7

The Solar Wisdom

ADITYA, THE SUN GOD

In the Vedic tradition, our sun was called Aditya, the son of Aditi. As we have seen, Aditi represents the unbounded cosmic womb experienced on the scale of the half measure. The first great celestial body to be born from that womb corresponds to a star or sun. For this reason, Aditya, the sun that shines in the sky, was viewed as the firstborn son of Aditi.

Yet there was a deeper wisdom regarding the celestial body of the sun. It was viewed as the manifestation of twelve universal gods called the adityas, the first twelve gods in the Vedic canon, which correspond to the first twelve layers above the half measure and constitute collectively the sonic soul of the sun. Aditya, the sun that shines in the sky, may be understood as the celestial manifestation of the twelve adityas—the first twelve vacuum states in the upper half of the spectrum, which predominate with nonlocal synthesizing power.

THE TWO FORMS OF SOLAR WISDOM

The twelvefold wisdom regarding the sun has both a higher and lower form. The higher wisdom pertains to the twelve adityas above, which constitute the sonic soul of the sun, while the lower wisdom pertains to their twelve shaktis below, which constitute collectively the luminous soul of the sun. From a practical point of view, these two forms of solar wisdom were used to determine the virtual influences coming from the sun. The nonlocal sonic influences emanating from the sun were conceived in terms of the twelve adityas above, and the local luminous influences were conceived in terms of their twelve shaktis below.

These may also be viewed as inner and outer wisdoms, respectively. The inner wisdom is related to the inner circle of the sun, which has twelve divisions related to the twelve adityas, and the outer wisdom relates to the outer circle of the zodiac, which has twelve divisions related to the twelve shaktis.

THE NONLOCAL INFLUENCE OF THE SUN

The inner circle of the sun corresponds to the spherical body of the Sun, which appears as a luminous circle in the sky. The outer circle of the zodiac corresponds to the apparently circular path of the sun around Earth during the course of a solar year.

The nonlocal sonic influences have little to do with the position of the sun with respect to Earth: because these influences travel faster than light—at the speed of thought—they manifest nonlocal correlations, which have no local cause-effect interpretation. Such a cause-effect relation occurs when some event “there” has the potential to affect another event “here” through an influence that travels at the speed of light. Because they travel faster than light, the sonic emanations of the sun do not manifest these types of local relations. As a result, considerations of “here” and “there” do not play an important role.

Most important to consider with respect to the sonic influences that come from the inner circle of the Sun is the sonic wavelength and frequency. These properties are expressed according to the layered structure of the Logos. The wavelengths and frequencies are quantized on the basis of the characteristic scales of the first twelve layers above the half measure (the twelve adityas). The inner solar wisdom is therefore vertical and not horizontal, and pertains to relative space-time scale, rather than relative space-time position.

THE LOCAL INFLUENCES OF THE SUN

The outer solar wisdom, on the other hand, is horizontal, rather than vertical. This means that the local luminous influences that come from the sun are highly dependent on the position of the Sun with respect to Earth.

These influences correspond not to the real electromagnetic waves emanated by the sun, but to the virtual electromagnetic waves that pervade the universe. Though these waves are virtual, they nevertheless have the potential to manifest local cause-effect relations and to influence locally the spontaneous emissions and quantum fluctuations displayed by every atom and elementary particle in creation. The sonic influences have a similar potential—but unlike luminous influences, they are nonlocal, and therefore have little to do with relative position.

The Vedic seers referred to the virtual light of consciousness as transcendental light (param jyotih). Therefore, the science of jyotih (light) was called Jyotish (pertaining to the light)—Vedic astrology. As in the Western traditions of astrology, with the twelve signs of the zodiac, the Vedic seers divided the apparent circular path of the sun around Earth into twelve divisions, each consisting of 30 degrees. In Jyotish, these twelve divisions were called rashis, a Sanskrit term meaning a “collection of rays.” These represent the rays of virtual light that emanate from the so-called fixed stars—the stars and galaxies that are so distant from the earth that they appear to be fixed or unmoving. According to the seers, the rays coming from the distant universe carry different qualities depending upon the region from which they come. These qualities were symbolized by the signs associated with each rashi: the bull, the lion, and so forth. In this regard, the Greek and Vedic astrologers were largely in agreement: Both used the same signs or symbols for the twelve divisions. For example, in the Vedic tradition, the sign of Taurus was called Vrishabha (the bull) and the sign of Leo was called Simha (the lion).

Although the qualities of the rays coming from the distant universe were viewed as static or fixed, these could nevertheless be modified by the transit of a celestial body, such as the sun, through that sign. In this case, the virtual light associated with the sun would mix with the virtual light coming from the distant universe and therefore give rise to a new, qualified form of light. The same holds true for all the planets and celestial bodies within our solar system, but because the sun is the chief of the celestial bodies, its modifying effect upon the universal light was deemed exceedingly important. Unlike that of the planets, the modifying effect of the sun extends over the full range of the twelve universal shaktis, which, as we have seen, correspond to the first twelve luminous layers below the half measure. Although these layers are organized vertically on different space-time scales, they have an outer or horizontal representation in terms of the twelve rashis, or divisions of the zodiac.

THE PREDICTIVE NATURE OF THE SOLAR WISDOM

The Vedic seers used these correspondences to develop a profound predictive science. They held that all events on Earth are largely governed by the sonic and luminous influences coming from the various celestial bodies—including the Sun—in immediate proximity to Earth. These celestial bodies were viewed as the visible bodies of celestial gods.

Whereas the sonic influences are largely determined by the space-time scales on which the awareness of a given celestial god operates, the luminous influences are determined largely by the position of the celestial body during its transit through the twelve rashis. Because the sun represents the chief celestial god within our solar system, the predictive science was based largely upon the solar wisdom, which pertains to the twelve adityas above and their twelve shaktis below. We will soon see that this same wisdom can be used to make accurate predictions regarding the radius of the sun and the radius of the elementary particles that compose the body of the sun.

THE BIRTH OF RA

In the Egyptian tradition, the sun that shines in the sky was identified with Ra, the creator sun god. According to a prominent Egyptian creation myth, Ra—born of Nun, the unbounded watery abyss, the unbounded cosmic womb that exists on the scale of the half measure—was the first celestial god to be born at the beginning of creation.

The myth describing the birth of Ra uses two potent symbols corresponding to the luminous body of the sun and the sonic soul of the sun: the luminous mound or island that emerged from the watery abyss and the bennu bird (the Egyptian phoenix), which, prior to the emergence of the luminous mound, hovered over the watery abyss with no place to land.

When the luminous mound appeared, the bennu bird perched upon it, and then uttered a cry that gave rise to all that exists. This represents the union of heaven and earth, the union of the sonic layers above, which are endowed with nonlocal synthesizing power, and the luminous layers below, which are endowed with local analyzing power. Their union created a conscious material being—Ra, the celestial sun god.

THE INNER CIRCLE OF THE DUAT

In the Egyptian tradition, the inner circle of the sun was represented by the inner circle of the Duat. The hieroglyph used to represent this concept was that of a circle inside of which was a five-pointed star. The circle represents the celestial body of the sun, which resembles a luminous circle in the sky, and the five-pointed star represents the solar or stellar “person” that dwells within the circle.

The five appendages of the five-pointed star correspond to the five human appendages: the head, two arms, and two legs. Following this was the notion that the solar person dwelling within the solar body is similar to the human person dwelling within the human body. The Hermetic texts verbalized this by comparing a human being to a mortal god on earth and a god to an immortal man in the heavens.

THE TWELVE DIVISIONS OF THE DUAT

Yet the Egyptians possessed a deeper wisdom concerning the inner circle of the Duat: it had twelve inner divisions that correspond to the first twelve layers above the half measure, identified by the Vedic seers as the twelve adityas.

We find, therefore, that the Vedic and Egyptian seers agreed regarding the inner reality of the sun. Both viewed the inner circle of the sun or the inner circle of the Duat as having twelve inner divisions. Further, we should not ignore the fact that these twelve divisions are related to the circle of the sun. According to the ancient science of the gods, the universal gods determine their own celestial manifestations. By virtue of their nonlocal synthesizing power, they determine the cosmological wholes that are created from the microscopic parts of creation.

THE SOLAR RADIUS

The whole of the sun appears in the form of a sphere or circle whose characteristic measure is its radius. If the solar whole is determined by the twelve adityas—the first twelve layers above the half measure—then its radius should correspond to the characteristic scale of the twelfth layer above the half measure.

The universal rule of thumb provides an estimate of this scale as 10¹¹ centimeters. This leads to an accurate prediction regarding the radius of the sun, derived on the basis of the ancient science of the gods: According to modern astrophysics, the radius of our sun is indeed roughly 10¹¹ centimeters.

To reach this prediction, we need only rely upon the ancient science of the gods, which gives the sun a twelvefold inner nature. We can interpret these twelve inner aspects in terms of the first twelve layers above the half measure whose parameters have been set using a universal rule of thumb. Because the upper layers are dominated by synthesizing power, it follows that they should determine the size of the solar whole. This represents the spherical body of a single being—the celestial sun god, whose awareness serves to correlate nonlocally into a single whole all the microscopic parts of its body.

The methodology is simple, but the question remains: Why does it work? The fact is that there are many stars or suns in the galaxy with radii different from that of our own. Some are considerably larger than that of our sun and some are considerably smaller. Further, we do not know if these other stars possess solar systems that include a planet similar to our own—a planet upon which human life has evolved. All we know is that the solar system associated with our sun provides suitable conditions for the evolution of human life.

This goes back to our concept of a standard cosmological model. Because our sun represents a celestial god that has presided over the evolution of human life from the very beginning, it must share the same ideality possessed by the human being. This means that the dimensions of its celestial body, like the dimensions of the human body, must reflect the layered organization of the metaphysical Logos. Whereas the characteristic dimension of the human body corresponds to the digit, tied to the first layer above the half measure, the characteristic dimension of the solar body corresponds to its radius, tied to the twelfth layer above the half measure.

But why are there twelve layers? What is it that makes the twelvefold formulation of the sun ideal and scientific? To answer this question, we must invoke the principle “as above, so below.”

THE SOLAR-NUCLEAR CORRESPONDENCE

According to the principle “as above, so below,” there should be a correspondence between the twelfth layer above the half measure and the twelfth layer below. In the same way that the twelfth layer above determines the size of the solar whole, the twelfth layer below should determine the size of the solar parts—the material particles from which the solar body is composed.

No matter what their relative size, all stars or suns are composed of similar material particles. Modern theorists tell us that these consist primarily of hydrogen and helium nuclei, which have been stripped of their orbital electrons by the intense heat of the sun. Because these nuclear particles make the largest contribution by far to the total mass of a sun or star, they may be viewed as the characteristic particles or parts from which the solar body is fashioned. Like the solar whole, the solar parts may be viewed as having a spherical form so that we can express their characteristic measure as a radius. Just as the radius of the solar whole is determined by the characteristic scale of the twelfth layer above the half measure, so the radius of the solar parts should be determined by the characteristic scale of the twelfth layer below the half measure.

The universal rule of thumb suggests that this radius should be roughly 10^-12 centimeters. This leads to a prediction regarding the radius of the nuclear particles from which is composed the body of our sun or any star. Once again, it turns out that this prediction is accurate: Based upon careful quantum experiments and theoretical calculations, theorists have estimated the radius of the atomic nucleus to be about 10^-12 centimeters.

Therefore, we find that when interpreted properly, the ancient science of the gods can be used to predict accurately both the radius of the sun and the radius of the atomic nuclei from which the sun is composed. This demonstrates that solar wisdom is much more than just an abstract form of mystical wisdom; it represents a profound form of scientific knowledge regarding the organization of the Cosmos and its relation to the layered structure of the metaphysical Logos.

We are now in a better position to understand the standard cosmological body: it represents a celestial sphere that displays a balance between the synthetic and analytic powers of consciousness. This balance is manifested by the matched pairs of layers within the metaphysical Logos. In order to uphold this balance, the size of the whole above and the size of the parts below should correspond to matched pairs in the ancient system. All stars or suns possess similar-size solar parts, but they do not always possess the same radii. Stars that have radii different from that of our sun may be viewed as nonideal or nonstandard in the sense that they do not uphold the balance between part and whole or the analytic and synthetic powers of consciousness.

According to the ancients, this balance is required for the realization of spiritual immortality, which they deemed the ultimate purpose of creation. It is also required for the evolution of human life, the unique form of organic life that is suited most ideally for this realization.

A SIMILARITY IN FUNCTION

The correspondence between the sun and the atomic nucleus goes beyond the characteristic radius of each and also pertains to their behavior. Under ordinary conditions, electrons orbit around the nucleus. Similarly, planets orbit around the sun.

Just as the atomic nucleus serves as the nucleus of an atomic system, so the sun serves as the nucleus of our solar system. This analogy was not lost to the physicists who first began to study the behavior of atoms. The first atomic models compared an atom to a miniature solar system: the orbiting electrons were like orbiting planets and the nucleus was like the sun. Later, a more abstract model was developed involving quantum wave function—but the classical analogy is still taught in high schools all around the world.

This solar-nuclear correspondence presents a concrete example of the principle “as above, so below.” The behavior of the solar whole may not be exactly the same as the behavior of the solar parts, but the two behaviors correspond to one another.

THE SOLAR CUBIT

A star such as our sun may be viewed as a standard of cosmological measure, both literally and figuratively. Such stars serve as the celestial “rulers” on the basis of which evolves the standard human body.

The conscious awareness of a standard star, which is used to manipulate its environment, corresponds to the excitations of consciousness measured on the basis of the first 12 + 12 = 24 layers above and below the half measure. Similarly, the active part of the human body, which is used to manipulate its environment, corresponds to the portion of the arm extending from the crook of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger—measured on the basis of 12 + 12 = 24 digits.

The unit of measure consisting of twenty-four digits represents the human cubit, which was used by the ancients as an earthly standard of measure. The corresponding cosmological unit consisting of twenty-four layers represents the solar cubit, which can be used as a standard of measure in heaven. Both represent rulers that can be divided into two halves—half cubits—of twelve digits or twelve layers each. This illustrates the sacred nature of the ancient system of measure: The standard human cubit used to measure things on earth, corresponds to the standard solar cubit used to measure things in heaven.

THE SOLAR WORLD

The solar wisdom pertains not only to the spherical body of the sun, but also to the spherical body of the solar system as a whole. This may be understood as the solar world within which dwells the sun god.

In modern astrophysics, the solar world is called the heliosphere, which corresponds roughly to a spherical region of space filled with the material emanations of the sun. These emanations characterize the solar wind, which consists of high-energy, charged particles emitted by the sun. The solar wind is used by modern theorists to define the heliosphere—a roughly spherical region of space that extends beyond the orbit of Pluto and is filled with the solar wind.

The surface of the heliosphere defines the boundary of our solar system. More specifically, it is used to define the boundary between the vacuum of interplanetary space and that of interstellar space: the heliopause, which is so named because it represents the surface of the heliosphere on which the solar wind stops or pauses. This marks the point where interplanetary space—filled with the solar wind—comes to an end and where interstellar space—more or less devoid of the solar winds—has its beginning.

In this sense, the surface of the heliosphere marks an important transition between two different types of cosmological vacuum states, each of which differs with respect to its particle density.

THE SIXTEENFOLD PERSON

In the Vedic tradition, the heliosphere was viewed as the celestial embodiment of a sixteenfold person: the sodashi-kala-purusha (the soul with sixteen aspects). This person represents the more expanded self of the sun, which extends to embrace the entire solar world. In this regard, the heliosphere may be viewed as the celestial body of the sixteenfold solar person.

Like the twelvefold person in the sun, this sixteenfold person was viewed as a celestial god who from the very beginning has presided over the evolution of human life. This implies that the body of the heliosphere, like the body of the sun, should represent a standard cosmological body whose overall dimensions are related more or less ideally to the layers of the metaphysical Logos.

The sixteen aspects of this expanded solar person correspond to the first sixteen layers above the half measure—which the Vedic seers divided into four sets of four layers each. These were called the four quarters (padas) of the sixteenfold purusha. The famous “hymn to the soul” (purusha sukta) in the Rig Veda tells us that three of these quarters attained great immortality, while the other quarter is cyclical and remained behind to support the birth and death of all mortal beings. The three quarters that attained great immortality correspond to the first twelve layers above the half measure, which support the inner circle of the sun itself, and the quarter that remained behind corresponds to the subsequent four layers, which support the cyclical orbits of the planets around the sun. As described by the text, these planets serve to support the birth and death of all mortal beings.

THE RADIUS OF THE HELIOSPHERE

The ancient wisdom suggests that the body of the heliosphere was created in the image of the first 12 + 4 = 16 layers above the half measure. Just as the radius of the sun is determined by the scale of the twelfth layer above the half measure, so the radius of the heliosphere can be determined by the scale of the sixteenth layer above the half measure.

The ancient universal rule of thumb gives this scale as about 10¹⁵ centimeters—which leads to a prediction regarding the radius of the heliosphere, derived on the basis of the ancient principles. The modern theoretical prediction, derived from careful observation and calculation, is that the radius of the heliosphere is indeed roughly 10¹⁵ centimeters. This provides yet another confirmation of the scientific nature of the solar wisdom.

THE SCALE OF ELECTRO-WEAK UNIFICATION

If the heliosphere represents a standard cosmological body, then it should embody a balance between the synthetic and analytic powers of consciousness. Unlike the sun itself, in which the balance is expressed in terms of the first twelve layers above and below, the balance that upholds the heliosphere should be expressed in terms of the first sixteen layers above and below.

We have seen that the scale of the sixteenth layer above marks an important transition between two different cosmological vacuum states. The principle “as above, so below” suggests that the scale of the sixteenth layer below should mark an important transition between two different quantum vacuum states. Because the sun acts as the primary source of visible light within the solar system, we can propose that this lower transition scale should have something to do with the electromagnetic vacuum, which acts as the source of all visible light in the universe. The universal rule of thumb suggests that this quantum transition scale should be about 10^-16 centimeters. Is there any indication in modern theory that this represents a fundamental transition scale in the quantum vacuum?

In fact, there is. It turns out that 10^-16 centimeters is one of the most important scales in the Standard Model of quantum theory: the scale of electro-weak unification in which the electromagnetic force field becomes indistinguishable from, and hence unified with, the weak force field. On this scale, ordinary electromagnetic waves are transformed into electro-weak waves and the electromagnetic vacuum is transformed into the electro-weak vacuum.

This confirms our hypothesis: Just as the scale of 10¹⁵ centimeters marks the boundary between two different cosmological vacuum states, so the scale of 10^-16 centimeters marks the boundary between two different quantum vacuum states—in accordance with the principle “as above, so below.”

THE UPPER AND LOWER SCALES AS UNIFICATION SCALES

The solar wisdom specifies two important scales below the half measure corresponding to 10^-12 centimeters and 10^-16 centimeters. We may view both of these as particle unification scales—but they pertain to particles of matter and force respectively.

We may view the scale of 10^-12 centimeters as the scale of nuclear unification in which protons and neutrons (both of which are matter particles) are unified in the form of a single atomic nucleus. The scale of 10^-16 centimeters, on the other hand, is the scale of electro-weak unification in which electromagnetic and weak particles (both of which are force particles) are unified in the form of a single electro-weak particle. We can view the upper scales as unification scales, but instead of giving rise to microscopic particles, they give rise to cosmological wholes represented by the sun and the heliosphere. On the scale of 10¹¹ centimeters, all the particles from which the sun is composed are correlated nonlocally into a single whole: the sun. On the scale of 10¹⁵ centimeters, all the particles from which the heliosphere is composed are similarly correlated nonlocally into a single whole: the heliosphere.

The difference between the two types of unification above and below is that the lower scales are dominated by the local analytic power of consciousness, which gives rise to the conception of microscopic parts, while the upper scales are dominated by the nonlocal synthesizing power of consciousness, which gives rise to the conception of macroscopic wholes. Yet both involve a form of unification.

SPIRITUAL WISDOM AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

We are beginning to see that the ancient wisdoms are much more than they appear to be. Though they are expressed using arcane symbols and religious terms unique to each culture that gave rise to them, they were rooted in a genuine scientific understanding of the universe on the basis of which we can make accurate empirical predictions.

The key to a scientific interpretation of these ancient wisdoms lies in the system of matched pairs with parameters established by the universal rule of thumb. This allows the ancient wisdoms to be expressed in the language of mathematics, the universal language of science. Without this system we would be totally lost, like sojourners lost in a bewildering forest without a map. This explains precisely why the ancients developed this system: to provide a map for the soul seeking knowledge about the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

In ancient times, this map was given to aspiring souls as they needed it. Though today, we can evaluate and understand the teachings of the seers in the light of modern science, in ancient times, such science did not exist. As a result, common men and women had no idea what the enlightened seers espoused; the seers’ teachings were as foreign to the common person then as abstract algebraic formulas of quantum theory are to the common person today. Rather than create confusion in the minds of the common people, the seers kept secret their real science and instead taught colorful myths and stories that commoners could grasp, even if only symbolically. Since these early times, however, the human mind has matured in its analytic capabilities.

Though we may not be enlightened to the point of experiencing directly and intuitively the cosmic realities the seers believed, we at least have a well-developed system of empirical knowledge. On this basis, we can tie the seers’ spiritual concepts to scientific concepts and thereby gain some understanding of the ancient wisdom. Here, rather than creating anything new, we have translated the ancient spiritual wisdoms into modern scientific language—the language of mathematics. We can follow in the footsteps of the ancient seers as they traversed the path to immortality so that we can translate their spiritual wisdom into a form of scientific wisdom.

Yet our journey has just begun. As the enlightened soul ascends and descends through the first sixteen layers above and below the half measure, it communes with the solar being and its solar world—but it does not stop there. It continues on its journey until it communes with the galactic being and its galactic world. The knowledge derived on that basis may be called the galactic wisdom.