THE KOREAN WAVE and the unexpected esoteric thread running through it
Материалът на български виж ТУК.
Written by Ralie Blag
Translation: Neil Scarth
The material is addition to the publication “Bright Sparks in the Aura of Bulgaria”
(Download pdf of the book for free /+ addition booklet HERE.)
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I may not have a particular flair for anything else, but I am very good at feeling sincere enthusiasm and at following my heart unwaveringly. I can work methodically and monotonously like a machine without complaining – to earn a crust, but this is so only because my thoughts remain free in these cases to follow their inner inspirations without having to fit in with anything or anyone. In this way my thought processes remain free for things which awake my sincere interest. And since I have recently discovered for myself what’s known as the Korean Wave (한류, Hallyu), all of my free attention has been focused on absorbing and extracting the values which I have been able to discover there.
I suppose that what lies at the root of my interest in the Korean Wave is the strong link experienced to Christ-like ideas and messages, along with a true mysticism lent to values and perceptions in precisely this spirit. High-quality pop music with esoteric symbolism in the form of real, authentic knowledge in the lyrics and visual images – the world must indeed be really rich for it to supply (me with) even this. And my vague sense that I detect such energy because it really was invested by the trailblazer of the Hallyu phenomenon, namely Lee Soo Man – the creator of one of the biggest talent agencies today in Korea, SM Entertainment. These impressions of mine are based entirely on what I see in the videos and songs of my two favourite K-pop groups – EXO and NCT (Neo Culture Technology), along with a cursory glance at other performers on the label. Even the very stage names chosen for the groups of individual performers: if we examine them, we can’t help but detect the symbolic link I’ve mentioned.
The leaders of EXO-K and EXO-M, for example (before the group became an inseparable whole with one leader) are Suho and Kris. Suho means ‘patron, protector’ and I’ve heard in an interview that Lee Soo Man personally suggested the name as an artistic pseudonym for the lead boy, Kim Junmyeon. For Kris it’s clear where the emphasis lies and it’s also an intentionally chosen artistic pseudonym, but apart from that EXO’s main singer is Do Kyungsoo, which officially becomes D.O. – it’s read as ‘Dio’ and we know that’s the Latin root for ‘god’. As if to reinforce the idea, in one programme the presenters had fun calling Dio ‘Christian Dior’, while in the video for the song Tempo from EXO’s new album (2018), it’s precisely a Christian Dior shirt that Dio has on 
Without getting into too much detail, I’d like to let it be noted that in the selection of stage names for individual performers or whole bands (on this label) there is often intentional symbolism without this being intrusive or necessarily unambiguous. There is room for interpretation because of the connections and roots in terms of meanings in different languages, something that gives a further depth to the artistic performances, which gains my sincere admiration for the possibility of discovering new things and nuances of sense and messages to complement the purely musical side. Sometimes the root may be basically in its English meaning, like for example WinWin, the stage name of Dong Si Cheng of NCT (now also part of the Chinese sub-unit, WayV, where the V is also associated with the English word, ‘victory’, which could be a ‘vision’, who knows ). The main dancer of EXO, Kim Jongin for his part adopted the stage name Kai, which is used in several senses in Chinese, the most common meaning being ‘victory’, but also ‘begin, make a start, open’. It’s probably for precisely this reason that he is the one the presentation of EXO begins with in a series of teasers preceding the official debut of the group, while apart from that his super-power (as a theoretical concept) is teleportation, that is he opens doors on other dimensions and realms of time and space and in many videos and tours of EXO we see this symbolic element well-developed (and the allegory of the opening of the Third Eye is also present, which can be seen as a ring in his Tempo photosession + in NCT’s Limitless performance video on Doyoung).
At some point, I turned my attention to the fact that, apart from this, for the leaders of the groups NCT and Girls Generation were chosen Taeyong and Taeyon respectively – these are their real names, adopted as stage ones too. Tae-yong translates from Korean as ‘great dragon’ and we know that the (fire-breathing) dragon is one of the ur-images for the divine force within us – Snake-Fire-Kundalini, while in this case, we may also conveniently detect the presence of the nuance with the Greek root for ‘god’ – teo. The presence of The Snake (divine power and wisdom) is truly very much emphasized in the production of SM Entertainment as a whole, as we even have a female solo-performer BoA (partly derived from the real name of the singer, Kwon Bo-ah, but also abbreviated from Beat of Angel). I couldn’t but note also that in NCT almost the whole set of fundamental New Testament figures such as Mark, Lucas, Johnny… are present :), with only Lucas, in this case, being a pseudonym – that is, when the artists’ own names are sufficiently significant and appropriate, then they are kept. (P.S. For example, there was an intention Sehun‘s name to be transformed into that of the capital city of Korea, but it ended to be just transcribed the same way.) There is no way for me to know what the situation is for each individual case and what all the nuances they bear are, but even from what I am able to grasp according to my own cultural conditioning, it seems to me that the things I’ve noted are not accidental.
And so, with time my interest in EXO and what the Korean Wave had to offer deepened with the discovery of elements which awakened my enthusiasm ever more and it gradually spread to the group NCT as well, whose main theoretical concept is based on the films, ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Inception’ – their whole musical and stage production fill me with sincere awe and enthusiasm, not to mention my astonishment after I’d watched their explanatory video clips in two series of five and three episodes respectively, entitled: ‘Dream Lab, Switch, Empathy, Synchronization of Dreams, Back to the Reality’ and ‘The Origin, Synchronization of your Dreams, 7th Sense’.[1] Of course, I continued with a partial investigation of the other groups or solo singers with the idea of finding a strong liking for something else too, while in the meantime there was no way I couldn’t turn my attention to the K-pop group who have made the biggest splash in the West with their strong accent on social messages, BTS. Steadily and little by little, it finally turned out, though, that the next abundant source of inspiration for me came from Korean dramas thanks to the splendid character and charisma of the actor/singer Park Hyung-Sik (affectionately known as Sikkie).
The first Korean serial which I watched from beginning to end was actually ‘Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Reyo’. Inspiration came in the form of the involvement of my favourite from EXO, Baekhyun.
There is no other figure in the global pop music industry who brings me such strong and pure joy, together with the sense of a hidden, in its very particular wisdom-bearing and loving nature, strength of character. He is exceptionally good at making things (in a very natural and spontaneous manner) extraordinary and illogical so that he makes people smile and have fun (while also, incidentally, winning in their various TV game-shows, but without making too much of an effort). In connection with his non-standard thinking, it’s enough for me to give one example from EXO’s last TV reality show, ‘Travel the World on EXO’s Ladder II’. In order to decide what the destination of the journey is in this show of theirs, each of the members has to draw a line on their ladder. I think it’s not difficult to recognize which of all the lines belongs to Baekhyun…
Chen to Baekhyun after he draws his line:
Uhhh, what’s wrong with you, what are you doing?
Kai: It’s his mind, his mind!
Sub-title after Chen’s line, which crosses Baekhyun’s one:
The Ladder of EXO, which, on the third line has already turned into a labyrinth
And so, it’s important for us to note that it’s precisely Baekhyun who became the reason for mentioning above the first Korean drama I watched and it very surprisingly turned out that it starts and ends with Bulgarian folk music motifs at key moments and on several occasions in different episodes Bulgaria is mentioned in connection with Bulgarian rose oil, world-renowned in cosmetics. On top of all this, the main character in the serial is one of the most special ones in Korean history. (More on the topic see in EXO, who are making History.) The presence of a mildly fantastic aspect to this otherwise historical drama served extremely well in the incorporation of instructive elements and juxtapositions emphasizing the development of ethical social values throughout the ages up to the present day. The most noteworthy element for me in terms of what I learnt through the drama was that this is the ruler in Korean history who abolished slavery! King Gwangjong, it seems to me, must have been one of the enlightened figures in the history of our humanity and the difference in his application of values can be seen even in the fact that, in contrast to his father, who left behind him 25 sons and I don’t know how many daughters by many women, he had only 5 children and they were all from his wife, queen Daemok.
And so, the second drama that I watched almost in one go, by a series of coincidences, on the recommendation of a female friend of mine, turned out to be ‘Strong Girl/Woman Do Bong Soon’, the main instructive strand of which is the correct use of our strength (and power) in every possible sense.
An exceptionally amiable, fun and fresh serial which gained a place in my heart immediately, not least because of the superbly chosen actors in the main roles. The actress Park Bo-young, in the role of the main heroine, is a real peach, while in her partnership with the charming boss[2], portrayed by the even more charming in real life Park Hyung-sik, a special chemistry is to be felt. I had no expectations about the serial, nor any idea as to the plot-line and for that reason I was pleasantly surprised by several developments and twists in the story. The greatest surprise for me, though, turned out to be the main actor himself. My first thought about him was how much he resembles a top idol – he is simply exquisite in terms of figure and countenance! But the truly captivating thing about him is, of course, his aura itself. I sensed a character at the same time both powerful but also exceptionally kindly. Really funny, fresh and loving towards people, but also profound, thoughtful and capable of independent judgement, that is pursuing his own path and values. And definitely impressively presentable when he decides to be and it’s required. In short, I saw a noble leadership figure and I was duly deeply intrigued by the actor himself. And when the type of energy appears like the one I felt, I always dig up interesting, inspirational (for me) things.
So, then, the first thing to do was to look for information about the meaning of the names of the actor, while in the meantime I found out that he really is a K-pop idol – a member of the group ZE:A (in translation: ‘Children of the Star Empire’), which isn’t all that successful on the whole, although each one of the boys has progressed very well in the film and TV industry.[3] Hyung-sik is the fourth in a row to make a breakthrough in this sector and has already overshadowed his brethren, even becoming an international star in recent times. His group debuted on the 7th of January, 2010 – that is the actual date of Christ’s Nativity, and he himself is named after a Buddhist monk.
I also read that the king (undercover) Jinheung, whоse figure Sikkie embodies as a youth until his ascension of the throne in the serial ‘Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth’, is renowned as one of the most-powerful of the Silla Kingdom.[4] He expanded its territories, developed its culture and is referred to as the ruler who prepared the ground for the uniting of the three main Korean kingdoms, Silla, Goguryeo and Baekje. After the union, however, there is a certain amount of disintegration and a new kingdom emerges, which at some point adopted the name Balhae (once again an intriguing fact in terms of the name, and that’s why I note it[5]). The kingdom is multinational and includes the territories of Manchuria. In the case of the diversity of nationality of Balhae I find a certain parallel with the rule of Attila, under whose leadership the tribes are various in terms of nationality and religious convictions, including Buddhists, but it is thought that he himself was a Bulgarian and it is known that, in contrast to his entourage, instead of silver and gold vessels, he used wooden ones (because the wood preserves the energy of the food better).
Something more interesting in what I came across, though, was the legend about the origin of the surname of Sikkie – it’s one of the three most widespread names in Korea, namely ‘Pak’ (which is actually to be found as ‘Bak’[6] in the original, but is transcribed in English today as Park[7]). It is thought that it originates with the founder of the kingdom Silla – king Bak Hyeokgeose. His title is Kosogan (Geoseogan or Geoseulhan) and means ‘master’. He’s famous by the Chinese transcription of his honorific name – Hyeokgeose, which is in fact pronounced in archaic Korean as ‘Bulgeunae’ and means ‘radiant world’.[8] The name in Chinese is made up of three hieroglyphs. The first is 赫 –‘glowing, radiant, shining’ which is transcribed with a duplicate pictogram for ‘red’ and for this reason it transfers to Old Korean as ‘bulg’, that is ‘vivid, outlined in colour, red’. After this, we have 赤, which as a Chinese pictogram means ‘I live, I settle, I reside’ and which is used in Korean as the root meaning for the declension of the adjective, in this case to decline ‘bright, red’. Lastly, the pictogram 世,which in Chinese means ‘generation, world, era’, and which served to render the Old Korean word for ‘world’, pronounced as ‘nui’ or ‘nuri’…
And thus we have an explanation as to the names of the ancestral forefather of the kingdom of Silla. A legend follows…
In the year 69 BC the chieftains of six main houses (clans) of the tribe Jinhan gathered in order to discuss the creation of a unified kingdom and to elect a king. At that time in the nearby forest on a foothill of the mountain Yangsan – by the mineral springs Najeong – suddenly a strange light shone out in the sky and a white horse was seen to bow down. When the horse rose back up and flew off towards the heavens, the chieftain of the estate of Koheo – So-bol-gong (Sobeolgong) discovered in the place where the horse had bowed down, a large purple (or blue according to a different version) egg. (According to another account of the legend, the egg had come from a dark blue sky on a red thread, that is it had the form of the embodiment of the Spirit in material.) Out of it emerged a boy, and when he had been bathed his body radiated light, while the beasts and birds began to dance. Sobeolgong brought up the boy, while the six chieftains honoured him. When Bak (Pak) became 12 years old, the chiefs made him their king and the state was called Sora-bol. On becoming king, he married Lady Aryeong, about whom legend states that she was born from the rib of a dragon. On the other hand, it is also claimed that Lady Saso was the mother of both, of Bak Bulgeunae and of Aryeong. The two of them left their heir, Namhae, who alone of all the kings has the title Chachaung and it is thought that in Old Korean this means ‘shaman’.
My commentary on this dynastic legend is that what is described here is the transition of the Third Root Race to the Fourth (i.e. that it is to do with a much earlier epoch entirely). In the Third Race, as is known from Theosophy, we hatched from an egg, while with the birth of the Fourth (Atlantean) comes the separation of the sexes.[9] Eve is brought forth from the rib of Adam – from the rib of the dragon in this case, with the dragon being a symbol of Kundalini, that is the androgynous being with the Breath of Life breathed into it, presaging the separation of the sexes.
Apart from this, there is no way we can fail to note the recurring resemblance of the name Bak with Bacc(hus), Vak(lush)[10] and what is even more interesting is the allusion to Christ – with the light in the heavens (the Star of Bethlehem) and the White Horse, which symbolises the divine energies.[11] Also, the beasts and birds hail his appearance, just as it is said of our legendary Orpheus (‘He who heals with light’) that his presence and music tamed the world of animals.
Delving further into the topic, I read that the egg is actually said to be that of a mythical being, called ‘cockatrice’[12], meaning ‘two-legged dragon’, or ‘snake-dragon with the head of a bird’. In short, this confirms precisely the fact that the legend is a coded image of the original androgynous person into whom the Breath of Life is breathed, that is the Snake-Fire Kundalini. Here we may also recall that in Egyptian mythology we have gods with bird-heads, like for example Horus.
Besides this, the legend also relates that at the end of his life Bak ascends to the sky. Seven days after that his body, dismembered, falls to earth. The people wanted to gather the parts and bury him, but a great Snake prevents them. In the end they bury five parts in distinct places, called ‘Snake Mounds’. (That is ‘the distinct places of initiation’ in the world, perhaps – in connection with the bringing forth of the new Root Races to the current Fifth Race of the seven in all?)
And so, Bak, Bulgeunae, Balhe… chance coincidences? In the final analysis, He who initiates our planet is one and the same throughout the ages and wherever He appears, He leaves behind Him observable traces, of course just as those co-residents of our planet who are further advanced in their evolution do…
Returning to the topic of my newly-discovered favourite, Hyung-sik, I would like to underline what most impresses me about his character, namely the combination of cultivated virtues and an unexpected inner strength and will to pursue his own path and personal growth. Everyone who works and is in contact with him emphasises one and the same thing in the numerous media materials I’ve examined: his exceptionally well-intentioned nature and affability of character, combined with a meekness and humility in the refinement of himself as he awaits his hour of manifestation and realisation. And this hour of his comes with an impulse from within – when he records for the military TV reality show, Real Man, in 2013, which he takes part in for 15 months and from which he withdraws due to his ever more loaded schedule.
In an interview regarding this he explains that he took part in the recording since both at home and in the group he is the youngest (in the group Dongjun is in fact the ‘makne’) and he felt the need to seek ways of attaining manhood. With this participation Hyung-sik was noticed by the wider public and gradually began to consolidate his status in the acting profession. I’ve watched all of the Korean dramas (or episodes) he’s involved in and I would say that his roles very precisely reflect his own development in terms of character – his achievement of manhood, his taking of responsibility, his demonstration of inner strength. When he is asked in an interview what his role of Minhyuk (in Strong Girl/Woman Do Bong Soon) means to him, he answers with a smile: ‘My existence, that is me…’
With regard to the gradual affirmation and appearance of an unusually strong emanation of inner confidence, I was greatly impressed by his role of the young king in ‘Huarang’, and once again it’s noteworthy – it’s precisely in connection with this specific characteristic of his that Tony Leggett speaks too (the one who has done chiromantic readings of the palms of the whole Korean pop and cinema industry pretty much). In his video about Sikkie he mentions as being something highly characteristic of him an exceptional inner strength, which will strengthen the more he affirms his artistic talents. He especially emphasises the quality of confidence in him, as well as the fact that he radiates love and understanding towards those around him…
Following the same train of thought, it seems to me that the truly noble ones have finally begun to return ‘to the stage’ in order to take up their due places in the social hierarchy and to start to give an effective lesson and example to those characters tempted by ruling and power, but unevolved in terms of care for the whole, who have occupied the leadership of our world wholesale. In the person of Park Hyung-Sik I simply set eyes on the countenance of true aristocracy, which has the subtlety an accomplished level of cultivation, a proper attitude to those around, maturity and responsibility, along with a genuine spirituality refined in the everyday. His closest friend from ZE:A – Kwanghee (the perpetual joker in their group, who after all is very different in terms of temperament from Baekhyun), for example he related in a jokey tone in an interview various interesting stories and, in relation to how Sikkie wins over the hearts of people, he shares the fact that there were 9 of them altogether in ZE:A and when they all had to travel together for concerts and so on in the mini-bus, there was one seat which was the most uncomfortable, cramped and without a head-rest, where no-one wanted to sit. It was always Hyung-sik who took this place without even once complaining or asking someone to swap with him. Then they continued in a joking tone on the topic of how Hyung-sik is the fourth member of ZE:A in a row who has acquired popularity independently – in the cinema industry and how, since he’s tall, until recently he had always been right at the back both on stage in the choreographic formations as well as in interviews, but that recently he’d been put in the centre and in this connection they concluded that he had suffered agonies for whole three years, the poor thing, hidden away at the very back, trying to get someone to notice him in some way at all :)))
But let’s return once more to the dramas themselves. Along with those already mentioned, I would also like to highlight the remake ‘Suits’, ‘High Society’ and ‘Rich Man’ (with Suho) and the full-length movie based on a true story ‘Juror 8’. Others such as ‘What Happens to My Family’, ‘100 Days My Prince’ (with D.О), ‘Love in the Moonlight’, ‘Jumong’ and ‘Jewel in the Palace’ struck me as rather long-winded in places, despite the fact that as a whole they are really beautiful and their longwindedness has nothing in common in the final analysis with the infuriating feeblemindedness of Latin soaps or the interminable sagas like ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’. I’m truly overawed at how studded the Korean dramas are with naturally presented pieces of wisdom and a wonderful sense of humour and I would underline the fact that overall even the negative roles are developed with a psychological depth which allows us to see the reasons for the unhealthy (in their unhoned nature) characters. I especially like how well and vigorously ideas about the restoration of the lost reciprocity between social polarities like poor and rich, ruling and ruled are developed… along with points of emphasis on culture, values, virtues and vices in a pleasant and fresh manner.
The most interesting thing is that whatever intrigues are offered in terms of plots, the feeling of an indestructible inner bond between the characters and the drawing out of the right solutions and developments is invariably allowed to remain. And vengeance is not sought for anyone’s misdeeds! Especially in ‘Rich Man’ this element is dealt with extremely well and the serial is positively exemplary for the idea of the Teaching of Wisdom that we need to learn not to conveniently consider the guilt of others as our own innocence. I noticed also an alternation between sad and cheerful moments like a kaleidoscope, creating the conditions for profundity and veracity in the characters, with which they truly captivate. I’ve laughed out loud in places at all of the dramas I’ve watched up to now, with my tears literally pouring of their own accord at other places in them… A curious detail is the fact that, in contrast to the western model, where the overwhelming majority of lead roles are male, here as a counterbalance there is an abundance of very good female lead roles. It’s possible that this is linked to the contemporary tendency to restore respect towards women in principle, but apart from this in the eastern races in principle (since they are direct descendants of the last Atlantean sub-races) the female essence, in its various aspects, is stronger. Especially in the Korean dramas which I watched the female characters in the main roles bear a sense of responsibility towards the whole, empathy towards others and moral maturity. Female educators and inspirers, in different nuances, of the mind becoming spirit (in the person of the man).
I think, that at the base of the Korean Wave lies the idea of the awakening of our personal Godhood (as responsibility and not the temptation to self-aggrandizement) and that is why it captivates me. And I’m not saying that the whole of Korea has some idea of this pulse which it’s sending out into the world, but it is enough that a new rhythm has been set and that it is working for the elevation of our world. Now what is important is not the old quality of magic, which is more likely selfish mastery of energies, which is not accomplished Godhood. What is important is the new (personal) awareness of He who is Inherent in us and Awaiting us to bring Him forth into real life and action…
Stop, wait a minute
А puzzle without answers it’s like
In this memory roughly is curving endless night
Wake up a different you inside
Find yourself at the end of this long tunnel ride
Go on, into your subconscious follow the path
Try to wake up another you inside yourself
Find yourself at the long end of this tunnel ride
Go on, subconsciously though, follow that path
So lets just wake up this world (x4)
Your dream has penetrated in, the beat getting louder in your pulse
This noise that shook you of everything here oh
an illusion that when you open your eyes would disappear
Oh the moment you open your eyes to a new sense,
Everything connected into a single world gets
Feel yourself in this deeper music too
Come on, come on, let us show you
Lets just wake up this world
________________________
[1] NCT and their music deserve a separate piece and that’s why here I halt at the surface only.
[2] Who wins us over with a gradually revealed profundity and his attitude towards the world and those around him. Apart from the cult dramatic episode with Bong Soon in the latest series, I found the reaction of the character exceptionally appealing when he finds out who really stands behind the threats to his life. Our getting to know about his running away from home as a young man and from the suffocating commerciality there in order to establish himself and to better himself, entirely on his own according to his own path and rules, was also a really nice feature. Not to mention the fact that in the end he remains sincerely attached only to the lovely family atmosphere of Bong Soon
[3] I liked some of their songs such as Breath and Aftermath, but in the dances I didn’t notice anyone other than Dong-Jun displaying an innate talent.
[4] In English its is transcribed as Silla and for this reason the link immediately presents itself with our Bulgarian word ‘sila’ (‘сила’, strength), which may not be a chance coincidence. In Russian the name is also transliterated as sila.In 504 AD King Jijeung standardised the spelling as 新羅 (신라) , which in modern Korean is to be read precisely as Silla, but the ‘s’ in front becomes modified and in reality it sounds like Shilla. Before this the name of the territory had been written in a multitude of variations, such as 斯盧 (사로 , 사라 – it’s pronounced ‘Sulo, Sula’ in Chinese and ‘Saro, Sara’ in Korean, along with several more variants, which in addition include ‘bol’ (徐耶(伐) , 서야[벌] – Seoya(beol), 徐羅(伐) , 서라[벌], Seora(beol), 서벌 , Seobeol. This is to say that King Jijeung in all likelihood was trying to spell it, rightly as Sila. According to some etymological hypotheses the name Sora-bol bears the meaning of ‘capital city’ and is the primary origin of the contemporary name of the capital of the South Korea of today, which is pronounced Seoul (similarly to the English word, ‘soul’). According to others the root of the capital Seoul (we spell it incorrectly as Seul in Bulgarian) comes from So-bol, which is interpreted as ‘new nation’. In the final analysis, it turns out that today’s capital Seoul and the kingdom of Silla have one and the same root, but they have been transformed over time in different ways. Despite this, the sense of both remains inexplicably unambiguous. At the end of the day, the pronunciations and variations in meaning from one language to another and from one era to another change so quickly and easily that it’s a true miracle that appellations remain which are recognisable. Let’s take eventhe way the name of our country, Bulgaria, is known today around the world – it is pronounced in all manner of ways: ‘Bulgeria’ (English, in terms of pronunciation if not spelling – Translator’s note), ‘Bulgarien’ (German), ‘Byulgeri ‘(French), ‘Bulharaie’ (Dutch),‘Bulgaristan’ (Turkish), ‘Burugaria’ (Japanese), ‘Bultsaria’ (Chinese) and so on, but nonetheless the strange thing is that wherever we’ve passed throughout the centuries, we have invariably left as a trace a variant of this name. In Italy, for example, where one of the brothers of Khan Asparuh went during our migration from Old Great Volga Bulgaria, there is a town Celle di Bulgheria, a mountain Monte Bulgheria, a region Bolgheri, a river Bulgano and settlements like Bolgher, Bulciago, Bulciaghetto, Bulgarograsso and many, many others. According to the researcher, Dr D’Amico, we are talking about 700 names of settlements with the roots ‘bulg’ and ‘bolg’ (evidently in most language groups the Bulgarian ‘ъ’, which here and there is substituted as ‘balg’, is absent), as well as many Italian surnames such as: Bulgari, Bulgarelli, Bulgarini, Bulgherini, Bulgaroni, Bolgaroni, Bolgheri etc.One of the first professors in the oldest university in the world, the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum, founded in 1088 AD), is the Doctor of Roman Law, Dr Bulgarus, better known by the moniker of ‘Golden Mouth’. To this very day, his works are studied in the universities and are a juridical matrix for the decisions of generations of jurists. The marble sarcophagus with the mortal remains of Dr Bulgarus is still to be found today in the church of San Procolo in Bologna. In the complex of buildings of Bologna University a church was erected, built by his family, and it is called Santa Maria dei Bulgari, while throughout the course of long centuries one of the central squares in the university quarter of the city has borne the name ‘Corte dei Bulgari’.
[5] The original name of the new state was Djin or Tsin, Chen, Den… (‘den’ means ‘day’ in Bulgarian) according to its different pronunciations it’s also written with the Chinese pictogram 震, which is connected to the fifth sign of the Chinese zodiac – the sector of the orbit of Jupiter, corresponding to the Dragon, as well as with the morning hours from 7 to 9. The meaning of the pictogram is explained in words as ‘vibrate, set in motion, tremble’. Subsequently, the name of the kingdom was written with the shorter pictogram 辰 (chen), i.e. ‘morning’. Fifteen years later the Chinese imperial dynasty Tang gave to the ruler of the kingdom the title Head of Balhae Commandery and several decades after that the name Balhae was officially adopted for the nation.
[6] The meaning of the name remains unclear to researchers and it is thought that it may come from the word ‘bak’ – ‘gourd’, i.e. it is linked to the legend of the emergence of King Bak from an egg, but the word was written using the pictogram for the ‘Hubak’ tree – 박. Bearing in mind, though, the character of all symbols in the legend, it is far more probable that the root is an expression precisely of ‘Higher Spiritual Force’ as we shall see from the explanations below.
[7] Pak/Bak as a surname is truly very widespread in Korea, but it was only through my interest in Hyung-Sik that I delved around for information. I would like to add here something else which made an impression on me in connection with Pak Chanyeol of EXO, which I now recall. I was watching a TV programme from 2016 with the boys (Star Show 360) in which a ‘white-bearded guy’, a phrenologist, was invited for a while. I remember that for Baekhyun he emphasised ‘the power of his smiling lips’ (as an expression of his character of course), which means that he will be much-loved and liked by those around him and he saw that in the international success of EXO this quality of his has played a great role. For Chen it was also interesting for me that he highlighted the hidden strength and will in the form of his chin, which, as I only then noticed in fact is not as pointed as it seems at first sight. And about Chanyeol he said that his face has the proportions of a king. After this they asked him who, in his opinion, will be the richest and he answered that he would point to the features of King Sejong, whose image is found on the Korean banknote of 10000 Wons, as ideal. Then they made a computational comparison of the boys with the image depicted on the banknote, and Chanyeol turned out to be the closest to this ideal type
[8] In the origin of this honorific name the conceptual resemblance to the title of Bagrenoroden (‘bagra’ means ‘bright colour, colourful’), which is associated with several Bulgarian rulers, can be seen, in the meaning of born with the right to the throne – that is an heir to the throne, born after the coronation of his father. The literal meaning is ‘born in the purple’, that is in the bright colour of the kingly robes and of the cloak in particular. In Bulgarian tradition it is considered that the name comes from the royal purple mantle, a symbol of royal power – the cloak with a violet colour, a colour forbidden to the common people and also inaccessible because the extraction of the dye from marine sources is slow, difficult and expensive. The same epithet in Greek is Πορφυρογέννητος (porphyrogenitus – ‘born in the purple’ from the purple throne hall of the Byzantine court) and is used for several Byzantine emperors.
[9] For details on the topic see: the books ‘Pedigree of Man’ by Annie Besant or ‘The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception’ by Max Heindel.
[10] Vaklush Tolev, the Teacher of Wisdom. Here is the place to remark that although the name Vaklush may superficially seem to be derived from the meaning of the Romanian loanword in Bulgarian, ‘Vakul’ – ‘black, black-eyed, swarthy’, Vaklush himself points to the origin of his name as being from the god Bacchus, written in Greek as Βάκχος (which is read as Vakhos, Vakh) and has its origin ‘Vak, Bak’ in Sanskrit in the meaning of ‘Higher Spiritual Power’. In her ‘Esoteric Dictionary’ Elena Blavatska for her part notes the name (root) Vakh (Bakh) as the initial source of the word ‘Bog’ (Bogh), which means ‘God’ in Bulgarian, Russian etc. and is obviously a root in the name of Bulgaria itself with ‘ar/aryan’ which means ‘person/people’, so together is something like ‘inhabitation of superhumans’ 😉 I would add in this case an interesting juxtaposition with the name of the gods Krishna and Rama, who are referred to as separate incarnations (avatars) of the god Vishnu. The word ‘Krishna’ from the Sanskrit is translated as ‘black’ or ‘dark’ and concerns the appearance of Krishna. The name sometimes means dark-blue or bluish-black and not simply black and Krishna is often depicted with dark or blue skin. The name Rama also derives from the Sanskrit in the meaning of ‘dark, swarthy, black’ from the word ‘ratri’, i.e. ‘night’. The overall allegoric meaning for me is ‘somebody who is hard to comprehend’.
[11] Indian legends say that in his tenth incarnation, called Kalki Avatar, Vishnu will come on a White Horse and will finally put an end to the old era Kali Yuga, which is the era of schisms and wars (that is of the refinement of the ‘ego’). The white horse also appears in the Revelation of John, in connection with the birth of the new Sixth Root Race. In 19:11-16 we read: ‘And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.’ (King James Version) That is Manu from the Indian epics – the parent of every new Root Race, comes as something foreordained and with the blessings of Heaven in order to mark the beginning of each new era. For this reason, the symbol is repeated throughout the ages, while the White Horse is also currently one of the seven symbols in the Teaching of Wisdom, along with The Fire, the number 13, the Purple Colour of the Spirit (with the fastest vibration), the Apple, the Lily and the Third Eye. ‘There, in the Revelation of John, there is also red and grey and black, they are present with their various purposes. But it is the white which bears renewal, the white is impetuousness, the rushing, the dynamic of the Serpent-Fire-Kundalini in us!’ (Nur 1/1999) – summarises Vaklush Tolev. With regard to the symbolism in the Revelation of John, we can immediately add another of his thoughts: ‘The weapon of the gods is only one: the word.’ (Nur 2/1996)
[12] In Korean ‘kyeryong’ (gyeryong , 雞龍, 계룡), or literally ‘bird-dragon’.
