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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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:
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: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)
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.
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
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.
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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:
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."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
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?
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Are they the eight sacred serpents known as the Ashta-Nagas? |
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Are they the eight "aspects" of Lakshmi known as the Ashta-Lakshmi? |
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Are they the Holy Spirit and his/her Seven Graces? |
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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).
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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. |
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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.  |
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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.  |
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.
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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). |
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).
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Shiva's Trishul, with the Damaru underneath. |
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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. |
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.
