Unlocking the TRUE Timeless Wisdom of Rig Veda 8.7 (Part 1 of 4)

The image above depicts the Maruts, the wind or storm gods allegedly discussed and addressed in numerous hymns found in the Rig Veda, the oldest and most sacred text in Hinduism's scriptural canon. Curious about these deific forces, I decided to investigate what the Rig Veda actually imparts about the Maruts. For reasons I can't explain, I was guided to Rv 8.7, a Sukta referencing the Maruts multiple times -- or so H. H. Wilson and Ralph T. H. Griffith would have us believe. According to both of these long-dead Oxford-based Sanskrit scholars, the name "Maruts" occurs in the Sukta's very first line. Griffith, in fact, devotes the whole Rik to these presumed storm-deities.

Wilson's translation of 8.7.1 reads: 

When the pious worshipper offers you, Maruts, food at the three diurnal rites, then you have sovereignty over the mountains.

Griffith's translation of the same line reads:

O MARUTS, when the sage hath poured the Trstup forth as food for you, Ye shine amid the mountain-clouds.

No idea what a Trstup is supposed to be, but no matter, because both these translations are miles away from what this Sukta's opening verse actually communicates. This line -- and the whole of Rv 8.7 -- is, in actuality, a spiritual teaching of incredible importance. It is not, as widely believed, a hymn or a prayer, nor does it resemble the nonsensical nursery-rhyme Wilson, Griffith, and so many others have made it out to be.

Hear this now, my dreaming brother: When right-mindedly translated, Rv 8.7 imparts mystical wisdom that is as relevant today as when these Great Truths were first revealed to the Hindu rishis of old. And, perhaps not so astonishingly, that wisdom echoes the teachings of the Bible, the Course, and other sacred texts -- to an uncanny degree in many instances.

Owing to the Great Deceiver's chicanery, that wisdom has been lost to humankind for centuries, if not millennia. So, let's waste no more time in learning what Great and Timeless Truths the Rig Veda longs to reveal to sincere spiritual-seekers. And yes, I did indeed translate all thirty-six verses of this Sukta -- a laborious undertaking that turned out to be a tremendous teaching-learning opportunity.

I didn't just translate all thirty-six verses, you see. I also endeavored to understand and explain their meaning, using the Course as a frame of reference. As the commentary expanded, so did the post -- until it grew into an unruly behemoth. To make it more manageable (for me and you), I divided the unwieldy tome into "chapters" or "parts." For each verse translated, I included 1) the original wording in transliterated Sanskrit, 2) H. H. Wilson's original pre-Raj-era English interpretation, 3) a worksheet specifying how I divided and defined each word, and 4) my detailed explanations peppered with illustrative imagery.

So, without further ado, let's begin at the beginning, with Rv 8.7.1, which reads as follows in transliterated Sanskrit: prayat vas triṣṭubham iṣam maruto vipro akṣarat vi parvateṣu rājatha.

Wilson's translation (repeated for the sake of comparison and consistency), formatted as a prayer addressed to the Maruts:

When the pious worshipper offers you, Maruts, food at the three diurnal rites, then you have sovereignty over the mountains.

My translation, formatted as a teaching addressed to the reader:

Devote yourself to elevating the holiness-preserving Star of the Supreme Spirit's first Red Ray of Creation singing to extend the imperishable Holy Name pervading the Temple of Anointing ruled by the Moon.

My blow-by-blow definitions worksheet:

prayat (devote yourself to) vah (elevating) trstu-bham (the Tratsu or holiness-preserving star of) iṣam (the Supreme Spirit's) ma-ruto (first Red Ray of Creation) vipro (singing to extend) akṣarat (the imperishable Holy Name, Word, or Syllable) vi (pervading) parvat-eṣu (the Temple of Anointing) rāja-tha (ruled by the Moon)

My notes:

On first pass, my translation may seem as nonsensical as Wilson's; but be assured that's far from the case. Not only does it make perfect sense, it also dovetails with the teachings of the Bible and the Course.

Let's start with my definition of tristubham, which does NOT mean "three diurnal rites," as Wilson suggests. Neither does the word refer in any way to "Vedic meter," as is more commonly presumed. As explained in a previous post, the metered structure of some Vedic hymns was almost certainly imposed to aid memorization and recitation during the multi-generational period of oral transference (before the Vedic teachings were written down). Mention of that meter would NOT, therefore, logically occur in the Suktas themselves. In much the same way, this erroneous definition of tristubh has been indelibly attached to the Gayatra Mantra, which we'll discuss later in this series.

The word rendered herein as tristubham is most likely a compound of the proper name Trstu (Tratsu or Trasu, actually, rather than Tristu) and the word bham, which can mean "light," "star," or "ray." According to the Vedic Index, the name Tratsu occurs multiple times in the Rig Veda, once in singular form, and several more times as a plural.

Literal-minded historians presume Tratsu is the name of a tribe of the Aryan race, which ruled in ancient times alongside another powerful clan called the Bharatas -- a word meaning (tellingly) "seekers of ultimate truth." According to the allegorical Vedic accounts, the Bharatas, guided by Visva-Mitra (the spirit of one's own Self, serving as "friend"), prospered and advanced to Vipas (inspiration) and Sutudri (holy vision). The Tratsus, meanwhile, helped the Sudas (the holy givers) in the great battle against the ten kings (the top ten charka-blocking ego demons, presumably).

In most scriptural allegories, the names reveal what the characters symbolize. And Tratsu is almost certainly a marriage of "tr" (to save or deliver) and "astu" (Amen or "let it be as God wills"). Tratsu is, I'm fairly certain, also the "great charioteer" called Trasu in the Puranas. Trasu translates as "preserver of holiness," which perfectly describes the function of the first Red Ray of Creation, which still abides in all living creatures as a "star" or "spark."

Speaking of which ... let's shift our focus to the word maruto, which is no more a deific name than is "Agni." In no way, shape, or form does "maruto" translate as either "Maruts" or "wind." The word is actually pretty interesting, scripturally speaking. When divided as "ma" and "ruto," for example (which works best here), the word translates as "Creation's first Red Ray." But, when divided as "maru" and "(u)to," the meaning shifts significantly to "wilderness" or "desert" in the sense of a penance (maru) and "wellspring," "fountain," or "grass" (uto/a). I inserted an extra "u" because "to" doesn't appear to be a proper Sanskrit word or suffix. In the end, I opted for the former definition. But the latter definitely has merit, given that "desert," "wilderness," "wellspring," and "grass" are scriptural terms used pretty universally. And that concordance is too striking to dismiss as inconsequential.

But wait ... because the Puranic legends supposedly identify "Marut" as 1) a wind god; 2) an epithet for Vayu, another supposed wind-god; and 3) the spiritual father of Hanumat or Hanuman, the monkey-faced disciple of Rama. Hanumat, as it happens, is also called "Maruti," which allegedly translates as "son of Marut" (Marut + i). I can, however, find nothing to suggest that "i" signifies "son of" in Sanskrit. I may be mistaken, but I suspect the name "Maruti" may be a compound of "maru" and "ti," which would mean something akin to "desert-waterer." The word might also describe someone who has awakened to the Wholeness and/or Holiness they share with all of Creation. Hanuman is, in fact, a devoted disciple of Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

That said, Hanuman is, in fact, the embodied "son" of Marut, if Marut is understood to be the first Red Ray of Creation (and not an elemental wind-god). Through his discipleship to Rama, Hanuman achieves liberation from earthly existence for more than himself. Thus, he isn't so much a chiranjivi (an immortal deity) as one who discovers the truth of his God-bestowed immortality through Rama, the Hindu personification of the inner holiness or sinlessness we possess eternally as the Son of God. Hanuman has, in other words, followed the advice of the rishis and "devoted himself to elevating the holiness-preserving Star of the Supreme Spirit's first Red Ray of Creation."

Images of Hanuman almost always show him with Lord Vishnu's Cudgel of Truth, so he definitely represents a spiritual seeker who can hear and heal through the Om/Aum.

Let's move on to the all-important Holy Name, which Course-Jesus characterizes as "the name we share with God." That Holy Name, he tells us, is 1) the great panacea for all the world's ills, 2) the prayer incorporating all other prayers within it, and 3) our Holy Inheritance from God. In the introduction to the Song of Prayer, an addendum to the Course, he further explains:

Prayer is the greatest gift with which God blessed His Son at his creation. It was then what it is to become; the single voice Creator and creation share; the song the Son sings to the Father, Who returns the thanks it offers Him unto the Son. Endless the harmony, and endless, too, the joyous concord of the Love They give forever to Each Other. And in this, creation is extended. God gives thanks to His extension in His Son. His Son gives thanks for his creation, in the song of his creating in his Father's Name. The Love They share is what all prayer will be throughout eternity, when time is done. For such it was before time seemed to be. (ACIM, S-1.in.1:1-8) 

The Holy Name of which Course-Jesus speaks is identified in Hinduism, Buddhism, and most schools of Yoga as "Om" or "Aum." Because the Course's initial target audience was disenchanted American Christians, Jesus avoids using "foreign" terms like "Om" or "Aum." Instead, he uses myriad westernized euphemisms to communicate the same idea, including the song of Heaven, the song of redemption, the forgotten melody, the ever-present echo, the song of Christ, the song of union and love, salvation's song, and the song of gratitude. He also expressly identifies the Name of God as "love," as well as "Jesus Christ" -- a symbolic form of Perfect Love humans can understand and emulate.

Understanding all this clarifies that Om/Aum is, in fact, God's Love vibrating inside the Temple of our Higher Minds. Om/Aum also is, therefore, the joyful, peace-restoring, infinite, and indivisible WHOLENESS of Creation pulsing underneath the ego-manifested universe. Rightly understood, that "Holy Heartbeat" is 1) God's Answer to the separation, 2) the Call to Return, 3) the Voice for God, 4) the Song of Heaven, and 5) the Holy Name all the dreaming sparks of the Red Ray still share with their Creator.

Or, to again quote Course-Jesus:

Our Father calls to us. We hear His Voice, and we forgive creation in the Name of its Creator, Holiness Itself, Whose Holiness His Own creation shares; Whose Holiness is still a part of us. (ACIM, W-pII.11.5:1-2)

Being the Voice for God and the Call to Return, Om/Aum also is the Holy Spirit of the Bible and the Course, as Jesus affirms below:

The Holy Spirit is the spirit of joy. He is the Call to return with which God blessed the minds of His separated Sons. This is the vocation of the mind. The mind had no calling until the separation, because before that it had only being, and would not have understood the Call to right thinking. The Holy Spirit is God’s Answer to the separation; the means by which the Atonement heals until the whole mind returns to creating. (ACIM, T-5.II.2:1-5) 

Bible-Jesus also meant "Om" -- the Holy Spirit of the Christ Self or Purusha -- when he said (in Matthew 18:20), "When two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

The Vedic rishis express the same idea in this verse: By gathering together in the Holy Name of Om/Aum, the love vibration that IS "the Christ" -- the manifestation of God's All-Inclusive Perfect Love in the dream-universe -- our Souls amplify the Living Water of Grace that "washes away" the perceived separation.

If you're a student of the Course, the process I've just described is "miracle-working." If you're a student of the Vedas, this meditative practice of "singing together" is the Soma-offering or yajna performed through "Agni," the Lamb of God.

As explained in earlier posts, "Agni" is neither the proper name of a "god" nor the name of the Hindu god of fire. Rather, the Vedic Sanskrit term "Agni" is related to the Latin phrase Angus Dei, the Lamb of God -- a Biblical term referring to the Inner-Instrument, Menorah, or Chariot transporting the Soul within the Temple of the Holy Spirit (of the Christ Self). And that is why, the New Testament Book of Revelations describes the Lamb as having seven horns and seven eyes. Rightly interpreted, the seven horns represent the seven branches of the Menorah, while the eyes symbolize the seven "spirits" of the Lord of the Temple.

 

The Lamb of God, as described by John the Elder. As shown here, the Lamb's SYMBOLIC heart-blood fills the Chalice of the Atonement. That heart-blood, Lifeblood of Christ, or Love of God is the eternal "mode of being" God gifted to all His Creations. And by "drinking" that "elixir of immortality" or "Amrita" (in the Hindu lore) we eventually remember our God-given True State of Being.

The Temple of Anointing mentioned in this Vedic verse is, of course, the same Temple discussed in the Bible (and in earlier posts on this blog). As explained in those posts, that Temple houses the Menorah or Lampstand through which the Holy Spirit/Holy Name restores the Wholeness or At-one-ment of the Body of Christ, Christ Self, Christ Mind, Purusha, or Son of God. All of these terms describe the limitless Greater Light underneath the forms the Ego Mind manifested to hide the Truth of our Being.

As the "stars," "sparks," "seeds," or broken fragments of that hidden Greater Light, our Souls still possess all the power of the Whole. They can, however, only exert that power by joining together as equals with a shared objective sanctioned by God. They must, in other words, will for themselves and each other ONLY what God wills for all His earth-bound Children. And what God wills is for the Sonship to choose Wholeness again of its own free will. We exercise that choice by coming together in the Name of Christ -- the vibratory Song of Love eternally holding Creation together.

This brings us to the Temple-ruling "tha" or "moon" referenced in that verse. That Moon is the Greater Light shining in the dream as the Lesser Light. That Moon is the Holy Spirit and the Om/Aum -- the guiding force that restores us to spiritual sanity. That Moon referenced herein is, therefore, the one the Vedic rishis interchangeably identify as Soma (the Great I Am) and Chandra (the Comforter).

In Hinduism, Agni and Soma are often referred to as "the primordial consorts." The symbiotic relationship between these two forces, as well as what each represents, has, unfortunately, been distorted beyond recognition over the centuries (not unlike the Rig Veda itself). So let's sort it out, here and now, simply and efficiently.

Soma = the Holy Spirit and/or Comforter
Agni = the Holy Spirit's chariot or vahana

Soma = the Spirit rebuilding the Temple of the Body of Christ
Agni = the skeletal structure of that Temple or Body

Soma = the Great I Am
Agni = the Lamb of God

Soma = the Mind of the Atonement
Agni = the "body" or "instrument" through which that "mind" communicates and acts in the dream of separation

 

What we see here isn't Agni, the god of fire. It's Soma, mounted on Agni, the uriel symbolizing the Lamb of God by which we scale the peaks of Mt. Sumeru.

Let's return to our new and improved translation of Rv 8.7.1, now that we have a keener grasp on what it means. In this idea-packed opening salvo, the rishis are, in essence, extolling us to spend the majority of our time endeavoring to produce the Living Water the Holy Spirit needs to save the world, rather than busying ourselves with bodily activities that ultimately gain us nothing.

Okay, so ... I probably should end my commentary on this opening verse here, but I'm not going to because we haven't yet talked about the mysterious "lunar mansions" much discussed in Hindu, Jewish, and Islamic mysticism; in Persian, Chinese, and Vedic astrology; and in the Christian writings of St. Teresa of Avila. In Vedic astrology, these mansions are called Nakshatras -- a Sanskrit word meaning "Star Temple" or "Birth Temple."

And guess what? When divided differently, tr-istu-bham translates as "the lunar mansion of the will to be saved." And that may, in fact, be the intended definition.

 

St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

 

Guess what else? Those mysterious "mansions" are the same ones mentioned by Bible-Jesus in John 14:2-6.

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?" Jesus saith unto him: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

These teachings coincide with many things we've discussed thus far. The "lunar mansion of the desire to be saved" almost certainly refers to the first mansion WITHIN the Temple -- the mansion identified as the second or Svadhishthana Chakra in the popular seven-chakra model. In Hindu astrology, that second lunar mansion is called "Bharani Nakshatra." Bharani is typically defined as "one who bears," but the word more accurately breaks down as "the light-radiating guidance" or "the one who fills all things." 

Not insignificantly, this chakra-mansion is closely associated with Maa Sarasvati, the Hindu personification of the Voice of Higher Reason (a.k.a., the Buddhi) -- the thought-force that gradually shifts our perception of reality through the "miracles of grace" the Holy Spirit prepares us to give and receive. In my diagram of the Menorah (shown below), notice that the Muladhara or Root Chakra falls BELOW the first bisection of branches. This suggests that the first or lowest level of ego-consciousness exists outside the Temple's "ark" -- in the nowhere-nothingness of the "dark void" of spiritual denial. Thus, spiritual teachers who advise their students to "ground" themselves in the root chakra know not of what they speak.

 

In her book, The Interior Castle, Saint Teresa of Avila confirms that our consciousness does indeed drift in dark nothingness until we accept that earthly life has a spiritual purpose -- and also willingly and ardently devote ourselves to that purpose. Choosing "to be saved" is, therefore, the key that opens the door to the Star Temple's first mansion. By my calculations, that "mansion" is the Church of Smyrna mentioned in the following passage from Revelations 2:8-11:

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive.

I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

This message makes perfect sense when we apprehend that this is, in effect, the Soul's "welcome to the Temple" greeting from the Great I Am or Amen. It also helps to know that the Greek word translated as "Jews" in the second paragraph was loudaios, which more accurately means "Judean" or "of Judea." As you might recall from my post on Restoring the Temple, "Judea" is Biblical "code" for the road back to Heaven. So, a Judean or loudaios is someone traveling that road.

In this section of Revelations, the Great Amen is telling the Souls entering the second mansion that s/he sees the falsehood of those who claim to offer salvation, but are, in fact, congregations of the Ego Mind. S/he is, in essence, warning those entering the Temple against putting their faith in "the ego's religion." What constitutes "the ego's religion"? Any person or organization attempting to formalize, standardize, and/or externalize the process of salvation.

Or, to quote Course-Jesus:  

The attempt to formalize religion is so obviously an ego attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable that it hardly requires elaboration here. Religion is experience; psychotherapy is experience. At the highest levels they become one. Neither is truth itself, but both can lead to truth. What can be necessary to find truth, which remains perfectly obvious, but to remove the seeming obstacles to true awareness? (ACIM, P-2.II.2:1-7) 

Let me explain it this way: In the Bharani Nakshatra, we are still almost completely external-reality oriented. Or, as St. Teresa puts it, we bring a lot of "lizards" into the Temple with us. Those "lizards," she explains, are the wrong-minded beliefs that continue to lead us astray. While these lizards still plague us, we can't hear the Om/Aum. The Holy Spirit must, therefore, inspire and teach us through sermons, spiritual books, scriptural studies, and the like. The goal is to hear God's Voice inside our minds, NOT to become dependent on, attached to, or worshipful of these stop-gap external delivery devices. We should, therefore, take care to perceive all such devices as the means to a greater end, rather than the ends themselves. When, in other words, we realize the Church of Christ is within us, we will no longer feel the need to seek external substitutes.

We will, that is to say, give up the world and "endeavor to dwell among the stars choosing to disappear into the I Am of the Christ Self."

In his message to the inhabitants of the Church of Smyrna, the Great Amen also says the road ahead will be paved with trials and tribulations, but if they have faith -- unto the death of the false ego "I-am-ness" -- they will be rewarded with the restored memory of our eternal Holy Self. 

And that's my not-so-subtle way of telling you that the Rig Veda, the Bible, the Course, and the inspired writings of St. Teresa all tell the same story -- once the egoic chaff is stripped off and the language of all four sacred texts is right-mindedly interpreted.

 

Many equate the Nakshatra or "Star Map" with the astrological Birth Chart, but these "lunar mansions" are probably more similar to the gyroscopic "wheels" seen and described by the Hebrew prophet Zechariah. As we go forward, keep in mind that "lunar" or "moon" is scriptural code for the Mind of the Atonement shining God's Light into the Temple of the Higher Mind.

 

We've unlocked a lot of timeless wisdom already -- and that's only the first verse! So, let's break here and continue next time with the next batch of verses. Until then, Om Shanti Om and God Bless.

 

Extracting Brahman's Satya from Brahma's Maya (Part 4): Agni's Vahana, Flaming Headdress, and Axes

Today, let's discuss what I originally intended to cover in Part 3 of this series: The symbols commonly associated with "Agni" -- the Fire of God (not the god of fire, as commonly presumed) -- in Hindu iconography. As you study the image above, take note of the following features: 1) He rides a black ram or mountain goat; 2) his two faces look East and West; 3) he carries two axes; and 4) seven tongues of fire emanate from his bejeweled conical headdress -- "the golden helmet of innocence" alluded to in Rig Veda 8.7 (and probably elsewhere in the Vedic literature).

Let's start with Agni's vahana or "vehicle of transport." The symbolic animal he rides is not, in fact, a ram or goat in the common sense. It is a URIAL, a species of wild sheep native to India and Pakistan, among other South and Central Asian regions. Significantly, urials inhabit the Himalayas -- a soaring mountain range symbolically equated with enlightenment. Also known as arkars, shapos, or shapu, urials prefer grasslands, open woodlands, and gentle slopes, but also live in cold arid zones with little vegetation.

A family of urials at Pretoria Zoo in South Africa.

Nothing my research uncovered indicates that Agni's vahana has a name (like Vishnu's "Garuda" or Shiva's "Nandi"). But I suspect that his mount's being a urial, rather than a common ram, is a clue to its identity and function.

Am I suggesting that Agni's vahana represents the Archangel Uriel? I am indeed, and here are some of my reasons:

--In Hebrew, Uriel means "God is my light" or "fire of God"

--Uriel is the Archangel of Salvation, Repentance, and /or Atonement

--Uriel is said to stand at the gates of Heaven with a fiery sword, watching over the Middle and Lower Worlds

--Uriel is the angel of Holy Wisdom, Truth, and Light or "Enlightenment"

In the Secret Book of John, an early allegedly "Gnostic" text, Uriel is placed in control over the demons who help Yaldabaoth (the Ego Mind) create Adam (the embodied Soul). In the Apocalypse of Peter, a 2nd-century acrophyll Christian text, Uriel is identified as "the angel of repentance," who is "as pitiless as any demon." In the Life of Adam and Eve, a 1st-century Jewish text, he is identified as one of the Living Beings in the Old Testament Books of Genesis, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. This is pretty important, actually, because it supports something I've long suspected, which is that the vahanas of some Hindu devas mirror the Living Beings or Cherubim described in the Biblical books of Ezekiel and Revelation. And those same "Living Beings" are the Throne-Bearers mentioned twice in the Islamic Qur'an.

The Bearers of the Throne of Allah or Hamlat al-Arsh, as depicted in an early illuminated copy of the Qur'an. They are also mentioned in the al-Sahifa al Saijadiyya, a book of prayers attributed to Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin. As in the Bible, these four-winged Beings sport the heads of an eagle or vulture, a lion, a bull or ox, and a man. According to Al-Suyuti, citing a Hadith transmitted by Ibn al-Mubarak, archangel Israfil (Raphael) is one of the bearers of the throne.

In the Rider-Waite Tarot, the four Living Beings described by the Hebrew and Muslim prophets appear on the WHEEL OF FORTUNE (above) and THE WORLD (below).

Do these four Living Beings, in fact, represent the four stages of restored Self-knowing we talked about two posts ago? Is that why they support the Chariot Throne, Merkabah, or Angirah of the Christ or Purusha Self/Mind? While I strongly suspect as much, the idea is still percolating.

Let's return to Uriel, whom the Ethiopian Homily on the Archangel Uriel depicts as one of the seven great Archangels, as well as the angelus interpres who helped and interpreted prophecies for Ezra the Scribe, among other Biblical figures. According to that sacred text, Uriel dipped his wing in the blood and water flowing from Jesus's wound on the cross. Using what he'd collected to fill a cup, Uriel then rushed into the world with the Archangel Michael to sprinkle the blood and water over Ethiopia. Wherever a drop fell, the Homily explains, a church was built.

Those metaphoric churches are, of course, the Temples of the Holy Spirit -- the inner instruments making possible the celestial reclamation of our ego-bound Souls. The blood and water in the story represent the Blood and Water Rays and/or "anointing oils of the atonement," which Jesus brought into the world. The drops, meanwhile, represent the sparks of the Fire of God, which (according to Course-Jesus) the Holy Spirit placed at the center of the Inner Altar.

Uriel = the vahana, chariot, atonement vehicle, and/or Light Body through which the Fire of God acts within the dream of separation.

In Eastern Orthodox images (like the one above), Uriel commonly holds a flame in his right hand and a sword in his left. If, as I suspect, those two objects symbolize the Blood and Water Rays, the flame represents the Logos, Word of God, Blood of Christ, or Red Ray of Creation present inside the Temple, while the sword represents the Living Water which, as Jesus told Sister Faustina, "restores Souls to righteousness."

We see the same concept illustrated on THE CHARIOT card in the Rider-Waite Tarot. Like Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the charioteer represents the Holy Spirit, while the chariot symbolizes the angirah in which he stands before the walled city or hitam in the background. The eight-pointed star on his crown (like Agni's) represents the Greater Light or Spiritual Sun and its atonement powers or rays, while the stars on the canopy symbolize the scattered sparks or Souls he reunites in Wholeness through the power of his Lamp or Menorah. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that, being part of the Christ Self in the form of a sheep, Agni's vahana (Uriel) also represents the seven-eyed, seven-horned Lamb of God described in Revelations 5:6. As has been suggested by others, the Lamb's seven eyes symbolize the Spirits or Lamps of the Menorah, while its horns represent the branches, channels, or sacred rivers through which the two anointing oils flow. Working through the Menorah, the Blood of the Lamb "washes away" or "lustrates" the dream-binding impurities of "sin," "guilt," "fear," "sacrifice," "attack," and "condemnation," among many others. Although stupefied by the Ego Mind's upside-down judgments on ourselves, others, and the world, that Holy Lamb will rise again through the lion-like strength of God's Fire still burning within it.

Rightly understood, our lamb-like innocence and purity IS the lion-like strength of God's Fiery Presence within us, which assures our eventual victory over the Ego Mind. To call on that spiritual strength, we need only 1) identify with the perfect, innocent, holy, and whole Christ Self or Divine Being God created "in the beginning" and 2) deny the reality of the flawed, sinful, and separate "self" the Ego Mind contrived to inhabit the "sin-abode" of earthly existence.

In the following from the Course, Jesus affirms what I've just explained:

I have been correctly referred to in the Bible as "The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world." Those who represent the lamb as blood-stained (an all too widespread conceptual error) do NOT understand the meaning of the symbol.

Correctly understood, the symbol is a very simple parable, or teaching device, which merely depicts my innocence. The lion and the lamb lying down together refers to the fact that strength and innocence are NOT in conflict, but naturally live in peace. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" is another way of saying the same thing. Only the innocent CAN see God.

There has been some controversy (in human terms) as to whether seeing is an attribute of the eyes, or an expression of the integrative powers of the brain. Correctly understood, the issue revolves around the question of whether the body or the mind can see (or understand). This is not really open to question at all.

A sane mind is NOT out for blood. It does not confuse destruction with innocence, because it associates innocence with strength, NOT with weakness. Innocence is incapable of sacrificing anything, because the innocent mind HAS everything and strives only to PROTECT its Wholeness. This is why it CANNOT mis-project. It can only honor man, because honor is the NATURAL greeting of the truly loved to others who are LIKE them.

The lamb taketh away the sins of the world only in the sense that the state of innocence or Grace is one in which the meaning of the Atonement is perfectly apparent. The innocence of God is the true state of the mind of His Son. In this state, man's mind DOES see God, and because he sees Him as He Is, he knows that the Atonement, NOT sacrifice, is the ONLY appropriate gift to His OWN altar, where nothing except perfection truly belongs. The understanding of the innocent is TRUTH. That is why their altars are truly radiant.

On that note, let me reiterate that the yajnas so frequently mentioned in the Hindu scriptures were NOT meant to be sacrificial rituals performed by priests at the level of bodies and form. Rather, yajnas are "at-one-ment" offerings -- the thought-gifts or "alms" of brotherly love we simultaneously give and receive in accordance with God's Golden Rule. The only "fire" involved is God's Presence in our hearts rekindling our willingness to be of service in this way.

Okay, so ... if Agni's vahana represents Uriel, the archangel of salvation, why is it sometimes black in color? For the same reason Lord Krishna is often depicted with black skin. For reasons I don't fully understand, depicting a deity with black or blue skin merely signifies that they represent an invisible force, rather than an actual material being.

But wait, there's more ... because Agni sometimes drives a chariot pulled by a single red horse. In Hindu iconography, horses symbolize thought-forces, whilst red represents love, strength, power, and purity. So, the red horse drawing Agni's chariot almost certainly represents the Blood Ray.

Which instructive symbol shall we decode next? The two Janus-like faces? The twin axes? The flaming headdress? Let's do the two faces, because there's less to say about this feature than the others. As I read this symbol, Agni's two faces suggest that, being God's representative in the dream-realm, he is the generative power behind everything "divine" in the material universe. He is, in other words, "the One seated on the Ruby Throne" described in the New Testament Book of Revelations. And from that uppermost and innermost seat of Supreme Divine Authority, "Agni" infuses everything below him with the Eternal Fire of God's first Creative Thought.

That Agni's two faces look right and left also signifies that he rules over both sides (east and west) of the Wheel of Karma. The "spokes" of that wheel represent, I'm fairly certain, the branches of the Temple Menorah. Knowing this helps us understand that "Agni" -- the Fire of God's Mind/Will extended as the first Red Ray of Creation -- watches over or supervises the Atonement forces aiding our spiritual evolution on both sides of the Menorah. He is, in other words, "the boss" of the Holy Spirit of the Christ Self, the twin Blood and Water Rays, and the seven spirits or lamps referenced (not by accident) SEVEN times in the Holy Bible. They are mentioned thrice in the Old Testament (Isaiah 11:2-3 and Zechariah 3:19 and 4:10) and another four times in the New Testament Book of Revelation. As reported by the KJV translators, the latter four verses read as follows (with my explanatory notes interspersed):

Rev. 1:4: John to the seven churches [the seven lunar mansions or chakras] which are in Asia [the Temple of Arising]: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come [the Red Ray]; and from the seven Spirits [the tongues of flame, graces, or teachers illuminating the Menorah's Lamps] which are before his throne; 

Before we move to the next verse, let me explain that the Greek word translated as "churches" by the KJV crew was ekklesiais, which describes an assembly of citizens gathered inside a citadel for a shared worshipful purpose. So, the "churches" referenced in these passages are akin to the symbolic polis, hitam, or walled city we discussed last time.

Knowing this, those figurative "churches" can't be in the physical continent we call "Asia," can they? The Greek word for "Asia" was, therefore, probably a sound-alike substitution for the Akkadian/Old Aramaic word Asu, which means "to go out" or "rise up" in reference to the sun. To move closer to the Light of God or Fire of God's Presence, in other words, by "rising up" perceptually. And we "rise up" perceptually via the Bridge of the Return or Sushumna -- the central channel of the Temple Menorah. Thus, the seven "churches" represent the seven teaching levels or "grades" all reincarnating Souls pass through on the non-optional journey back to Heaven.

Elsewhere in Revelations, the Great Amen names those seven "churches." He also sends messages to the "members" of each. Biblical scholars and historians have racked their brains for centuries trying to work out where those churches once stood in the ancient world. Those seven churches, of course, never existed on the physical plain because, like the Second Temple of Jerusalem, they are spiritual symbols. The seven churches represent the "ashrams" of the Spirits of the Menorah. As I recently discovered, those "churches" or "ashrams" are also the "mansions" referenced by Jesus in the Gospel of John, as well as the "lunar mansions" much discussed in Vedic astrology and the writings of St. Teresa of Avila.

Although a bit off-topic, discussing these "churches" is relevant because the next Bible-verse referencing the Seven Spirits mentions one of these "ashrams" by name. Plus, Revelations is something of a Burroughs-esque "Naked Lunch" for most people, so any opportunity we have to better apprehend its wild-yet-instructive symbolism should be embraced.

Okay, so ... if the seven "churches," "ashrams," or "mansions" represent the seven teaching-learning levels, and the chakras are the doorways or windows through which we enter or "see into" those ethereal "abodes," then the churches and the chakras should line up, right? And they do -- but not in the same order presented in Revelations. I've made this deduction based on the Greek name given each "church." You'll understand what I mean when you read the name-meanings below. I might not have them all in the right order, but I did my best. I've also briefly noted what our Souls are meant to learn in each "ashram," based on my current understanding.

SARDIS, which means "those escaping," is the seventh ashram of God-Realization, which we enter through the Sahasrara Chakra or thousand-petalled lotus. That "door" takes us back to Heaven, the sphere of Perfect Creation.

PERGAMUM, which means "married" or "citadel," represents the sixth ashram of Christ-Realization or True Perception, which we enter through the Ajna Chakra (the fully open Spiritual Eye). In this ashram, we learn to harness the power of the Great Rays to perform Christ-directed miracles for the benefit of our embodied fellow Souls.

THYATIRA, which means "giving" or "charity," represents the fifth ashram of Vishvedeva-Realization, whose door is the Vishuddha Chakra. At this level, we learn to perceive the Light of God in everyone through the collective impersonal miracles we exchange in our Golden Circle meetings.

PHILADELPHIA, which means "brotherly love," represents the fourth ashram of Self-Realization we enter, I believe, through the Anahata Chakra -- the passageway between ego-authored body-self "I-am-ness" and God-authored Soul "I-am-ness."

LAODICEA, which means "people-ruling, judging, and justice," represents the third ashram of will, power, and judgment we enter through the Manipura Chakra. In this center, we learn to choose and trust in the true strength and perfect fairness of God's Will, Power, and Justice over the Ego Mind's guilt-projecting substitutions.

EPHESUS, which means "desirable," represents the second ashram of creative desire, whose entry point is the Svadhishthana Chakra. It is here that we awaken the Buddhi -- the part of the split-mind capable of learning spiritual truth.

SMYRNA, which means "myrrh" (the anointing oil of death), represents the first ashram of earthly or external existence. The Soul enters this "ashram" (the Muladhara Chakra) when it begins reincarnating on the physical plane, but remains inactive or asleep in this "waiting room" or "womb" until the pre-determined moment it chose to awaken when the original dream played out in the Holy Instant. Once the appointed moment arrives, it passes into the Temple, to begin the process of "rebirth" into its purified spiritual identity.

Pretty interesting, right?

Before we continue, let me point out two things with regard to the symbolism associated with Hindu depictions of "Agni." The first is that the flames emanating from the deity's golden helmet are meant to symbolize the seven lamps or spirits working through the Menorah. They should, therefore, be SEVEN in number. The second is that the helmet itself represents the "golden helmet of holiness" the Red Ray of Creation both dons and restores to its scattered "sparks" through the At-one-ment process. That "golden helmet" is mentioned at least once in the Rig Veda -- in Sukta 8.7, which reads as follows in transliterated Sanskrit:

Vidyut-dhastah abhi-dyavah siprah sirsan hira-nyayih subhrah vi anjata sr-iye

Word-for-word, this vitally important sacred teaching translates thusly:

Perception raised toward Heaven helmets the head with the golden judgment of innocence which intensifies direct communication with the Holy Self (or the Great I Am).

Perception raised (vidyut-dhastah) toward Heaven (abhi-dyavah) helmets (siprah) the head (sirsan) with the golden judgment (hira-nyayih) of innocence (subhrah) which intensifies (vi) direct communication (anjata) with the Holy Self or Great I Am (sr-iye).

Let's now return to the Seven Spirits, who are next mentioned in Revelations 3:1:

And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write: these things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know they works, that thou has a name, that thou livest, and art dead.

It doesn't make much sense overall, probably owing to poor translation. Checking would, however, take more time than it's worth at this juncture, so I won't bother. What's interesting is that the Great Amen instructs John to write to the angel of the church in Sardis and, in his dictation, mentions the Seven Spirits and the Seven Stars, which HE possesses. This tells us two things. The first is that the angels of the ashrams and the seven Spirits and Stars are different entities. The second is that the Great Amen is the progenitor of the seven Spirits and Stars, but not necessarily of the angels of the ashrams.

As I presently understand things vis-a-vis the Temple Menorah, the seven Spirits represent the lamps running across the top, while the seven Stars are the churches, lunar mansions, or chakras running up the central stem in the manner suggested below.

The seven Spirits are next mentioned in Revelation 4:5, which reads:

And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

This verse is actually pretty important because it confirms that 1) the seven Spirits are, in fact, the fires burning in the Menorah's lamps. It also tells us those seven lamps are "before the throne" -- i.e., outside or below the Seventh-Plane Throne-Room. The Spirits of God are, in fact, the Holy Powers that prepare us for that elevated plane of "pure-grace" consciousness. And on that highest plane of the dream-realm, we are so close to perfect that God can easily absorb us back into His Whole and Holy Oneness of Being.

The fourth and final verse mentioning the seven Spirits is Revelations 5:6 -- the one describing the Lamb.

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts (the Living Beings or Throne-Bearers), and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

It seems as if he's saying that the Spirits are the horns and the eyes, rather than "the lamb" itself. And this tracks with our understanding of the Spirits as the seven lamps feeding the anointing oils of the at-one-ment through the Menorah's channels or branches.

Let's return to "Agni" and his associated symbols, because we haven't yet decoded his weaponry. "Agni" is sometimes shown holding various objects, including a Japa mala and a fan. But Agni's TRUE weapon is the Axe of Brhaspati.

Before we delve into who Brhaspati is or was, let's briefly explore how the axe came to be. According to the Puranic lore, the axe was fashioned by Tvashta, the artisan god, heavenly builder, and/or maker of divine implements (in the dream-realm). According to the Rig Veda, Tvashta also made Indra's thunderbolt-throwing Vajra, as well as a golden cup or chalice for divine food and drink. That cup or chalice is, of course, the Chalice of the Atonement through which we give and receive the Blood and Water Rays in the Holy Meeting Place.

As an aside, the Sanskrit name or word "Tvashta" is a compound of "tva" (the Higher Self) and "shta" (belonging to, being, or abiding within).

With that out of the way, let's turn to Brhaspati or Brihaspati, because the High Priest so named in the Rig Veda is, in actuality, the manifest sacred-syllable or "Word of God." The Rig Veda doesn't specifically identify Brhaspate, actually, as such, but many things the text DOES say about this "Lord of the Wisdom-Word" (to quote Sri Aurobindo) makes his identity pretty obvious -- to ME anyway. So, let me share a couple of Suktas dedicated to this Waheguru, so his identity will be just as evident to you.

The first of our example verses is Rig Veda 2.23.18, which reads as follows in transliterated Sanskrit:

Tava śriye vy ajihīta parvato gavāṃ gotram udasṛjo | yad aṅgiraḥ indreṇa yujā tamasā parīvṛtam bṛhaspate nir apām aubjo arṇavam

For context, let's start with H. H. Wilson's version, which reads:

When Brhaspati, descendant of Angiras, for your glory, Parvata had concealed the herd of kine, you did set them free, and with thine associate, Indra, did send down the ocean of water which had been enveloped by darkness.

Here's how Sri Aurobindo transcribed the same verse:

For thy hearing of the Truth the mountain was broke, thou hast opened pen of cows, when, O Angiras, O Brihaspati, with Indra-ally, thou hast released flow of Waters, besieged by darkness

Both translations are, in fact, nonsensical, even to my symbol-savvy mind. So, they can't be right -- and they're not, because the verse should read more like this:

Your holiness anoints the instant of realization within the Temple of the sacred syllable to send forth the sheltering water and blood by which the corporal body of souls, strengthened by the Song of Joy, join together in Wholeness around the Pure Truth Bhraspate's water of waters releases into the ocean.

Tava (your) sriye (holiness or grace) vy (anoints) aji-hita (the instant of realization) parvato (within the Temple) ga-vam (of the sacred syllable sending forth) gotram (the protective or sheltering) ud-asrjo  (water and blood) yad (by which) angirah (the corporal body of souls) ind-rena (strengthened by the Song of Joy) yuja (join together) tamasa (in Wholeness) pari-vtam (around the pure truth) bhraspate (bhraspate's) nir (water) apam (of waters) aubjo (releases) arnavam (into the ocean) 

I wondered about the phrase "water of waters" until I came across the excerpt below from the Masnavi or Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi, an epic mystical poem by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi (a.k.a. Rumi). According to Wikipedia, the Masnavi is regarded by some Muslims as second in scriptural merit only to the Qur'an. Rumi reportedly wrote the Masnavi to teach Sufis how to reach the goal of being truly in love with God -- a commendable goal indeed.

The sea itself is one thing, the foam another; Neglect the foam, and regard the sea with your eyes. Waves of foam rise from the sea night and day. You look at the foam ripples and not at the mighty sea. We, like boats, are tossed hither and thither. We are blind though we are on bright ocean. Ah! You who are asleep in the boat of the body. You see the water; behold the water of waters! Under the water you see there is another water moving it. Within the spirit is a spirit that calls it.

When you have accepted the light, O beloved; When you hold what is veiled without a veil; Like a star you will walk upon the heavens.

Beautiful, isn't it? Not to mention, eerily similar to my translation of Rik 2.23.18. The likeness is so striking, in fact, this excerpt has to be the answer to my prayer for help with these translations. The answer was, in fact, more of an assurance that my translations were already being spiritually guided.

The water of waters of which both Rumi and the Rig Veda speak is, of course, the ever-present echo of God's Voice -- the pure communications of "Agni" sounding underneath the clamor and noise of earthly existence.

Okay, so ... against my tedium-averse ego's objections, let me go ahead and retranslate two more short verses addressed to "Brhaspate," actually, rather than Brahaspati or Brihspati. The first is Rik 2.23.8, which reads thusly in transliterated Sanskrit: trātāraṃ tvā tanūnāṃ havāmahe 'vaspartar adhivaktāram asmayum | bṛhaspate devanido ni barhaya mā durevā uttaraṃ sumnam un naśan

H. H. Wilson translates these words thusly:

Brahaspati, defender (from calamity), we invoke you, the protector of our persons, the speaker of encouraging words and well disposed towards us; do you destroy the revilers of the gods; let not the malevolent attain supreme felicity.

By Sri Aurobindo's calculations, the same verse reads:

Thee, the protector of embodiments-hymns, we call, o deliverer, saviour that loves us, O Brihaspati, do smash haters of gods, let not them attain supreme bliss, malignant ones.

Here's my very different result, followed by my definitions worksheet:

Release in time the radiant Being (or Self) sounding the Red Ray's (or Lord Shiva's) Call to Joy furthering the other world's Eternal Instant that shines away the illusion.

Bṛhaspate devotees (or teachers) offering this now-moment as a group support producing the two sacred rivers pouring out in time the Holy Name (or Holy Inheritance) that ends destructive thinking. 

Tra-taram (Release in time) ram (the radiant) tva (being or self) tan-uman (extending Lord Shiva's or sounding the Red or Blood Ray's ) hava-mahe (call to joy) 'vaspartar = avas-partar (favoring, furthering, or preserving the other world's = the Real World's) Adhiva-ktaram (Eternal Instant) as (that shines away) mayam (the illusion)

Brahspate (Brahspate) devan-ide (teachers or devotees offering this now-moment) ni (as a group) barhaya (support) ma (producing) du-reva (the two sacred rivers) ut-taram (pouring out in time) sunam (the Holy Name or Holy Inheritance) un (that ends) nasan (destructive thinking).

Our next example is Rik 2.23.10, which reads as follows in transliterated Sanskrit: tvayā vayam uttamaṃ dhīmahe vayo bṛhaspate papriṇā sasninā yujā | mā no duḥśaṃso abhidipsur īśata pra suśaṃsā matibhis tāriṣīmahi

Here's Wilson's translation:

Through you, Brhaspati, (who are) the fulfiller of our desires; pure, and associated (with us), we possess excellent food; let not the wicked man who wishes to deceive us be our master; but let us, excelling in (pious) praises, attain (prosperity).

Here's Sri Aurobindo's:

With thee we establish highest growth, O Brihaspati, with giving, with conquering, with friend in expression by thoughts.

And here's mine:

By your holiness, the auspicious twins from the elevated place of joy-mindedness communicate (the) bṛhaspate granting Nara's corrective vision to unite the mind in extracting the ignorance dividing the will of the Christ Self to advance the holy calling producing the reason of the Seven Stars of Mahi. 

tvayā (By your holiness) vayam (the auspicious twins) uttamaṃ (from the elevated place of) dhīmahe (joy-mindedness) vayo (communicate) bṛhaspate (brhaspate) papri-ṇā (granting Nara's) sas-ninā (corrective vision) yujā (to unite) māno (the mind, thoughts, or consciousness) duḥ-śaṃso (in extracting the ignorance) abhid-ipsur (dividing the will) īśata (of the Christ Self) pra (to advance) su-śaṃsā (the holy calling or invocation) ma-tibhis (producing the reason) tāriṣī-mahi (of the seven stars of Mahi)

Okay, so ... this has to be said: The moment we assume "brhaspate" is a name, the wheels come off the cart. So, let's ixnay that longstanding fallacious presumption and all the trappings attached to it, and start anew with a blank slate.

The word the rishis use herein is "brhaspate," not Brahspati or Brihaspati. And "brhaspate" is a compound of "brhas" (not "brihas") and "pate" (not "pati") -- or, more accurately, the word combines "brh" (the trumpet of expansion), "as" (penetrating), and "pate" (the top of the head or crown). So, "brhaspate" describes the trumpet-like sound coming into the Temple through the Seventh, Crown, or Sahasrara Chakra. And this explains why this deific voice, song, call, or echo is sometimes described as "the Guru" (of the "ga" -- the guru-word or sacred-syllable), as well as "the Lord of the Sacred Word."

 Another thing you should know is that the "Divine Priest" and/or "Chief Guru" the Rig Veda identifies as "brhaspate" is the same divine force identified in other Hindu texts as 1) Bhagirathi, the allegorical king who brought Ganga into the world; 2) Brahmanaspati, who is said to lead us on the divine path, remove the obstacles to peace, and guide our actions;  and 3) Ganapati, who is Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed remover of the obstacles to peace. So, Lord Ganesh, the widely worshipped offspring of Shiva and Parvati, personifies "brhaspate" in modern-day Hinduism. And this makes sense, given that Lord Ganesh personifies the celestial trumpet sounding the Om/Aum vibration (hence the trunk).

Ergo, the images below all depict the idea of "brhaspate" in different symbolic costumes (and there are plenty more I could show you besides these):

 

Let me close today's post with a related citation from the Course:

I have assured you that the Mind that decided for me is also in you, and that you can let it change you just as it changed me. This Mind is unequivocal, because it hears only one Voice and answers in only one way. You are the light of the world with me. Rest does not come from sleeping but from waking. The Holy Spirit is the Call to awaken and be glad. The world is very tired, because it is the idea of weariness. Our task is the joyous one of waking it to the Call for God. Everyone will answer the Call of the Holy Spirit, or the Sonship cannot be as one. What better vocation could there be for any part of the Kingdom than to restore it to the perfect integration that can make it whole? Hear only this through the Holy Spirit within you, and teach your brothers to listen as I am teaching you.

When you are tempted by the wrong voice, call on me to remind you how to heal by sharing my decision and making it stronger. As we share this goal, we increase its power to attract the whole Sonship, and to bring it back into the oneness in which it was created. Remember that “yoke” means “join together,” and “burden” means “message.” Let us restate “My yoke is easy and my burden light” in this way; “Let us join together, for my message is light.”

(ACIM, T-5.II.10:1–11:4)

Thanks for listening. Until we meet again outside the Golden Circle, Om Shanti Om, Namaste, and God Bless.

Extracting Brahman's Satya from Brahma's Maya (Part 3): Reinterpreting the Rig Veda & Bhagavad Gita

On our multi-part quest to extract the "milk" of Higher Truth from the muddy waters of spiritual ignorance, we have thus far succeeded in establishing that the "agni" discussed in the Rig Veda is neither the god of fire nor the deific "priest" presiding over sacrificial fire rituals. We've also determined that both of these longstanding FALSE beliefs derive from prejudicial assumptions attached to the Sanskrit terms yajna and purah-hitam, among many others. Such prejudicial assumptions are, in fact, among the chief anti-Satya weapons Brahma (the personified Ego Mind) deploys to keep us blindly wandering in the barren and hostile wilderness of earthly existence. 

Or, as Karen Thomson, a Sanskrit specialist at the University of Texas, Austin, astutely points out, "failure to discard a mass of assumptions about ritual meaning inherited from Vedic traditions" is largely to blame for the cloud of incomprehension shadowing these sacred texts. And that shadow darkens the minds of scholars, sages, and laypersons alike.

Because these erroneous assumptions block the channel through which Divine Truth returns to conscious remembrance, we must question everything we currently believe, however cherished, entrenched, or widely shared those beliefs may be. As discussed last time, one of the biggest of these truth-blocking beliefs is that sacrifice is a means of purification and/or homage devised by the Powers That Be for their appeasement and our higher good.

Or, as Course-Jesus unequivocally states:

Your little part [in the at-one-ment process] is but to give the Holy Spirit the whole IDEA of sacrifice. And to ACCEPT the peace He gave instead. WITHOUT the limits that would hold its extension back, and so would limit YOUR awareness of it. For what He gives MUST be extended, if YOU would have its limitless power, and use it for the Son of God's release. It is not THIS you would be rid of, and having it, you CANNOT limit it. If peace is homeless, so are you. And so am I And He Who IS our home, is homeless WITH us.

One of the smaller, but no less Satya-obstructing beliefs, is that the Rig Veda's "hymns" were meant to be poems, and should, therefore, be preserved in metered form for spiritual as well as academic purposes.

I see at least two flaws in this reasoning. The first is that meter is form, as are words; and all form is the produce of Brahma's mirage. So, the metered structure in which the Vedas came down to us was probably imposed to aid memorization and recitation over the centuries of oral transference. Preserving the ego-imposed form must not, therefore, ever take precedence over preserving the substance of the sacred teachings. 

My second issue is that a metered structure that works in Vedic Sanskrit can't possibly be maintained with any credibility when the verbiage is converted into Latin, English, or even Hindi. Any attempt by translators to retain the meter also, therefore, erroneously (egoically) favors form over substance. And this is one of the big reasons Ralph T. H. Griffith's translation of the Rig Veda's first Sukta is much shorter than mine.

Sir Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith (1826-1906)

 According to his biographers, Sir Ralph followed the text of Max Muller's six-volume Sanskrit edition of the Rig Veda. Additionally, he was influenced by the writings of Sayana, the 14th-century Sanskrit Mimamsa (investigative) scholar from the Vijayanagara Empire of South India (near modern-day Bellary, Karnataka). An influential commentator on the Vedas, Sayana flourished under King Bukka Raya I and his successor, Harihara II. More than a hundred works are attributed to him, including commentaries on nearly all parts of the Vedas. Sayana also wrote on a number of subjects like medicine, morality, music, and grammar.

Sayana, who died in 1387.

This all sounds very noble and respectful on the part of Sir Ralph -- but was it? I have my doubts, since conversion to Christianity rather than elucidation of Vedic truths appears to have been his chief motivating factor. Stated more bluntly, Sir Ralph didn't question prevailing assumptions about "heathen" Vedic traditions because he wanted them to be true. Why? So he could feel superior and, therefore, JUSTIFIED in stomping all over India's "primitive" cultural and religious traditions with his big imperialist boots.

I might be wrong about this, but I don't think so. Sir Ralph was, after all, the son of an Anglican minister. While attending Queen's College, Oxford, he was groomed for the Boden Sanskrit professorship by H. H. Wilson (who also held the chair and translated the Rig Veda prior to Griffith). That endowed position was established in 1832 with money bequeathed to Oxford by Lt. Col. Joseph Boden, formerly of the British East India Company, to assist in the conversion of the people of India to Christianity (i.e., Church of England Anglican Christianity).

Accepting this mission, Sir Ralph began translating the Vedic scriptures into English. He later moved to India as a Professor of English Literature at the Sanskrit College of Benaras. Not to be confused with modern-day Banaras Hindu University (a theosophical institution), Benaras College was a "government" school founded in 1791 by the East India Company, with approval from Governor General Lord Cornwallis -- yes, the same Lord Cornwallis of American Revolution notoriety.

Charles Cornwallis, first Marquess Cornwallis (1738 - 1805)

According to one historian, Lord Cornwallis devoted his tenure in India to "laying the foundation for British rule throughout India and setting standards for the services, courts, and revenue collection that remained remarkably unaltered almost to the end of the British era [in 1947]."

So, Griffith, who belonged to Britain's "Indian Educational Service" and later served as principal of Benares College, was in bed with the leading subjugators of India's independence and culture -- not with its advocates and defenders.

But let us not single out Sir Ralph for chastisement, for he is hardly alone in his failure to set aside his preconceived notions about the Vedas. To illustrate my meaning, let's compare three different translations of the opening line of the Rig Veda's first teaching (not hymn or poem) about "Agni."

In Sanskrit, the line reads: Agnim ile purah-hitam yajnasya devam rtvijam hotaram ratna-dhatamam

To refresh your memory, as well as for comparison's sake, my translation of that line reads:

The Fire of God's presence in the Walled City (the Holy Meeting Place within the Temple) stands at the door joining the one who is ignorant to the divine right-guiding melody invoking the inner-radiance bestowing the treasures of Wholeness.

Horace Hayman Wilson (1786 - 1860)

Our first example comes from Sir Ralph's mentor, Horace Hayman Wilson, who (as stated earlier) also held the Boden professorship at Queen's College, Oxford. Prior to embarking on his academic career, Wilson served in India as a surgeon for the East India Company. The first to translate the complete Rig Veda Samhita into English, Wilson published his heavily annotated volumes between 1850 and 1888 -- so some appeared posthumously.

Also like Sir Ralph, Wilson was influenced by Sayana and Max Muller, another Oxford "orientalist" with Boden professorship ambitions. In 1860 or so, Muller lost his bid for the post to Sir Monier Monier-Williams, the creator of the Sanskrit-English dictionary bearing his name. Muller's bid was rejected because a) being German-born and Lutheran, he wasn't part of Oxford's elite English-Anglican "club" and b) he was seen as (and latter viscously attacked for) being sympathetic to Hinduism and, therefore, a traitor to the Christian faith (a charge he denied). 
 

Friedrich Max Muller (1823-1900)

And that tells us all we need to know about the exclusive Oxford "orientalist club" credited with the English translations, definitions, and grammatical rules still revered and heavily relied upon today. It also explains why I chose an illustration from the well-known fable "The Emperor's New Clothes" to open this post. Like the boy who observes and speaks without airs or prejudice, I stand on the sidelines of both Hinduism and academe, befuddlingly asking, "Why can nobody else see what's perfectly plain to me?"

And on that note, let's get to it. Because this is very much a case calling for the extraction of Brahman's Milk of Truth from Brahma's murky pool of deception. 

Wilson's translation of the first Rik's opening line reads:

I glorify Agni, the high priest of the sacrifice, the divine, the ministrant, who presents the oblation (to the gods), and is the possessor of great wealth.

Our second example is Sir Ralph's 1896 translation, which reads:

I laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice, The hotar, lavishest of wealth.

Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950)

Our third contender, from a very different quarter, is Sri Aurobindo. An interesting character, Aurobindo was an influential leader in the Indian independence movement until around 1910, when he shifted his focus to spiritual liberation. Dated 1946, the translation below comes from the website of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, which includes a lexicon of Rig Veda terms. Where the website links the Sanskrit words to the lexicon, I've inserted the offered definitions in brackets.

Agni, (I) desire the Purohit [our vicar. The god as our representative set in front of man in him]in sacrificing, god, the Ritvij [sacrificing rightly, i.e., according to the Truth, in true order and time], the Hotar [Priest, calling the gods], who gives ecstasy to the highest extent.

Despite coming from the opposite end of the political and religious spectrum, Sri Aurobindo offers an interpretation of the first Rik remarkably similar in character to Wilson and Sir Ralph's. Why might this be? My guess is that, like so many others, the great swami failed (to requote Ms. Thomson) "to discard a mass of assumptions about ritual meaning inherited from Vedic traditions." Even though he understood yajna meant "oblation" or "sacred offering" rather than "sacrifice" (as per his posthumously published online lexicon), he nevertheless actively espoused his engrained and erroneous belief that sacrifice played an integral part in the Divine Plan for the evolution of human Souls. 

In Synthesis of Yoga (1948), for example, he wrote:

  

The law of sacrifice is the common divine action that was thrown out into the world in its beginning as a symbol of the solidarity of the universe. It is by the attraction of this law that a divinising, a saving power descends to limit and correct and gradually to eliminate the errors of an egoistic and self-divided creation. This descent, this sacrifice of the Purusha, the Divine Soul submitting itself to Force and Matter so that it may inform and illuminate them, is the seed of redemption of this world of Inconscience and Ignorance. For "with sacrifice as their companion," says the Gita, "the All-Father created these peoples." The acceptance of the law of sacrifice is a practical recognition by the ego that it is neither alone in the world nor chief in the world. It is its admission that, even in this much fragmented existence, there is beyond itself and behind that which is not its own egoistic person, something greater and completer, a diviner All which demands from it subordination and service.

With all due respect to his Holiness, let me now blow a sizeable hole in his largely accurate statement. For starters (as we know), the universe didn't begin with "sacrifice" -- nor is there any such thing as a Law of Sacrifice. As we've further established, this erroneous presumption arises from a misread of the Rig Veda's Purusha Suktam and its use of the word yajna. As Course-Jesus explains many times, the primary Divine Law governing the dream-universe is the Law of Love also known as the Golden Rule and/or the Holy Law of Giving and Receiving. And, as I've explained repeatedly, yajna means not "sacrifice," but "thought-gift" or, more specifically, "right-minded thought-offering."

As explained by Course-Jesus (and in previous posts), the Golden Rule was intended to guide our creative experiments in "Heaven" -- the "kingdom" God created for the Sonship. That "guideline" advised us to give only (at the level of thought) what we wished to receive in return, because "creation" was a reciprocal enterprise. The Golden Rule governed our thoughts, rather than our actions, because 1) we had no bodies when first we entered Heaven and 2) thought is the one and only REAL creative force, here and in Heaven. This is why Bible-Jesus warns (in Matthew 5:27-28) that lusting after someone is the same as committing adultery. He means that, under the Golden Rule, it is our wishes and desires that go down in the Karmic Ledger for reciprocation. Whether we act on those wishes is irrelevant because our desires, not our actions, generate our inventory of Karmic "receivables."

Or, as Course-Jesus explains in Workbook Lesson 16: I have no neutral thoughts:

The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that your thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the result of your thoughts. There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big or little; powerful or weak. They are merely true or false. Those that are true create their own likeness. Those that are false make theirs. (ACIM, W-16.1:1-7)

Let's return to Sri Aurobindo, whose second mistake is defending his position with a gross mistranslation of a verse from the Bhagavad Gita. Being a divinely revealed text, the Gita no more encourages sacrifice than does the Rig Veda. Neither does it say, as alleged, that the universe began with the "sacrifice" of the Purusha Self.

The verse the esteemed guru misquotes is Bg 3:10. The mistranslation he repeats is, unfortunately, widely and frequently flogged by self-styled Teachers of God to support the Brahma-authored idea that ritual sacrifice and self-sacrifice are practices encouraged in the scriptures. As Course-Jesus explains repeatedly, sacrifice is an ego-conceived idea founded upon the fear of scarcity. Not only does God NOT ask for sacrifice in any form, Course-Jesus tells us, our Heavenly Father is utterly unfamiliar with the concepts of "giving up," "going without," "lack," and/or "deprivation."

To strengthen my argument, let's explore what Bg 3:10 actually says. In transliterated Sanskrit, the verse reads: saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛiṣhṭvā purovācha prajāpatiḥ anena prasaviṣhyadhvam eṣha vo ’stviṣhṭa-kāma-dhuk

Generally, these words are mistranslated into English thusly:

In the beginning of creation, Brahma created humankind along with duties, and said, "Prosper in the performance of the yajnas (sacrifices), for they shall bestow upon you all you wish to achieve."

Based on a my careful research and intuitive guidance, the line SHOULD translate more along these lines:

Together with the strength of Wholeness, the Living Beings created the Temple-Voice of the Son of God's sinlessness to bring forward the desire to choose the Higher Self dwelling within the Amen (the Name of God) inspiring Kamadhuk (the miracle-cow also called Kamadhenu).

saha (together with) yaj-nah (the strength of Wholeness) prajah (the Living Beings) srishtva (created) puro-vacha (the Temple-Voice of) praja-patih (the Son of God's) anena (sinlessness, guiltlessness, or innocence) pras (to bring forward) avishya (the desire) dhvam (to choose) esha (the Higher Self or Holy Spirit) vo (dwelling within) 'stv = astv = astu (the Amen) isthta (inspiring) kamadhuk (presumed to be another name for Kamadhenu, the miracle-cow).

First and foremost, this verse has nothing to do with Brahma, the one supposedly addressed as Prajapati, a term generally translated as "Lord of All Creatures." A compound of "praja" (offspring or born from) and "patih" (the lord, husband, or Bridegroom), Prajapati actually describes the dreaming Sons of God or individual Souls separated from their "corporate body" or "unified being," which is the Great Purusha or Christ Self.

Secondly, this verse references the same Living Beings, Living Creatures, Cherubim, Seraphim, Hayyot, or Hamlat al-ʽarsh

seen and described by the prophet-scribes of many faiths, including Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Mohammad. And now we know these four "bearers of the Throne of God," "Temple Guardians," "Great Kings," and/or "Burning Ones" also are mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. Not only are these mysterious "beings" mentioned, they also are credited with producing the Temple-Voice of the Son of God's sinlessness to inspire us to seek the Greater Truth. And that "voice," as we know, belongs to the Holy Spirit. In Ezekiel's vision of these same Living Beings, the Hebrew prophet saw and described these four angelic creatures making a thunderous noise by beating together in unison their four sets of wings.

And, once again, the SAME teaching only SEEMS different because of errors in translation and interpretation introduced by the Truth-veiling Ego Mind.

This brings us to Kamadhuk, a word or name associated with Kamdhenu or Sarabhi -- the deific miracle-cow of Hindu lore supplying the "milk" that fortifies our dreaming Souls against separation-mindedness. In the Gita, Lord Krishna (the personified Holy Spirit and narrator) allegedly calls this mystical "sacred cow" Kamadhuk. Presumed to be a marriage of "kama" and "dhuk," the name is generally translated as "bestower of desires."

I question this interpretation for the following three reasons: 1) Bg 3:10 makes no sense if Kamadhuk means "miracle cow" or even "bestower of desires"; 2) "dhuk" isn't really a word in Sanskrit; and 3) being granted our worldly desires hinders rather than supports our escape from the illusion of earthly existence. 

Based on these three strikes, I'm more inclined to believe Kamadhuk is a compound of "ka" (Vedic shorthand for the Great Purusha) and "madhuk," which can mean "sweet as honey," "bumblebee," or "melodious buzzing." Thus, Kamadhuk probably best translates as "the Great Purusha's melodious buzzing." And that makes much more sense, given that Kamdhenu is, in actuality, a personification of Narayana, another form of Lord Vishnu. All three personas (Kamadhenu, Lord Vishnu, and Narayana), in fact, represent the Living Water -- the vibratory sound, sacred-syllable, or melodious buzzing emanating from the Great Purusha to preserve the Wholeness of Creation.

Now, it occurs to me that Bg 3:10  is a mere three verses ahead of those I reinterpreted in Part 1 of this series. So, despite the time and tedium involved, I shall bite the bullet and rework the missing three for Satya's sake.

Fast-forward three days and we've got our results. And, according to those results, Bg 3:11 should work out as follows:

Devotees calling to mind the sinlessness of that Divine Being for the good of all convey the supreme tool (or touchstone) for one another's benefit in attaining liberation from rebirth.

Devan (Devotees) bhavayat (calling to mind) anena (the sinlessness) te (of that) deva (divine being) bhavayantu (for the good of all) vah (convey) parasparam (the supreme tool or touchstone) bhavayantah (for one another's) sreyah (benefit or betterment) param-ava-psyatha (in liberation from rebirth)

Depending on how its syllables are split, paramavapsyatha might mean "attainment of liberation from rebirth" (param-ava-psyatha), "attainment of highest abode" (parama-va-psyatha), or "attainment of supreme congealed milk" (para-mava-psyatha). In the latter instance, "supreme congealed milk"  symbolically describes the True Perception or Holy Vision we attain through Kamadhenu's miracle-milk (the Living Water or Om/Aum vibration emanating from the Great Purusha). Whichever way we divide the syllables, the word means roughly the same thing.

Let's move to Bg 3:12, which now reads:

The inspiration to seek divine bliss dwells within the divine being granting the holy thought-offering manifesting the pure inner-radiance bestowing the Holy Inheritance (or Holy Name) accumulating possessions steals from the Souls of the Supreme Lord or Christ Self.

Iṣṭān (The inspiration) bhogānhi (to seek divine bliss) vo (dwells within) devā (the divine being) dā-syante (granting the holy or sacred ) yajña-bhāvitāḥ thought-offering manifesting) tair = taya-ra (the divine or pure inner-radiance) dattān (bestowing) apradāya (the holy inheritance) ibh (accumulating) bhuṅkte (possessions) stena (steals) eva (from the Souls of) saḥ (Sah = the Supreme Lord or Christ Self)

 And, finally, Bg 3:13 should read thusly:

Thought-offerings directed toward remembering the Wholeness of the True Self release from all errors of earthly existence they whom renounce sin by the means of developing the resolve for infinite peace of mind.

Yajna (thought-offerings) sis-tasi-nah (directed toward remembering the Wholeness) santo (of the True Self) mucyante (release from) sarvakilbasaih (all faults/errors) bhunjate (of earthly existence) te (they whom) tvagham (renounce) papa (sin, guilt, evil) ye (by the means of) pacant (ripening, maturing, or developing) yatmaka-rahat (the resolve for infinite peace of mind)

Let's now string together our six remastered Gita verses and see what we've got.

(10) Together with the strength of Wholeness, the Living Beings created the Temple-Voice of the Son of God's sinlessness to bring forward the desire to choose the Higher Self dwelling within the Amen (the Name of God) inspiring Kamadhuk (the miracle-cow also called Kamdhenu).

(11) Devotees calling to mind the sinlessness of that Divine Being for the good of all convey the supreme tool (or touchstone) for one another's benefit in attaining liberation from rebirth.

(12) The inspiration to seek divine bliss dwells within the divine being granting the holy thought-offering manifesting the pure inner-radiance bestowing the Holy Inheritance (or Holy Name) accumulating possessions steals from the Souls of the Supreme Lord or Christ Self.

(13) Thought-offerings directed toward remembering the Wholeness of the True Self release from all errors of earthly existence they whom renounce sin by the means of developing the resolve for infinite peace of mind.

(14) From purest mind in the present moment, all God-created beings offer a rainlike vibration generated through right-minded oblations. From these sacred offerings comes into being and makes possible the activity of Yanjnat (Lord Vishnu, the preserver of Creation's Wholeness).

(15) Through the action of praising God in this way, do we come to know the Sacred Syllable Om; and from that all-pervading and eternal thought-offering, everything is established in truth.

(16) In this way, Arjuna, the fettered Soul causes the wheel (of Karma) to turn (in reverse) by exchanging, through airborne extension, the choice for fear, misery, sensual pleasures, and uncertainty for the choice to return to the all-pervading eternal and divine source of its being.

Wow, so ... very different from how this section of the Bhavagad Gita has been traditionally translated, and yet now much nearer in ideology to the Rig Veda, the Holy Bible, and the Course -- when the whole ungodly idea of sacrifice as a desirable religious practice or rite is ripped out of all these sacred texts by the roots (as it must be on the journey to awakening).

You might have noticed that I parenthetically added "in reverse" to my translation of Bg 3:16. That's because, like an analog clock, the Wheel of Karma moves forward in time as long as we accumulate karmic "gifts" (by thinking egoically about others). To escape the dream, we need to clear the Karmic Record. We must, in other words, strive to live within "a zero-Karma footprint." 

How do we achieve and maintain a zero-Karma footprint? Through a two-step process. First, we must expunge the inventory of "gifts" we've accumulated over many lifetimes. And then we must strive to avoid generating any new "gifts."

Stated another way, we must endeavor to turn back the Wheel of Time until we reach "the beginning" -- the faultless State of Wholeness/Holiness we experienced before the "fall from grace." Two practices that help toward this end are "akarma" or "conscious non-doing" and True Forgiveness (both of which Course-Jesus assiduously advocates). In the simplest sense, True Forgiveness clears the record of "gifts" already accumulated, while "akarma" forestalls the accumulation of new ones. When yogis and sages speak about "reversing the Wheel of Karma" this is more or less what they mean. And, just so we're uber-clear, the "yajnas" or Golden Circle miracle-exchanges described in the Course, Rig Veda, and Bhagavad Gita ARE how we practice True Forgiveness and remember the Wholeness/Holiness of the True Self enveloping the All in All.

On that auspicious note, let me close today's discussion. And no, we didn't talk about the symbolism associated with "agni," as promised at the end of Part 2. But we will the next time we meet outside the Golden Circle. So, do come back for the next truth-illuminating installment.

Until then, Namaste and God Bless.