of Western world desperate search of the spiritual identity after millennia of brutal Catholicization. The fille-rouge incarnate interwoven conceptualisations of fifth dimension, quintessence, monades, souls, psyche, mental body …… in one field that can be framed as universal CONSCIOUSNESS, abundance of accessible information. Therefore, The Knowledge, The Awareness, which is well worded in Sanskrit terms of NIKARA-MAANAS , directly translated in this paper as the Abundance Of Maanas. In Vedic literature, the trinity of cosmic – spiritual and earthly conscience is in the domain of Prajapati11. In a sense of cosmogenesis Upasanas Academy Staroslavov hram elaborated hypothesis12 that Nikrmana equivalents Prajapati, the trinity needed for creation: Will (as supreme expression of Conscience) , Energy and Matter. Old, traditional wisdoms spanned in nonlinear worlds of realms of conscience. As such the cosmologies were hypercomplex, non-dualistic and, non-anthropocentric in principle. In other words, the dilemma personal-impersonal can not be applied to resolve the question of the nature of mana or related deities such as NIK@R@M@N@ which will remain outside of any linear cognition. The nonlinearity applies to time, and space and to manifested. Dr. Lenart Škof made a relationship of such non-linearity with Quantum Fields of Conscience and Awareness13. Škof recalls the Upanishads question on How many Gods there are and elaborates, that Slovene Old Faith is consistent with IndoEuropean traditions of elementary forms of existence, that are interrelated by air, vedic vayu and the breath, in Slovene language DIH, better spelled as D H. And here we are; in the domain of multidimensional AIRY space, where the search for the understanding of mana can begin. Such journey towards understanding of mana can easily begin (and with many disciples does) with studies of Vedic matrix of mana, maanas, vayu and prajnas (in a sense of Vidya) and with the practices of prana-yama. We explained in other volumes, that Slovene synonyms for AIR reflect the triple nature of Airy Space: Zrak (lower, earthly air) is the air containing physically measurable radiations (heat, electromagnetic, radioactive). In Croatian language, ZRAK@ means radiation, ray. The atmospheric air, where subtle vibrations occur, is called in Slovene language VZDUH and in Croatian, a similar word appears as VAZDUH, which is in Croatian used as principal word for AIR. In Slovene language, VZDUH, as etymological synonymous word to ZRAK as the most popular translation of AIR and VZDUŠJE are 11 Prajapati combines Mana, Prana and Vak, as explained by K.C. Kulish, in Vedas as Science, by Patrika Publication, 2010. 12 Marko Hren in Duhovno vodstvo v Sloveniji nekoč in danes, Beletrina 2018, and in Ancient schools of wisdoms, Akademija Staroslavov Hram 2020 as well as in Proceedings Zbornik simpozija o staroverstvu v Kobaridu, DSS 2020. 13 See more in The fragments of Slovene primordial religion, Elementi slovenske prvotne religije in Slovensko Staroverstvo v Sloveniji med religijo in znanostjo, Studia Mythologica Slavica, Suplementa, Založba ZRC SAZU, 2022. 10 used to signify the atmosphere - the air filled with subtle interrelation of vibes generated by beings and entities (referred to by Medvešček as ZDUHCI). The higher levels of AIR in Slovene are addressed as ETER (Ether) and the wind bringing ether from above is spelled as V-ETER. The Wind. In such narrative, the Medveščeks’ recordings on the Nikrmana deity are placed in a reasonable cosmology. We shall not reduce Nikrmana to perception of Forces of Nature but shall think about it as Intelligence beyond the Realm of dense Matter, or of the Earth since it equally encompasses the intelligence of the Solar System and of the MAcroCosm as a whole. It signifies the intelligence that dwells in omnipresent realms of conscience and involves the attribute of Will. To use an example: The Old Faith perception does not qualify the thunder and lightning as mere power of certain supranatural entities, but would understand that there is will, purpose and therefore conscience behind the natural phenomenon. Such conscience is beyond the human ability to cognize. This is why it makes no sense to content about personal vs impersonal nature of mana where the scholars of the early 20th century, including beloved Mircea Eliade seem to have gotten stuck. Any dualistic, or even anthropocentric interpretation of Nikrmana would in this sense miss the point of the complexity of Old Faith, awareness, and understanding. We therefore have firm reasons to translate NIKRMANA literary from Sanskrit NIKARA MAANAS - Abundance Of Conscience, of Mental worlds in all levels of Manas in all realms of existence. It represents a convoluted sum total of all intelligence that exists. A sum-total and not a personal attribute! Medvešček indicates, that Kabrca “takes the thoughts to Nikrmana”, therefore, connect the human mind with other levels of Manas, the Psyche, the Souls on individual and collective levels. Since I was gifted with abundant opportunities to discuss with the late Pavlo Medvešček over our travels on the tour with his book From the Invisible Side of the Sky (2016-2017) in all provinces of Slovenia, I kept asking him about details of the pronunciation of Nikrmana by the old-faith community members that he interviewed, knowing, that he only possessed oral witnessings. The pronunciation of Nikrmana was of my particular interest and potential phonetic differences in using vowels - silent in-brain singing of n -i-k-a-r-a-m-a-n-a might differ from the sounding when expressing it loud and quickly, pronouncing Nikrmana. But this is only a virtual appearance of difference. NKRMANA can be spelled as NIKARAMANA and Medvešček, who coined the word of the deity, confirmed such cognition when he was challenged to recall his Phono-linguistic memory. Pavle Medvešček did not exclude the option of spelling the deity Nik@r@m@n@, where @ signifies flexibility of options for pronouncing the vowel. Slavic Nikrmana would therefore - directly translated from Sanskrit being the most credible dictionary of ancient Euro-Asian terms - signify The supreme conscience, and as such also the supreme Truth paralleled with Egyptian Menes pronounced as maˈnij and Vedic Mani/Manu, as a mind- born son of Brahman, the archetypal man, and also with the concept of Persian razim (etymologically razim is the root for Slovene word RAZUM, - the Reason), and later gnostic (also Mani-chean) beliefs. This thread fuelled the Cathar and Bogomil doctrine, as well as newer concepts as for example Gaia and 11 noosphere, substantially differentiating from the Roman_Chatolic interpretation of the narrative from Our Father as we will explain later. Several researchers in the late 19th century14 defined mana as spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe and define Mana together with Tabu as positive and negative attributes of sauvage spirituality and understanding of the supernatural. On the other side, Ivy G. Campbell15 in her overview on manaism, compares field workers' achievements until early 20ties century, comparing findings from Malenesia, Polinesia, North America and Africa and finds parallels in a sense of consistent cosmologies, No doubt then, that mana reappeared also in ancient Roman cosmology as a spirit of ancestors -Manis, and is mentioned both in the Bible and in the Koran, while Mani had to reappear in the Asian regions to correct biases and establish strong heretic gnostic wing of Manichaeism – with the echo of Paulicians, Bogomil, and Chatar Gnostic movements that followed later in Europe. In our earlier works16 i.e. Ancient Schools of Wisdom17, we analysed the related Christian bias embedded in Our Father as regards the misconception of mana - while the Bogomil and Cathar versions18 of Our Father refers to primordial substance, eternal essence, spiritual food, awareness, quintessence, or Latin pane super-substantialem.19 It is not about “daily bread needed as food for survival”, but it is about spiritual, vital connection with ecosystems’ (micro and macro, as explained earlier, when addressing the triple nature of Slovene word SVET) conscience, knowledge, truth, and will/purpose. Mana is, therefore – the “food from the sky, the truth from the upper worlds”. The spiritual imperative in a sense of Aramaic ( Ebionits) version of pane 14 i.e. in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, R.R: Marett in his 1909 work The Conception of mana, republished in 1914 in The Threshold of Religion, Oxford. 15 MANAISM: A STUDY IN THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION. IVY G. CAMPBELL. ( American Journal of Psychology, January, 1918). Pp.49. 16 Hren in Zbornik III. Symposium 2019, DSS, 2020, Ancient Schools of Wisdom, Contemporary Spirituality 4.0., Sustainable Development and Industry 4.0. An Issues paper on evolution of the concepts of spirituality. Including case study: Slovenia. 17 www.academia.edu 18 For examplein Van Niekerk, 2019, Bogomils et Cathares sur la phrase-cle dans la Priere divine. 19 Dick Van Niekerk reports: Devant ce mot exceptionnel, il invente a son tour en guise de traduction é : supersubstantialem. Ainsi trouve-t-on la phrase suivante chez les bogomiles, et plus tard chez les cathares : Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie. supersubstantialem ? " " z ( ) q ŕ « q q é é » à ’ ! E : ( -dessous) et : ( ) ( ) ’ ’ q é -dessous de é Q q A ’ é ’ è q q ‘ é ’ : " ę -ce-que- ’é " Ex é : ’ ’ é q ’ C’ à ’ é q Jé ô (H ë y ) : q ’ q ’ « » é é č x F ç R ( 483-1553) : substantifique moelle, soit la quintessence, le noyau B ’ q eur vie que les bogomiles priaient, et Catharose de Petri, une des G î R é q « q é é » ’ â . 12 super-substantialem ‘mahar’ – which indicates to Eternity 20 »the food of eternity». Eternal food as spiritual food, knowledge, prana or a spark, needed for survival, MAANAS in Sanskrit,, MANDA (knowledge in Kabala). Non-linearity (in time and in sequences/clusters) and space-lessness are inherent to such understanding of the Great, Abundant Consciousness. 20 Lechem ha Mahar citira: “Jerome, who had access to the lost Gospel of the Hebrews: “In the Gospel according to the Hebrews for 'super-substantial' bread I found mahar, which means 'of the morrow', so that the sense is: Our bread of the morrow, that is, of the future, give us this day.” http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelhebrews-mrjames.html” 13 Symposia 2025– Kabrca – the sound-bond between the silence within and the silence in space; Kabrca as a bridge between M@N and NIK@R@M@@N@ Towards European Cultural Capital GO2025 Introductory note: A documentary on Slovene Old faith at Slovene National TV, recorded in April 2017 shows some live examples21 of Kabrca playing at Slovene nature-centered faith community events. These were rare opportunities where Old faith communities allowed for TV presence. Kabrca – as documented by Pavlo Medvešček, 2015. Kabrca, a D H based instrument to dialogue with the Rich Silence, The Conscience of the Earth The discourse on Nikrmana fits well the theme of the next planned symposia on the wind clay instrument KABRCA, the ancient NativeFaith okarina-type clay instrument. 21 The first occasion was at the event dedicated to Pavle Medvešček in Ljubljana, Cankarjev dom and the second during the summer equinox celebration in Žalec, Eastern Slovenia. Here: https://www.rtvslo.si/rtv365/arhiv/174464648?s=tv 14 The instrument was – together with the concept of Nikrmana - first revealed and presented by Pavlo Medvešček in his chef d'oeuvre From the Invisible part of the Sky in 2015. The kabrca was supposed to be used by Native faith elders exclusively for ritual liaison with Nikrmana and spirits (zduhci)22. After the publication of From the Invisible part of the Sky, diverse hypotheses were published regarding the possible historical background and the meaning (etymological, religious etc), of the deity Nikrmana. In 2017 two scientific symposia were held in West Slovenia on the phenomenon of traditional Faith as documented by Medvešček, and Pavlo Medvešček took part in both23. Both symposia are documented in detail in proceedings published by the organisers. Kabrca design is based on a triangle with 5 holes determining sound. Triple of those determine scale, and two holes determine the functionality of breath blowing. It is normally tuned in quint which determines its modularity. Three sizes of Kabrca, an artwork of Alenka Gololičič after the drawings of Pavlo Medvešček. The sickle is added for the purpose of the feel of the size of three instruments in the collection of the author. Dr. Mira Omersel Mirit24 presented Kabrca in the context of other instruments of old faith healers and seers. According to her, Kabrca must have been an instrument to tune the person using it, with levels of conscience Dr. Omersel Mira as an ethnomusicologist and as a pioneer of contemporary spiritual revival in Slovenia, claims that the essential message of Kabrca is in its modularity of three tones and not in the potential ability to produce melodies. In this sense, Mira confirms the intuitive declaration of Alenka Gololičič, who experimented with kabrca as the first artist, and claimed, that kabrca must have been a meditative instrument. Following the line of arguments, NikrMana must therefore represent an entity, that goes beyond human and Earthly conscience and beyond forces operating on Earth. It must represent the link with cosmic consciousness. Dddr. 22 Medvešček quoutes his sources claimng that »the instrument Kabrca would be used by spiritual leader to connect te thoughts with Nikrmana« 23 The first was organised by Gorica Museum in June 2017 titled Old Faith – old knowledge and new challenges for interdisciplinary science, and the second by Association of SLovene Old Faith. 24 Katedra Veduna 15 Andrej Pleterski in his contribution Verovanje host v sklopu staroverstva na Slovenskem in verovanje starih Slovanov25 explains indices of correlation of »Nikrmana star« and the moon calendar, and complex cosmology due to geometric similarities embedded in Nikrmana Star and the plate found at Kamberško called Sedmak, (a sketch of a month consisting of three weeks by 9 days). Pleterski cognizes that Nikrmana Star might have been used to consult Nikrmanas Will, which would be consistent with the hypothesis that NikaraMaanas represents the Great Conscience. This would fit as an argument paralleled to the ancient concepts of Egyptian Menes, Vedic Manu, and Greek concepts of Gaia, as well as to contemporary concepts of Noosphere, and NewAge Fifth Dimension or the 16th centuries concepts of Quintessence, the fifth element, representing the vehicle of spiritual nature – as discussed for example by Francoise Rabelais. This is also well consistent with the 5th power known to Slovene old faith sages. The main source for Pavlo Medveščeks’ presentation of Nikrmana, Janez Strgar, claims that the Worship places created by Nikrmana as sacred places of (in) the Nature, suffice for spiritual worship of Nature centred faith community. No additional places (created by humans) are therefore needed for worship. He further claims, that »Nikrmana is always above«, meaning, in the upper spheres of the air26. »The essential thing in the place of worship in the nature, is the AIR«. This perfectly supports the interpretation of Slovene cosmology being based on three levels of air, as explained earlier (ZRAK, VZDUH, V-ETER) corresponding to Ayurvedic APANA, VYANA and PRANA. Kabrca is, correspondingly, a wind instrument, that accelerates the wind (v-eter) as a metaphor of the air coming from above, from the world known to Slavs as PRAV, the sphere of the LAWS of the creation. 25In Staroverstvo v Sloveniji med religijo in znanostjo, chapter 7. on Nikrmana and chapter 8. Dajbog, Nikrmana on SveteGore. Studia Mythologica Slavica, Suplementa, Založba ZRC SAZU, 2022 26 We further explained the three levels of AIR in Slovene cosmology in relation to the levels of Vayu in Indian Vedic cosmologies, amongst other in Hren, 2022, Ancient Schools of Wisdom. 16 Conclusions Our hypothesis concerning the meaning of Nik@r@M@n@s deity that evolved from the state of the art of Old Faith (in this volume addressed to as Nature Centered Faith ) research that was recently conducted in Slovenia, led to three hypotheses: 1. Slavic indigenous cosmologies would support the idea of 19th and early 20th century manaism, claiming that MANA represents an universal unifying spiritual building block. The persistent presence of a continuous, ubiquitous thread of ancient Slavic wisdom survived despite colonial predatory religious violence in Slovenia. It can serve as a message of hope that predatory culture will cease and the Colonial Age will finally be completely abandoned, providing, that the awareness of the meaningfulness of ancient traditional sustainability centered wisdoms prevails. The presence of the category of MANAS in the collective knowledge of Slovenes still in 19th and 20th century, is well reflected by the most prominent Slovene Poet , France Prešeren who - in his chef d’oeuvre Epic “Baptism at Savica Spring”, coined the connection between Manis and the regional echoing of the ancient schools of wisdom, the OldFaith. Prešeren unveils and condemns violent Christianisation and promotes resistance of Slavs to protect the ancestral wisdoms and beliefs: the poet also symbolically pictures the unity of Bogomilism, Druidism, Christianism, and Slavic Traditional Spirituality, staging the figures incarnating symbolic (Bogomila) or factual identity (Staroslav and Črtomir for Slavic old faith, and converted druid as Catholic priest) of the four mentioned cosmological waves at Bled island in the crucial episode of the epic. The poet clearly dedicated / tributed this major work of his to MANIS; spirits of ancestors. Doing so, the poet coined a historic message to generations that followed. He metaphorically connected manaism, druidism, Slavic priesthood and bogomilism/ manichaism, with Greco-Romanic versions of Christianity to praise diversified, pluralistic collage of Slovene spiritual landscape. 2. Slovene concept of Nik@r@M@n@ fits to the comparable understandings of ancient cosmologies, which were essentially evolving around the idea of existence of Aboundant Consciousness, all-Prevailing Awareness, the Omnipresence, the Unspeakable, the Incomprehensible, which are – taking comparative etymology into account - a most senseful synonym of Nikara – maanas. The discourse on Manaism from the early 20ties century supply scholars with abundant references in this respect from our ancestors cultures from all over the planet. 3. The concept of manaism can offer answers to deeper understand the cosmology of nonviolence, respect27 for Life and for the Nature, since the awareness of oneness conditions the true respect of individual in relation to 27 …in Vedic literature robustly presented as union of Ahimsa, Asteya and Aparigraha. 17 the complex ontology of the environment (micro and macro). And such awareness is key to stop the culture of greed and predator-ship and revert the wisdom of respect, humbleness and sustainability. In this sense, the holistic revival of traditional cosmologies and value systems is key for contemporary mitigation of environmental challenges on the Planet. 18 Appendix: Prešern prize for Mira Omersel Mirit; Eulogy, September 2024 A homage to the lifetime sound-print of Slovene ethno- musician, researcher, lecturer, healer, shaman, nature- centered faith priestess, Mira Omersel Mirit (1957, +2024). Mira playing Kabrca, accompanied by her group Vedun, at the historic gathering hosted by the Government of Slovenia for registered religious organisations in 2015 The fare-thee-well homage address by Jaromir Stanislav Marko Hren, GM NVVZ, chief priest of Cosmological Society UPASANA and Head of Upasanas Academy for Research of Nature Centered Faith Rituals; Eulogy at Žale Cemetery; Plečnikove Žale, Ljubljana, 25.9.2024 Belowed Mira, beloved son of yours, Tine, dear friends, respected assembly of the Slovene Starosvetna (Si: OldSacred28) Community, The Slovene Language is precise. The word slovesnost , ceremony, etymologically evolves from sloves, meaning, fare-thee-well in the one, and glory in the other sense of the word. Sloves therefore signifies the commemoration of departure, as well as 28 MIrits own phrasing of Nature Centred Faith Hierophany in Slovene language was: Starosvetno – Old-Sacred. 19 the collective acknowledgement of the most outspoken virtue or achievement of an individual concerned. We leave subtle levels of existence (stardust) during the ritual of birth when we borrow for a while the dense matter (dust). We leave the sanctuary of the family when we marry, we depart from profane when we enter the priesthood, and we leave hedonistic life when we accept ascetic life. Finally, departing from the world of dense matter, we leave behind our friends and experiences of the material world. Each departure is demanding, and each ceremony of transit leads to previously unknown worlds. Mira, you often declared, that the passage from subtle to dense matter is tougher than the departure from the Earthly experiences back to subtle spheres of existence - and somehow you did look forward to being back again, in your so much favoured spheres of the finest vibrations. We therefore rejoice with you these days, when you transit and pass away. Beloved Mira Our first encounter, happened under the mesmerizing environment of strings, an abundant number of strings. You were playing an ancient instrument oprekelj, a sort of more complex and sophisticated relative of a zither. And I was playing in a group of local tamburas, tambura/tamburica being a Balkan relative of the eastern Slavs mandolin or Macedonian/Greek bouzouki. I remember your mesmerizing appearance with Oprekelj, a charming and sophisticated ancient string instrument. You made me forever remember - at that time of my teenage development - about your passion for sound. Strings ruled our atmosphere. And, since we were both Pythagoreans in our philosophical approach, the tunning of the strings triggered always new topics for our debates. And later on, we formed a group playing “Old Ethnic Instruments” where you, a young student of ethnomusicology, mentored me, a grammar school pupil, playing pan-flutes that dominated South-Eastern regions of Slovenia. Our atmosphere was saturated with fine vibes of abundant winds blowing from our mouths. … a half of the century has passed since… Our paths have crossed regularly over the decades that followed – without interruption until today. We supported each other as a brother and a sister and we always found a reason to come together again to support each other. Our bond consisted of three-fold yarn consisting of • first, our mutual Love for Music and Sound, • second, our mutual adoration of the richness of our cultural heritage as well as our deep respect for Ancestorial Wisdoms, • and third, our mutually shared passion to explore the unlimited space of the Spirit, the DUH in Slovene, the Divine Breath, and the Divine Air Itself. 20 During the last decade, we partnered around the revival of Slovene Nature Centered Traditional Faith, the OldFaith of Slavs. Or as you would say STARO-SVETNO, ANCIENT-SACRED. Dear Friends “… w 29 awaiting thoughts that follow would be mouthed here as …” Mira, Slovenia will treasure you in its memory, shoulder by shoulder to giants of Perennial Spirituality Revival, France Prešeren, Iconic Slovene Poet of the 19th century, and Jože Plečnik, celebrity amongst central European Architects of the early 20th century. They served as early birds, announcing the era of an awakening of Old Faith, Old Wisdoms of the ancestors of our nation, the Spiritual Leaders of the past. Their giant opuses paved the ground for the revival of genuine, perennial, authentic, autonomous Slovene cosmology. Mira and I, we called this process Spiritual Liberation. Mira, you will be standing in our memories in the company of a range of researchers and practitioners of the Ancient Wisdom of our ancestors. Over the past 7 years, the following giants of Slovene ethnic heritage passed away. Musicians Slavo Batista and Ljuben Dimkaroski, film director, Jadran Stele, comparative ethnologist Zmago Šmitek, collector and painter Pavlo Medvešček Klančar, who, amongst other Old Faith artefacts, revealed to us the Kabrca, the instrument of Slovene spiritual leaders. And finally, a couple of years ago, sociologist of religion and former director of government's office for religious freedom, key Slovene expert for the freedom of religion legal environment, Gregor Lesjak. I rejoice thinking of all of you and joining you in spirit and I feel confident, that you, Mira, are joining the most prestigious group of old souls, creators of the new era of spirituality. However, your work, Mira, stands out as somewhat special, since you integrated a variety of approaches. Starting from your scrupulous interdisciplinary research of music and sound, continuing with your experimentation and practice of the healing nature of Sound, all on the frontier of the scientific state of the art. You named your deep dive into the matrix of resonances of the subtlest vibrations across the levels of Consciousness and of the levels of Life-Forces as the Cosmic Resonance. 29 A famous stanza from the Gratest Epic by most renowned National Poet France Prešeren titled Baptism at Savica Source, is used here as a metaphor of complementarity of the grand labours of the mentioned giants of Slovene spiritual Liberation. 21 The competencies and value-added of this collaboration amongst the protagonists of spiritual liberation were highly complementary and constituted a coherent pattern of the building blocks for a new, celestial, perennial spirituality. We could conclude, that our ancestral spiritual infrastructure is today revealed and laid in front of us to be widely used to finally conclude the Spiritual Liberation Process. The architect Jože Plečnik framed the Ljubljanas’ ritual pagan celestial architecture30. France Prešeren coined an epic metaphor to freeze in time the moments of violent and forcible alienation of the nations’ ethnic spiritual wisdom, faith, and beliefs and brutal ethnocidal catholicisation of the nation while he also erected the celestial reminder of the Power of the People to “Find the path31 to where the sons shall freely choose their Faith and Laws.” Well, France failed to include the daughters here in verse, but our Deity of Abundant Conscience, Nik@r@M@n@ relatively promptly corrected this error, (the error most probably being a result of Iambic-Eleventh Rule of the epics rhythm) and invoked a woman, yourself Mira, to upgrade the spirituality infrastructure to a fifth dimension. Namely, Plečnik laid the foundations of the ritual order in space of the surface of the Earth, at the level of the Geosphere, the material world that radiates in the air called ZRAK32 physically measurable waves (heat, magnetic, radioactive, and other). Prešeren addressed - with his poetic metaphor - the middle air, in Slovene VZDUH33, the atmosphere itself, as created by spirits (zduhci,) etheric beings on the level of devas. While Mira, you operated at the upper sphere of the Air, The ETHER, or Slovene VETER, The Wind Itself. You operated suffused in the sphere of the upper air, the ether, and you pretzeled the finest patterns to invoke the conscience of Slovenes and Slaves and made them ready to absorb their perennial spiritual wisdom, therefore, the connection with Manis, the spirits of the ancestors, as referred-to also by France Prešeren in the preamble of his Epic Baptism at the Source of Savica. In doing so, You gave us Wings, the Feathers, and you have erected the subtlest corridors to reach to upper wind, that leads us to the realms of free choice of spirituality, where we can keep and feed our spirit. The generations to come will need to ripen far on height to hear your subtlest messaging, they will need to train their peaceful posture as your Kozača Owl does, observing, or as the Eagle cruising on his way up on buoyant wind. Only The deepest peace of mind will lift our conscience to the upper spheres where you have left your major imprints saturated in the sound. 30 Published at www.academia.edu at (99+) Guide to Heathen Ljubljana Capital of a Pagan State of Slovenia - Pre-Christian hierophany, pagan places of worship and perennial architecture | prostost duha - Academia.edu 31 From the already cited France Prešerens epic Baptism at Savica Source. 32 Croatian language has the word ZRAKA as the most commonly used word for RADIATION, WAVING 33 the Croatian language has the word VAZDUH as the most commonly used word for AIR 22 France Prešeren rehabilitated Mana and You did PRA(j)NA. Now we consciously can sing , comprehending what we wow, when singing the celestial anthem om bhur bhuva swaha - the Indoeuropean Gayatri Mantram; OOOM, ZRAK, VZDUH, VETER, (the three above-mentioned terms for the air in the Slovene language, the earthly, the atmospheric, and the celestial) you, the Air, suffused in all, you the power over all, divine and omnipresent, direct our will and course. Mira, you transversed the spheres of consciousness, as a mother, sister- soul, world traveler, priestess, shaman, healer, musician, writer, lecturer, therapeutist in such intense a manner, complex, intertwined, gigantic. But despite of clarity of messages, those who heard were scarcely found and those who grasped the whole were hardly few. Look Mira, the same is true for the arts of Jože Plečnik. Even though his masterpiece of glorious buildings is erect glamorously and monumentally all around in space, the mystic messages are hidden and are kept invisible to non-initiated minds. Rare are those aware of Plečniks’ ritual imperative behind34 the heavy construction, and of devas being praised in building decorations, so strictly dominated by the symbols of the Wildhood, Nature, The Divjina35 in Slovene, where the wild hood equals Space of Vital Devas, sacred beings holding the grid of vital forces of the Life On Earth. We shall make Peace, Mira, with the equal share of spell to fortress the marble of your labour: your sound-print will be accessed by only those who dwell in peace, who contemplate and stare with open mind afront immensity of NikaraManas – The Aboundand Consciousness. As nobody could hack the master PLečniks’ mind to unlock his well-protected puzzle of the ritual grid of the built environment, the same applies to secrets those of yours; being well recorded in your music masterpieces, clear and loud, however, Who On Earth will really Hear the patterns of mystic codes in Sounds you wowed? The immensity does not necessarily compensate the clarity of sight. Plečnik did code a matrix of eternal bond of the wild hood and the nature controlled (possessed) by humans, he interacted the tamed and untamed, Nation (Si: ROD) and the Nature (Si: PRI-RODA, that surrounds the ROD). And You Yourself, Mira, you waved the link between the earthly and the eternal cosmic awareness – you called that link a cosmic telepathy. Plečnik established a silent, most fine, and subtle spiritual infrastructure of our hometown Ljubljana, where the symbols of the sacred rule the grid of dragon curves (lay lines) respectful to the mysterious perennial philosophy. The cosmic angle, the 34 UPASANAs Academy Staroslavov Hram has recently published a research paper revealing the mistical background of Jože Plečniks urbanism and architecture. Published under the Creative Commons here https://www.academia.edu/91824705/Guide_to_Heathen_Ljubljana_Capital_of_a_Pagan_State_of_Sl ovenia_Pre_Christian_hierophany_pagan_places_of_worship_and_perennial_architecture 35 Zmago Šmitek explained in depth the mythological meaning of the divjina as a microcosm of devas in his last chef d'oeuvre before he passed away: The Wispering of the Wildhood (Šelest Divjine), Beletrina, Ljubljan, 2016. 23 angle of inclination of Planet Earth, applied in numerous arts of Plečnik, reminds us of sacred order at each and every step. But rare are those who see, and understand. However, celestial imprint dwells all around, silently, with subtle powers. Same way, your matrix in the sound, not necessarily being consciously heard, will penetrate the perception membrane of the collective self and thus to all. In a half century of eruptive creativity, when you have been performing with your music group Vedun, or teaching in your Academy VEDUNA, as Plečnik did in Physical body of the Space, you erected infrastructure in the subtlest air above. The v-et(h)er It is therefore correct to stand in fare-thee-well to you right here, in the midst of Plečniks shell devoted to the ritual of the final passage. Here is the mystery of the perennial grid. Plečnik draws Protection KVINT (perennial magic) by pinning two crossed lines. The major being the solstice line eternally carved in the Ljubljana valley geosphere by the repeated appearance of the first-morning ray of sun at the winter solstice. Today, the ancient bone fire hills are traumatised by the imperial infrastructures of the Catholic Church (Church at Rudnik parish, aligned With Church At Trnovo and at Rožnik Hill). This line continues straight to Sacred Mount of Triglav, which offers mesmerizing sight of early morning winter solstice down. And the perpendicular line was echoed by the master, who placed the ritual cemetery in the North and His Home in Trnovo district in the south. The master praised the winter solstice and its poetic sunrise to degree that he placed his home right there in the middle. He concluded his life, standing and living and creating right in the center of his holly, protective, nourishing cross, the KVINT in Slovene tradition. And we stand today at KVINTS’ northern axis, which holds direction of our collective cruise in timeless, spaceless spheres. The Logoi of the Cosmic Realm that you contemplated in your music, research and literature. * * * Mira, above all, You were the first amongst the publicly declared priests of pagan, old, perennial spirituality and priesthood. We saw you shining Brave, Proud, and Dedicated, in your uncountable appearances in public. Your presence and the presence of your music group Vedun, were cherished at all major historical, protocol events and milestones as regards to revival of Slovene genuine, authentic spirituality – the old nature-centered faith, starosvetno. You were singing at the first reception of the secular authorities for the registered religious groups where the presence of nature-centered traditional faith (starosvetna, as you called our community) actors was granted by Gregor Lesjak36 for the first time in recorded history. I will always remember the body language of the representatives 36 A fourth symposia of Nature Centered Faith research community at Kobarid, west Slovenia, was dedicated to the life achievements of Gregor Lesjak in 2022, when he passed away. The proceedings are published here: https://www.academia.edu/112589661/SLOVENE_NATURE_CENTERED_ETHNIC_FAITH_STATE_ OF_THE_ART_OF_THE_RESEARCH 24 of Abrahamic religions when they sighted us performing, dressed in light white canvas. On the picture: the minister for Culture on the left, the author giving his address to fellow-priests of Slovene registered religious groups, holding the newly published Pavlo Medveščeks book From Invisible Part of the Sky, and Veduna group sitting in the center with Mira Omersel Mirit and her Son Tine. On the right representatives of Abrahamic religions. You also sang at the first-ever reception of the Slovene president of the state dedicated exclusively to priests of nature-centered faith at the winter solstice ceremony. The president must have been exposed to heavy, criticism after his gesture, since, until today (when more than 7 years passed) no response to the proposals of the old faith was granted. 25 Mira Omersel – the third from the right, standing by the side of Pavlo Medvešček Klančar, at the reception of the president of the state, HE Borut Pahor, (third from the left) during the Winter Solstice ceremony 2016. The president was gifted just printed book From Invisible Part of the Sky, by the author Medvešček himself. The book is visible on the photo laying on the table afront, while Mira's gift to the Slovene president, the apple, is visible on the book. No wonder, that the political elite in Slovenia failed to assemble the courage to praise you with The France Prešerens prize37 for your life Achievements. Further on, You exposed the power and the vitality of our heritage during the first gathering of Slavic priests, representing old faith organisations from all Slavic countries. 37 France Prešerens Prize is the highest prize ordained in Slovenia for the achievements in Culture and Arts. 26 Mira on her ritual drum (on the picture to the right) with her group Vedun during the first gathering of Slavic priests and shamans, representing old faith organisations from all Slavic countries held in Ljubljana, 2015 And of course, You have performed in Kobarid, where we rehabilitated the first documented sacred spring water and the sacred tree38. 38 The events in Kobarid from 2016-2022 are well documented in a sequence of proceedings following the 4 annual symposia. See www.dlib .si or www.staroverci.si. 27 Your spirit was everywhere when needed, always there, where the spiritual liberation, the awakening of celestial, perennial cosmology (you named it STAROSVETNO) was in question. This gives us a mandate, Mira, to hand you over with the wind of passage, the Price of Joy39 (in Slovene Prešerna Nagrada) celebrating the grandeur of your labour for the nations’ spiritual liberation. That night- last week over the full moon - when you decided to depart from your earthly shell, I could not fall asleep. Next day, when your son Tine gave me a call and asked me to deliver speech at this homage ceremony accompanying your departure, I instantly chose a 12-string guitar from the collection of instruments at home of mine; 12 strings instrument simulates best your bellowed oprekelj. And then I sang and played with the wind of yours. An image appeared so sound and clear: you created a large community of people who will - till the last breath of each – keep your spiritual infrastructure vital and available to the wider community of generations to come. Tine and I agreed, that I could offer you a wind instrument Kabrca to accompany your passage. Kabrca was recently re-discovered as an ocarina kind of clay instrument supposed to have been used by Slovene Old Faith Leaders to connect with Nik@r@m@na40, the abundant consciousness. Namely, our last collaboration was dedicated to the preparations for the next symposia and cultural events in Kobarid, which we planned to be dedicated to the sacred instrument Kabrca. We discussed and agreed on the cosmological codes of these instruments. I will always cherish this exchange of ours. The rehabilitation of Kabrca will remain our task …. now since you have a wind of Kabrca from my collection close to you on your path, I count on your collaboration – as always, Mira. The kabrca was passed from hand to hand to all participants of your todays final ceremony at the Plečniks Cemetery at Žale, before it was laid by your ashes. This was a symbolic gesture of the eternal bond within your community of Staro-svetno. 39 This is a poetic game with words. The last name of the national poet Prešeren, in Slovene language means joyful, or gay. The P š on one hand sounds very similar to P š (highest national prize for achievements in Culture and Arts) and on the other hand it simply means, a joyful prize. This part of eulogy also has a political message, since Mira Omersel was promoted twice to receive the Official Prešernova Prize, but the Jury nominate by the Ministry of Culture failed to deliver. 40 The author published a research paper on Kabrca and Nik@r@m@na; summary was published here https://www.academia.edu/112589661/SLOVENE_NATURE_CENTERED_ETHNIC_FAITH_STATE_ OF_THE_ART_OF_THE_RESEARCH and the entire paper in ENglish will soon appear on Academia.edu and, www.upasana.si. 28 We never had a single dispute in our long chronology of joyful union, despite of both of us being so unrepairable stubborn and determined …. I only had a minor trouble, while often hosting you on stage: you normally did cross the allocated timing for your performance. This is promising; luckily, since the life achievements of yours will go beyond any limits of time as well. Your achievements and gifts to the world are timeless and you will sound with us forever. Sound celestial and transit in joy, Mira. Yours in Peace and Dedication Jaromir Stanislav Marko Hren GM NVVZ Cosmological Society Upasana, free dreamy spirit 29