The Rig Veda's Sixth Sukta (Part 2): The Circle-Journey, the Living Creatures & the Sacred Naga

Let's start the second half of our conversation about the Rig Veda's sixth Sukta by reviewing the verse under discussion when last we met. That verse should be numbered Rv 1.6.5, rather than Rv 1.6.6. As explained last time, Max Muller threw off the numbering when he split into two lines the previous verse (Rv 1.6.4), which should have been one long sentence broken by a semi-colon. As I've also stated more than once, the Rig Veda's Suktas are neither metered poems nor hymns of praise to pagan gods. Rather, the Rig Veda is a sacred compendium of narrative teachings revealed by the Holy Spirit to selected rishis and scribes in India between 1500 and 1200 BCE. Those still-relevant wisdom-teachings parallel, in uncanny ways, the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible and, even more so, in A Course in Miracles -- not because Jesus studied the Rig Veda while in India; but because Jesus Christ was the Holy Spirit incarnate. And, as he rightly explains in the Course, the Holy Spirit's teachings will vary in form, but never in content.

Having said all that, let me now say this: According to my research and guidance, Rv 1.6.5 should read:

The journey to the divine realm of Brahman, which varies according to intelligence, clears the veil of deception blocking awareness of the Vasu, the voice(s) of the Greater Truth of Anu conveying Self-Knowledge.

What, you may wonder, is the Greater Truth of Anu? The short answer is the Word of God. The longer answer is God's Final Judgement, which (according to Course-Jesus) is this: “You are still My holy Son, forever innocent, forever loving and forever loved, as limitless as your Creator, and completely changeless and forever pure. Therefore awaken and return to Me. I am your Father and you are My Son.” (ACIM, W-pII.10.5:1-3)

Essentially, the quote from the Course in my blogger profile is the Greater Truth of Anu. And, as I understand it, that's essentially the "song" the Vasu sing to us night and day -- a song very like the one John the Elder hears in his "revelation" of the four Living Creatures. The Vasu probably, therefore, include those four "creatures." And it is their Song of Heaven (to quote the Course) that gradually awakens us to the Truth of our Being.

FIRST, however, we have to be able to hear that ancient melody.

Now that we know where we are, let's turn to "the journey to the divine realm of Brahman." As Hinduism rightly teaches, that journey is made in "stages" represented by the four legs of Nandi, the vahana of Shiva. The bull itself represents, I'm fairly certain, the power of God's Will to end the dream, which "bears" Shiva and Vishnu. We see this when Shiva and Vishnu come together as Harihara (as shown below).

Vishnu and Shiva combined to form Harihara. Note the golden circle behind the figure, as well as the mountain on the right-hand side. The bird we see is Garuda, the giant eagle-like "vahana" belonging to Vishnu. Garuda, whose name means "song of the sacred-syllable" almost certainly represents the Living Water or Om vibration, which Vishnu transmits from the Golden Egg.

Contrary to what most Hindus believe, Nandi's legs don't symbolize the four pillars of dharma. They are the four "legs" of the Soul's circular journey around the Bhavacakra -- the Wheel of Life also known as the Prahabha Mandala -- "the radiant circle of the spiritual journey." Shiva, whose "special atonement power" or "shakti" is God's Will to end the dream, embodies that "circle-journey" in his Nataraja form.

Shiva as Nataraja, performing the Tandava ("the spreading fire") inside the Prahabha Mandala. The vanquished figure on which he "dances" is Apasmara, a dwarf-demon representing ignorance and the ego-inspired belief in opposites. The word-name "Apasmara" translates as "loss of memory" or "forgetfulness." Ergo, Shiva's dance in the dream of time restores our memories of the Truth of our Being.  

Lord Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra or Wheel of Time also symbolizes the circle-journey Shiva (as the Atonement) "makes happen." Like Shiva's Trishul, Vishnu's Sudarshana isn't a weapon. It represents the authority delegated to the Vishwapurusha (Vishnu) by the Great Purusha (Shiva). Rightly understood, Sudarshana (meaning "holy presence") represents the Soul's journey back to the Heart of God, which Vishnu guides up to a point. And that's the reason we sometimes see Shiva handing the Sudarshana Chakra to Vishnu (as in the image below). 

The ascending Soul -- personified in Hinduism as Lakshmi -- makes the journey around the Wheel of Time (a spiral, according to Course-Jesus). And that is almost certainly what the popular Hindu icon of Lakshmi's feet or footprints actually signifies.

Before Lakshmi can walk, she needs to get her "spiritual legs" firmly under her. And those "spiritual legs" are the four pillars of Dharma we fortify -- through rightminded choosing and living -- on the first half of the circle-journey. In Hinduism, those four Soul-supporting pillars are identified as Satyan, Daya, Tapa, and Shaucham. Over time, as usual, Brahma has tampered with the definitions of those four terms -- to make escape from his enthrallment even more difficult. Ergo, the four pillars of Dharma are not (as commonly taught) Truthfulness, Compassion, Austerity, and Cleanliness. Their true definitions are more along these lines:

Satyam = Striving to live in accord with the Truth of our Being in thought, word, and deed

Daya = Striving to perceive all Living Beings as part of our own Self

Tapa = "Atoning" or "repenting" for our mistakes by requesting perceptual correction and forgiving ourselves and others for falling prey to Brahma's deceptions

Shaucham = Participating in the purification of the Whole Christ Self by giving and receiving ablution or lustration via the Living Water vibration

As I've said, the four pillars of Dharma are the legs supporting the Soul on its journey, rather than Nandi's legs. Yes, it's confusing, but differentiating the two sets of "legs" is important. Nandi's legs, as I said, represent the four stages of the Soul's journey around the "radiant circle of the spiritual journey." In Hinduism, those four "legs" are identified as Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moshka, which are also the four "aspects" of Lakshmi. 

In Buddhism, the four Taras, which derived from Lakshmi, represent those same "legs." In the Judeo-Christian scriptures (unbeknownst to most Jews and Christians), the same four "legs" take the form of the "Living Beings" seen by the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and John the Elder. (They were also seen by Mohammed, who mentions them in the Qur'an.)

That almost no one seems to "get" what these Living Beings are meant to signify is the fault (as usual) of poor translation and unilluminated interpretation. Because these mysterious "beings" have fascinated me for decades, I've read a lot of speculation about what they represent, none of which hits the nail on the head. Just recently, I read that there is now a whole discipline within Biblical scholarship devoted to studying the differences between the descriptions of these "beings" or "creatures" recorded by Ezekiel and John the Elder (in the Book of Revelation). When I read this, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, because there are no real differences (as I'm about to demonstrate).

Yes, I did indeed take the time to translate both accounts from the original Hebrew and Greek. Let's start with Ezekiel's. The 16th-century King James translation of Ezekiel 1:4-14 reads as follows:

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and was out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. as for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces; and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. and they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright , and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

How accurate is this translation? Not very. When the original Hebrew is interpreted with more figurative and historical understanding, what Ezekiel actually recorded reads closer to this:

Through spiritual vision, I beheld Ruach (God's Cosmic Breath) come from the North -- a mighty thunder-cloud of God's fiery presence -- to give and receive light in a circle. In the midst (of the circle), was a wellspring (or eye) of pure compassion (the true meaning of the mysterious Hebrew word "chashmal," which occurs nowhere else in the Bible); amidst the fire in the center was the likeness of four living forms or apparitions ("chay-mareh"). They resembled Adam (the human Soul or humankind) as one; four presences as one; four quarter-legs of the right or straight path; the bowing-down path; bowing down to the circle-journey -- the radiant circle lightening the fetters holding the Soul quarters in four parts. Four parts in quarters; quarters to be joined as spirit-sisters to circle around and around on the journey; the journey to cross over into the presence of the face resembling the face of God; four faces of Adam, alike in appearance.

The four faces of Adam faced a lion on the right-hand side (of the circle) and the four faces of the umbilical cord on the left. Four faces of a vulture they faced. The four faces in quarters divided upward; two faces to be joined, face to face; two to cover the lifeless body on the spiritual journey of man to the realm attended by Ruach; the journey to the circle; the journey in the likeness of the Living Apparitions to kindle the Fire of God in the form of lamps; to bring to life the fire of God's glory; a fire bringing forth lightning alive with God's pleasure at the return of the scattered (Souls).

Pretty different, wouldn't you say? And much clearer in terms of what those "Living Beings" are meant to represent. Especially noteworthy is that Ezekiel sees no wings or animal heads on the beings themselves. The Hebrew word translated as "wings" by the KJV team can also mean "quarters" -- and that makes much more sense contextually. Furthermore, the prophet sees them FACING a lion's head on the right, and four vulture-heads on the left -- not HAVING four heads each. And yes, I will explain what those symbols represent. First, however, let's compare John the Elder's account in Revelations 4:6-8. In the KJV Bible, those passages read:

And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty, which was, is, and is to come."

Before I share my translation, let me point out that these "beings" or "apparitions" have no actual form. They're symbols of spiritual concepts, projected into the mind of the beholder by the Holy Spirit. Ergo, they appear to different prophets "according to their intelligence." So, even if Ezekiel did indeed see four heads and wings on each, while John saw one head and six wings on each, it wouldn't mean the creatures had changed in appearance. It would only mean that the two prophets needed different symbols to understand the same idea.

You get that, right?

Alrighty, then. Here's my interpretation of John's account, based on the original Greek.

Encircling the throne, four living beings filled the mind's eye in the appearance of before and after (of being sequential). The first living creature was like a lion (symbolizing God's strength); the second living creature was like a calf (symbolizing God's gift of purification); the third being possessed the presence of the whole of humankind (symbolizing the wholeness perceived through Christ's Vision); and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle (symbolizing soaring above the illusion, eagle-eyed). And the four living beings possessed among them -- moving up and down -- six streams circling around and filling the eye within (the spiritual eye). And resting not day or night, they spoke the message, "Different from the world; like unto the Lord in holiness. Lord God Almighty. Whenever, indeed, any living creature assigns the glory of God's presence, in value and gratitude, the seat upon the throne, they will experience God's gift of life into eternity."

Once again, John mentions no wings, because ... well, instead of explaining the reason myself, let me quote the Abarim Publications' Online Greek Dictionary:

The noun πτερυξ (pterux) means wing, but a wing in Biblical times was not the same thing as a wing now. Our noun derives from the unused noun πτερον (pteron), meaning feather or plumage, and shares its Proto-Indo-European root "pet-," meaning to rush or fly, with the verb οταομαι (ptaomai), to fly about, and ultimately the familiar noun ποταμος (potamos), meaning stream or river. That means that to the ancient Greek, a wing was not the proverbial instrument of flight but rather the proverbial instrument of flow and ultimately that of protection.

So, the wings in both accounts were (as I said) the produce of mistranslation, while the visages of lions, calves, eagles, and "Adam" were meant to symbolically communicate what the apparitions represented. And those symbolic beasts do indeed represent the four "legs" of the Soul's journey -- as I'll explain by and by.

First, let's return to Ezekiel's vision, wherein we encounter the curious phrase "the four faces of the umbilical cord." To those unfamiliar with Hindu iconography, that phrase might seem pretty bizarre. But we actually see that phrase illustrated in the image below, wherein the four-headed Brahma is attached to Vishnu-Narayana by an actual umbilical cord.

As the image above accurately depicts, Brahma's four heads represent the four "faces" of human birth or existence -- hence, "the umbilical cord." Don't believe for a moment that Brahma's four heads represent the Vedas, as is suggested all over the Internet. Such ignorant presumptions are as ludicrous as those equating the four Living Creatures with the four canonical gospels, the four cardinal signs of the zodiac, or the four elements.

Rightly understood, Brahma's heads represent the four levels of ego deception binding our Souls to the Wheel of Karma -- the four ego-manufactured blindfolds we must remove to vanquish Apasmara. Those four blindfolds are 1) Manas (believing in and valuing the world the body's senses perceive), 2) Chitta (holding onto the wrong-minded past-learning in the Ego's unconscious "storehouse"), 3) Ahamkara (identifying with and seeking love, peace, and joy through the ego-authored self-concept), and 4) Buddhi (valuing worldly learning, knowledge, and judgments over spiritual wisdom and guidance).

According to the Hindu legends, Brahma originally had five heads until Shiva cut one of them off. Shiva cut off his fifth head because Brahma lusted after Sarasvati -- the Cosmic Ocean of God's pure communications (the "sea of glass like unto crystal" John the Elder sees surrounding the throne of God). Brahma -- the Great Deceiver of humankind -- tried to pollute those communications, in other words, which Shiva (protecting the Atonement) prevented.

That Ezekiel sees Brahma's four faces as "neshers" -- vultures, not eagles -- should tell us they aren't godly. Vultures are vile creatures, which (like the ego) feed on the rotting flesh of the dead.

In the Hindu pantheon, the "god" who rides a vulture is Shani, the god of karma and justice. What little I've read about Shani-dev characterizes him as a helpful force facilitating "purification through suffering" and/or "justice through punishment of past misdeeds." Both of these wrongminded "religious" concepts were devised by the Ego Mind to deceive us into erroneously (and fearfully) equating salvation with pain and suffering. What we fear, we avoid -- at all costs. And that is indeed Brahma's chief aim.

If indeed Shani-dev is a helpful force, then he might represent forgiveness, the process through which we, in a manner of speaking, "pick the flesh of the body off the bones of the spirit in vulture-like fashion."

Let's now return to Shesha, the multi-headed serpent acting as Vishnu's water-palanquin in the image I've shared several times. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to balance all the planets of the universe on his cobra-hoods, as well as to constantly sing the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths (like the Living Beings in John's vision). His name means "remainder" or "he who remains," because (according to the lore) even as the world is destroyed at the end of each (of four prophesied) kalpas, Shesha shall remain as he ever was.

In the allegorical Mahabharata epic, Shesha is the son of Kashyapa ("anointing to protect") and Kadru ("the Great Purusha's pole-star"), making the meaning of his parentage pretty obvious. The allegory says that Shesha was the first of a thousand snakes born to Kadru, the next three of which (in order) were Vasuki, Iravati, and Taksaka. Very briefly, Vasuki is the snake coiled around Shiva's neck; Iravati is the mother of Airavata, King Indra's vahana; and Taksaka was used by the Devas and Asuras to churn the Ocean of Milk (as illustrated below).

As the story unfolds, Shesha becomes disgusted by the cruel acts of his brothers, leaves his mother and kin, and lives austerely and devotedly until his flesh disappears (not unlike Jesus). At one point, he asks Brahma(n) that he be allowed to keep his mind under control while he continues his austerities. Impressed with Shesha's discipline, Brahma(n) agrees -- but asks, in return, that Shesha go "underneath" to give Bhumi stability. This Shesha does, by supporting Bhumi (the first aspect of Lakshmi, pictured below) with his cobra-hoods.

Bhumi, the first aspect of Lakshmi, is often depicted with one or more owls. In this particular image, she sits on a conch-shell representing the sacred Shankha through which Vishnu sounds the Call to Awaken and Song of Heaven. The name Bhumi doesn't just mean "earth," as commonly espoused. It's a compound of "bhu" (earth) and "mi" (existence or perception).

All of this is, of course, highly symbolic -- and, therefore, generally misunderstood. Bhumi doesn't represent the physical earth, as is generally presumed. She is the first "aspect" of Lakshmi -- the Living Being representing the first leg of the circle-journey. She's associated with "earth" because she occupies the southwest quadrant of the Wheel -- the first "leg" wherein we're still largely earth-bound in terms of perception. It is on this "leg" that we both answer the Call to Awaken and begin to adopt the spiritual beliefs, disciplines, and practices that prepare us to advance to the second quadrant of "Artha."

Dhana, the second aspect of Lakshmi, is surrounded by pots of gold representing the Treasures of Heaven or Gifts of God (not worldly wealth). We obtain those intangible treasures through our Golden Circle "offerings" or "yajnas" on the second leg of the circle-journey. The image below makes especially clear that the gold associated with Dhana is spiritual, rather than material.

Lakshmi's second "aspect" is Dhana, who the ego deceptively identifies as "the goddess of (worldly) wealth." Rightly understood, Dhana represents "Artha" -- the leg of the journey undertaken in the northwest quadrant; the quadrant governed by Vayu, the Ruach Ezekiel sees coming out of the North. Sadly, "Artha" has come to mean "the pursuit of material wealth or advantage" in present-day Hinduism. Sadder still, "the pursuit of material wealth or advantage" has become -- through ego-corrupted teachings and practices -- "one of the four traditional aims in life."

"Artha" does not mean "wealth." Most likely a compound of "arth" (aim or purpose) and "a" (of God) the word basically means "Holy Purpose." Alternatively, "Artha" could be a marriage of "ar" (to reach or reaching for) and "tha" (the circle or moon) -- in which case, it would mean "reaching for the Moon," "reaching for the circle," or reaching for the Atonement (which both the Moon and the circle represent).

Either definition works, because it's in the second quadrant of the Mandala that we begin the Golden Circle offerings by which we achieve the purity of heart that opens "the door" to the Hiranyagarbha (wherein the third "leg" of the journey takes place). And that is indeed the Holy Purpose of every embodied human Soul, as Course-Jesus explains ad infinitum. 

Let me say again that pursuing worldly wealth and advantage is NOT an aim smiled upon by the gods. It is, in fact, a serious obstacle enlightenment-seekers must strive to overcome. How, then, could it be a leg on the Soul's circle-journey to enlightenment? The answer is: it can't be and it isn't, so don't be deceived into believing otherwise.

The aspect of Lakshmi representing the third leg of the journey is called Dhyana. That leg takes place in the northeast quadrant of the circle -- the quadrant housing the Golden Egg. That leg is called "Kama," a Sanskrit word that can mean either love or desire. Generally, it's associated with carnal love, but I believe its meaning is more spiritual in this instance. (I also believe that Kamadeva is no more the "god of love" than Agni is the "god of fire," but we won't "go there" just now.) The Golden Egg is, after all, the "cistern of love" wherein the Soul reclaims its memories of God and Heaven.

In the above image, Dhyana is dressed in green (as she should be) and stands in a lotus within a golden egg-shaped frame. In the image below, she is surrounded by pots of gold representing the fruits she has reaped through her alms-giving ministry. Often, she is shown surrounded by grains, which similarly represent the abundant fruits of her "good works."

The fourth aspect of Lakshmi is Gaja -- the "elephant Lakshmi" representing the quadrant of Moksha -- the final quadrant on the circle-journey. She's called "Gaja" because, having attained enlightenment, she now has the power to heal other Souls through Miracles of Grace. The Sanskrit word "gaja" has come to mean "elephant" in modern usage, but it's actually a marriage of "ga" (the sacred-syllable or guru-word, Om) and "ja" (born or produced). The fourth quadrant is, I believe, what Course-Jesus calls the Inner Altar, the Heart of God, the Real World, and the "lawn" or "(sacred) grass" just outside the gates of Heaven.

Having reached the Inner Altar or Heart of God, Gaja has joined the Great Crusade to save the world and all the parts of her own Self from the mind-imprisoning deceptions of Brahma. What exactly her role is at this point, I can't really say. She might be a Christ-realized miracle-worker doing her part for the Great Crusade in a body (like Jesus, at first), or she might be a bodiless Ascended Master helping out from above the illusion. 

Please excuse the amateur graphic, but I did my best to map out how I envision the circle-journey's four quadrants at this point in time.

Now that we've met the four faces of Lakshmi, let's return to the Mahabharata story of Shesha. When the allegory says Shesha goes "underneath," it doesn't mean he goes into the underworld typically equated with hell. The illusion of earthly existence is the only hell there is. When, therefore, the story says Shesha goes "underneath" -- it means he goes beneath the illusion to Patala (to borrow a Hindu term) -- the "home" of the Soul located behind or below the world perceived through the ego-body senses; that deep-down place in the mind Course-Jesus urges us to reach in meditation. In Workbook Lesson 49: God's Voice speaks to me all through the day, he tells us how to find that deep inner-place:

 

Listen in deep silence. Be very still and open your mind. Go past all the raucous shrieks and sick imaginings that cover your real thoughts and obscure your eternal link with God. Sink deep into the peace that waits for you beyond the frantic, riotous thoughts and sights and sounds of this insane world. You do not live here. We are trying to reach your real home. We are trying to reach the place where you are truly welcome. We are trying to reach God. (ACIM, W-49.4:1-8)

Let's cut to the chase. If Shesha is Vishnu's water-palanquin, then Shesha also is Shiva, the transcendent aspect of Brahman Christians call "saving grace" and Course-Jesus calls "the Atonement." And that partly explains why Shiva is often depicted with a snake coiled around his neck. As stated a few paragraphs back, the snake Shiva wears is Vasuki, which means "resembling a snake." According to the legends, Vasuki helped Shiva drink the poisonous Halahala or Kalakuta -- the toxic fear-based thoughts that emerged when the gods used Taksaka to churn the Ocean of Milk.

From this, we can ascertain that Shesha, Vasuki, Iravati, and Taksaka all symbolize key atonement tools or powers. As the water-palanquin of Narayana, Shesha almost certainly represents the five faces of Sadashiva (Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Ishana, according to most sources), while Vasuki, the "coiled" serpent around Shiva's neck, pretty obviously represents the purifying serpent-fire called Kundalini (which means "coiled" and also "resembles a snake").

Vasuki, the naga "coiled" around Shiva's neck represents the purifying serpent-fire commonly called "Kundalini." Last night in meditation, I "saw" that the five heads of Shesha (the five faces of Shiva?) represent the upper branches of the Temple Menorah. So, Vishnu's water-palanquin is in fact the Soul's inner-instrument of awakening, which makes perfect sense.

That brings us to Taksaka, who is 1) one of the sacred serpents dwelling in Patala, 2) said to be the king of those eight serpents, 3) the power used by the gods to churn the Ocean of Milk, and 4) the "carpenter" of the gods. Taksaka built the atonement infrastructure, in other words, as opposed to Tvastr, the "artisan" who fashioned Indra's thunderbolt-throwing Vajra, Brahspati's Axe, and the Chalice of Redemption.

At the end of the day, the word-name Taksaka tells us all we need to know. A compound of "taksa" (a form of "ksan," meaning "auspicious instant") and "ka" (the Great Purusha), Taksaka literally means "the Holy Instant of the Great Purusha." So, mystery solved.

Which power Iravati is meant to represent proved a wee bit harder to nail down. She is not, for example, listed among the eight sacred Nagas, despite being born from the same symbolic parents as Shesha, Vasuki, and Taksana. A character in the Ramayana epic, Iravati is, most notably, the mother of Airavata, the vahana of King Indra. Whatever she represents should logically, therefore, be related to what Airavata represents (which the image below makes pretty clear).

In Sanskrit, "aira" means "nourishing water," while "vata" refers to the ethers of the celestial realm. Ergo, Airavata represents the nourishing water coming down from the Upper World ruled over (inertly) by King Indra. As King Indra's "special atonement power," Airavata represents the Living Water of God's Grace the Red Ray dispenses to wash away the ego-barnacles of fear, guilt, and sin clinging to its scattered sparks.

Airavata's mother would be, therefore, the source of those waters, which is what? The answer has to be the wellspring, fountain, or cistern, right? And this totally tracks with her name, which (when correctly translated), means "she who possesses the water." Iravati is, in fact, a form of Sarasvati. So, Iravati represents the wellspring aspect of the Cosmic Ocean, which is indeed "the mother" of Airavata.

Makes sense, right?

Still wondering about the Vasu, I went ahead and worked out which at-one-ment powers the Ashta-Nagas represent. Here's my quick-and-dirty results:

Anatha, who is also Shesha = the five faces of Sadashiva

Vasuki = Kundalini

Taksaka = the Holy Instant

Karotaka = the Chalice of Redemption

Shankhapala = the Call to Awaken

Padma = the Lotus Path that restores rightmindedness

Mahapadma = the Lord of the Lotus Path, who is Vishnu-Krishna (the Vishwapurusha)

Gulika = the "pit" of the Great Purusha, which is the wellspring or cistern (Iravati)

So, Iravati is there -- but under another name, possibly because Gulika is male?

Let's move on, because we still need to talk about Parvati -- Shiva's "partner," "consort," or "wife," whose vahana is a lion. This tells us straight-away that her "special atonement power" is the strength of God that restores Shiva's Vision -- the bay horse "which goes everywhere." From this we can ascertain that Parvati represents the "active" force of God's Will within the Temple, whereas Shiva (who spends most of his time meditating atop Mt. Kalash) represents the "banked" or "passive" aspects.

In her eight hands (as shown below), Parvati holds all the instruments of the Atonement, including Shiva's Trishul. Symbolically, this tells us Parvati -- the gentle strength by which the Atonement reopens our Spiritual Eye -- works throughout the Temple on behalf of the Trinity Powers in the Upper World. In Ezekiel's vision, Parvati's energy is almost certainly the "lion's head" the four Living Beings faced on the right-hand or eastern side of the circle -- the direction from which the "lightening" of dawning enlightenment travels across the circle.

In the Hindu lore, Parvati is the mother of Ganesha, the personified Om vibration. According to the legends, she made Ganesha out of ghee (clarified butter) in the form of a boy, to guard the door while she bathed. When Shiva came home, eager to see his wife, the boy refused him access. In anger, Shiva cut off his head -- much to Parvati's dismay. To make amends, Shiva replaced the boy's missing head with the head of the first animal he came across -- an elephant.

Yes, the story's a bit silly, but it tells us that Ganesha -- the Lord of the Om -- was created by Parvati to safeguard the undoing process of lustration, without Shiva's initial involvement. By lopping off the boy's human head and replacing it with an elephant's, Shiva granted Ganesha the superior powers of Airavata. He promoted him, in other words, from being an inert protector of the Living Water to being its dispenser in the lower chambers of the Temple. The subtext of the story is that Ganesha played no active role in the Atonement process until Jesus activated the whole mechanism by "opening the door" dividing the lower chambers of the Temple (the two western quadrants) from the upper chambers (the two eastern quadrants).

Let's revisit Ezekiel's vision -- because that whole bit about the lightning is incredibly important. If my translations are correct, the lightning is generated by the fire of God's "glory," brought back to life (in our minds). And that lightning "is alive" with God's joy at the return (to rightmindedness) of our scattered Souls. That lightning is, I believe, King Indra's power of revelation -- the power to wake us up instantly with a well-timed jolt of pure grace.

As I sat in meditation, envisioning the Golden Circle, I also saw (very briefly) little bursts of lightening in spider-like webs (sort of like the image below).

 

As I witnessed these spidery flashes, I suddenly remembered something I'd read very recently about the light reaching from the east across to the west. Just now, I googled the key words, and guess what? It comes from the Bible. More specifically, it is something Jesus said concerning the Second Coming of Christ.

In Matthew 24:26-28, for example, he says:

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he [Christ] is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase [the lifeless body] is, there will the eagles [vultures?] be gathered together.

The lightning cometh out of the east, because that is the direction guarded by King Indra. And it is Indra (in the Hindu form of the curriculum) who occupies "the throne of grace" mentioned in Hebrews 4:16.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

This tells us a few interesting things. The first is that, in the Hindu model, Indra represents the Spirit of Grace who entered the void to set up the at-one-ment infrastructure at the start of Genesis. Indra is, therefore, the one the Hebrew Bible calls Elohim and Course-Jesus refers to as "the Holy Spirit." And it is indeed the Holy Spirit who safeguards the channel through which God reveals Himself to us, as Jesus explains below:

Revelations are indirectly inspired by me because I am close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of my brothers. I can thus bring down to them more than they can draw down to themselves. The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower communication, keeping the direct channel from God to you open for revelation. Revelation is not reciprocal. It proceeds from God to you, but not from you to God. (ACIM, T-1.II.5:1-5)

In the citation from Matthew, notice that Jesus used the same phraseology as Ezekiel. The "carcase" or "lifeless body" is the human body, which God did not create or "give life." Like the Hebrew word "nesher," the Greek word translated as "eagles" (aetoj) can also refer to vultures. And that definition makes more sense here, given that eagles don't usually feed on carrion in groups. That said, it's also possible the eagles he speaks of are the enlightened Souls circling overhead (in a manner of speaking) in the circle's fourth quadrant of Moksha.

As I see it, the lightning symbolizes the Light of Truth reaching across the Dharmachakra from Lord Indra's Vajra in the east to light our way home. It can "zap" us in the Holy Instant and wake us up right away, or it can gently and gradually brighten as we make our way around the circle. Either way, that lightning is the symbolic thunderbolt King Indra's Vajra discharges. It might also be the proverbial "lamp" Jesus brought into the world when he opened "the door" between the circle's third and fourth quadrants.

Or, as he explains in the Course:

My brother, you are part of God and part of me. When you have at last looked at the ego’s foundation without shrinking you will also have looked upon ours. I come to you from our Father to offer you everything again. Do not refuse it in order to keep a dark cornerstone hidden, for its protection will not save you. I give you the lamp and I will go with you. You will not take this journey alone. I will lead you to your true Father, Who hath need of you, as I have. Will you not answer the call of love with joy? (ACIM, T-11.in.4:1-8)

Okay, so ... we've so far established that the four Living Beings represent the four "aspects" of Lakshmi, the ascending Soul; and those "aspects," in turn, signify the four "legs" of the Soul's circle-journey: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moshka. We also know, from Revelations, that those four Living Beings sent forth the "horses" seen by the prophets and also sing, day and night, the praises of Vishnu. What we have yet to determine is which Holy Powers protect those quadrants and which stand guard fore and aft -- at the cardinal directions. We also don't yet know for certain which eight powers make up the Vasu -- if indeed they are eight in number.

We're probably not going to solve those mysteries today, I'm afraid, because this post is already horrendously long -- and we haven't even gotten to the Sukta's next verse. So, let's do that now.

According to Sri Aurobindo's (posthumously published) website, the Rv 1.6.7 -- the Sukta's next line reads: indreṇa sam hi dṛkṣase sam-jagmānaḥ abibhyuṣā mandū iti samāna-varcasā. I'm pretty sure that's wrong, because we've already established that the "indrena" starting this line belongs to Rv 1.6.6. He also ends the line too soon. By my calculations, the seventh verse, which is much longer than generally presumed, includes the first seven words traditionally assigned to the eighth verse. To make sense, the line needs to read: saṃ hi dṛkṣase saṃjagmāno abibhyuṣā mandū samānavarcasā anavadyair abhidyubhir makhaḥ anavadyaiḥ abhidyu-bhiḥ makhaḥ sahasvat arcati gaṇaiḥ indrasya. According to my research and guidance, those words translate approximately as follows:

Come together to perceive Shesha, the whole world-mind speaking the Word of God to inspire the Om, the sacred song equal in radiance to Anu's Greater Light, the Red Ray of the celestial realm offering the mighty Voice of God-incarnate singing from King Indra's mouth.

My definitions:

samhi = Come together
drk-sase = to perceive Shesha
sam-jagmano = the whole world-mind
abibhyu-sa = speaking the Word of God
mand-u = to inspire or exhilarate the Om
samana-varcasa = the sacred song equal in radiance to
anava-dyair = Anu's Greater Light
abhi-dyubhir = the Red Ray of the celestial realm
makhah = offering
sahas-vad =  the mighty voice
arcati = of God incarnate
gana-ir = singing from
indr-asya = King Indra's mouth

Okay, wow. Lots of solid information here, including the fact that Shesha represents the "whole world-mind speaking the Word of God." So, I'm right about Shesha being Shiva, the Great Purusha. It also affirms what I said earlier about Rudra -- the Red Ray of the celestial realm -- generating the Om that flows into the Temple. It isn't Shiva, however, who sounds the Om we hear; it's King Indra on the seventh plane. And, if we reach all the way back to the verse about the Guha, we can ascertain that Indra's "song" -- the mighty voice of God-incarnate coming down from Rudra -- conveys the Heart-Cave thoughts or pure communications of God "in the likeness of the One full of life-giving light."

Who is "the One" of which the rishis speak? I believe it's King Indra, the Holy Spirit of Grace, who Course-Jesus refers to several times as "the One." He also uses the phrase "the One Light" a couple of times. In the passage below, he explains how that One Light wakes us up in the end:

At the altar of God [the fourth quadrant of Moksha], the holy perception of God’s Son becomes so enlightened that light streams into it, and the spirit of God’s Son shines in the Mind of the Father and becomes one with it. Very gently does God shine upon Himself, loving the extension of Himself that is His Son. The world has no purpose as it blends into the purpose of God. For the real world has slipped quietly into Heaven, where everything eternal in it has always been. There the Redeemer and the redeemed join in perfect love of God and of each other. Heaven is your home, and being in God it must also be in you. (ACIM, T-12.VI.7:2-7) 

To translate this powerful Vedic teaching, I had to take a chance on several words whose dictionary definitions didn't ring true. Luckily, I found other sources explaining that "anava" was another way of denoting Anu and that "arcati" could mean God-incarnate.

Before we move on, I want to share something else related. A few years ago, I read several books by the late Michael Newton, a therapist-author who specialized in "between-lives" hypnosis. In one of those books, his subjects explained that the energy-body we "wear" in the between-lives realm changed color as our Souls moved up the levels of learning. The colors seemed to correlate with those typically assigned to the chakras, but that was just my impression. What I especially remember is one subject explaining that when the Soul's energy-body turned deep purple (the color of the Crown Chakra), they didn't return to home-base anymore. Instead, they went to "the place of the One."

I'm beginning to think the place of the One is the fourth quadrant of Moksha, which by most accounts, is protected by Agni. As the guardian of the east, King Indra guards the door into that quarter. So perhaps lightning discharged from his Vajra opens that door.

Pretty interesting, right?

Let's move on to Rv 1.6.8, which we've essentially eviserated. Borrowing seven words from that line for the previous one left a single word. That word is "kamyaih," whose meaning isn't crystal clear. My best guess is that it's a compound of "kamy" (ardent desire) and "aih" (to seek), which makes sense when combined with the first seven words from the next line. As reconfigured, Rv 1.6.8 now reads: kamyaih atah parijman a gahi divo va rocanad adhisam asminn rinjate. Those words very aptly translate as follows:

Ardently seek, therefore, the circle-journey of God's Holy Name, the divine Om bestowing the eternal light of the Supreme Lord in this realm of indebted existence.

My definitions:

kamy-aih = ardently seek
atah = therefore
parijman = the circle-journey
a = of God's
gahi = holy or family name
divo = the divine Om
va =bestowing
roc-anad = the eternal light of
adhisam = the Supreme Lord
asminn = in this realm
rinjate = of indebted existence

With seven of its eight words commandeered by the previous line, the Sukta's ninth line must, in turn, subsume the whole of the tenth. This shortens the Sukta to nine lines, the last of which reads: girah ito vā sātim īmahe divo vā pārthivād adhi indram maho vā rajasaḥ. According to my guidance and research, those sacred words translate thusly:

The voices singing in this world bestow the wakefulness of mind of the Holy All, the divine Om bestowing on earth the dawning light of King Indra, the Mighty One bestowing the (inner) radiant glory of the Self.

My definitions:

girah = the voices singing 
ito = in this world
va = bestow
satim = the wakefulness of mind
imah-e = of the Holy All
divo = the divine Om
va = bestowing
parthivad = on earth
adhi = the dawning light
indram = of King Indra
maho = the Mighty One
va = bestowing
ra-jasah = the radiant inner glory of the Self

This confirms that King Indra is indeed the One. Rather than comment further (because I've already said so much), I'll conclude our discussion of Rv 1.6 with a general quote from the Course pertaining to salvation:

Salvation is undoing in the sense that it does nothing, failing to support the world of dreams and malice. Thus it lets illusions go. By not supporting them, it merely lets them quietly go down to dust. And what they hid is now revealed; an altar to the holy Name of God whereon His Word is written, with the gifts of your forgiveness laid before it, and the memory of God not far behind. (ACIM, W-pII.2.3:1-4)

The Rig Veda's Sixth Sukta (Part 1): Anu, Guha, Shiva & the Endless Circle

A few weeks back, my husband and I were shopping at our favorite Indian market -- something we do once a month or so to restock the larder. While we were perusing the frozen-food cases on the final aisle, an elderly Indian gentleman stopped his cart behind us. "Do you like Indian food?" he asked in a friendly, lightly accented voice. "Do you not find it too spicy?"

"I don't like it too spicy." I turned round to face him. "And, to be honest, my mouth likes it more than my stomach."

He laughed, revealing a gap of missing teeth. "I have the same problem, now that I'm older."

I'm not sure how the conversation steered its way from indigestion to God, but it did -- and very quickly. The gentleman and I chatted for several minutes, while my saintly spouse herded other customers around us. We were well into our intense discussion before I got the feeling my new friend didn't understand some of my references to Hinduism.

"Are you not Hindu?" I inquired, brow furrowed.

"I'm Muslim," he sheepishly replied. "But I was raised Catholic, and I'm very open-minded."

"Oh," I said. "I don't know much about Islam -- and I haven't read the Qu'ran ... yet. But I do believe in my heart it was divinely revealed to Muhammed."

"I happen to have a copy of the Qur'an in my car -- in English," he said, brightening. "If you'd like to read it, I would be happy to go out and get it."

"I'd like that." I was truly interested, but also concerned about the frozen food thawing in my cart. "But maybe we ought to finish our shopping. And, if we chance to meet again before we leave, I'll take you up on your very kind offer."

We did meet again -- in the checkout line. He made sure of it. And he gave me not one, but two copies of the Holy Qur'an. One abridged and the other more complete. Aware our meeting was no accident, I started the abridged version that night. As I read the introduction by Wahiduddin Khan, one of the translators, two things stood out. The first is that (according to Mr. Khan) the Divine Reality explained in the Quran pre-exists in man at the subconscious level. And, as explained in my last post, the storage container for those subconscious memories is the Golden Egg or Hiranyagarbha -- the water-palanquin bearing Vishnu/Ishvara through the black waters or Kala Paani of the split-off Ego Mind.

Wahihudden Khan, an honorific "Maulana" who dropped his body in 2021, was an Indian Islamic scholar, peace activist, and prolific author. Listed in "the 500 Most Influential Muslims" in the world, he founded the Centre for Peace and Spirituality. 

"The message of the Quran is not, therefore, something which is alien to man," Mr. Khan wrote. "It is in fact a verbal expression of that same Divine Reality which is in consonance with man's own nature and with which he is already familiar. The Quran explains this by saying that those born in later times were all initially born at the time of the creation of Adam and, at that time, God had directly addressed all these human souls."

As explained in my much-earlier post on Genesis, Adam originally meant "red" in Hebrew. So, the opening chapters of the Qur'an and Bible are allegorical accounts of God implementing His Great Plan to bring the scattered sparks of the Red Ray back to their original state of "at-one-ment."

Rightly understood, the level of Self-knowing from which we perceptually descended into material unreality IS the Golden Egg housing the Soul's memories of God and Heaven.

The second thing that stood out was this astute observation by the late Mr. Khan: "The Quran does not follow the pattern of the traditional didactic book. In fact, when the average reader picks up the Quran, it appears to him to be a collection of fragmentary statements. Apparently this feeling is not unreal. But this arrangement of the Quran is not due to any shortcoming, but is rather in conformance with the Quranic plan of retaining its original form in order to fulfill its purpose of conveying the message of truth to the reader who may, in his forays into the scriptures, read only one page, one verse or one line at a time."

This statement hooked my interest because I've noticed the same "repetitive pattern" in both the Course and the Rig Veda. Mr. Khan is right. The repetitions ARE intentional. Rightly perceived, they are "foils" for the Ego Mind, which employs various sneaky tactics to prevent us from learning the At-one-ment curriculum. And one of those tricks is convincing us that spot-reading the theoretical teachings of our chosen spiritual path is as good as reading and studying those teachings, chapter and verse.

Reason would tell us otherwise, but the Voice of Reason and the Voice of Deception never occupy the same mental space simultaneously. The presence of one invariably keeps the other at bay.

On that clanging note, let's turn to the true subject of today's discussion: the Rig Veda's sixth Sukta -- another allegedly addressed to King Indra and the (non-existent) Maruts (as per Ralph T. H. Griffith). It is, in fact, more about Shiva, "the auspicious one" who goes by many names. As usual, we'll tackle the narrative teaching (not hymn or poem) line by line, word by word, and/or syllable by syllable, as necessary.

In transliterated Sanskrit, the opening line of Rv 1.6 reads: yuñjanti bradhnam aruṣaṃ carantam pari tasthuṣaḥ rocante rocanā divi. According to my external research and internal guidance, those words translate approximately as follows:

Yoke together in the presence of the Holy Treasures of the Red Ray to obtain knowledge of the endless circle of True Forgiveness shining within the luminous sphere of celestial order.

My word-for-word definitions:

yunj-anti = yoke together in the presence of
bra-dhnam = the Holy Treasures
arusam = of the red ray
car-antam = to obtain knowledge of the endless
pari = circle
tasthu-sah = of True Forgiveness
rocante = shining within
rocana = the luminous sphere
divi = of celestial order

Quite the opening salvo, wouldn't you say? And uncannily like the Course in language. "Holy Treasures," "the endless circle," and "the Sphere of Celestial Order" are all phrases used by Jesus. Let's start with the "endless circle," which Course-Jesus also calls the Golden Circle, the Holy Circle, the Circle of Purity, the Circle of Atonement, and the Circle of Creation. He also says, at one point, that the circle to which he refers is the Real World we perceive through Christ's Vision. Twice in the Text, he uses the particular phrase "endless circle" -- but only once in reference to the circle mentioned herein. Because it sets the tone for what this Vedic teaching actually communicates, I've quoted his explanation below:

Beyond the body that you interposed between you and your brother, and shining in the golden light that reaches it from the bright, endless circle that extends forever, is your holy relationship, beloved of God Himself. How still it rests, in time and yet beyond, immortal yet on earth. How great the power that lies in it. Time waits upon its will, and earth will be as it would have it be. Here is no separate will, nor the desire that anything be separate. ⁶Its will has no exceptions, and what it wills is true. Every illusion brought to its forgiveness is gently overlooked and disappears. For at its center Christ has been reborn, to light His home with vision that overlooks the world. Would you not have this holy home be yours as well? No misery is here, but only joy.

All you need do to dwell in quiet here with Christ is share His vision. Quickly and gladly is His vision given anyone who is but willing to see his brother sinless. And no one can remain beyond this willingness, if you would be released entirely from all effects of sin. Would you have partial forgiveness for yourself? Can you reach Heaven while a single sin still tempts you to remain in misery? Heaven is the home of perfect purity, and God created it for you. Look on your holy brother, sinless as yourself, and let him lead you there.

(ACIM, T-22.II.12:1–13:7)

Jesus also uses the specific phrase "sphere of celestial order" only once. With regard to this mysterious "sphere," he says:

I inspire all miracles, which are really intercessions. They intercede for your holiness and make your perceptions holy. By placing you beyond the physical laws they raise you into the sphere of celestial order. In this order you ARE perfect. (ACIM, T-1.I.32:1-4)  

As I understand it, the "sphere of celestial order" refers to the right-hand side of the Dharmachakra or Wheel of Earthly Existence, rather than Heaven-proper. The Upper World governed by the Trinity powers, that two-part "sphere" houses the endless circle and the Golden Egg or Hiranyagarbha -- the storehouse of the Holy Treasures of the Red Ray. Those treasures constitute the Soul's unconscious memories of Divine Reality. And those memories are the "miracles" the Holy Spirit holds in trust for us. Elsewhere in the Course, Jesus explains that miracles reverse the order of our unconscious "storehouses." By this, he means that the miracle moves the ego's "chitta storehouse," which is usually on top, to the rear, and the Soul's "miracle storehouse," which is usually underneath, to the fore for a few moments. This helpful little shuffle allow us to glimpse the spiritual purpose behind what's happening -- rather than the insane and upsetting way the Ego Mind would have us interpret the situation.

In Chapter 14 of the Text, Jesus discusses the Circle of Atonement at length. I suggest you click through and give it a read, because it provides very useful information to sincere truth-seekers.

Let's move on to the Sukta's second line, which reads: yuñjanty asya kāmyā harī vipakṣasā rathe śoṇā dhṛṣṇū nṛvāhasā ketum. For those keeping track, the word "ketum" belongs here, rather than at the start of the next line (as per Max Muller). When correctly configured, the line translates as follows:

Yoke together in the ultimate resting place rendering Hari (the sound of the Greater Light), coming from the Holy Instant -- the chariot of the bay horse supporting the strength arising from the peace and joy of the Great Rays (or Lamps of God). 

My word-for-word definitions and syllable breaks (for the skeptical linguists out there):

yunj-anty = yoke together in the ultimate
asya = resting place
kamya = rendering
hari = Hari, the one who removes obstacles
iti = arising from
vipa-ksasa = the instant of insight (the Holy Instant)
rathe = the vehicle or chariot
sona = of the bay horses
dhrsnu = supporting or maintaining the strength
iti = arising from
nrva-hasa = the peace and joy
ketum = of the lamps of God

Let's start with the word-name "Hari," which is generally associated with Lord Vishnu in modern-day Hinduism. And that's correct, for the most part. But Hari -- the "remover of obstacles" -- also refers to the Voice for God or Om vibration, the tonal frequency of universal holiness the Holy Spirit (Vishnu-Krishna) transmits to dissolve the unreal thoughts and beliefs blocking our awareness of God's indwelling presence. That "Hari" translates literally as "the sound of the Greater Light" supports this contention. And so does this Vedic teaching, which says Hari arises from the Holy Instant when we yoke our minds together in the Holy Resting Place. Even more interestingly, this verse equates the Holy Instant with the (fourth) chariot of the bay horse(s) seen by the prophet Zechariah -- the horse or horses "that go everywhere," according to the Angel of the Presence.

And, here again, the Rig Veda helps us solve another longstanding Biblical mystery. The bay horses "that go everywhere" convey the holiness Jesus speaks of so frequently in the Course. That holiness can only be perceived through Christ's Vision, as he tells us below:

Yet while you wish to stay in hell, how could you be the savior of the Son of God? How would you know his holiness while you see him apart from yours? For holiness is seen through holy eyes that look upon the innocence within, and thus expect to see it everywhere. And so they call it forth in everyone they look upon, that he may be what they expect of him. This is the savior’s vision; that he see his innocence in all he looks upon, and see his own salvation everywhere. He holds no concept of himself between his calm and open eyes and what he sees. He brings the light to what he looks upon, that he may see it as it really is. (ACIM, T-31.VII.11:1-7)

Christ's Vision, he tells us elsewhere in the Course, can only be achieved through God's strength. The two, in fact, go hand-in-hand. And the Sanskrit word "sona," like the Hebrew word "amot" -- the word translated as "bay" in the Old Testament -- can mean "of a strong reddish-brown color" or simply "strong." And that certainly correlates with the description herein of the bay horses "supporting the strength" arising from the peace and joy of the Great Rays -- the mysterious "ketu" mentioned many times in the Vedas.

All of this brings to mind Workbook Lesson 42: God is my strength. Vision is His gift, wherein Course-Jesus says:

The idea for today combines two very powerful thoughts, both of major importance. It also sets forth a cause-and-effect relationship that explains why you cannot fail in your efforts to achieve the goal of the course. You will see because it is the Will of God. It is His strength, not your own, that gives you power. And it is His gift, rather than your own, that offers vision to you.

God is indeed your strength, and what He gives is truly given. This means that you can receive it any time and anywhere, wherever you are, and in whatever circumstance you find yourself [like the bay horses that "go everywhere"]. Your passage through time and space is not at random. You cannot but be in the right place at the right time. Such is the strength of God. Such are His gifts.

(ACIM, W-42.1:1–2:6)

Let's move on to the next verse (Rv. 1.6.3), in which the rishis affirm everything Jesus and I just explained. The line reads: kṛṇvan aketave peśo maryā apeśase sam uṣadbhir ajāyathāḥ anu. Based on my painstaking research, the verse translates approximately as follows:

Act to extend Shiva's Vision to help the Son of God, the beloved of God, to escape Shesha by coming together wholly in the enlightening ocean of the Supreme Self, in accordance with Anu (the three-part Name of God or Trinity of the Name).

My definitions: 

kr-nvan = acting to extend
aket-ave =  Shiva's vision = Christ's Vision or Miraculous Perception (in Course terms) 
peso (pes-sa) = to help the Son of God
marya = the beloved of God
ape-sase = to escape Shesha
sam = together
usadbhir = in the enlightening ocean of
aja-yathah = the Supreme Self, in accordance with
Anu = the three-part Name of God and/or Trinity of the Name

This one was a real beast to work out, mainly because the true definitions of eight of the nine Sanskrit words occurring herein are totally lost on Vedic scholars. "Apesase," for example, is said to mean "shapeless," when it is, in fact, a compound of "ape" (to escape) and "sase" -- a Vedic cipher for Shesha, the multi-headed snake serving as Vishnu's water-palanquin in the image below.

Vishnu, as Narayana, afloat on the "enlightening ocean of the Supreme Self" on a raft or water-palanquin formed by Shesha -- the divine companion and supporter of Vishnu.

We'll talk more about Shesha in a bit, because he rears his many heads again in interesting ways. For now, let me point out that the usual definition of "marya" as "man" or "human beings" is an ego-veiled interpretation of the word's true meaning. Perceived through Shiva's Vision, all human beings are "the beloved of God" -- as Course-Jesus explained so eloquently in the excerpt above. We don't see that, however, while still wearing Brahma's blinders. We only see each other's holiness through "aketave" -- the Vedic equivalent of Christ's Vision, spiritual sight, holy vision, and/or True Perception (in Course lingo). Restoring this vision to us is the Holy Spirit's primary mission, as Course-Jesus explains below:

To open the eyes of the blind is the Holy Spirit’s mission, for He knows that they have not lost their vision, but merely sleep. He would awaken them from the sleep of forgetting to the remembering of God. Christ’s eyes are open, and He will look upon whatever you see with love if you accept His vision as yours. The Holy Spirit keeps the vision of Christ for every Son of God who sleeps. In His sight the Son of God is perfect, and He longs to share His vision with you. He will show you the real world because God gave you Heaven. Through Him your Father calls His Son to remember. The awakening of His Son begins with his investment in the real world, and by this he will learn to re-invest in himself. For reality is one with the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit blesses the real world in Their Name. (ACIM, T-12.VI.4:2-10)

Still unclear about the meaning of "Christ's Vision"? Well, as luck would have it, I'm reviewing Lesson 158 (Today I learn to give as I receive) today. And in that lesson, Jesus spells out precisely what he means in the following two passages:

Christ’s vision has one law. It does not look upon a body, and mistake it for the Son whom God created. It beholds a light beyond the body; an idea beyond what can be touched, a purity undimmed by errors, pitiful mistakes, and fearful thoughts of guilt from dreams of sin. It sees no separation. And it looks on everyone, on every circumstance, all happenings and all events, without the slightest fading of the light it sees.

This can be taught; and must be taught by all who would achieve it. It requires but the recognition that the world can not give anything that faintly can compare with this in value; nor set up a goal that does not merely disappear when this has been perceived. And this you give today: See no one as a body. Greet him as the Son of God he is, acknowledging that he is one with you in holiness.

(ACIM, W-158.7:1–8:4)

Working out the intended meaning of "peso" (or "pesah" in some versions of this Rik) also proved challenging. According to the Sanskrit dictionaries, "peso" isn't a word, while "pesa(h)" means form, decoration, or ornament. Those definitions didn't work, so I kept searching. Eventually, I discovered that "peso" was actually Vedic shorthand for "pessa," which can mean "to serve" or "to help."

Another elusive word was "ajayatha," which could have been "ajaya-tha" or "ajay-atha." Since "aja" is an oft-used Sanskrit term for the Supreme Self, I figured "ajayatha" was probably a marriage of "aja" and "yatha," meaning "the Supreme Self in accordance with." And that felt right, given that the Supreme Spirit does indeed restore us to rightmindedness in accordance with or through the agency of "Anu" -- the Trinity of the Name (as this verse explains).

The ego-educated "experts" tell us "anu" has many meanings, including "atom," "molecule," "subordinate," "the individual soul," and "spiritual union." None of those definitions are, in fact, even remotely accurate. An Akkadian word meaning "sky" or "heaven," Anu is described in Rv 8.7 as "tri-tasya" -- the three-part Name of God. (Not that anyone would know that without reading this blog.) In my earlier series on Rv. 8.7, I speculated about the meaning of the three letters, A-N-U. I now better understand that those letters represent the "Trinity of the Name" -- the three "aspect powers" of the Name of God working in unison in the celestial sphere (the Upper World or top three planes of consciousness) to restore the Truth of our Being.

A is for Agni, the Fire of God's presence within the Temple (the Father aspect)

N is for Narayana, the presence of the Christ Self and/or the Vishwapurusha (the Son aspect)

U is for the Om, the illusion-dissolving call, song, or Cosmic Breath preserving and protecting the wholeness and holiness of God's eternal and perfect Creation (the Holy Spirit aspect)

Those three "aspect" powers dwell together inside the sphere of celestial order -- the firmament forming the "body" of Anu, the Holy Trinity of the Atonement or Second Covenant.
 

Let's move on to the next verse, which should read: ād aha svadhām anu punar garbhatvam erire dadhānā nāma yajñiyam vīḻu cid ārujatnubhir guhā cid indra vahnibhiḥ avinda usriyā. Max Muller split this verse into two metered lines, when it's actually one long stanza, broken by a semi-colon. By my calculations, Rv 1.6.4 should read as follows:

Strive to awaken the soul-wind of Anu to return to the womb (or egg) of the Higher Self, the cistern of love bestowing the treasures of the Name sustaining the knowledge firmly fixed in the thoughts not diseased by fear; Heart-Cave thoughts King Indra conveys in the likeness of the One full of life-giving light.

My definitions:

ad = Strive
aha = to awaken
svadham = the soul-wind of
anu = Anu
punar = to return to
garbha-tvam = the womb (or egg) of the Christ Self
eri-re = the cistern of love
dadhana = bestowing the treasures of
nama = the Name
ya-jniyam = sustaining the knowledge or wisdom
vilu = firmly fixed in
cid = the thoughts
arujatnu-bhir = not diseased by fear 
guha = heart-cave
cid = thoughts
indra = King Indra
vah-nibhih = conveys in the likeness of
avin-da = the One full of life-giving
usriya = light

There's a lot to unpack in this lengthy verse, so bear with me. Let's start with the word "svadham," which can have various meanings. The whole word is commonly used in Hinduism to describe ritual offerings made to departed ancestors. In the Puranic lore, Swadha is one of Agni's two wives. The word can also mean "soul wind," a reference to Vayu, the Cosmic Breath or Ruach of God -- the "U" aspect of the ANU Trinity. So, the rishis affirm herein what Course-Jesus also says (in slightly different language): We must hear (and be sufficiently healed by) the Om before we can return to the Golden Egg that is both the womb of the Christ Self and the "cistern of love." If I understand all this correctly, that "egg," "womb," and/or "cistern" also is the golden storehouse or "bank" containing the Soul's unconscious memories -- the miracles we "withdraw" to correct our perceptual errors. 

It took awhile to work out that "erire" meant "cistern of love." But I'm glad I took the time, because that "erire" is the very same "cistern" mentioned in the Old Testament books of Proverbs (5:15), Jeremiah (2:13 and 36:16), and Ecclesiastes (12:6).

In Proverbs 5, we are told:

Drink water from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

Should your springs be scattered abroad,

streams of water in the streets?

Let them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

Let your fountain be blessed,

and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

a lovely deer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated, always in her love.

The words "wife," "doe," and "breasts" in this verse felt wrong to me, so I did a little back-to-the-source etymological research. Here's what I learned: The Hebrew word translated herein as "wife" was ishshah, a compound of "ish" and "shah." "Ish" has come to mean "man" or "husband," but originally meant "strength," while "shah" initially referred to seeing, beholding, mental focus, or vision. The word ishshah first appears in Genesis, in reference to Eve, who (as I've explained) wasn't an actual woman or wife any more than Adam was an actual man. Eve represented the Spirit or Breath of God (the soul-wind or Ruach) within Adam, the Divine Spark of the Red Ray within human beings.

The word translated as "youth" actually means "earlier or previous state," and the line rendered as "lovely deer, a graceful doe" is a complete Anglican botch-job. The Hebrew word changed to "lovely" was ahab, which describes not loveliness, but divine or brotherly love; the word translated as "deer" was ayeleth, which (like re'em) probably means gazelle -- the "grace-full" vahana or vehicle of Vayu; and the words rendered as "graceful doe" more accurately translate as "the grace to ascend or spiritually profit."

This brings us to the word translated by the Anglican priests as "breasts." According to Strong's, the word was dad (in transliterated Hebrew), which translates as "breast" or "bosom" in the symbolic sense of providing nourishment; or -- in this case -- the Soul-sustaining "milk" of Higher Knowledge. The Hebrew word for the physical female breast is shad, not dad. And, according to some speculators, the vowel-less word transliterated as dad should have been dod, meaning "love" or "beloved." I'm inclined to agree, given how corrupted the KJV translation of these two lines proved to be.

So, the section of Proverbs 5 reading "Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love" (which makes no sense spiritually) should read more along these lines:

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the strength and vision of your previous state of divine brotherly love gently conveying the grace to ascend; love to slake the thirst in the season of error [our time on earth], perpetually in the covenant of love.

Let's move on, because we still need to talk about "Guha," the "Heart-Cave" or "Cave of the Heart" -- a phrase unknown to me hitherto. Curious to know if Heart-Cave was "a thing," I looked it up and was elated to learn it's not only "a thing" -- it's a vital concept in Hindu philosophy discussed not only in the Rig Veda (as we now know), but also in the Puranas, the Upanishads, and the Anu Gita. Like the better-known Bhagavad Gita (the Song of God), the lesser-known Anu Gita (the Song of Anu) is part of the Mahabharata epic.

The Wikipedia article discussing the Anu Gita erroneously defines "anu" as "subordinate to," implying the Anu Gita is less important than the Bhagavad Gita. A quick read of the Wikipedia overview suggests that the Anu Gita is to the Bhagavad Gita what the Course's Workbook and Manual for Teachers is to the theoretical Text. Yes, they are "secondary" or "supplemental" to the main body of the teachings, but no less important. As I understand it, the Anu Gita explains how to apply, day to day, the philosophical ideas presented by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

Okay, so ... what exactly is the Heart-Cave or Cave of the Heart? Based on my research and experience, "Guha" refers to the innermost-uppermost dwelling-place of the "Aja" -- the true, divine, and eternal "Living Being," "Universal Soul," or "unembodied Holy Self" facilitating remembrance of our Oneness and Sameness with God. In meditation, it is inside this Heart-Cave that we experience the radiant presence of God and Christ, eternally united in the cause-and-effect relationship King Indra -- God's regent in the dream -- preserves and protects. And by the miracle-power of that all-inclusive Presence and/or "covenant," we are guided back "home" to Heaven.

Because this concept is so incredibly important, let's look again at what the Vedic scribes say in this verse regarding the Heart-Cave.

Endeavor to awaken the soul-wind of Anu to return to the womb (or egg) of the Christ Self, the cistern of love bestowing the treasures of the Name sustaining the knowledge firmly fixed in the thoughts not diseased by fear; Heart-Cave thoughts King Indra conveys in the likeness of the One full of life-giving light.

Stated in slightly plainer language, we must hear the Living Water before we can return to the Hiranyagarbha, the bridge or passageway back to the Heart-Cave. That spiritual "egg" or "womb" also is the symbolic "cistern" discussed in the Bible -- the storage tank or wellspring of Divine Love bestowing the Holy Treasures of "the Name." And that three-part Name (Anu) "sustains the knowledge firmly fixed in the thoughts not diseased by fear." The pure thoughts of the God Mind, they mean, uncontaminated by the Ego Mind's insanity. And the vehicle for those thoughts in the dream is King Indra, God's "regent" on earth.

In this beautiful illustration, Jesus points to the Guha or Heart-Cave, and also shows us how it feels "energetically" to enter that sacred space.

Before we move on, let me point out that Course-Jesus never uses the phrase "Heart-Cave" (or even the word "cave"); he does, however, use the expression "Heart of God" several times in a remarkably similar context. Below are several examples:

On this side of the bridge to timelessness you understand nothing. But as you step lightly across it, upheld BY timelessness, you are directed straight to the Heart of God. At its center, and only there, you are safe forever, because you are complete forever. There is no veil the Love of God in us together cannot lift. The way to truth is open. Follow it with me. (ACIM, T-16.IV.13:6-11)

Perhaps you think that different kinds of love are possible. Perhaps you think there is a kind of love for this, a kind for that; a way of loving one, another way of loving still another. Love is one. It has no separate parts and no degrees; no kinds nor levels, no divergencies and no distinctions. It is like itself, unchanged throughout. It never alters with a person or a circumstance. It is the Heart of God, and also of His Son. (ACIM, W-127.1:1-7)

Thanks be to you, the holy Son of God. For as you were created, you contain all things within your Self. And you are still as God created you. Nor can you dim the light of your perfection. In your heart the Heart of God is laid. He holds you dear, because you are Himself. All gratitude belongs to you, because of what you are. (ACIM, W-197.8:1-7)

We are the holy messengers of God who speak for Him, and carrying His Word to everyone whom He has sent to us, we learn that it is written on our hearts. And thus our minds are changed about the aim for which we came, and which we seek to serve. We bring glad tidings to the Son of God, who thought he suffered. Now is he redeemed. And as he sees the gate of Heaven stand open before him, he will enter in and disappear into the Heart of God. (ACIM, W-pII.14.5:1-5)

Holy are you, eternal, free and whole, at peace forever in the Heart of God. Where is the world, and where is sorrow now?

Is this your judgment on yourself, teacher of God? Do you believe that this is wholly true? No; not yet, not yet. But this is still your goal; why you are here. It is your function to prepare yourself to hear this Judgment and to recognize that it is true. One instant of complete belief in this, and you will go beyond belief to Certainty. One instant out of time can bring time’s end. Judge not, for you but judge yourself, and thus delay this Final Judgment. What is your judgment of the world, teacher of God? Have you yet learned to stand aside and hear the Voice of Judgment in yourself? Or do you still attempt to take His role from Him? Learn to be quiet, for His Voice is heard in stillness. And His Judgment comes to all who stand aside in quiet listening, and wait for Him.(ACIM, M-15.1:11–2:13)

Everything he says suggests the Heart of God is our final destination -- the final "leg" on our journey back to Heaven or Knowledge.

Before we move on to the next verse, I want to share one more excerpt from the Course. In this passage, Jesus doesn't use the specific expression "the Heart of God," but he does use language highly resonant with the Vedic verse under discussion:

Today we ask of God the gift He has most carefully preserved within our hearts, waiting to be acknowledged. This the gift by which God leans to us and lifts us up, taking salvation’s final step Himself. All steps but this we learn, instructed by His Voice. But finally He comes Himself, and takes us in His Arms and sweeps away the cobwebs of our sleep. His gift of grace is more than just an answer. It restores all memories the sleeping mind forgot; all certainty of what Love’s meaning is. (ACIM, W-168.3:1-6)

Let's now proceed to Rv 1.6.5, which Muller designated as 1.6.6 after erroneously breaking 1.6.4 into two separate verses. In transliterated Sanskrit, the verse should read: devayanto yathāmatim acchā vidadvasuṃ giraḥ mahām anūṣata śrutam indrena. Those words translate roughly as follows:

The journey to the divine realm of Brahman, which varies according to intellectual capacity, clears the veil of deception blocking awareness of the Vasu, the voices singing the greater truth of Anu heard in the supreme eternal song of joy.

My definitions: 

devayant-o = the journey to the divine realm of Brahman
yathamatim = which varies "according to intelligence" -- i.e., our perception of God
accha = clears the veil of deception blocking
vidad-vasum = awareness of or knowing the Vasu
girah = the voices singing
maham = the greater
anu-sata = Anu-truth 
srutam = heard
ind-rena = in the supreme eternal song of joy

This verse communicates a veritable boatload of useful information -- when insightfully translated. Unlike Muller (and most others), I combined "yatha" and "matim" into one word after being "nudged" by my inner-guide to do so. Subsequently, I learned that "yathamati" is indeed a philosophical concept in Hinduism. Basically, the term refers to the subjective views of the divine we humans construct for ourselves through our individual intellects, perceptions, and beliefs. The Sanskrit word "yathamati" literally translates as "according to their intelligence."

In the Course, Jesus similarly explains that the journey back to Heaven is highly individualized because our capacities to understand divine ideas also is highly individualized. Presumably, that's why thousands of forms of the Holy Spirit's curriculum are required to get us all back to the bridge, door, or egg.

The concept of the Vasu is less clear. As I understand it, Vasu is an umbrella term for eight holy powers, celestial beings, or "Bright Ones" working as a team to wake us up. According to the legends, these eight celestial beings initially served King Indra before moving under the auspices of Lord Vishnu. And that makes sense, given that Vishnu-Narayana-Krishna (the Vishwapurusha) took over for Indra (in the Hindu model) after Jesus activated the Atonement Plan. In the Hindu legends and texts, the specific identities of these eight powers vary widely.

So, who are the Vasu and what do they do?

Are they the eight sacred serpents known as the Ashta-Nagas?

Are they the eight "aspects" of Lakshmi known as the Ashta-Lakshmi?

Are they the Holy Spirit and his/her Seven Graces?

Are they the Ogdoad of ancient Egypt?

Let's explore the last question first. The Ogdoad (the Eightfold) was the term assigned to the eight chief deific powers worshipped by the ancient Egyptian Cult of Amen. The Ogdoad were also much discussed by Valentinus, the author of the early Christian "Gospel of Truth," as well as other so-called "gnostic" teachers and scribes. More interesting still, "the Eight" are not only mentioned, but also praised by Jesus in the passages from "The Acts of John" describing the Round Dance of the Cross.

As I see it, the Round or Circle Dance of the Cross was a ritualized re-enactment either of the Golden Circle ritual or the Soul's circular journey (if not both), which Jesus demonstrated to his disciples the night before his arrest. In the narrative provided in "The Acts of John," Jesus told his disciples to join hands in a circle, with him at the center. As they danced around him, he called out praises and riddle-like statements, to which his disciples responded (as instructed) with cries of "Amen."

In the ancient Egyptian cult, Amen, Amon, or Amun (meaning "the hidden one") was revered as the Lord of All and King of "the Eight." Centered in the ancient city of Hermapolis, the Cult of Amen was most popular and powerful during the New Kingdom period (c. 1570 - 1069 BCE). But the cult and its temples were long gone and forgotten by the time Jesus and his family settled in Hermapolis after their "flight into Egypt." And it was there, I believe, that Jesus 1) spent the "lost years" of his youth unaccounted for in the Bible and 2) met and wed his childhood friend, Miriam (whom he affectionately called "Magdala" -- the tower in Aramaic).

Knowing all this raises some interesting questions. Did Jesus know about Amen and "the Eight" because he grew up in Hermapolis? Did he learn about the Vasu while studying yoga in India during his 20s? Or did he know about this octet of Holy Powers because he enjoyed the True Perception of a Christ-Realized Soul?

I vote for the third option -- but all three are certainly possible. And there's a fourth option as well, which is this: As a Christ-Realized Soul, trained yogi, and Jewish rabbi, Jesus had illuminated understanding of the visions described by the Hebrew prophets.

What do those visions have to do with the Vasu? We'll get to that in a minute.

For now, let's return to the Ogdoad, because clues to the true identities of the Vasu can perhaps be found in the ancient ruins of Hermapolis. Historians tell us the Ogdoad were arranged in four male-female pairs. The four pairs (and what they represent) are 1) Naunet and Nu (the Cosmic Ocean and the Sky above the Ocean), 2) Heh and Huehet (the Vital Breath and Timelessness), 3) Kek and Kauket (Night and Day), and 4) Amun and Amunet (the Supreme Self and Everlasting Life).

In the Hindu pantheon, those same eight powers take the form of Sarasvati and Varuna (the Cosmic Ocean and the Sky above), Vayu and Vishnu (the Vital Breath and Timelessness), Soma and Agni (Day and Night), and Indra and Dhanvantari, the keeper of the Amrita (the Supreme Self and Everlasting Life).

Dhanvantari, the "physician-god," who emerged from the churning of the Ocean of Milk holding the pot containing Amrita, the elixir of immortal life. In the Hindu mythology, Indra sent Dhanvantari to earth to teach Ayurveda to humans. Based on the symbolism, Dhanvantari probably represents Jesus.

Look carefully at the relief carving above of Anu from ancient Sumer, which was part of Mesopotamia. Note that he has four wings, holds two tridents, wears a studded ring around his body, and stands on a bull -- the Bull of Heaven, according to the myths.

The image below depicts the Egyptian god Nu, whose name means "sky" according to some sources and "the watery one," according to others. He also is called Nun, "the inert one." In the Cult of Amen, Nu was revered as the first of all the gods and the creator of Divine Reality. He also was associated with the Cosmic Ocean, which pre-dated material creation. Worshippers of Nu also believed he could destroy existence and return everything to its original state. In the iconography of the day, he was almost always depicted as a blue-skinned man, rising from the Cosmic Ocean. His palm-frond staff and hair-ornament represent (when rightly perceived) eternal life, the triumph of light over darkness, and the long-awaited homecoming of the prodigal son.

Note the similarities among the iconographic depictions of Anu, Nu, and Lord Shiva. Like Nu, Shiva is called "the destroyer." Also like Nu, what Shiva destroys isn't "creation." It's the maya we manifest through the Ego Mind by projecting our wrong-minded judgments, valuations, and desires outward, onto objects and people.

The Hindu deity least like Nu-Anu physically -- but most alike in description and function -- is Varuna, the God of the Sky and Lord of the Waters. Typically, Varuna is pictured riding a Makara -- a strange sort of creature that's most often depicted as half animal and half fish. The word "makara" supposedly means "sea creature," but I suspect it's a compound of "maka" (infinite) and "ra" (radiance). Ergo, Varuna's "special salvation power" is the everlasting light, which Course-Jesus calls "the Light of the World." In the image below, Varuna (noteworthily) holds a large cobra.

Let's now look a little closer at the Anu of Mesopotamia. According to Digital Maps of the Ancient World -- a pretty interesting website -- Anu reigned supreme as the ultimate cosmic authority. "Envisioned as a majestic figure draped in shimmering robes and seated upon a celestial throne," the website reports, "he embodied the vastness and mystery of the heavens. Though distant from worldly concerns, Anu held the paramount position in the pantheon, fathering deities and setting the celestial machinery in motion. His enigmatic presence, a blend of regal power and unknowable secrets, left unanswered questions about his true role in the divine drama."

This description makes Anu sound like the Mesopotamian equivalent of King Indra; but I see shades of Rudra in the description -- right down to "the unanswered questions about his role in the divine drama." Rudra, the "mightiest of the mighty," whose name means "Red Ray," represents the divine creative force of Agape operating at full power in the celestial realm. From that position of supreme authority, Rudra watches over and directs the powers carrying out God's Will in the earthly realm. The greatest of those powers is King Indra, the "regent" of God's Will and Authority on earth. The second greatest is Shiva or Sadashiva, Rudra's "gentler aspect" (of grace), doing God's Will in the world as "the destroyer" of ego-induced madness.

Let's now compare the two images below. The first one depicts Rudra, looking down from Heaven, with Shiva foremost in his mind. The second depicts Lord Varuna offering "pooja" to Lord Shiva.

 

In both images, the "offering" being made to Lord Shiva is the Om vibration -- the "glue" that holds Holy Creation together in Wholeness -- as evidenced by the emblem on the black "lingam" before both figures. That "lingam" -- known as the Shiva Lingam or Shivling -- is as highly revered in Hinduism as it is misunderstood. It does not represent, as commonly espoused, male energy or the role of the phallus in creation, because "male" and "female" are ego-manufactured concepts, and the phallus -- or any other body-part -- plays no role whatsoever in divine creation. Phallus-consciousness is, in fact, a serious obstacle to awakening, as any rightminded yogi will tell you.

What Shiva's Lingam actually represents is the upward-pointing triangle of the Shaktona or six-pointed star. And what that star represents, in turn, is the Purusha energy underlying and gradually "penetrating" the Prakriti energy (the yoni) manifesting material unreality. The deeper the Purusha "phallus" penetrates our consciousness, the more the illusion fades, allowing us to see Divine Truth more and more clearly -- through the Spiritual Eye or Shiva's Vision. Shiva's Lingam opens the Spiritual Eye, in other words. And that's the reason 1) Shiva is so closely associated with the Spiritual Eye and 2) the Golden Triangle or Golden Pyramid representing the Shivling often has a single eye in the center.
 

The Golden Triangle symbolizes the three-part or three-sided mind-healing energy that is all of the following: 1) the Great Purusha, 2) the Trinity of the Name in the earthly realm, and 4) Shiva, the transcendent aspect of Brahman (which is grace).

Look again at the images above of Rudra and Varuna, taking note of the water in both -- evidence that the Om vibration is indeed the Living Water that "washes away the sins of the world" -- i.e., destroys wrongminded thought through "lustration" (removal through ablution). Those symbols also suggest that the Om originates with Rudra-Varuna, and then flows downward into the Temple to restore wholeness of mind.

All of this strongly suggests that Shiva is Rudra's arm in the world. That is to say, Shiva literally embodies the N and U aspects of the Trinity of the Name, operating inside the Temple through the power of grace. Proof of his role are the trident and bull closely associated with Shiva and Anu. Nandi -- the Bull of Heaven -- represents not "dharma" (as commonly supposed) but God's Will to end the dream, which we share as part of the Trinity. 

That Anu holds two tridents suggests there are, in fact, two trinities (as I've long suspected): the Trinity of Perfect Creation (the first covenant), consisting of Father, Son, and the Creative Force of Agape, and the Trinity of Atonement (the second covenant), consisting of the three-part Name of God ("the Name we share with God," in Course vernacular).

I could find nothing describing Anu's tridents, but they appear to be tipped with pomegranates -- a symbol of the Blood of Christ, as well as resurrection into eternal life. Comparatively, there is a great deal available about Shiva's "Trishul," only some of which agrees with what I know to be true. Typically, Shiva's Trishul is depicted as a three-pronged, lyre-shaped trident with a two-headed, hourglass-shaped drum fastened underneath (as shown below). The drum is called "Damaru," which translates as "giving or offering" (da) "in the desert or wilderness" (maru).

Shiva's Trishul, with the Damaru underneath.

The first thing we need to get straight is that Shiva's Trishul isn't a "weapon"; it's a symbol of the divine power and authority delegated to him by Rudra, through God's earthly regent, King Indra. As the transcendent power of Brahman, Shiva personifies the ego-dissolving force Course-Jesus calls "the Atonement" and which Christians call "saving grace." Additionally, Shiva is called "Aket," which translates as "God's Call." He's the source of the Call to Awaken, in other words.

According to the Agama Scriptures, Shiva has five faces, aspects, or powers, which take the form of Sadashiva. At another time, we'll explore what those five "faces" represent. If you're curious in the meantime, there's a pretty good overview on the website for Kaui's Hindu Monastery.

Rightly understood, Shiva is NOT the second power of the Trimuti, because there is no such "trinity." As explained in earlier posts, Brahma (the Ego Mind) invented the Trimuti, to take God's place as the "father-creator," as well as to position himself above Shiva and Vishnu in the "divine hierarchy" he contrived. And just so we're clear, Brahmanda -- Brahma's Egg -- is NOT the Cosmic Egg or Golden Womb. Brahmanda is the false and fearful "void" we entered (outwardly) when we projected our split-away dream-consciousness out of the Hiranyagarbha.

In a future post, we'll explore the concept of the Cosmic Egg in greater depth, because it's a fascinating and multi-layered subject deserving more space than I can give it here and now. Just be aware that the "embryo" inside the Golden Egg is the Soul. We enter the egg consciously when we fully "realize" that we are indeed Souls -- and that our Soul is the real "hero of the dream," rather than the ego-body "character" we formerly perceived as our "self" in Brahma's unreal human drama.

While inside the Golden Egg, we are twice reborn. We experience our first rebirth (the second coming of Christ) when we fully realize we are not individual Souls, but one unified "Living Being" with a shared purpose: healing the separation through psychic miracle-working and whatever else the Holy Spirit directs us to do. We experience our second rebirth when we fully realize that the Christ Mind and the God Mind are, in actuality, equal and inseparable partners in the cause-and-effect dynamic of Perfect Creation. When that second rebirth occurs, we move from the Golden Egg into the Heart-Cave or Heart of God.

And that's why Rv 1.6.3 says we must help each other "escape Shesha." To return to the Heart of God -- the Cosmic Ocean of Oneness -- we have to break free of the Golden Egg, which IS Shesha.

 

Okay, phew ... that was a lot to explain -- and we still have a long way to go. But let's break here and continue our discussion in a new post.