Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

Rahu – the Kalachakra demon of darkness
Both types of eclipse gave rise to the belief in the minds of the Indian astronomers that a gigantic
planet swallowed the relevant heavenly orb. Since the shadow of the moon which obscures the sun
during a solar eclipse is always pitch black, one of the imaginary planets, Rahu (which consumes the
sun), is also black. In lunar eclipses the shadow of the earth appears to have a colored border and the
moon becomes copper red, and hence the other planet, Ketu (which consumes the moon), is described
as being colorful. Nonetheless, in the Kalachakra Tantra Ketu remains largely in the background and
all the events associated with it (the lunar eclipses) are transferred to Rahu. Thus Rahu appears here as
the swallower of the sun and the moon.
Let us now take a closer look at the mythical origin of the dark demon (Rahu). In old Indian tales
Rahu storms across the heavens in a dark chariot drawn by eight black horses as swift as thought
itself. He pursues the orbs of sun and moon, snapping at their heels with his huge jaws. In another
version of the myth, however, only Rahu’s head still exists floating above the firmament, having been
severed by Indra, the sun god, as the dark demon tried to steal the vital drink of the gods.
Nonetheless, this decapitation did not hinder him from continuing to fly through the heavens and
swallowing the sun and moon. It is just that these now passed through him unharmed and soon
reappeared, freed from the lower end of his throat. In astronomical terms this process signifies the end
of the solar or lunar eclipse respectively.
Rahu plays such a prominent role in the philosophy of the Kalachakra Tantra that according to
Helmut Hoffmann the events associated with him form a “darkness theology” of their own