The frontispiece of Chuck’ DiFazio’s book From Where Did You Come has a face-forward torso shot of Swami that shows Swami’s Face with skin drawn and wrinkled somewhat against the bone. Maybe I’m the only one seeing this — we all know how He can come across differently, a phenomenon to which He makes oblique reference now and again — but this skin-on-skull view gives me the thought that this is the “Skull”/”Face” Templars were accused of idolatrously worshipping. They knew — at least the Third Degree ones did — that Siva as the Father was coming and had a likeness of the Form (Swami’s) which they had copied and installed variously in several Preceptories or the Order.

Someone — as yet unnamed — gave them the Form! A Sage.

Christian iconography from well before Templars includes, sometimes, the skull. Jerome is usually pictured with one, for example — over half a millenium before Templars. The skull is par excellence an icon of Siva, right? And of Kali, a name for the warrior persona of Siva’s Consort, who drinks blood from a collection of same swinging from Her belt!

Siva is associated with funerial surroundings — vibbhuthi is this, of course, though it is not mentioned widely, for obvious reasons — including skulls.

I think the Templars had a representation of Swami’s Skull and were worshipping it. They knew it was not the skull of Jesus. This would account for their being charged with “Idolatry.” It would also account for the aura of “occult” which modernly surrounds Templars, who were the opposite of occult. They would not have been indicted with that technical charge of idolatry if the head had been of Jesus. It was of Swami as Siva. I am sure they knew it was, at least some of them. Vedas mention the Sai Avathars. No reason to doubt that Templars, who communicated widely, were unaware of this.

AMDG