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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My word-for-word definitions:

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

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

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

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

(ACIM, T-22.II.12:1–13:7)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(ACIM, W-42.1:1–2:6)

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

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

My definitions: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(ACIM, W-158.7:1–8:4)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My definitions:

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

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

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

In Proverbs 5, we are told:

Drink water from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

Should your springs be scattered abroad,

streams of water in the streets?

Let them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

Let your fountain be blessed,

and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

a lovely deer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated, always in her love.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My definitions: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Are they the Ogdoad of ancient Egypt?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shiva's Trishul, with the Damaru underneath.

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Shining New Light on the Rig Veda (Part 2): Who or what are the Asvina?

I first drafted this post back in February, after taking a few weeks off from blogging. Why did I take a break? Mainly because I felt no compulsion to carry on. In hindsight, I can see that my lack of motivation was tied to my reluctance to continue translating the Rig Veda. Who am I, after all, to take on such an assignment? In the world's estimation, I am utterly unqualified, having no formal training in Sanskrit, Vedic studies, or Hindu philosophy.

And yet, as Jesus often reminds me in moments of doubt, those professing expertise in these areas have led us all astray for centuries, so perhaps a different form of "expertise" is needed at this point in the dream of time and space. 

During my hiatus from blogging, I continued my daily Golden Circle meetings and also prayed for guidance by invoking the miracle-readiness prayer from the Course: "Tell me what you would have me do, and only that do I will to do."

The answers I requested came not in words or signs, but more subtly. Whenever I sat down at the computer to write new material or rework archival posts unrelated to the Rig Veda, I floundered. My mind just spun until I finally gave up.

This went on, as I said, for several weeks, which was frustrating, to say the least. When I'm not blogging, I feel somewhat rudderless -- even when I meditate several times in a 24-hour period. During my unrestful vacation from blogging, I wrestled within myself. Was the Holy Spirit compelling me, strange as it seemed, to translate the Rig Veda? Was it, in fact, my special assignment in the Atonement Plan to shine new light on that ancient text?

As I prayed for clarity, I began to see that it might indeed be God's Will that I continue this work. I also sensed that it was precisely my lack of ego-defined "expertise" that made me so right for the job. Simply stated, I have no prejudicial assumptions or cherished false beliefs to overcome where the Vedas are concerned. I am, you might say, a pure channel when it comes to Hinduism in general and the Rig Veda in particular. I also seem to understand the Course's teachings at a higher level than most people promoting the path in this phase of the dream. And that seems key in ways that aren't easy to explain.

Despite all this, I still harbored doubts. Then, while reading the Course, I came across this "answer" in Workbook Lesson 186: Salvation of the world depends on me: 

Let us not fight our function. We did not establish it. It is not our idea. The means are given us by which it will be perfectly accomplished. All that we are asked to do is to accept our part in genuine humility and not deny with self-deceiving arrogance that we are worthy. What is given us to do we have the strength to do. Our minds are suited perfectly to take the part assigned to us by One Who knows us well. 

Yes, but. As on-point as this message seemed to be, I remained unconvinced. So, I sat down and meditated a good long while. And when I was deep enough, I asked again if doing this work was indeed God's Will. The little voice that sometimes speaks to me answered thusly: "Just as the Course came into the world to correct erroneous Christian beliefs, retranslating the Rig Veda will help do the same for Hinduism."

"Yes, but," I again replied, "I'm not Hindu."

"Aren't you?" my inner guide coyly inquired. "Aren't you, in fact, everything? Aren't you, in actuality, the Christ? And doesn't that make you as much a Hindu, Christian, and everything else as anybody else?"

"Well, yes," I reluctantly agreed, "when you put it that way ...."

The voice then added reassuringly, "Don't worry about getting through the whole Samhita. Just concentrate for now on translating the first Mandala -- and see how it goes."

That didn't sound so bad -- until I discovered the first Mandala contains 190 Suktas! And at 65, that's a pretty tall order. So, I'd better get on with it -- and see what I can learn and teach from the third Rik, which (as per Max Muller) reads as follows in transliterated Sanskrit:

aśvinā yajvarīr iṣo dravatpāṇī śubhas patī | purubhujā canasyatam ||
aśvinā purudaṃsasā narā śavīrayā dhiyā | dhiṣṇyā vanataṃ giraḥ ||
dasrā yuvākavaḥ sutā nāsatyā vṛktabarhiṣaḥ | ā yātaṃ rudravartanī ||
indrā yāhi citrabhāno sutā ime tvāyavaḥ | aṇvībhis tanā pūtāsaḥ ||
indrā yāhi dhiyeṣito viprajūtaḥ sutāvataḥ | upa brahmāṇi vāghataḥ ||
indrā yāhi tūtujāna upa brahmāṇi harivaḥ | sute dadhiṣva naś canaḥ ||
omāsaś carṣaṇīdhṛto viśve devāsa ā gata | dāśvāṃso dāśuṣaḥ sutam ||
viśve devāso apturaḥ sutam ā ganta tūrṇayaḥ | usrā iva svasarāṇi ||
viśve devāso asridha ehimāyāso adruhaḥ | medhaṃ juṣanta vahnayaḥ ||
pāvakā naḥ sarasvatī vājebhir vājinīvatī | yajñaṃ vaṣṭu dhiyāvasuḥ ||
codayitrī sūnṛtānāṃ cetantī sumatīnām | yajñaṃ dadhe sarasvatī ||
maho arṇaḥ sarasvatī pra cetayati ketunā | dhiyo viśvā vi rājati ||

Before I walk you through my seat-of-the-pants translation process, let's fix in our minds (for frame-of-reference purposes) what the 19th-Century Oxford "orientalists" H. H. Wilson and Ralph T. H. Griffith came up with. We'll start with Wilson, who offers the following result:

Aśvins, cherishers of pious acts, long-armed, accept with outstretched hands the sacrificial viands

Aśvins, abounding in mighty acts, guides (of devotion), endowed with fortitude, listen with unaverted minds to our praises

Aśvins, destroyers of foes, exempt from untruth, leaders in the van of heroes, come to the mixed libations sprinkled on the lopped sacred grass.

Indra, apprehended by the understanding and appreciated by the wise, approach and accept the prayers of the priest as he offers the libation.

Fleet Indra with the tawny coursers, come hither to the prayer (of the priest), and in this libation accept our (proffered) food.

Universal Gods, protectors and supporters of men, bestowers (of rewards) come to the libation of the worshipper.

May the swift-moving universal Gods, the shedders of rain, come to the libation, as the solar rays come diligently to the days.

May the universal Gods, who are exempt from decay, omniscient, devoid of malice, and bearers of (riches), accept the sacrifice.

May Sarasvatī, the purifier, the bestower of food, the recompenser of worship with wealth, be attracted by our offered viands to our rite.

Sarasvatī, the inspirer of those who delight in truth, the instrumental uctress of the right-minded, has accepted our sacrifice.

Sarasvatī, makes manifest by her acts a mighty river, and (in her own form) enlightens all understandings.

And here's what Griffith made of the same ancient verbiage:

Ye Aśvins, rich in wondrous deeds, ye heroes worthy of our praise, Accept our songs with mighty thought. Accept the sacrificial food.

Nāsatyas, wonder-workers, yours are these libations with clipt grass: Come ye whose paths are red with flame.

O Indra marvellously bright, come, these libations long for thee, Thus by fine fingers purified. Urged by the holy singer, sped by song, come, Indra, to the prayers, Of the libation-pouring priest.

Approach, O Indra, hasten thee, Lord of Bay Horses, to the prayers. In our libation take delight.

Ye Viśvedevas, who protect, reward, and cherish men, approach Your worshipper's drink-offering.

Ye Viśvedevas, swift at work, come hither quickly to the draught, as milch-kine hasten to their stalls.

The Viśvedevas, changing shape like serpents, fearless, void of guile, Bearers, accept the sacred draught.

Wealthy in spoil, enriched with hymns, may bright Sarasvatī desire, with eager love, our sacrifice. Inciter of all pleasant songs, inspirer of all gracious thought, Sarasvatī accept our rite.

Sarasvatī, the mighty flood, —she with her light illuminates. She brightens every pious thought.

Let's now go through the third Sukta line by line, word by word, and/or syllable by syllable, as needed. The first word is aśvinā, which both Wilson and Griffith translate as the proper name of the twin gods supposedly being addressed. But is that right? -- or does aśvinā have an entirely different and much more elucidating meaning?

The Ashvins or Aswins, as commonly depicted in Hindu iconography.

According to the online dictionaries I consulted, aśvinā can mean "pervading," "the distance traveled in a day by a horse," "horseman," "rider," and/or "the seventh month in the lunar calendar." So, what the rishis are really talking about here are the metaphorical horses seen and described by the Biblical prophets Zechariah and John the Elder. Those horses are, in fact, thought-forces or "shaktis" sent forth by the four Living Beings to help us overcome the false beliefs and faulty denials blocking our spiritual vision. And it is, in fact, the chief Anti-Christ himself who transformed these four "Shaktis of Enlightenment" into "apocalyptical" forces of destruction to be feared and avoided.

The four "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" as typically depicted in Christian art.

Like the first two Suktas, the third is a teaching rather than a hymn of praise. By my calculations, the opening line translates more or less as follows: 

The Horses of God strengthen the thoughts setting in motion the Vishwapurusha's streaming song bringing forth the rays of the Bridegroom's everlasting arms reaching out to everything belonging to God.

aśvin-ā (the Horses of God) yajvarir (strengthen the thoughts setting in motion) iṣo (the Vishwapurusha or Holy Spirit's) dravat-pani (streaming song or water) subhas (bringing forth the rays) pati (of the Bridegroom's) puru-bhuja (everlasting arms) canasyatam (reaching out to everything belonging to God)

Beautifully stated, isn't it? And yes, we WILL discuss the four horsemen in more depth before we're through. For now, though, let's focus on the everlasting arms mentioned herein, as well as in the Bible and the Course. In the Bible, the arms are described as follows in Deuteronomy 33:27-28:

The eternal God is thy refuge; and underneath are the everlasting arms: And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; And shall say, 'Destroy them.' Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; Also his heavens shall drop down dew.

Actually, this is pretty profound, as well as prophetic. Here's what it means: God is our eternal refuge in the heavenly sphere, and down below (in the dream) we are supported by the everlasting arms of the Vishwapurusha, which will thrust out the Ego Mind by teaching us to destroy the alien thought system we manifested in fear and rebellion. Israel -- the truth-seeking Sons of God in the dream -- will then dwell in safety "alone." They will, in other words, live in the Holy Relationship within their minds at the fountain or wellspring, where they will be at peace until God lifts them out of the dream. That "the heavens shall drop down dew" means, more or less, that the Holy Spirit will continue to rain down Living Water on the earthly desert until the last dreamer awakens. And, in case you doubt me, Course-Jesus says pretty much the same thing below: 

The holy relationship reflects the true relationship the Son of God has with his Father in reality. The Holy Spirit rests within it in the certainty it will endure forever. Its firm foundation is eternally upheld by truth, and love shines on it with the gentle smile and tender blessing it offers to its own. Here the unholy instant is exchanged in gladness for the holy one of safe return. Here is the way to true relationships held gently open, through which you and your brother walk together, leaving the body thankfully behind and resting in the Everlasting Arms. Love’s Arms are open to receive you, and give you peace forever. (ACIM, T-20.VI.10:1-6)

The monumental statue of "Christ the Redeemer" in Brazil symbolizes the everlasting arms of God's Love, reaching out to receive us and carry us home. For our redemption, in other words, God's Perfect Love divided into the twin Great Rays of Peace and Joy.

Let's proceed to the second line of the third Sukta, which reads: aśvinā purudaṃsasā narā śavīrayā dhiyā dhiṣṇyā vanataṃ giraḥ

The Horses of God bring forward awareness of the reality of Nara, the radiant current illuminating the wellspring of God's Voice.

asvina (the Horses of God) puru-damsasa (bring forward awareness of the reality of) nara (Nara, the Red Ray of Peace) savi-raya (the radiant current) dhiya (enlightening or illuminating) vana-tam (the fountain or wellspring of God's) girah (Voice).

The word "purudamsa" is generally written off as a epithet for the Asvins, but the word actually tells us the horsemen bring forward ("puru") awareness of the reality ("damasa") of Nara, the eternal spirit, holy lamp, and/or Red Ray of Peace "enlightening" or "illuminating" the wellspring of God's Voice. And that Voice emanates from Narayana, the Water Ray of Joy.

If you are doing the Course, be aware that it is these two Great Rays to which Jesus refers whenever he mentions God's gifts of Peace and Joy, as he does quite often. In Workbook Lesson 107: I seek but what belongs to me in truth, he says the following about these two radiant beams of Perfect Love:

Today’s idea continues with the thought that joy and peace are not but idle dreams. They are your right, because of what you are. They come to you from God, Who cannot fail to give you what He wills. Yet must there be a place made ready to receive His gifts. They are not welcomed gladly by a mind that has instead received the gifts it made where His belong, as substitutes for them. (ACIM, W-104.1:1-5)

And it is "bringing forward awareness of the reality of Nara" that Course-Jesus stridently encourages in Workbook Lesson 185 (I want the peace of God). Bringing forward that Red Ray of Peace is, in fact, the only purpose of earthly life, as Jesus makes clear in Workbook Lesson 205 (a review of Lesson 185), in which he provides the following prayer to help with that all-important task:

The peace of God is everything I want. The peace of God is my one goal; the aim of all my living here, the end I seek, my purpose and my function and my life, while I abide where I am not at home. (ACIM, W-205.1:2-3)

Let's move on to the Rik's third line, which reads: dasrā yuvākavaḥ sutā nāsatyā vṛktabarhiṣaḥ ā yātaṃ rudravartanī. My research and guidance suggests those words translate thusly:

To perceive this radiant driver of the eternal Word of God conveying the holy sound of the song of Satya (Divine Truth or Reality), subdue the thoughts injuring the Supreme Self abiding in Rudra.

das-ra (to perceive this radiant) yu-vak-a-vah (driver of the eternal word of God conveying) suta (the holy sound) nasatya (of the song of Satya or Divine Truth) vr (subdue) kta (the thoughts) barh (injuring) isah (the Supreme Self) Rudra-vartani (abiding in Rudra)

Who is Rudra? Good question, because the Rig Veda doesn't make his identity all that clear (at this point in our journey, leastwise). He is referred to elsewhere as "the mightiest of the mighty," so, we can presume Rudra also represents the deific force described by the Vedic scribes as "the Mighty One." Based on several factors, I believe Lord Rudra personifies the Solar Logos, Spiritual Sun, and/or first Red Ray of Creation occupying the chariot-throne on the Seventh Plane of Consciousness. That the name "Rudra" (rud-ra) translates as "red radiance" or "red ray" bears this out.

The image above depicts Rudra blessing the Living Water that is the Om/Aum vibration and/or Song of Heaven, as it flows downward into the Temple of the Vishwapurusha. In his thoughts, Lord Shiva -- Christ the redeemer -- looms large. At his back stand Rama (the Soul-Mind) and the monkey-faced god, Hanuman or Maruti.

Let's move on to the Sukta's fourth line, which reads: indrā yāhi citrabhāno sutā ime tvāyavaḥ aṇvībhis tanā pūtāsaḥ. By my calculations, those words translate along these lines:

The Supreme Eternal Power of that radiance extends to impel the Bright One (Chitra or Chitra-gupa) to resound the answer to the call, the holy song of the Purusha -- the one in two parts restoring the Soul-Mind to Wholeness, purified of chaos, disorder, and the dark side of human nature.

Ind-ra [the supreme power (ind) of that radiance (ra)] yahi (shelters) citra-bhan-o (the Bright One resounding the "o" = the answer to the call) suta (the holy sound) ime (of the Purusha) tva-v-avah (the one in two parts restoring)  anvi-bhis (the soul-mind) tana (to Wholeness) pu-tasah = pu-dasah [purified or cleansed (pu) of chaos, disorder, and the dark side of human nature (dasah)].

 

Chitra-gupa, as depicted in Hinduism

In Hinduism, Chitra or Chitra-gupa is the keeper of "the Record" -- the register of our thoughts identified as the Agrasandhani in the Puranic lore. Basically, he's the deva who, like Santa Claus, "knows when you are sleeping; knows when you're awake; and knows if you've been bad or good." He's also the one who determines -- based on our spiritual progress and accumulated "debts" at the end of each incarnation -- our grade-level placement in our next earthly life.

Personally, I think Chitra-gupa is more than just a record-keeper, because his name also means "hidden picture" or "rich in secrets." Moreover, he's associated with the mysterious "blue pearl" -- the spiritual moon inside the Golden Circle with the bright star in the center. That ethereal "blue moon," I'm fairly certain, represents the Sixth Plane of Christ-Consciousness. Based on all these factors, my gut tells me Chitra-gupa represents what Course-Jesus calls "the face of Christ." Jesus mentions "the face of Christ" many times in the Course -- too many times to quote all his references. So, I picked the one below, which tends to support my theory that this is indeed what Chitra-gupa represents:

This is the purpose given you. Think not that your forgiveness of your brother serves but you two alone. For the whole new world rests in the hands of every two who enter here to rest. And as they rest, the face of Christ shines on them and they remember the laws of God, forgetting all the rest and yearning only to have His laws perfectly fulfilled in them and all their brothers. Think you when this has been achieved that you will rest without them? You could no more leave one of them outside than I could leave you, and forget part of myself. (ACIM, T-20.IV.7:1-6)

Let's proceed to the Sukta's fifth line, which reads: Indrā yāhi dhiyeṣito viprajūtaḥ sutāvataḥ upa brahmāṇi vāghataḥ. In my estimation, those words translate more or less as follows:

That Supreme Radiance extends to impel the Soul-Mind to extend the two driving the seven-fold holy sound of God's Voice nearer to Brahmani and away from body identification.

Indra (that supreme radiance) yahi (extends to impel) dhi-yes-ito [the soul-mind (dhiyes) to extend (ito)] viprajutah [the two (vi) driving (praju) the seven-fold (tah)] suta-vatah (holy sound of God's Voice) upa (nearer to) Brahmani (Brahmani) vaghatah [and away from (va) body-identification (ghatah)]

 

In current Hindu ideology, Brahmani is correctly identified as a form of Sarasvati -- and incorrectly identified as one of the Sapta Matrikas -- the seven auspicious mothers oft-mentioned in the Vedas. Said to be an aspect of Adi Shakti (the Spirit of Grace), Brahmani also is associated, rightly or wrongly, with the Rajas Guna -- the "mode of being" focused on human passions and bodily "doing." As such, she is wrongly identified as the "shakti" of Brahma, the creator of the world of bodies and action. In actuality, Brahmani and/or Sarasvati, if indeed the two are the same, represent the Great Ocean or Ocean of Milk (as we will learn in a later verse of this Sukta). She is, therefore, God's answer to or cure for the Rajas mode of being, as this verse makes clear. 

Let's move on to the sixth line, which reads (contrary to Muller's construction): indrā yāhi tūtujāna upa brahmāṇi harivaḥ sute dadhiṣva. 

That Supreme Eternal Radiance extends to impel persons of activity (those accumulating karmic debt in the Record) to move nearer to Brahmani to be fit to convey the holiness granting knowledge of one's own Higher Self or Soul.

Indra (That supreme eternal radiance) vahi (extends to impel) tutujana (persons of activity) upa (to move nearer to) Brahmani (Brahmani) havivah (to be fit to convey) sute (the holiines) dadhisva [granting (da) knowledge of (dhi) one's own Higher Self or Soul (sva)]

Like I said, Brahmani isn't Brahma's "shakti"; she's the Ocean of Milk, Brahma's antithesis.

Galloping onward, the Sukta's restored seventh line -- naś canaḥ omāsaś carṣaṇīdhṛto viśve devāsa ā gata dāśvāṃso dāśuṣaḥ sutam -- translates along these lines:

Uniting to sound the Wholeness touching the wheel at the heart of the cosmos protecting the authority of God, proceeding from the white horseman of Soma, bestows vital spiritual energy on the Sonship.

Nas (Uniting) ca-nah (to sound the Wholeness) omasas (touching) carsanidhrto (the wheel at the heart) visve (of the cosmos) de-vasa (protecting the authority) a (of God) gata (proceeding from) dasvam-so (the white horse or horseman of Soma) da-su-sah (bestows vital spiritual energy) sutam (on the Sonship)

Let's begin with the wheel at the heart of the cosmos -- a concept that, like the Golden Egg, can be found in scriptural texts universally. If you'd like to know more, there's a reasonably comprehensive explanation of "the wheel" on the website for the Theosophy Memorial Trust. I can't, of course, be sure that carsanidhrto actually translates as "the wheel at the heart," but I'm confident I'm on the right track. In the Course, Jesus never uses the word "wheel" -- not even once, oddly enough. He does, however, mention the "circle of brightness" incorporating the Real World. And what he says about this circle resonates strongly with this ancient Vedic verse. So, I've shared a goodly chunk of that explanation below:

This world of light, this circle of brightness is the real world, where guilt meets with forgiveness. Here the world outside is seen anew, without the shadow of guilt upon it. Here are you forgiven, for here you have forgiven everyone. Here is the new perception, where everything is bright and shining with innocence, washed in the waters of forgiveness, and cleansed of every evil thought you laid upon it. Here there is no attack upon the Son of God, and you are welcome. Here is your innocence, waiting to clothe you and protect you, and make you ready for the final step in the journey inward. Here are the dark and heavy garments of guilt laid by, and gently replaced by purity and love.

Yet even forgiveness is not the end. Forgiveness does make lovely, but it does not create. It is the source of healing, but it is the messenger of love and not its Source. Here you are led, that God Himself can take the final step unhindered, for here does nothing interfere with love, letting it be itself. A step beyond this holy place of forgiveness, a step still further inward but the one you cannot take, transports you to something completely different. Here is the Source of light; nothing perceived, forgiven nor transformed. But merely known.

This course will lead to knowledge, but knowledge itself is still beyond the scope of our curriculum. Nor is there any need for us to try to speak of what must forever lie beyond words. We need remember only that whoever attains the real world, beyond which learning cannot go, will go beyond it, but in a different way. Where learning ends there God begins, for learning ends before Him Who is complete where He begins, and where there IS no end. It is not for us to dwell on what cannot be attained. There is too much to learn. The readiness for knowledge still must be attained.

Love is not learned. Its meaning lies within itself. And learning ends when you have recognized all it is NOT. That is the interference; that is what needs to be undone. Love is not learned, because there never was a time in which you knew it not. Learning is useless in the Presence of your Creator, Whose acknowledgment of you and yours of Him so far transcend all learning that everything you learned is meaningless, replaced forever by the knowledge of love and its one meaning.

Your relationship with your brother has been uprooted from the world of shadows, and its unholy purpose has been safely brought through the barriers of guilt, washed with forgiveness, and set shining and firmly rooted in the world of light. From there it calls to you to follow the course it took, lifted high above the darkness and gently placed before the gates of Heaven. The holy instant in which you and your brother were united is but the messenger of love, sent from beyond forgiveness to remind you of all that lies beyond it. Yet it is through forgiveness that it will be remembered.

And when the memory of God has come to you in the holy place of forgiveness you will remember nothing else, and memory will be as useless as learning, for your only purpose will be creating. Yet this you cannot know until every perception has been cleansed and purified, and finally removed forever. Forgiveness removes only the untrue, lifting the shadows from the world and carrying it, safe and sure within its gentleness, to the bright world of new and clean perception. There is your purpose NOW. And it is there that peace awaits you.

(ACIM, T-18.IX.9:1–14:5)

Let's turn now to "the white horseman of Soma" -- if indeed my translation of "davam-so" has merit. It seems probable, given the earlier mentions of the Asvina. In the Holy Bible, that same SYMBOLIC horse is seen and described by both Zechariah and John the Elder, the author of the Book of Revelation. So, let's see what each can tell us about this horse or horseman. Not coincidentally, the references to the white horse appear in chapter six of both biblical books.

In Chapter 6 of the Old Testament Book Zechariah, we are told the following:

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.

In the first chariot, were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.

Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"

And the angel answered and said unto me, "These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth."

The black horses, which are therein, go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, "Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth." So they walked to and fro through the earth.

Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, "Behold, these [the white horses] that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country."

From this uncorrected account we learn that 1) the horses represent the "four spirits of the heavens before the throne"; 2) the white horses occupy the third chariot; 3) the white horses follow the black horses into the north country; and 4) the white horses "quieted the spirit" or "gave rest to the Souls" in the north country.

Let's now see if the Book of Revelations can shed any more light on the mystery of the four horsemen. In the King James translation, the first verse of Chapter 6 reads:

And when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Let's reject that translation of John's vision, because God's messengers NEVER instill fear. When translated from the original Greek with more sensitivity, the verse reads more like this:

And I perceived a lamb open the first seal of a signet ring, also listening as a thunder-voice came out from among the four Living Creatures to say, "Come and look, and envision brightly, a horse, and to be the Self seated upon the same, and to have the bow (a symbol representing the covenant of the Holy Relationship between God and His Creations) and the encircling glory, and to give them to go forth and be strong and to overcome." 

Miles apart, actually. And I hope I'm making my point about foolishly investing faith in or defending unilluminated translations and/or fear-shaded interpretations of scriptural texts and symbols. The Holy Spirit NEVER seeks to frighten us, because scaring us is antithetical to his mission.

Let's proceed to the second verse, which reads as follows in the King James Bible:

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, "Come and see." And there went out another horse that was red: and (power) was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

Translated from the original Greek, the verse actually reads more along these lines:

And when [the lamb] opened the second seal of the signet ring, I heard the second Living Creature say to come and to look and to go out on another horse, fire-colored, and to give to the Self to be seated thereupon to receive rest away from the earth, for the purpose of offering forgiveness ("sphazo," in Greek) in reciprocal relationship to give to the Self the Great Word of God ("machiara," in Greek).

Let's start with the Greek word "sphazo," which has come to mean "slay" or "slaughter" in the same way that the Sanskrit word "yajna" has come to mean "fire sacrifice."  "Sphazo" originally meant "offering forgiveness" or "offering the atonement," but the Ego Mind twisted the word's true meaning until, in Biblical times, it came to signify "slaughtering animals for the purpose of ritual blood sacrifices." By the early 1500s, when the Anglicans translated the New Testament into English, the word "sphazo" had come to mean "slaying" or "slew."

Thus, when John the Baptist said, in the gospel of John, that  Jesus came into the world for the purpose of "sphazo," he meant his cousin came to offer the atonement to God's earthbound children. John did NOT mean Jesus came to be slaughtered like an animal in sacrifice for our sins. And anyone who says otherwise has missed the point entirely (as Jesus himself explains in the Course).

Similarly, "machiara" meant "sword" by the time the KJV team got their hands on the Book of Revelation. In earlier times, however, the word was generally understood to symbolize the Word of God.

Let's move on to the third verse, which the KJV Bible presents thusly:

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, "Come and see." And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."

Translated with a wee bit more care and insight, the third verse reads:

And when he opened the third seal of the signet ring, I heard the third Living Creature say, "Come and look and behold a black horse, and the Self seated thereupon to have a yoke in hand. And I heard a voice from the midst of the four Living Creatures say, "A quart of wheat for a denarius; three quarts of barley for a denarius; and to do wrong not the least oil and wine."  

Unsure what that last bit means, I did some digging. All I was able to ascertain, unfortunately, was that a quart of wheat amounted to the quantity needed to make enough "daily bread" to feed one person, while a denarius was a small Roman coin equivalent to the average daily wage in the First Century CE. Three quarts of less-costly barley, on the other hand, would feed one person for three days or three people for one day. My gut tells me the reference to oil and wine has to do with the atonement. My gut also tells me that this whole message might be another way of saying, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's; and render unto God what is God's," but I can't quite connect the dots. 

Let's move on to the fourth verse in the KJV Bible, which reads:

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, "Come and see." And I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Oh, how the Evil One delights in twisting things to terrify his servants on earth. What the verse actually imparts isn't the least bit frightening. When more sensitively translated, the verse reads more along these lines:

And when he opened the fourth seal of the signet ring, I heard the voice of the fourth Living Creature say to come and to look and be aware and to behold a pale horse, and the Self-Identity to be seated was higher than the self separated from God, and the underworld (Lower World) that followed after. And the authority was given unto the Self upon the fourth earth to end the association with weapons of war and judgment, of hunger and famine, and of death (both spiritual and physical), and (to end) subjugation to the wicked beast (the Ego Mind) of the physical earth.

Shall I continue? -- or have we wandered too far off track? I think I'll keep going, because, as I said, I'm extremely curious about the four horsemen.

In the KJV Bible, the next three verses read:

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

The original Greek account, meanwhile, reads closer to this:

And when [the lamb] opened the fifth seal of the signet ring, behold! under an altar, the Souls offering forgiveness ("sphazo," again) on account of the Word or Logos of God, and for the purpose of bearing witness to this state of existence, and to call down a great voice to speak until the despot, set apart from truth, chose not to judge or avenge his blood-fellows residing on the earth. And bright flowing robes were given to each to provide all-authority and command of the Self in order to bestow blessings and give rest yet a little while until their fellow disciples (in service to God) and their fellow servants and their brothers destined to kill achieved complete realization of the Self.

I'll stop there, because we've lost the thread of the horses, which appear to be the "shaktis" or "forces" of the four Living Beings -- the bearers of the chariot-throne of "the Fire of God's Presence" on the Seventh Plane. And this also tracks with what the Angel told and showed Zechariah.

Okay, so ... what have we learned from Revelations about the four horses (not "horsemen," actually)? The first thing we've learned is that the horses, whose riders represent our own Higher Self, come out when the seals are broken. Those seals, I'm fairly certain, represent the chakras, churches, or mansions -- so the horses of the Living Beings come forth when we clear the Ego Mind's "veils of deception" from our chakras. I wish the prophet had specified which Living Being sent forth which horse, but alas, he did not. So, we can only speculate. What I have worked out from what's written is this:

Root Chakra = a horse, seen brightly, of unspecified color (probably the grizzled horse that went south in Zechariah's vision)

Sacral Chakra = fire-colored horse

Solar-Plexus = black horse 

Heart Chakra = pale horse

Let's assume that the pale horse of the fourth "seal" is "the white horse of Soma" described in the Rig Veda Sukta under discussion. This also tracks with what Zechariah saw and was told by the Angel; that is, that the white horse followed the black horse into the north country. My gut tells me that the black horse represents the inner-guru (given that Krishna is known as "the black one"), while the pale horse represents the Voice for God, Om vibration, or Living Water (which we begin to hear after entering the fourth chakra or "lunar mansion"). But that's purely conjecture at this point, so let's carry on and see what more we can learn about the mysterious "Asvina."

Let's return to the Rig Veda. oAccording to Max Muller, the Rv 1.3.8 reads: viśve-devāso apturaḥ sutam ā ganta tūrṇayaḥ usrā iva svasarāṇi. Based on my research and guidance, those words translate more or less thusly:

The universe protecting God's Authority sends down to the Sonship God's Grace, the courier of new purpose, in the manner of dawning light through the Breath or Voice (Vayu) of the Lesser Light (the Vishwapurusha or Soma).

Visve-devaso = The universe protecting God's authority

apturah = sends down 

sutam = to the Sonship

a-ganta = the Grace of God, Epiousion bread, or spiritual sustenance

tur-nayah = the courier of new purpose

usra-va = in the manner of dawning light

svasa-ra-ni = through the breath (Vayu or Ruach) of the lower-radiance, Lesser Light, or Soma

(or) sva-sara-ni = in the lower waters of self-perception 

The real bugger in this line was coming up with a suitable definition for "ganta." The word is similar to "ghanta," which means "temple bell," but that definition doesn't really work here. Figuratively, it sort of works, if we allow that a temple bell (like a church bell) calls the faithful to worship. So, "ghanta" might be a figurative reference to the Call to Return. Seeking a better result, I tried breaking the word as "ga-nta," "gan-ta," and even "g-anta." Still dissatisfied, I prayed for guidance. That's when I got the idea to join "ganta" with the solitary "a" preceding the word. Because that "a" wasn't working, either.

Lo and behold, "a-ganta" turned out to be a word! According to the Wisdom Library, "aganta" is a name for Shiva, the "Christ-the-redeemer" figure in Hinduism. According to Wikipedia, "aganta" derives from "agra," which means (among many other definitions) a specific type of alms given to Brahmins. And, as we now know, "alms" is scriptural "code" for the thought-offerings we give and receive in the Holy Meeting Place, while "Brahmin" (contrary to common belief) is a Vedic term for any truth-seeker advanced enough to hear the Om.

Interestingly, the type of alms to which "agra" refers are called "bhiksa" or "bhiksha" -- a term used in Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism to describe the practice undertaken by religious mendicants of "begging," as well as the FOOD given by those being asked for "alms."

A Buddhist monk (I think) receiving food in response to his request for "alms."

If we view all of this symbolically (as we must), it makes perfect sense. In response to prayers to Shiva for "alms" -- the miracle of corrected perception -- devotees receive the spiritual sustenance of "aganta," "bhiska," or "grace" -- the Epiousion bread and/or Living Water through which we attain enlightenment. That "aganta" is a name for Shiva makes sense, too, since we request the "alms" of God's Grace by invoking the name of Shiva or Jesus Christ.

  

Let's turn again to the Lord's Prayer -- the example Jesus gave his disciples of the "correct" way to pray. If you're unfamiliar with this old standard, it begins thusly:

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom, come;Thy Will be done; on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Now, I haven't checked the accuracy of the whole New Testament translation of this prayer, but I do know that an actual loaf or supply of edible "daily bread" is NOT the form of "alms" Jesus advised his disciples to request "in the hallowed name of the Father." As explained in a previous post, the Greek word changed to "daily" by the Anglican translators was Epiousion, which means, more or less, "the sacred substance that hastens wisdom in the manner of dawning light."

Many Biblical scholars insist Epiousion's true meaning was lost to the sands of time, but that's not entirely true. The word's root is defined in the Secret Book of John -- one of the disciple-authored gospels rejected by the Catholic authorities who chose the New Testament canon. Not only was the Secret Book of John rejected by these men, it was condemned as "gnostic" and destroyed. Had it not been unearthed with other "lost" sacred texts in the Nag Hammadi desert in 1947, John's "secret book" would have indeed been lost forever, along with the true definition of the Greek word Epiousion.

In John's Secret Book, the root-word Epinoia is defined as "light-filled conceptualization" -- a term synonymous with True or Miraculous Perception in the Course. Epinoia also is the name given the Holy Spirit in John's little book. Thus, when Jesus advised his disciples to pray to the Heavenly Father for Epiousion bread, he was instructing them to ask for the "alms" of aganta -- "the sacred substance that hastens wisdom in the manner of dawning light."

We've now reached the Sukta's ninth line, which reads (contrary to Max Muller's presumed breaks): viśve-devāso asridha ehimāyāso adruhaḥ medhaṃ juṣanta vahnayaḥ pavaka nah. And, when correctly translated, those words tell us, in beautiful language, both what Soma is and where he dwells.

The universe protecting God's Authority is the resting place of the all-pervading intelligence of Soma, the unseen force with visible results, the power of right-understanding, the wisdom of the infinite, and the vehicle for the purifying fires of Wholeness.

Visve-devaso = the universe protecting God's authority
asri-dha = is the resting place
ehimaya-so = of the all-pervading intelligence of Soma
adruhah = the unseen force with visible results
medham = the power of right-understanding
jusa-nta = the wisdom of the infinite
vahnayah = the vehicle for the
pavaka = purifying fire
nah = of Wholeness

The Sukta's tenth line is actually two sentences reading: Sarasvatī vājebhir vājinīvatī yajñaṃ vaṣṭu dhiyāvasuḥ codayitrī sūnṛtānāṃ. Cetantī sumatīnām yajñaṃ dadhe sarasvatī.

Sarasvati strengthens the energy of the Horses of Destiny extending higher understanding in the dwelling-place of the universal mind inspiring the movement of the sacred dance (of Shiva, the Purusha). To restore the consciousness arising from that Holy Mind, extend the knowledge given by Sarasvati.

sarasvati = Sarasvati
vajebhir = strengthens (vaj) the might or energy of (ebhir)
vaji-nivati = the horses of destiny
ya-jnam = extending higher understanding
vastu = in the dwelling-place of
dhiyavasuh = the universal mind
coda-yitri = inspiring or driving the movement
su-n(a)rtanam = of the holy dance (of Shiva, the Purusha)
cet-anti = to restore the consciousness arising from
su-matinam = the holy mind 
ya-jnam = extend the thoughts
dadhe = given by
Sarasvati = Sarasvati

Okay, wow. Lots to consider in this one. Let's start with Sarasvati, whose name is more likely a compound of "sara" (flow or substance) and "svati" (very beneficent) than of "saras" (pooling water) and "vati" (she who possesses), as commonly presumed. I believe this to be so because Svati is a character in the allegorical Hindu epics. She is, in fact, one of the wives of the Moon (Soma). Svati also is associated with Arcturus, the brightest star in the Bootes constellation of the northern hemisphere, as well as with the nakshatra or lunar mansion associated with Arcturus.

In the next verse, we learn EXACTLY what Sarasvati is and/or represents in the great, grand cosmic scheme. I won't preempt the Big Reveal, but I will say that she is NOT the goddess of wisdom, music, and higher learning, as most Hindus have been led to believe.

Another word we need to talk about is "vajinivati," which is typically interpreted as an epithet for Sarasvati meaning "thunderbolt," "powerful," or "possessed of substance of food." If you care to read Sri Aurobindo's justification for the latter definition, you will find it here, along with his flawed translation of this Sukta. Like most other would-be translators, his Holiness divides the word as "vajini" and "vati," which he then defines as "possessing plentitudes." Much as it pains me to find fault with His Nibs, the word carries far more weight when divided as "vaji" (horse) and "nivati" (destiny or fate). "Vaji" doesn't just mean "horse," however. In the Puranas, the word more specifically describes the horses yoked to the chariot of the moon -- to Soma's chariot, in other words. And this verse is supposed to be about the Asvina, so there we are.

And now we come to Rv 1.3's concluding verse, which is typically translated as a prayer of invocation to Maa Sarasvati. This may indeed be the case, but I'm triple-checking everything to be sure I get this right. In transliterated Sanskrit, the verse reads: Maho arṇaḥ sarasvatī pra cetayati ketunā dhiyo viśvā virājati. Those powerful words translate as follows:

The Great Ocean, Sarasvati advances the protection, preservation, and nourishment of the Great Rays of Nara, the Lamps of God in the universe Viraja governs.

maho arnah = the Great Ocean, Cosmic Ocean, or Ocean of Milk
Sarasvati = Sarasvati
pra = advances
ce-tayati = the protection, preservation, and nourishment of
ketu-na = the Great Rays of Nara
dhiyo = the lamps (of God)
viswa = in the world or universe
viraja-ti = Viraja governs

Let's start with the Great Cosmic Ocean, a concept present in the creation mythology of many ancient civilizations. According to these remarkably similar stories, this Cosmic Ocean or Ocean of Milk (in Hinduism) existed before the earth -- or even the visible universe, the whole of which emerged from these "primordial waters" billions of years ago.

As explained in earlier posts, water symbolizes thought or mind in scriptural texts, because thought and/or mind is all that truly exists. So, the Great Ocean these myths describe is, in actuality, the part of God's Mind housing everything in Creation -- the Perfect and Eternal Thoughts of the True Creator or Causeless Cause -- and NOT the material illusion the Ego Mind projected outward to trick us into believing we were somewhere else, free to do as we please (with real effects).

The images above and below show two common Hindu depictions of the Ocean of Milk. The top one depicts Narayana -- Lord Vishnu, the Vishwapurusha -- afloat in the Great Ocean on a raft made of snakes. Riding with him is Brahma, who made the illusion of material reality Vishnu's raft -- the Golden Egg -- seems to float within. Running alongside are two of the many "demons" or "fearful thoughts" souring the Ocean of Brahman's Milk of Truth, as it were.

The image above illustrates the story of how Amrita -- the elixir of immortality -- came into being. Titled "The Churning of the Ocean of Milk" or Samudra Manthana in Sanskrit, the story is a told in the Vishnu Purana. What the allegory describes is pretty interesting -- and well worth discussing -- but I'll save that treat for another time. For now, I'm more concerned with the bomb the rishis drop in the verse under discussion. And that "bomb" is that Maa Sarasvati personifies the Great Ocean itself. And as that Great Ocean of Higher Thought, she preserves, protects, and nourishes the Great Rays or Lamps of God within the world or universe Viraja governs.

Okay, so ... who or what is Viraja? The short answer is: the Vishwapurusha, Mind of the Atonement, Body of Christ, or Holy Spirit whose world, universe, or temple is the Golden Egg in our minds. And it is through that Golden Egg, Body of Christ, or Bridge that we return to the Ocean of Milk (from which the visible universe emerged).

The images above and below illustrate the same idea, which is this: the Golden Egg or Body of Christ -- the Upper World or Firmament -- exists in a dimension of mind separate from and beneath Brahma's Egg of Samsara-Maya. We enter that Golden Egg or "Bridge of the Return" through the Temple, which is sandwiched between Brahma's Egg and the Hiranyagarbha. We enter the Hiranyabarbha through the Golden Circle, Circle of the Atonement, and/or Circle of Om, which we are made aware of after entering the fourth Lunar Mansion and/or Anahata Chakra.

Okay, so ... we now have a better idea of what the Rig Veda's third Sukta actually communicates, which is a far cry from what we've been led to believe for centuries, if not millennia. We've learned a lot from this Sukta, including that the Asvina aren't twin horse-headed healers, as long presumed in Hindu mythology. Rather, they're the "horses" or right-minded thought-forces sent forth into the Temple by the four Living Beings and/or Throne-Bearers seen and described by the prophets Ezekiel, Zechariah, Mohammad, and John the Elder. And from their accounts, we can ascertain that those four Living Beings support the wheel at the heart of the universe, upon which rests the chariot-throne of the Greater Light, Spiritual Sun, or Logos. Underneath the throne-bearing wheel, the four Living Creatures stand upon gyroscopic wheels covered in eyes. And those all-seeing double-wheels, I suspect, represent the "horses," "Asvina," and/or "Vajinivati" mentioned herein and in both testaments of the Holy Bible.

A Judeo-Christian representation of the chariot-throne of Elohim and the four Living Beings supporting that throne, based on descriptions in the Book of Ezekiel. 

According to this Rik, there are SEVEN "horses of destiny" rather than four, as the Biblical accounts SEEM to suggest. Those accounts were, however, translated into English by ego-bound Anglican clerics. So, we shouldn't put too much faith in them. Nor should we naively regard the highly tampered-with Holy Bible as the sacrosanct "Word of God." There is a great deal of truth in the Holy Bible, as Course-Jesus attests. But those truths are interwoven with deception, both deliberate and accidental. So, beware.

But (despite the title assigned by the Oxford set), this Sukta isn't really about the Asvina. More accurately, it explains how all the Atonement Powers work together to bring about our liberation from the dream of separation. We are told, for example, that Sarasvati -- the Great Ocean of Higher Thought -- strengthens the energy of the Horses of Destiny, and that those seven-fold thought-forces, those Asvina, offer the Holy Name in the dwelling-place of the universal mind. They are, in other words, the voices making up the Cosmic Chorus. We are further informed that, from that dwelling place, the universal mind inspires the movement of the cosmic dance of Shiva-Nataraja -- the "dance" of spiritual evolution that brings closer the dissolution of the dream-universe in accordance with God's Will.

 

We are further told (in the ninth verse) that the Supreme Radiance (of Divine Love) extends to impel the Soul-Mind (Soma, the Mind of the Atonement) to extend the two (the Great Rays) driving the seven-fold holy sound of God's Voice (the Om/Aum vibration) nearer to Brahmani (the Great Cosmic Ocean of Higher Thought) and away from body identification.

Interestingly, most of this information is symbolically depicted in the image below of Surya, the supposed Hindu sun-god. In actuality, Surya-dev represents the Greater Light, Spiritual Sun, or Logos occupying the chariot-throne on the Seventh Plane. He is, in short, the Truth of our Being -- the Great I Am. Except that he's been usurped (in our dreaming minds) by the little "I am" we made in partnership with Brahma. The purpose of earthly existence -- the one and only God-approved use of the time we have on this imaginary planet -- is to restore "Surya" to his rightful "throne" in our hearts and minds, with the help of the Atonement Powers mentioned above and depicted below.

Note that Surya's chariot is depicted as a wheel, signifying the wheel at the heart of the universe. That wheel-mobile is driven by Aruna, the first red ray of dawn, whose two reins (the two driving the seven) represent the Blood and Water Rays. According to this verse (assuming my translations are correct), the horses pulling Surya's chariot represent the seven-fold holy sound of God's Voice, moving us nearer to Brahmani -- the Ocean of Holy Thought flowing down from the God Mind in Heaven, via the Christ Mind on the Sixth Plane. And I hope I don't have to point out the incredible similarities between this image and the one shown earlier of Ezekiel's vision.

Those who hear the Living Water can attest that there is more than one "voice" singing to us. I, for one, can identify at least three different sounds. There are various humming tones, as well as a soft whistling sound. One day, while walking in my garden, I asked my inner-guru what it was I was hearing. He answer thusly in his still, small voice: "What you hear is the Cosmic Chorus, singing together in perfect harmony."

Pretty cool, right? 

While searching the phrase "Cosmic Chorus" on the Net, I came across several songs and poems, most of them from the Theology and Church Triumphant sphere -- so I won't share them with you (because I still doubt the validity of those teachings). What I will share (and leave you with today) are two citations from the Course, in which Jesus uses the term "chorus" in the same context.

The first reads as follows in the standard edition:

This tiny spot of sin that stands between you and your brother still is holding back the happy opening of Heaven’s gate. How little is the hindrance that withholds the wealth of Heaven from you. And how great will be the joy in Heaven when you join the mighty chorus to the Love of God! (ACIM, T-26.IV.6:1-3) 

And the second, in the form of a prayer from Jesus to God, reads thusly:

In joyous welcome is my hand outstretched to every brother who would join with me in reaching past temptation, and who looks with fixed determination toward the light that shines beyond in perfect constancy. Give me my own, for they belong to You. And can You fail in what is but Your Will? I give You thanks for what my brothers are. And as each one elects to join with me, the song of thanks from earth to Heaven grows from tiny scattered threads of melody to one inclusive chorus from a world redeemed from hell, and giving thanks to You.

And now we say “Amen.” For Christ has come to dwell in the abode You set for Him before time was, in calm eternity. The journey closes, ending at the place where it began. No trace of it remains. Not one illusion is accorded faith, and not one spot of darkness still remains to hide the face of Christ from anyone. Thy Will is done, complete and perfectly, and all creation recognizes You, and knows You as the only Source it has. Clear in Your likeness does the light shine forth from everything that lives and moves in You. For we have reached where all of us are one, and we are home, where You would have us be.

(ACIM, T-31.VIII.11:1–12:8)

  

Thanks for listening. Next time, we'll take on Rv 1.4. Until then, may the Great Rays of God's Perfect Peace and Joy guide your way home.

The white horse of Soma, carrying the Soul back to the Greater Light, through the Red Ray of Peace.