Odysseus (Ulysses) arrived then at the island of Helios (the sun, son of Hyperion), where seven herds of cows and seven herds of fat sheep of fifty heads each grazed.
These animals knew neither birth nor death and were guarded by two goddesses, Phaetousa and Lampetia, daughters of Helios and the nymph Neaera.
The hero had been warned twice. Tiresias had advised him to avoid the island, and Circe not to touch the animals of the god otherwise his return to his country would be very difficult.
Odysseus (Ulysses) informed his companions, but Eurylochos, speaking in the name of all, urged him to let them off to rest one night. Odysseus (Ulysses) consented on the condition that all swear to respect the flocks of Helios, “the god who sees everything and hears everything”. All swore.
But the Notos blew a whole month, thanks to Zeus, preventing them from going back to sea. They quickly ran short of food and they were in the grip of hunger.
While the gods put Odysseus (Ulysses) to sleep, Eurylochos convinced his companions to sacrifice the most beautiful cows of Helios to the gods, which would allow them to eat meat. After the sacrifice, all fell asleep, sated.
Odysseus (Ulysses) awakened and saw the tragedy.
Meanwhile Lampetia alerted his father Helios. The latter asked Zeus and all the immortals to avenge the murder of his animals, uttering the following threat: if he did not get from Odysseus (Ulysses) companions the atonement he was expecting, he would plunge into Hades and radiate for the dead. Odysseus (Ulysses) did not know this threat until later, when Calypso told him what Hermes reported to him.
Then the gods sent signs: the corpses walked and the flesh bawled on the spits. But these wonders did not prevent the crew from feeding on meat for six days. On the seventh day the wind finally dropped and they embarked.
While they were off the coast, Zeus hung a dark cloud over the ship, which darkened the sea. A furious Zephyr blew into a hurricane, pulling down the mast that killed the pilot. At the same time, Zeus struck down the ship which fell apart and all the sailors perished.
Odysseus (Ulysses) tied the mast and the keel together and sat on this improvised raft.
The Notos took over the Zephyr and blew all night, dragging the raft back to Charybdis where the hero arrived in the early morning while the monster was swallowing the bitter wave. Driven by the whirlwind, Odysseus (Ulysses) clung to the branches of the big fig tree and remained suspended all day long over the chasm, unable to set foot or find a more comfortable position by climbing. When at night Charybdis vomited the mast and the keel, he let himself fall, rowed with his hands, and the Father of the gods and men made sure that Scylla did not see him.
For nine days he drifted, and on the tenth night he was thrown on the shore of the island of Calypso, the goddess with the melodious voice.
After reaching the root of mental processes, the seeker becomes aware that he has many powers at his disposal, derived from a non-dual higher plane, related to the illuminating aspect of the Supramental and its innovative aspects received by revelation and inspiration (Helios herds “the one who sees and hears everything”, cows and fat sheep, knowing neither birth nor death). Here we associate the sheep with the “renewal” perceived by the two powers of Intuition: Inspiration and Revelation.
These illuminations and other powers come from the supramental plane and are therefore absolutely true, immortal.
But the seeker should not, under any circumstances, use them for his own benefit. Thus, he had the intuition in two different ways that he had to stay away from them: by the bodily intuition helping the purifying process (Tiresias) and by his spiritual capacity of discrimination (Circe).
These powers were controlled by the Supramental (Phaetousa “the inner light” and Lampetia “the light above”) and could only be used according to evolutionary needs (Neaera “what emerges for evolution”).
The seeker, however, yields to instances of his external being that fear to move forward without seeing clearly. It is “wise caution”, which always argues for the ego, which is the spokesperson (Eurylochos urges Odysseus (Ulysses) to stop for the night, night that is a source of great danger for the sailors).
The seeker then tries to convince all parts of his being that under no circumstances will they use for their own ends the gifts or powers derived from the Supramental that he feels at hand (Odysseus (Ulysses) makes his companions swear that they will not touch the flocks).
But once again, he is tested for a period that seems endless in the uncertainty of the path (Zeus sends Notos – a wind of “confusion” – that shrouds the mountain heights with a mist hateful for the shepherd). Without understanding where he is heading, he is facing the aridity of yoga – the rarity of “experiences” – and wants quietness, to “relax” for a brief moment in front of the difficulty, without thinking that he is harming his yoga (men are stressed by hunger).
While the “will to achieve perfect transparency” leading the yoga is set backwards by spiritual forces (“awakening” is not yet permanent), this aridity leads some parts of the seeker to betray it in the guise of honouring the Supramental, being well aware that they will derive some benefit (men sacrifice oxen to Helios while Odysseus (Ulysses) is put asleep by the gods). When he “