Yolteotl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yolteotl is an Nahua word from Central America meaning the "heart of God" or someone who contains an almost spiritual creativity ("an enlightened mind")^[1]. It is composed of yollotl (heart) and teotl (God, spirit, force, or movement). In Yaqui/Chicana spirituality, which can combine aspects of traditional and Catholic " 'root concepts' (which resonate in all the world's religions)," Yolteotl compares with the Catholic concept of The Sacred Heart (Spanish: El Sagrado Corazon).^[2]

Philosophically, Yolteotl is a state of oneness with the universe to be obtained through personal efforts, similar to Nirvana in Buddhism, although Nirvana is an inward form of enlightenment while Yolteotl is an outward form of enlightenment geared towards creation.

[edit] In art and popular culture

The term was used in the anime RahXephon to describe a state of being, much like the philosophical definition, in which the Xephon System could be used for its true purpose: the recreation of the world.

[edit] References

^ Vento, Arnoldo C. Rediscovering the Sacred: From the Secular to a Postmodern Sense of the Sacred, p.199 in Wicazo Sa Review, Vol. 15, No. 1, The Secular Past, the Mythic Past, and the Impending Future. (Spring, 2000), pp. 183-205. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0749-6427%28200021%2915%3A1%3C183%3ARTSFTS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-5
^ Broyles-Gonzalez, Yolanda. "Indianizing Catholicism: Chicana/India/Mexicana indigenous spriritual practices in our image." in Cantu, Norma E. and Najira-Ramirez, Olga (Eds.) "CHICANA TRADITIONS: CONTINUITY & CHANGE." (2002). Ch. 6, p.128. IL: Univ. of Illinois Press. [Available online in "google-scholars" search].