Former professor Arguelles passes away at 72 years old

Globally recognized author and University professor emeritus Jose Arguelles passed away on March 23 at the age of 72.

Arguelles served as an art professor at the University from 1966 to 1968. A controversial scholar, he was perhaps best known for being the founder of the Harmonic Convergence, a new age event intended to prevent the end of time predicted to occur in 2012.

Arguelles said that the Gregorian calendar was dangerous, believing that it was the root of all ills, and founded the Foundation for the Law of Time, which fights for its eradication. Arguelles sought to replace it with a calendar more deeply rooted in cosmology and ancient astronomy, such as the Mayan calendar.

Though his theories were denounced by critics, they focused attention on the Mayan calendar and helped lead to the popularization of awareness about the Mayan prediction that the world would end in 2012.

Arguelles theorized that the world would indeed end in 2012 unless mankind reverted to an ancient calendar such as that of the Mayans. He eventually produced the “Dreamspell,” a calendar consisting of 13 months, each with 28 days.

Arguelles also published several controversial theories about cosmology, among them the theory that the Mayan people originated from outer space.

In addition to teaching at the University, Arguelles also taught at the University of California at Davis.

He immersed himself in New Age theory by the 1980s and, in 1983, cofounded the Planet Art Network, an autonomous, meta-political worldwide peace organization engaged in art and spirituality.

The author of several books, Arguelles was best known for “The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology” and “Surfers of the Zuvuya: Tales of Interdimensional Travel.”

His latest book, “Manifesto for the Noosphere: The Next Stage in the Evolution of Human Consciousness,” is due to be published by North Atlantic Books later this year.