Creating the Soul Body

The space cells referred to in this passage are none other than the crystallographic cells of the transcendental superlattice. Each such cell may be compared to a jar that contains a conscious cosmic self—the Creator of the cosmic egg located at the center of the cell.”

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM OF THE IMPERISHABLE BODY

Like the human body, the imperishable body also has a circulatory system. It is pervaded by flowing streams of the imperishable substance of pure consciousness, which constitutes the amrita rasa, the immortal blood of God.

Fig. 12.2. The thirteen symmetry axes of the superlattice

These streams are organized not in a random manner, but in terms of the rotational symmetry axes of the superlattice, which correspond to the thirteen rotational symmetry axes of a cube. According to modern crystallography, these axes are organized into three groups: the cubic, rhombic, and octahedral axes.

The terms cubic, rhombic, and octahedral come from the fact that the three sets of axes may be viewed as connecting the six faces of a cube, the twelve faces of a rhombic dodecahedron, and the eight faces of a regular octahedron, respectively. From the perspective of the cosmic soul located at the center of the cube, these thirteen axes appear as twenty-six rays serving to connect the central egg to the twenty-six other eggs on the surface. Each such ray upholds a circulatory stream of immortal blood, which circulates around the ray as it flows between the cosmic eggs.

The circulatory streams of immortal blood may be compared to cosmic whirlpools or cosmic vortices within the imperishable fluid of pure consciousness. These vortices have a biconical form: As they diverge from one cosmic egg, they expand in radius, and as they converge onto another, they contract in radius, as illustrated from the side.

Because of their biconical forms, the Vedic seers referred to the whirlpools of consciousness using the technical term parna, which means “petal,” “leaf,” or “feather.” In accordance to these meanings, the whirlpools were compared variously to the petals of a cosmic lotus, the leaves of a cosmic tree, and the feathers of a cosmic bird.

Fig. 12.3. A biconical whirlpool of consciousness

THE LOTUS CUBE

One of the most prominent conceptions of the Supreme Being in the Vedic tradition was that of Vishnu, meaning “all-pervading.” According to the Vedic creation myth, in his archetypal form as pundarika-aksha, Vishnu grew a cosmic lotus from his navel. From the center of that lotus the Creator (Brahma) was born. For this reason, the Creator was often called Padma-bhavam (Lotus-born). The same notion can be found in the Egyptian tradition in which it was also said that the Creator was born from a cosmic lotus.

The term pundarika-aksha is often translated as the “lotus eye” of the Supreme Being—but it also means “lotus (pundarika) cube (aksha),” referring to the archetypal form of the all-pervading Being cognized on the scale of the fortieth layer above the half measure. This immortal archetype not only has the form of a cube, but also has the form of a fully blossomed cosmic lotus, consisting of twenty-six parnas (cosmic whirlpools) enclosed within the cube. In the Vedic tradition, the immortal archetype was viewed as having the form of a divine lotus cube.

The importance of this archetype within the Vedic tradition cannot be overemphasized. When an individual is initiated into the practice of meditation designed to deliver the awareness to the state of pure consciousness, a sacred verse is recited traditionally at the beginning of the initiation ceremony: “Whether purity or impurity is pervading everywhere, whoever remembers the lotus cube obtains both inner and outer purity.”

This remembrance marks the culmination of the evolutionary process. Once the soul has ascended through the thirty-nine layers that represent its evolutionary course and has broken through the outermost shell of the cosmic egg, it then “remembers” the divine lotus cube as the archetypal form of its own eternal and all-pervading self. This is the Great Sacred Seal, the mark of immortality impressed upon the soul when it becomes established in the fortieth layer. At that point, the soul realizes that the archetypal form is all-pervading—it fills the entire evolutionary course of the soul through all thirty-nine layers. This means that every imperishable point value of consciousness in every layer of the metaphysical Logos, no matter what its scale, ultimately reflects the archetypal image of the fortieth layer, the divine lotus cube. On the scale of the fortieth layer, however, that archetypal image assumes an immortal living form: the form of a living cell in the imperishable body of the Supreme Being.

According to tradition, the cosmic lotus has twenty-six aspects. The two cosmic whirlpools that lie along the main axis of vision were called the stem and stamen, and the other twenty-four whirlpools, which lie obliquely to the main axis, were called the twenty-four petals. The cosmic lotus was assigned creative potential: The circulating streams of all twenty-six whirlpools wrap around the cosmic egg like the coils of an enclosing serpent, and these enclosing coils serve to churn out the created form of the universe, much as curds are churned from milk.

As a result, all created forms of existence within the universe display forms of rotation or spin. The stars rotate around the center of the galaxy, the planets rotate around the stars, electrons rotate around the atomic nucleus, and every individual elementary particle spins on its own axis. All of these created forms of rotational motion have their ultimate basis in the twenty-six rotational streams of consciousness that wrap around the cosmic egg and stir the field of cosmic intelligence that lies within. Therefore, the unborn Creator can be said to have twenty-six rotational aspects.

We can find support for this in the tradition of kabbalah in which the deity identified with the outermost shell of the cosmic egg (the shell of cosmic intelligence) was known as YHVH (Jehovah), the unborn Creator. According to the ancient system gematria, the Hebrew letters can be assigned numerical meanings so that Hebrew words have an alternate interpretation as numerical formulas. In this way, the four-lettered name of God (YHVH) is assigned a secret number, which, Hebrew scholars tell us, is the number twenty-six. This is representative of the twenty-six rotational aspects of the unborn Creator, which serve to churn the created universe from the field of pure consciousness, the perishable from the imperishable.

TONGUES OF FIRE

We may compare each crystallographic cell in the imperishable body to a habitation of God or a habitation of the immortal soul. These habitations are connected to each other by the circulatory streams of consciousness, which resemble cosmic whirlpools. Like ordinary bathtub whirlpools or tornadoes, these cosmic whirlpools have a hollow center, which is why the Vedic seers compared them to hollow reeds through which the immortal soul could travel from one cosmic habitation to another.

This description was related particularly to Agni, the personification of cosmic fire whose womb was likened to a parna (petal) of the cosmic lotus. In this case, the hollow inside the whirlpool was compared to the hollow of a womb from which Agni was born, the cosmic fire that assumes the form of the cosmic egg.

As the wombs of Agni, the petals of the cosmic lotus were often compared to so many tongues of fire emanated by the fiery form of the cosmic egg. By entering into these tongues of fire, the immortal soul can travel from one crystalline habitation to another within the imperishable body of God. This Vedic metaphor is reflected in the apocryphal Book of Enoch. According to Genesis, the biblical patriarch Enoch, who was the son of Jared and a direct descendant of Adam and Eve, was assigned a unique destiny: It is said that he lived for 365 years (the same number as the number of days in a solar year), and then “was seen no more, because God had taken him away.” This implies that Enoch ascended beyond this world into the other immortal world.

The doctrine regarding the ascension of Enoch is presented in the Book of Enoch, which is part of the pseudographia of the Hebrew scriptures. The author, who claims to be Enoch himself, describes his ascent to heaven:

Winds in the vision assisted my flight, accelerating my progress. They elevated me aloft to heaven. I proceeded, until I arrived at a wall built of crystal, surrounded by tongues of fire. . . . I entered into the tongue of fire and drew nigh to a vast habitation built of crystal. Its walls too, as well as its pavement, were formed of crystal, and crystal likewise was the ground. . . . And I looked and saw therein a lofty Throne: its appearance was as crystal.4

The “vast habitation” described here is none other than the crystalline habitation of God—the cosmic cube—that is but one cell in the infinite and immortal body of God. The “tongues of fire” correspond to the whirlwinds of cosmic fire that constitute the petals of the cosmic lotus enclosed inside the cube. By entering into a tongue of fire, the soul can travel from one cosmic egg to another. At the end of its journey, it spirals automatically onto the center of a lotus cube, which serves as the throne of God within the crystalline habitation. In the Book of Enoch, both the habitation and the throne are described as crystalline because they are part and parcel of the crystalline body of Logos, the imperishable body of God that is cognized on the scale of the fortieth layer above the half measure.

THE MYTH OF THE RISEN PHOENIX

One of the most prominent of the ancient immortality myths, a story that can be found throughout the old world, from India to Egypt, is the myth of the risen phoenix. According to this myth, the phoenix is a divine bird, which has initially a mortal body. In order to attain immortality, it must offer its body to the sacred fire so that it is reduced to ashes. Yet from those ashes a new immortal body is resurrected. Once the phoenix attains this new body, it then stretches its wings and flies above into the immortal realms.

In effect, the phoenix represents the ascending soul whose mortal body corresponds to the created body of the universe. In the process of ascending through the seven shells, the mortal vestige of the soul is offered to the fire of universal destruction and is reduced to ashes. When the soul finally hatches from the cosmic egg by breaking through the egg’s outermost shell, the ashes of the dissolved universe are infused with imperishability and a new immortal body—an imperishable body of Logos—is obtained.

The archetypal form of the immortal body is none other than the divine lotus cube, which is fashioned from twenty-seven cosmic eggs linked together by imperishable whirlwinds of cosmic fire. These may be compared to the outstretched feathers (parnas) of the risen phoenix, which ascends on wings of fire. In the Vedic tradition, the phoenix was thus called suparna, the bird with “beautiful feathers.”

The feathers of the risen phoenix correspond to the feathers of the Egyptian goddess Maat, the personification of truth, justice, and harmony. In this comparison, we can understand as a measurement ceremony the final judgment scene, which takes place in the Hall of Two Truths. In this interpretation, the heart of the aspirant represents a measure of the cosmic egg itself, while the feather of Maat represents a measure of the relation among cosmic eggs, which is upheld by an immortal feather (parna). If the awareness of the soul can span only the outermost dimensions of the cosmic egg so that its mortal heart outweighs the immortal feather, then the soul is rejected. Yet if it can span both the cosmic egg and the relation among cosmic eggs, then it is accepted—because it has developed the ability to conceive the relations on the basis of which the immortal body is conceived. Those relations were represented symbolically by the immortal feathers (parnas) of Maat.

Metaphorically, the risen phoenix ascends into the immortal realms by stretching its feathers to embrace ever-larger forms of the divine lotus cube, which are stacked one inside the other like an infinite series of concentric Chinese boxes. As the phoenix ascends, the cosmic eggs from which the cubes are composed appear to become smaller and smaller, until they eventually resemble infinitesimal points. Just as an ordinary crystal composed of discrete atoms appears continuous when viewed from a macroscopic perspective, so the crystalline body of God composed of cosmic eggs (or cosmic atoms) appears to assume an increasingly continuous character when viewed from increasingly large, transfinite scales of consciousness. Eventually, the discrete crystalline structure of consciousness, which represents the imperishable body of God, assumes the appearance of the infinite continuum of consciousness, which represents the immortal self of God.

THE ETERNAL FIG TREE

In accordance with the interpretation of a parna as a leaf, the Vedic seers compared the infinite crystalline lattice of cosmic eggs to an eternal fig tree known as the Ashvattha. This is actually the name of a certain type of tree that grows on the Indian subcontinent and whose wood was often used to kindle sacrificial fires.

In this way, the cosmic eggs are compared to the fruits of the tree, or figs, because a fig is spherical and contains many spherical seeds. Similarly, the spherical cosmic egg contains many universal, galactic, and solar spheres, each of which represent the embodiment of a celestial being capable of growing to become the very embodiment of the divine tree itself.

In the fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, the eternal Ashvattha tree is described as the living embodiment of the Veda (or Logos):

They say the eternal Ashvattha tree has its root above and its branch below, such that its leaves (parnani) are the (Vedic) hymns. He who knows this is a knower of the Veda. Its form is not perceptible here in this world, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its staying. This Ashvattha tree, with its well-grown root, should be cut by the strong ax of nonattachment. Then that place is to be sought, from which having gone, they do not return, saying, “In that primordial soul I take refuge, from whence the primeval activity anciently streamed forth.”

In this cosmic metaphor, the crystalline layers of the metaphysical Logos are compared to the branches of an eternal tree. These support the fruits of the tree, which correspond to the cosmic eggs, and the leaves of the tree, which correspond to the cosmic whirlwinds that connect the eggs. These leaves are compared specifically to the Vedic hymns or Vedic texts. In this regard, the ancient seers placed a great deal of importance on the organization of the Vedic literature into different sets of texts. In a series of lectures given to several thousand Vedic pandits during the 1980s, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi outlined this ancient organization as involving 26 + 1 = 27 different types of texts. First he showed that twenty-six types of texts are organized in pairs:

ORGANIZATION OF VEDIC TEXTS
Primary Texts	Subordinate Texts
Four Vedas	Four Upavedas
Upanishads, Aranyakas, Brahmanas	Itihasas, Puranas, Smritis
Six Vedangas	Six Upangas

It turns out that the twenty-six cosmic whirlwinds, which correspond to the leaves of the eternal tree, are also organized in pairs along each of the thirteen symmetry axes. The thirteen axes in turn are organized into three groups, which correspond to the four octahedral axes, the three cubic axes, and the six rhombic axes. We find, therefore, that there is a direct correspondence between the 8 + 6 + 12 = 26 sets of Vedic texts and the 8 + 6 + 12 = 26 whirlwinds.

Maharishi, however, pointed out that there is an additional twenty-seventh set of texts, which stands alone (26 + 1). These texts are called the pratishakhyas, and they deal with the science of pronunciation within the mouth. This twenty-seventh aspect of the Vedic literature corresponds to the cosmic egg at the center of the cube whose outermost shell may be compared to the mouth of the unborn Creator. It is there that all twenty-six aspects of divine speech are pronounced, thus giving rise to the appearance of creation, which is literally spoken into existence. The idea that the leaves of the divine tree correspond to the hymns of the Veda or to the various sets of Vedic texts is therefore quite precise.

After establishing the correspondence between the leaves of the tree and the Vedic texts, the passage then exhorts the soul to cut the root of the eternal tree with the “strong ax of nonattachment,” and to seek that place from which there is no return. If the eternal tree is likened to the Veda, then this amounts to seeking the “end of the Veda,” otherwise known as Vedanta. To be admitted into the immortal realms, the soul must first sever its attachment to the fruit of the tree, which corresponds to the cosmic egg from which it has hatched. Yet it still remains attached to the root of the tree, which exists above. This well-grown root is none other than the imperishable crystalline body of Logos cognized above and beyond the scale of the thirty-ninth layer.

In order to transcend the discrete crystalline structure of consciousness and realize the infinite continuum of the self, the well-grown root of the tree must be severed by the “strong ax of nonattachment.” This is accomplished by ascending beyond the fortieth layer into the higher immortal realms. In doing so, the distinction between the crystalline body of Logos and the infinite continuum of the self is eventually obliterated.

THE UNOBSTRUCTED BEING AND HIS FOUR IMMORTAL STATES

In the Vedic literature, the crystalline lattice of universes was viewed as the imperishable body of Viraj, the supreme ruler of all the cosmic eggs and their contents. Viraj was also known as Annirudha, the Unobstructed Being, because his vision of the crystalline body of Logos does not obstruct his vision of the infinite continuum of the self.

The awareness of the Unobstructed Being is established on the scale of the forty-third layer above the half measure, the scale of the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent Godhead that rules all of the cosmic eggs and their contents. That supreme Godhead is the supreme self of all beings—whether mortal or immortal. According to the Vedic Upanishads, the supreme self has four immortal states of consciousness, which were compared to the waking, dreaming, sleeping, and transcendental states of human consciousness. Yet unlike human states of consciousness, the immortal states are not cyclical. Instead, they pertain to different scales of consciousness within the immortal realms. More specifically, they pertain to the scales of consciousness associated with the fortieth, forty-first, forty-second, and forty-third layers above the half measure.

In this way, the fortieth layer was viewed as the immortal waking state from which can be seen the crystalline organization of cosmic eggs. In the human waking state, the awareness of the human being is identified with his or her own physical body. Similarly, in the immortal waking state, the awareness of the Supreme Being is identified with its own metaphysical body—the crystalline body of Logos.

The forty-first layer was viewed as the immortal dreaming state. On this scale, the concrete form of the crystalline body ceases to dominate awareness. What dominates instead are glorious and radiant forms of transcendental light that uphold the immortal dream world of the self. In the human dreaming state, we tend to imagine various dreamlike forms and phenomena, which are not part of our waking world. Similarly, in the immortal dreaming state, the Supreme Being imagines various dreamlike forms and phenomena, which are not part of its waking world.

The forty-second layer was viewed as the immortal sleeping state. This was described as a “mass of consciousness” filled with abstract forms of preknowledge (prajna). The following addresses the immortal sleep state of the self:

The deep sleep state is that where the sleeper does not desire any enjoyable thing and does not see any dream. The third state [of the self] is called prajna [preknowledge], who has deep sleep as his sphere, in whom everything becomes undifferentiated, who is a mass of pure consciousness, who abounds in [abstract] bliss, who is surely an enjoyer of bliss, and who is the doorway to the experience [of waking and dreaming]. This one is the Lord of all. This one is Omniscient. This one is the inner Director of all. This one is the Source of all. This one is verily the place of origin and dissolution of all beings.5

Clearly, this passage is referring to the immortal sleep state of the Supreme Being, rather than the mortal sleep state of a human being. Unlike the human sleep state, which is experienced as a state of unconsciousness, the immortal sleep state is experienced as a “mass of pure consciousness” filled with forms of preknowledge (prajna). This pre-knowledge represents a form of omniscience, which ultimately determines the destiny of all things—including the destiny of all souls. All created souls begin and end on this scale of consciousness. As such, the immortal sleep state was described as “the place of origin and dissolution of all beings.”

The forty-third layer transcends all such notions of creation and dissolution. It represents the transcendental state of immortal consciousness. The Vedic texts describe that fourth state:

They consider the Fourth to be that which is not conscious of the internal (dreaming) world, nor conscious of the external [waking] world, nor conscious of both worlds, nor a mass of consciousness [as in the sleeping state]. It is neither consciousness, nor unconsciousness. It is that which is unseen, beyond the empirical, beyond the grasp [of reason], uninferrable, unthinkable, and indescribable, whose valid proof consists in the single intuition of the Self, in which all phenomena cease. It is that which is unchanging, auspicious, and nondual. That is the Self, and that is to be known.6

The fourth state of immortal consciousness realized on the scale of the forty-third layer represents the goal toward which tends the entire path of immortality, for it represents the state of all perfection in which the soul becomes identified fully with the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent ruler of all the worlds. When the soul ascends to the forty-third layer, it therefore obtains unobstructed knowledge, power, and presence regarding the entire spectrum of layers. It becomes identified with the very self of the Unobstructed Being.

We can then say that the path of immortality consists of the first forty-two steps on the divine ladder, while the transcendental goal of the path corresponds to the final forty-third step in which the soul becomes finally identified with the very self of the Supreme Being. That supreme forty-third layer represents the absolute form of God who stands at the top of the divine ladder. It marks the end of the way of ways, the end of the path of immortality, and the end of the Veda. Upon ascending to that layer, the well-grown root of the eternal tree is severed automatically by the strong ax of nonattachment. The soul then takes refuge in that primordial soul from whom the primeval activity streamed forth anciently.

Having reached the goal of the path, such souls do not return. They become immune to the cycles of creation and dissolution that plague all lesser souls still on the path.

THE FORTY-THREEFOLD VEDIC WISDOM

From a Vedic perspective, the immortal wisdom can be summed up by the mathematical formula 42 + 1 = 43. This is presented in the esoteric doctrine called shri vidya, the “glorious wisdom,” which is considered the most authoritative of all the ancient Vedic wisdoms.

In this doctrine, the Veda or metaphysical Logos is conceived as the divine body of para shakti (the supreme mother), who is also known as the mother of the Veda (veda-janini). The doctrine revolves around the study of an esoteric diagram called the shri yantra (the glorious diagram), considered the king of all esoteric diagrams and consisting of these geometric elements:

Fig. 12.4. The shri yantra

An enclosing square called the bhu-pura (the enclosure of existence)
Twenty-four lotus petals
Nine large triangles
Forty-three smaller triangles, which are generated by the intersections of the nine large triangles
A single point (bindu) placed at the center of the central forty-third triangle

First, we note that the entire diagram is enclosed in a square. This is a two-dimensional representation of the cosmic cube that serves as the immortal archetype of the Supreme Being. When this cube is viewed along its main axis, the axis of vision, it appears to enclose a cosmic lotus consisting of twenty-four oblique petals. As we have seen, the lotus cube represents an eternal archetype inherent in each layer. Yet each layer is tenfold, consisting of ten harmonic states of consciousness. According to the Vedic seers, the tenth (or largest) state in each layer represents the self of that layer. This is reflected by the great saying (mahavakya), “Thou art the tenth.” It is only when the tenth state is realized that the archetypal form of the self, which has the form of a lotus cube, is realized or remembered.

The nine states that lead up to this tenth realization are represented diagrammatically by the nine large triangles enclosed within the lotus cube. These nine states are represented by triangles, because they contain states of pure knowledge involving the unity of three elements: knower, process of knowing, and known. Threefold forms of pure geometry (triangles) were used to represent the threefold states of pure knowledge that lead up to the realization of the tenth state, which has the overall form of a cube.

Yet the diagram pertains to not only the archetypal structure of each layer, but also the overall spectrum of layers. As we have discovered, the type of knowledge possessed by an enlightened soul is holographic. No matter what its operational scale, the enlightened soul has the potential to grasp and envision the whole, at least in principle. This means that the knowledge regarding the entire spectrum of layers is encoded in the archetypal structure of every layer. In the shri yantra, the overall spectrum of 42 + 1 = 43 layers is represented symbolically by the 42 + 1 = 43 smaller triangles generated by the intersections of the nine larger triangles. More specifically, the forty-two outer triangles represent the path of immortality, and the central forty-third triangle represents the goal of the path. As such, the central triangle was known as the sarva-siddhi-pradha, the “bestower of all perfection.” It represents the forty-third layer of pure knowledge in which the soul becomes identified with the self of the Supreme Being and attains all perfection.

The central point (bindu) at the center of the forty-third triangle represents the pointlike reality of the soul, which is contained within and is ultimately nondifferent from the infinite reality of the self. It is from the point value of consciousness that the infinite value of consciousness becomes known.

The shri yantra thus provides a multidimensional symbol that encodes a wealth of information regarding the forty-twofold path of immortality, the archetypal forms of pure knowledge experienced at each stage on the path, and the final forty-third stage, which represents the goal of the path. It presents a concrete geometric embodiment of the mystical formula 42 + 1 = 43. Yet this formula was not unique to the Vedic tradition. The Egyptian and Hebrew sages used the same mystical formula to encode their own versions of the immortal wisdom.

THE FORTY-THREEFOLD EGYPTIAN WISDOM

As we have seen, in the Egyptian tradition, the immortal wisdom was mapped out by the divisions of the land—the land of Egypt itself was an image of heaven and represented the transcendental ground on which the forty-two layers were conceived. The forty-two nomes therefore constituted the path of immortality. In this sense, the land of Egypt as a whole represents the supreme forty-third layer, the transcendental kingdom of God, which contains the other forty-two lesser kingdoms.

As we have seen, these lesser kingdoms were presided over by the forty-two nomarchs, who were viewed as embodiments of the gods. The land of Egypt as a whole was presided over by the pharaoh, who was viewed as the embodiment of God, the Supreme Being. In this way, the Egyptians strove to create a kingdom of heaven on earth, in accordance with their understanding of the 42 + 1 = 43 layers of the metaphysical Logos.

This understanding was also reflected in the final judgment scene depicted in the Book of Coming Forth by Day, referred to by modern scholars as the Egyptian Book of the Dead: The heart of the aspirant is weighed against the feather of Maat in the presence of forty-two spiritual judges presided over by Osiris, who represents simultaneously the supreme forty-third judge, and the Lord of Immortality. Immediately prior to the final judgment, the soul must make the forty-two negative confessions by professing its innocence before the forty-two judges. Once all judges are satisfied with the soul’s innocence, the heart of the aspirant is weighed and Osiris pronounces his final judgment. This reflects the notion that when the soul ascends to the fortieth layer and enters into the Hall of Two Truths, it comes face to face with all forty-two aspects of the Supreme Being as well as the Supreme Being itself in a type of holographic vision, and is then judged by them all. These forty-three beings constitute collectively the Grail family—the family of the self.

In some Egyptian traditions, the Supreme Being was represented by Thoth, the Egyptian wisdom god. Whereas the rulers of Egypt strove to follow in the footsteps of Osiris, who was viewed as the all-powerful form of God, the priests strove to follow in the footsteps of Thoth, who was viewed as the all-knowing form of God. There was an ancient Egyptian myth that Thoth had composed a set of forty-two secret books containing the knowledge of everything in heaven and earth, but no such books have ever been found. The truth is that the books of Thoth are written in consciousness, and can be “read” only by the soul as it ascends through the forty-two layers that constitute the path of immortality. They represent the forty-two forms of pure knowledge experienced on the basis of the forty-two layers. When the soul ascends to the supreme forty-third layer, it becomes identified with Thoth himself.

We find, then, that the Egyptian seers, like the Vedic seers, conceived the metaphysical spectrum as consisting of 42 + 1 = 43 layers, and sought to copy or model that metaphysical reality by mapping it out on the land and reflecting it in their central myths. The immortal wisdom is not the province of any one culture or religion; it represents a truly universal form of wisdom inherent in every human soul, and it unfolds gradually in ever-greater clarity as the soul ascends the stairway to the sky.

THE FORTY-THREEFOLD HEBREW WISDOM

In the system of kabbalah, the Hebrew sages possessed the same forty-threefold wisdom: There are a total of 42 + 1 = 43 sephirothic emanations, which correspond to the first forty-three layers above the half measure. The first forty layers were viewed as providing the archetypal basis for the creation of the universe, but beyond these, the Hebrew sages counted three additional layers, known as the ain-soph-aur.

The highest or forty-third layer was called the ain, the Supreme Godhead, from which the other forty-two emanated. As in the Vedic tradition, the Supreme Godhead was viewed as the transcendental basis for an uncountable number of universes. The ain, inconceivable and indescribable, corresponds to the fourth or transcendental state of immortal consciousness. The forty-second layer, the soph, represents the omniscient form of the Supreme Godhead, which is filled with infinite wisdom (sophia), or preknowledge (prajna). It corresponds to the sleeping state of immortal consciousness. The forty-first layer, the aur, is the self-luminous form of the Supreme Godhead, the aura of God characterized by transcendental light. It corresponds to the dreaming state of immortal consciousness. These three higher aspects of the Supreme Godhead preside over the lower aspect, represented by the fortieth layer, wherein are seen the immortal archetype and crystalline body of Logos. The fortieth layer thus corresponds to the waking state of immortal consciousness.

The Hebrew sages were therefore in agreement with both the Vedic and Egyptian sages regarding the overall forty-threefold organization of the spectrum. Although this knowledge was made most explicit in the tradition of kabbalah, it was embodied in other forms of Hebrew wisdom as well.

THE UNIQUE DIVINE NAME

In the Hebrew tradition, a great deal of emphasis is placed upon the name of God. Although this name is represented most commonly by the four-lettered name YHVH (Jehovah), the tetragammon, the rabbinical texts tell us that this is but the condensation of an earlier name of God, called the unique divine name, which consisted of forty-two letters. Although the exact spelling of this name has been lost, early commentators believed that it was encoded originally by the first forty-two letters of Genesis.

The Talmud makes clear that this unique name was entrusted not to all, but only to those worthy to receive it: “The forty-two-lettered Name is entrusted only to him who is pious, meek, middle-aged, free from bad temper, sober, and not insistent on his rights. And he who knows it, is heedful thereof, and observes it in purity, is beloved above and popular below, feared by man, and inherits the two worlds, this world and the future world.”7

The Zohar also discusses this name: The forty-two letters are described as the “ornamentation” of the Holy Name; the entire name represents the whole and the forty-two letters represent its parts: “And the earth was void and without form. This describes the original state, as it were, the dregs of ink clinging to the point of the pen in which there was no subsistence, until the world was graven with forty-two letters, all of which are the ornamentation of the Holy Name.”8

There are other passages in the Zohar that suggest that the letters of the name are much more than just letters; they are assigned creative power, both in the upper world of unification (synthesis) and the lower world of division (analysis). Moreover, they are described as the supernal mystical principle by which the upper and lower worlds were created.

“The counsel,” he said, “alludes to the sublime mystical knowledge which remains hidden and undisclosed save for those that fear the Lord continuously and thus prove themselves worthy of these secrets and able to keep them. Observe that the world has been made and established by an engraving of forty-two letters, all of which are the adornment of the Divine Name. These letters combined and soared aloft and dived downwards, forming themselves into crowns in the four directions of the world, so that it might endure. They then went forth and created the upper world and the lower, the world of unification and the world of division. . . . These forty-two letters thus constitute the supernal mystical principle; by them were created the upper and the lower worlds, and they indeed constitute the basis and recondite significance of all the worlds.”9

If the first forty-two layers above and below correspond to these forty-two letters, then the supreme forty-third layer represents the ain, the supreme Godhead that embodies the name as a whole. In this way, the ain may be viewed as the cosmic speaker to whom the name refers, while the forty-two letters represent the forms of divine speech that lead up to the realization of the name and identification with the cosmic speaker. This presents another version of the 42 + 1 = 43 immortal wisdom, expressed in terms of the unique divine name.

THE STAGES OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL

Yet another version of the same wisdom can be found in the Hebrew scriptures, where it is presented in the form of a historical-spiritual allegory. Many believe that the central, defining story for the historical Jewish tradition is Exodus, which chronicles the liberation of the ben Israel (sons of Israel) from their bondage in Egypt and their subsequent journey through the wilderness to Canaan, the Promised Land, where the immortal city of Jerusalem was to be built.

Although there is little doubt that this story describes a real historical event, it is also likely it was embellished and modified by Moses, Aaron, and their inner circle so that it could also be viewed as a spiritual allegory describing the journey of the soul from the state of mortal bondage (Egypt) to the state of immortal liberation (Canaan). In this light, the path that leads from Egypt to Canaan symbolizes the path of immortality.

We can find support for this interpretation in the thirty-third chapter of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Hebrew scriptures, which begins: “These are the stages in the journey of the ben Israel, when they were led by Moses and Aaron in their tribal hosts out of Egypt. Moses recorded their starting-points stage by stage as the Lord commanded him.” What follows is a list of the sequential stages in the journey, which may be viewed as the “encampments” of the sons of Israel on their way to Canaan. It is interesting that many of the place names mentioned in this list are completely unknown; indeed, some are not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. Why was the list compiled—and why was it placed in the thirty-third chapter of the Book of Numbers? The fact that this narrative is recorded in Numbers should tell us to pay careful attention to all the numbers involved. As we have discovered, the number 33 is very important and secret. In kabbalah it signifies the whole of the diagrammatic Tree of Life, which contains a total of 10 + 22 = 32 parts. The whole of the tree of life thus represents the thirty-third implied aspect, which rests upon the 32 parts.

Although most academic scholars believe that the tradition of kabbalah as a whole and the Tree of Life diagram specifically are relatively recent additions to Jewish lore, this assumption is based upon the earliest surviving written texts on the subject, which are not that old. According to its own traditional proponents, however, the kabbalah was passed down orally for a very long time before it was ever written. If the kabbalah was alive in the time of Moses, then it makes sense that a complete synopsis of its teachings would be recorded in the thirty-third chapter of the Book of Numbers, for 33 is the secret number of the whole Tree of Life.

This same number (33) also receives special emphasis in the list of encampments, which is presented unbroken except at one point: Immediately after the thirty-third stage in the journey is recited, corresponding to the encampment at the base of Mount Hor, there is a break in the narrative, followed by the description of Aaron’s death: “Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, and there he died.” This is somewhat odd because the Book of Deuteronomy (10:6) states that Aaron died in Mosera.

We should also note that at this point, the Israelites had just come out of Egypt, where Moses had been raised in the royal court and surrounded by Egyptian symbolism. Hor in the Egyptian tradition refers to Horus, the son of Osiris, who was often conceived as a divine hawk and who was also viewed as having followed in his father’s footsteps by ascending beyond the shore (horizon) of this world to the shore (horizon) of the other world. For this reason, Horus was often referred to as the Lord of the Horizon.

This suggests that the story of Aaron’s death presented in the Book of Numbers carries symbolic weight. Coming immediately after the recitation of the thirty-third stage, the death of Aaron on Mount Hor appears to be an esoteric allusion to the death of physicality that is experienced when the soul ascends to the thirty-third layer, the shore of this world, and then enters into the cosmic sea of death that lies beyond the physical universe in the hopes of reaching the shore of the other immortal world.

Other than this single interruption, the list continues in an unbroken sequence, marking the stages in the journey from the first encampment just outside of Egypt to the last encampment, which lies just across the river Jordan from the land of Canaan. How many encampments were counted altogether? Exactly forty-two! The land of Canaan itself thus represents the forty-third and final encampment, where the immortal city of Jerusalem was to be built. We can say, then, that there were 42 + 1 = 43 stages in the journey of the ben Israel, from their first liberated stage outside of Egypt to their final stage in the immortal land of Canaan itself. Just as the Egyptians mapped out the forty-two stages of the path of immortality along the course of the Nile, so the Israelites mapped out the forty-two stages of the path along the course of their journey from Egypt to Canaan.

CULTURAL CORRESPONDENCES

In spite of the fact that the Vedic, Hebrew, and Egyptian sages spoke different languages, had different social customs, worshipped different gods, and practiced different religions, it appears that they all shared the same spiritual map of the layers of the metaphysical Logos and the path of immortality.

Due to the geographic proximity of the Egyptian and Hebrew cultures along with the fact that the Israelites actually lived in Egypt for some four hundred years, we can suppose that the Hebrew and Egyptian traditions came to share the same knowledge through some type of cultural dissemination. We cannot, however, come to the same conclusion with respect to the Vedic culture, which evolved thousands of miles away and employed a language belonging to a completely different language group. Contact between the Vedic culture and the Hebrew and Egyptian cultures was extremely limited.

In addition, each of the three cultures viewed its wisdom as a cultural treasure not to be shared with outsiders. The secret nature of the wisdom precluded it even being shared with the common people of each culture; it was the unique province of the elite classes—the rulers and priests. As we have seen, the common people received only glimpses of the knowledge in the form of childlike myths and arcane symbols. The deeper meanings were passed down by the hereditary tradition of initiates sworn to secrecy. It is almost unthinkable that these initiates would share their secret and immortal wisdom with “foreigners” who spoke a different language, practiced different customs, and worshipped different gods. Yet somehow, all three traditions came to possess the same knowledge.

It seems reasonable to presume that some form of cultural dissemination was necessary for this to occur, but perhaps no cultural dissemination was necessary at all—perhaps the immortal wisdom is inherent in human consciousness, where anyone, anywhere, at any time can tap into it on the basis of pure intuition. Perhaps, then, all three traditions originated the wisdom on the basis of their own enlightened consciousness.

The ancients predicted that eventually their lost wisdom would be rediscovered; at the end of a long cycle of ages spanning thousands of years, human intuition would once again begin to grasp the ultimate purpose and meaning of life, the universe, and everything. The very fact that this book has been written suggests that the immortal wisdom is percolating once again in human consciousness. This percolation may be more conscious in some and more subconscious in others, but we are all in the same boat—and the boat is moving inevitably toward its destination. To illustrate this fact, we can look to an interesting phenomenon in pop culture.

THE ANSWER TO LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING

Typing “the answer to life, the universe, and everything” into Google’s search engine produces this result at the top of the list: “The answer to life, the universe, and everything = 42.”

Yet this does not necessarily mean that the programmers are aware consciously of the ancient immortal wisdom, which employed forty-two layers to explain the ultimate purpose and meaning of life, the universe, and everything. In actuality, the answer provided by the Google calculator is a parody of the same answer provided by the hypercomputer Deep Thought in Douglas Adams’s popular book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Deep Thought, deemed the second greatest computer of all space and time, was constructed by a hyperintelligent race of pandimensional beings to provide the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything. After seven and a half million years of continuous calculation, the computer finally arrived at the answer 42.

The two pandimensional beings responsible for overseeing the computer’s work were named Loonquawl and Phouchg. Upon hearing the answer, Loonquawl exclaimed: “Forty-two! Is that all you have to show for seven and a half million years’ work?” Deep Thought replied: “I checked it very thoroughly, and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you’ve never actually known what the question is. . . . So once you do know what the question actually is, you’ll know what the answer means.”10

One of the computer operators then asked Deep Thought if it could tell them the question. It replied, “No. But I’ll tell you who can.” Deep Thought then described the greatest computer of all space and time, which was to be its successor: “a computer of such infinite and subtle complexity that organic life shall form part of its operational matrix.” That ultimate computer, designed to provide the ultimate question for the ultimate answer, was called Earth.

The answer to life, the universe, and everything presented in Adams’s humorous story has been woven into our popular, computer-based culture and has been embraced by many programmers—including the programmers of the Google calculator. Although it is all a matter of good fun and should not be taken seriously, for some reason the answer provided by Deep Thought has found a deep resonance in the human psyche. It has also spawned a wealth of speculation as to how Adams came up with the number. On one of his discussion forums is a posted Adams reply: “It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. . . . I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought, ‘Forty-two will do.’ I typed it out. End of story.”

According to Adams, the whole thing was intended as a joke, a parody on humankind’s endless quest to find the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. Sometimes, however, our spontaneous whims, drawn even in jest, provide the best possible answer to a given question. Deep Thought’s answer appears to resonate with the human psyche—but why?

Perhaps this resonance is based upon the fact that, after thousands of years of thought, this was the same answer provided by deep thinkers of the ancient past. Yet the answer is more than just the number 42. To understand what it means, 42 must be viewed as a quantity, rather than as a pure number. According to the ancients, the number corresponds to the first forty-two layers above the half measure—that is, the path of immortality. Since the ancients viewed the ultimate purpose of life, the universe, and everything as involving the pursuit of immortality, the forty-two layers represent the answer to the ultimate question concerning the meaning of it all.

While Adams may not have had any direct knowledge of the immortal Vedic, Egyptian, and Hebrew wisdom when he composed his book, his wisdom was nevertheless brewing in his awareness and became encapsulated by his spontaneous and whimsical answer. This answer was then embraced by pop culture, because that same wisdom is brewing currently in the awareness of everyone, whether or not we are conscious of it. The implication is that human awareness is ripe for the spontaneous rediscovery of the ancient immortal wisdom. It means simply remembering what has been forgotten, and bringing to conscious awareness what has been submerged in our collective subconscious for thousands of years.