The Sacred Measure of 432,000 ⁓ Part 4: The Sacred Syllable of the Rig Veda

Pixabay image of Concentric Waves of Water, color alterations & Om overlay by Lori Tompkins.

[Link to Part 1, 2, 3, 5 & Addendum] 

In Part Three I wrote: “Just as the 432,000 figure of the Yugas has been misunderstood over the ages, and remains misunderstood by most in our modern era, it is indeed possible, perhaps even likely, that the 432,000 figure associated with the measure of the Vedas has also been misunderstood. In the case of the Yugas, the 432,000 measure has been widely misunderstood to mean years rather than seconds of degrees of arc of the Precessional Cycle/Circle. In the case of the Rig Veda, perhaps the 432,000 measure was misapplied to syllables, rather than being understood as the principle measure of the 360° Vedic Year. One of the sacred names given to the Divine Measure of the vesica piscis in the Rig Veda (which I discussed in Geometric Keys of Vedic Wisdom) is the sacred syllable (akṣara). Another is the sacred word (vak, brahmana). I will address this further in Part Four, but I bring it up here because this could very well explain why the (sexagesimal) 432,000 measure of the Vedas may have been misapplied to the number of syllables of the Vedas, when really 432,000 IS the measure of the sacred [Vedic] syllable itself. If this is indeed the case, it can at least be appreciated that even the misunderstanding of this sacred number has remained a vehicle of transmission for the hidden Inner Truth of the matter.”   

To recap for readers who are not familiar with this subject matter, the measure of the vesica piscis (in terms of the circumference of the circle) is 432,000ʺ (seconds of degrees of arc), equivalent to 120° (120° x 60' x 60' = 432,000") marking out one-third of the 360° circle (3 x 432,000"), as shown in the image above to the right. I have found in my research over the past three-plus years that the Vedic Rishis frequently characterized this sacred and eternal geometric form in terms of a sacred sound, including the sound of a divine or holy syllable, word, voice, and song (hymn). This is certainly not the only way the Rishis characterized or symbolically portrayed the vesica piscis within the circle of the Zodiac, but in this Part Four of "The Sacred Measure of 432,000" series I want to focus in on the geometric and zodiacal sense of the Vedic syllable and word which was occult (hidden) and lost in previous ages, and thus was widely misunderstood and distorted throughout the various religions which arose and flourished in the Age of Pisces.

The vesica piscis can be thought of as the first syllable-word of the Rishis Language of Unity, coming out of the mouth of the Circle, whose tongue is the radius. Names of this “Word” in the Vedas include vak or vac (also meaning “voice” or “sound”), akṣara (also meaning “syllable” and “sound”), and brahman (also spelled brahmana). One definition of vak in the Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon includes: “the voice of the middle sphere”. Vak is sometimes personified or rather deified as the Goddess of Speech in the Rig Veda, thought of by some as equivalent to the river-goddess Saraswati – the Goddess of Wisdom. As I have discussed in Geometric Keys of Vedic Wisdom, the speaker, utterer or singer of this sacred word or syllable is the radius of the circle, also symbolized in myriad ways in the Rig Veda. Sometimes the geometry of the vesica piscis is depicted as the sonorous roar of the Bull or Lion or the thunderous roar of lightning. In these scenarios, the Bull, Lion and lightning are symbols of the radius which moves across the circle forming the “sound”, “word” or “song” of the vesica piscis.

Below are a few examples of this symbolism wherein the vesica piscis is alternately depicted as a river, wave of voice, cup, word (or words), nectar, light, water(s), speech, law, song, the footstep of the cow, a cow’s stall, and a robe (enveloping the radius). Symbols of the radius or radii of the circle in the verses below include Agni, the Infant, the three Ribhus and the Bull. More examples and discussion on this topic can be found in my book. [Geometric Keys of Vedic Wisdom, pp. 295-301, 221-25]

“[By] the Sacred Syllable have I measured: I purify in the central place of Order.” – Rig Veda 10.13.3, tr. RTH Griffith 

“[Agni], Soma Pavamana, like a river, hath stirred the wave of voice [vācá], our songs and praises.”  – Rig Veda 9.96.7, tr. R.T.H. Griffith  

“Ye [three Ribhus/builders] shape the cups, speaking the words of truth.” – Rig Veda 1.161.9, tr. RTH Griffith 

“Speak forth three words [vācaḥ], the words which light precedeth, which milk this udder that produceth nectar. Quickly made manifest, the Bull hath bellowed, engendering the germ of plants, the Infant [Agni]. … Vouchsafe us triple shelter for our refuge, and threefold light to succour and befriend us. In him all living creatures have their being, and the three heavens with triply-flowing waters….” ‒ Rig Veda 7.101.1-5, excerpts, tr. RTH Griffith [The Vedic god in this verse is called Parjana – a thunder god, akin to Indra the Bull.] 

"Mover of speech [and Lord of Holy Law], we robe [the Sage Agni-Soma] with our songs...." ‒ Rig Veda 9.35.5, tr. R.T.H. Griffith    

"Acting the Sage, he [Agni-Soma] flows enrobed in waters and song as' twere a stall that kine may prosper." – Rig Veda 9.94.1, tr. R.T.H. Griffith  

“[W]hen the ancient dawns first dawned the Great Syllable was born in the footstep of the Cow.” – Rig Veda 3.55.1¹ 

“As Jatavedas [Agni], most excellent Fire, sparkling in the Syllable which is thy mother’s womb, as thy father’s father, seated in the womb of the true order, deliver the child-bearing brahman (word) which radiates in heaven” – Rig Veda 6.16.35-36² 

Akṣara, is often translated in English as “not perishable” (a + kṣara), or in other words, ETERNAL. It is commonly equated with the sacred triadic utterance of OM (A-U-M) whose symbol  contains the form of the number 3 in itself. In the Vedas this sacred syllable is one-hundred percent a feminine figure, however in post-Vedic India its real and feminine sense was lost and Akṣara came to be known as a symbol of the masculine Godhead. Thus the eternal (imperishable) nature of this feminine symbol and feminine form came to be misunderstood and distorted as a symbol of TRANSCENDENCE beyond the laws, measures and forms of the material universe. Such a drastic alteration of meaning (and usurpation of the Divine Feminine principle) was also the fate of the Sanskrit word brahman (also spelled brahmana), which in the Vedas refers to the Divine Word. In post-Vedic India, its feminine sense (and its original Vedic sense) was largely lost and Brahman came to signify the masculine principle of the supreme universal soul or Purusha.³  The importance of understanding the true sense of this sacred syllable is emphasized in Rig Veda 1.164 which discusses the triadic, 12-month 360° Vedic Year.

“He who knows not the eternal syllable [akṣara] of the Veda, the highest [heaven] upon which all the Gods repose,⁴ what business has he with the Veda? Only its knowers sit here in peace and concord.” – Rig Veda 1.164.39, tr. Raimundo Panikkar, The Vedic Experience ‒ Mantramanjari, p. 3 

Verses 41 and 42 of the same hymn portray the connection between the form of the vesica piscis, the cow (vaca in Spanish), the sacred syllable (akṣara and also vac in Sanskrit) and the flood waters of the Vedas.

“Forming the water-floods, the buffalo[-cow] hath lowed [bellowed or sounded]… From her descend in streams the seas of water; thereby the world's four regions have their being, Thence flows the imperishable flood [the syllable/akṣara] and thence the universe hath life.” – Rig Veda 1.164.41-42, tr. RTH Griffith 

Jamison and Brereton translated these same lines as:

“The buffalo-cow [=Speech] has bellowed, fashioning oceans…. Seas flow everywhere from her: by that the four directions live, from that the syllable flows, upon that does everything live.”

In St. John's Revelation this sacred syllable which flows like a flood or river is described as the "river of the water of life".

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse." 

These Biblical and Vedic verses, along with much of the Rig Veda, can simply not be properly understood without knowing that the Rishis were encoding their gnosis of the Zodiac and its sacred geometry into their hymns. Elsewhere I have discussed the fact that it is the radius and vesica piscis that measure out the full twelve signs of the Zodiac (the Vedic Year), based upon the four cardinal points of the Earth’s Tropical Year. In other words, it is by the form of the vesica piscis that the four quadrants of the Earth’s year become the twelve-month “Circle of Life” (a.k.a. the Zodiac), upon which “everything [does] live”. I believe this could be what the Rishi of RV 1.164 is conveying in these verses. The image above to the right demonstrates the fact that four vesica piscis drawn out from each of the four cardinal points (or four directions) of the Zodiac, divide each quadrant into three months, giving us the full divine measure of the 12-month Sacred Year. The four vesica piscis of this circle are formed by the four 120° arcs of each of the four cardinal radii of the Zodiac. The almond shape of these four vesica piscis ends at the circumference of the circle. I have extended the arc of the four cardinal radii to 180° so that these four arcs meet forming the classic four-petal (or four-horn) shape which I have shown is the basis of the four-legged Turtle incarnation of Vishnu the Preserver, whose first form is known as the Fish (Matsya/Pisces). These four petals, horns or legs encompass the four Preservation signs of the Zodiac: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. It must be noted that the entire Zodiac is also depicted as the Mother Cow Aditi in the Rig Veda [RV 1.153.3].  Her “daughters” (also cows of course) are symbols of multiple vesicae piscium within the Zodiac. These “daughters” are also characterized as sisters, rivers or streams.

"[Agni/Soma-Pavamana] flows about the sheep-skin, longing for a bride: he looses Aditi's Daughters for the worshipper. … [L]ike a strong Bull [Agni] shines, [sharpening] his manly might." ‒ Rig Veda 9.69.3, tr. RTH Griffith

In this verse, Agni and his “manly might” can be seen as a symbol of the radius which flows through the Zodiac and stands as the eternal lingam of the vesica piscis. In Part Two of this series I discussed my February 2016 vision of the 432,000-mile measure of the Sun’s radius in conjunction with the 432,000ʺ measure of the vesica piscis, as well as the equivalence between these measures of the solar radius and the vesica piscis.

“[T]he most important essence of what the dream-vision conveyed to me is that together, the radius and vesica piscis measure out precisely one-third (120° or 432,000ʺ) of the 360° circle, and that together this sacred pair lays out the eternal law (sanatana dharma) and basis of the triple knowledge (triple Veda/trayi vidya) of the Vedic Rishis. The vision gave me the sense that the Rishis were absolutely aware that the radius of the circle is the source of and is equivalent to its own sacred measure (Divine Maya) or sacred form of the vesica pisces within the 360° circle/Sun symbol. In other words, the vision demonstrated that the measurer (the radius) and its sacred measure (the vesica piscis) are wedded as One, and that this inseparable pair would clarify much about the sanatana dharma and assist in its restoration in our world; and it quickly proceeded to do just that, as I have recorded in my book.”

While researching and writing Parts One and Two of this series I came across J.A.B. van Buitenen’s 1959 article “Aksara” [link to PDF] which discussed, among other things, the “interdependence, the biunity of Word and Fire [Agni]”, underscoring what I had come to see about the interdependence and biunity of the vesica piscis and the radius. Discussing Rig Veda 6.16.35-36,⁵  Buitenen wrote:

“Fire is contained in the germ of Speech, which is the Syllable; and the syllable itself is the embryo which becomes the fully delivered brahman; but Fire is also wedded to Word, for without Fire the Word cannot conceive the Syllable which is the germ of the ritually potent Formula, hence fire is also the father of the Syllable which in its turn begets the powerful Fire of the sacrifice. The birth of Word and Fire is a cosmic event which is reproduced in the sacrificial area but happened primordially, at the beginning of creation, in heaven….  

“As womb of the world—the fire being its begetter, husband and offspring—[Akṣara] might be supposed to create by itself, to be really identical with the creator who is the fire, the solar purusha. For not only is the creator a creator solely by virtue of his Word, he, the unuttered, unformed, incomplete, is made complete, is made HIMSELF, by the Word.” [pp. 178, 186]

This perfectly describes the wedded relationship between the vesica piscis (Syllable/Akṣara) and its divine ray or radius (the flame or ray of Agni). Below are two verses which I believe depict the connection between the voice (vac), sound or song of Agni and the measure of the vesica piscis.

“[Agni's] goings-forth kindle as ’twere high voices … [Agni’s] radiant splendours flow, like sounds, about us….” ‒ Rig Veda 9.111.4-5, tr. RTH Griffith 

“Streams of this Potent One have flowed easily to the straining-cloth: While [Agni/Soma] is cleansed he lifts his voice. Indu, by pressers urged to speed, bellowing out while beautified. Sends forth a very mighty sound.” ‒  Rig Veda 9.3.1-2, tr. RTH Griffith 

In Rig Veda 1.38 the storm gods [the Maruts] symbolize (in my view) the multiple radii of the circle who drive forth the ‘clouds’ (vesicae piscium) of the zodiac.

“Like a cow the lightning lows and follows, motherlike, her youngling, When their rain-flood hath been loosened.... Form in thy mouth [ye Maruts] the hymn of praise expand thee like, a rainy cloud [s]ing forth the measured eulogy.” ‒ Rig Veda 1.38.8, 14, tr. RTH Griffith 

Jamison & Brereton translated 1.38.14 as “Bellow [measure] the call that is in your mouth. Like Parjanya, you will thunder [stretch it out]. Sing the song-verse belonging to the hymn,” which emphasizes the connection between the “sound” or ”song” and the measure of the radius. [Brackets and text in brackets included in J&B translation] Another way the vesica piscis is connected to sound is via the imagery of the roaring sound of rushing rivers and as the sound of the Soma stone which “rings afar”. 

“Thou, roaring Indra, drovest on the waters that made a roaring sound like rushing rivers….” ‒ Rig Veda 6.20.12, tr. RTH Griffith 

“Now with our ears we catch the sound of the press-stone that rings afar. The very Strong [Indra] hath gained the waters by himself” ‒ Rig Veda 1.139.10, tr. RTH Griffith

In the following verses, the seven voices of Agni or voices/songs of the seven rishis (singers) are equivalent to the seven [sister] rivers released by the Vedic heroes, which in my view, as I have discussed in Geometric Keys of Vedic Wisdom, are the first seven vesicae piscium of the Zodiac/Vedic Year. As I have demonstrated in that book and in this blog, the seventh river or vesica piscis of the Zodiac arcs from the 7th sign of Libra  specifically to 0° Aquarius/Kumbha . The sign of Aquarius/Kumbha happens to be the only astrological sign that is associated with the release of sacred waters in Zodiacal lore. It also happens to be the only hieroglyph that symbolizes waves of water and whose Latin name contains in itself the word for water (aqua), and whose Sanskrit name refers to a water pot (Kumbha). In my view, the seven rishis/singers are symbols of the seven radii that form or voice the seven vesica piscis leading up to the sign of Aquarius where the sacred and purifying waters of truth are to be poured out upon mankind. These waters are associated with effecting a new Age of Unity Consciousness on Earth. [Note: this is not Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet's view of the placement of the seven rivers of the Vedas within the circle of the Zodiac.]

“The seven holy voices pour a wave of meath. Dropping oil, sweet with Soma, pouring forth their stream, are the Seven Sisters [Rivers] in the seat of sacrifice.” ‒ Rig Veda 8.103.3-4 excerpt, tr. RTH Griffith 

“The seven tones [voices] risen from the [[well-spring of white-backed (Agni)]] have made their way between the pair of Mothers. Both circumjacent Parents [Mothers]⁷ come together to yield us length of days they hasten forward.” ‒ Rig Veda 3.7.1, tr. RTH Griffith [[Text in double bracket is translated by Jamison and Brereton]] 

“With sacrifice the trace of Vak they followed, and found her harbouring within the Rṣis. They brought her, dealt her forth in many places: seven singers make [Vak’s] tones resound in concert.” ‒ Rig Veda 10.71.3, tr. RTH Griffith     

“[Agni/Soma-Pavamana is yoked] to the three backed triple seated car the Seven [Rishis’] holy songs. ...Pouring all glories hither, he [that swift Steed/Sage], effused and entering the jar [kalasha/kumbha], [s]tands like a hero mid the kine.” ‒ Rig Veda 9.62.17-19, tr. RTH Griffith

This last verse depicts the triadic geometry and foundation of the 12-month Vedic Year/Sacrifice, which is established by the radius (the divine flame/Agni) and the vesica piscis (the “wave” of honeyed wine, i.e. Amrita). I believe this verse specifically depicts the radius of 0° Sagittarius  ‒ [the Sage/Horse] which in-forms or draws out the 7th vesica piscis (sister, river, voice, song or tone) of the Zodiac, landing at 0° Aquarius – the entrance in the sign of Aquarius/Kumbha [the Water Jar or Pot].

I believe this same zodiacal geometry is conveyed in Rig Veda 9.54.2, wherein the first seven vesicae piscium of the Zodiac are referred to as “seven currents flowing through the sky” [or “seven slopes” according to Jamison and Brereton’s translation]. 

“[Agni – the Horse/Sage] is like the Sun; he runneth forward to the lakes [saramsi], Seven currents flowing through the sky.” – Rig Veda 9.54.2, tr. RTH Griffith 

“Etasa the [Horse/Sage] measures out his pace, being yoked by the [singers], when he is deposited into the sea [[the lake]]. When the swift one [Horse/Sage] sits on the golden womb of truth, he leaves behind the undiscerning…. The prize-seeker has stridden to the prize – sitting (on the womb of truth)….” – Rig Veda 9.64.19-20, 29, tr. Jamison and Brereton [[tr. RTH Griffith⁷]]

Elsewhere in English translations of the Vedas this container or reservoir of water which Agni(-Soma) runs or speeds towards and enters into is referred to as a singular lake, tub, a vat or bucket, cup, jar, bowl or pitcher (via the Sanskrit words drona, kalasha, kosha and kumbha). The connection between the lake toward which the Horse/Sage gallops and the vat or Kumbha of Soma/Amrita is made clear in Rig Veda 6.69.6, wherein "the lake" [translated from Samudra] is entirely equivalent to the “Vat that holds the Soma”. Vat here is translated by RTH Griffith from kalasha and it is one of many words in the Rig Veda that are interchangeable with Kumbha – the water jar or pot. If taken in terms of geometric and zodiacal symbolism, the vat, lake, reservoir or Kumbha towards with the Horse/Sage (or radius) of Sagittarius gallops or speeds towards is the 11th zodiacal sign of Aquarius (known as Kumbha in Sanskrit). My sense is that the “golden womb (yoni) of truth” is yet another symbol of the vesica piscis in this hymn. In my mind, the Rishi of this hymn is conveying the truth that once on knows the geometric and zodiacal sense of the “golden womb” and of the vat, lake or reservoir or Kumbha towards which the Horse/Sage speeds in order to win the prize (the release of the waters and treasures of the Vedas), one immediately sees through thousands of years of misunderstanding and distortion of Vedic (and other ancient occult) symbols, leaving that ignorance and those who remain committed to it behind. The prize is the prize of gnosis that unifies, harmonizes, integrates and purifies our world, simultaneously dissolving the veils that prevent people from seeing and participating in the Oneness of our collective Being and our Becoming.

In the Sama Veda the same zodiacal and geometric story is told, wherein the streams (elsewhere ”seven currents in the sky” or seven rivers or seven sisters) and the reaching of the sacred vat or Kumbha of Aquarius are associated with Seven Holy Songs and Seven Singers (the seven-fold choir) which brings us back to the association of the geometry of the vesica piscis with the sacred sound, word, syllable and voice (vac) of the Vedas. 

"[Agni the Sage] mighty one, have poured [the streams] forth, [l]ike coursers eager for renown. They have been poured … towards the meath-distilling vat: The holy songs have rung aloud. Like milch-kine coming home, the drops of Soma juice have reached the lake … the shrine of sacrifice." – Sama Veda, Second Part, Book 1 Chapter 1, Hymn 3, tr. RTH Griffith 

"[To] the meath-dropping vat [Agni-Soma] flows: The Rishis' sevenfold [choir] hath sung aloud to him." – Sama Veda, Part 1, Book 6, Ch. 2 Decade 3.12

In Rig Veda 9.62.16-19 [shown a few paragraphs above], this story and zodiacal geometry is portrayed as the victorious War Horse entering into the Jar, Kalasha or Kumbha (standing like a hero) and pouring his treasures (or glories) forward. Agni is depicted herein as the treasure-winning Swift Steed who is yoked to his triple seat (the THIRD seat of his Fire Trine) within the 12-month Vedic Year, via the seven holy songs (or thoughts or voices) of the seven Rishis. In this image to the right, the 7th river of the Zodiac (yoked to the radius of Sagittarius) is depicted in blue.

In Part Three of my last series on the Kumbha, I tried to convey the extraordinary importance of the Kumbha in Indian mythology and iconography which can be understood with entirely new eyes once one knows (or SEES) the geometric and zodiacal sense of this ubiquitous Vedic and post-Vedic symbol. I recently came across a wonderful article (sent to me by Academia.com) entitled ‘The Enigmatic Pot’ by Gouriswar Battacharya (South Asian Archaeology, 1997) which powerfully underscores the importance of the Water Pot in South Asian mythology and iconography. One image shows Manasa, the goddess of snakes, sitting on top of a Kumbha (a.k.a. Manasa ghata), with a seven-headed cobra serving as a protective canopy above her head. 

I also recently came across the 2018 discovery of 12,000-year-old petroglyphs in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India,⁸ one of which depicts two fish, joined by a cross-bar, which appears to be an ancient demonstration of the Zodiacal iconography of Pisces, and thus an indication of ancient gnosis of the Zodiac and its geometric basis in ancient India. This ancient iconography counters the false narrative that the Zodiac was imported into India via Babylonian civilization (1895 BC – 539 BC).

Another of these 12,000-year-old petroglyphs is suspected to be the constellational figure of the Aquarian Man pouring out his Kumbha. At first I thought the man was holding a fish over his head rather than a pot, but upon closer look this object the man is holding is likely a water jar (kumbha) oriented horizontally (as if being poured out). That would certainly make more zodiacal sense. [Highlighted text edited/altered 23 Nov. 2019]

Another of the petroglyphs (top left below) depicts what looks to some researchers like the ancient Egyptian scarab beetle which is a symbol of the fire god Ra (similar to the Divine Ray or flame of Agni in the Vedas). What is astonishing about this 12,000-year-old beetle is that it appears to be enclosed within the form of a central vesica piscis within a circle. Just as the fire god (divine ray or flame) of the Veda is a symbol of the radius, this scarab (dung) beetle could be a symbol of the same geometry. [29 November 2019 note: I have added an image of the Egyptian scarab iconography (bottom right) and an actual scarab (dung) beetle (below left) with his (or her) ball of dung in the following graphic to help illustrate how the scarab can be considered a symbol of the sacred geometry of the cycle or 'Circle of life'.]

In another of the Ratnagiri petroglyphs, a vesica piscis-shape appears on or in the chest (as if the heart of) a Man holding or separating two Tigers, considered by some to be an ancient depiction of the “Master of Animals” (Prajapati) which I have discussed as a symbol of the radius within the Zodiac. The Zodiac of course contains in itself the axis of the Lion-Man (Leo and Aquarius), which is found in the symbolism of the Sphynx of Giza as well as the Lion-Man (Nara-Simha) incarnation of the Vedic god Vishnu.

Man holding Tigers (top image: Source: Kevin Standage, bottom image BBC, via Bibhu Dev Misra)

The “oldest-known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world” [Wikipedia] happens to be the Lion-man sculpture found the Hohlenstein-Stadel (a cave in Germany). It is dated between 30,000-40,000 years old. I have elsewhere discussed the fact that the first vesica piscis of the Zodiac marks out the entrance into the sign of Leo (the Lion), measuring out precisely 432,000ʺ of the 360° circle. The approximately 12,000-year-old image of the Man holding the two Tigers is a precursor of certain figures found some 7,000 to 8,000 years later (!!!) in the remains of the Indus Valley Civilization, including a figure on a Mohenjo-daro seal of a Man (with a vesica piscis shape over his head) holding two tigers apart, and a certain figure of the Indus Valley Script in which a Man holds apart two vesica piscis-shaped objects. Srini Kalyanaraman discusses the IVS character below to the right as the "Water Carrier", which those familiar with astrology will recognize as a variation of the Aquarian Water Bearer.

The Sacred Syllable and Sound of the Vedas

Well I’ve gotten a bit off track from the Sacred Syllable, but what readers should be starting to understand from my writings, if they don’t already, is that the Sacred Syllable of the Vedas is like the God of the Vedas who is depicted as One God with Many Names, names such as Prajapati ‒ the Master of Animals (or of Life) and Brahmansaspati (a.k.a. Brihaspati) ‒ the Master of the Word, which I have discussed as symbolic names of the radius of the Zodiac (Circle of Life). The vesica piscis, the Sacred Syllable or Word of the Vedas, also has MANY (hundreds upon hundreds of) names in the Vedas and post-Vedic (and I imagine pre-Vedic) civilization. It is an eternal sacred measure or Divine Maya which could be spoken and recognized by intelligent beings across any span of Time or Space in the Universe. If this symbol were found embedded in any artifact or structure any extended number of years in the past or into the future, on any planet in the universe for that matter, it would convey or communicate certain level of consciousness from the creator of that artifact. If combined with symbolism of the Zodiac, as it appears to be in the 12,000-year-old petroglyphs of Ratnagiri, India, such iconography would convey some knowledge of a system of math, geometry and cosmology which precisely measures and tracks cycles of Time and Space.

In Part Three I presented an image of a Sumerian/Akkadian Apkallu (Abgal) sage wearing a FISH, holding a vesica pisics-shaped pinecone and a water-pot (kumbha). He is also wearing a bracelet whose circular face is divided into petals like a flower. This ancient symbol cannot be properly understood without understanding that it is conveying the sacred geometry and mythology of the Zodiacal Year. The sacred and eternal Syllable of the Rishis in this instance is conveyed as a pinecone which the Fish-Man or Fish-wearing Sage (equivalent to VISHNU/Matsya in Indian mythology) uses to dispense the sacred water from his water pot or kumbha which is another symbol of the sacred Syllable or Word of the Sage. 

What I want to emphasize here is that the assigning of 432,000 to the number of syllables of the Rig Veda could very well be a long-held misunderstanding of the sacred measure of the Vedas, based on the post-Vedic loss of the geometric and zodiacal context of the Rig Veda. It would be perfectly fitting if the Vedas did indeed contain precisely 432,000 syllables, though the question has been posed in Part Two: “How can this syllable count be proven to be valid as there are missing parts of the Vedas?” A 432,000-syllable count of the Vedas would be “perfectly fitting” for the singular and crucial reason that the sacred or holy syllable (word, voice, song and thought) of the Vedic Rishis is equivalent to the sacred measure of the vesica piscis, whose measure is precisely 432,000 seconds of degrees of arc of the Zodiac (120° x 60′ x 60ʺ = 432,000ʺ), which serves to establish the triadic essence and foundation of the Vedic Sacrifice (Year). 

The Rishis portrayed or symbolized this sacred measure of the circle/Zodiac in hundreds if not thousands of ways in the Rig Veda, only a fraction of which convey some version of a sound or vocalization. Perhaps those versed in the math and geometry of sound and music will eventually be able to shed more light on the Rishis’ understanding and portrayal of the relationship between the sacred measure of the vesica piscis and sound. 

As I was writing Parts One and Two of this series, some friends and yogic colleagues sent me videos and information touting 432hz as a sacred frequency of sound, asking what I thought about this frequency in relation to my work with the 432,000ʺ measure of the radius-vesica piscis. One colleague sent me a YouTube video entitled “Sonic Geometry – The Language of Frequency and Form” in which the sacred number 432 is a central character. Another sent a fact-checking web article “Music Theory: 432 Hz Tuning - Separating Fact From Fiction” by Assaf Dar Sagol which dismisses the idea that 432hz has some special meaning. Sagol notes that the measurement of cycles per second (dubbed hertz in 1930) only began in 1834 and the measurement of seconds only began in the late 16th century. He does not discuss the equivalence between the unit of 1 hertz with the frequency of a healthy human heart at rest. [Entering 1 hertz into an online frequency generator and you will hear what sounds like the pulse of a human heart.]

My sense is that regardless of how long humans have been measuring frequency in terms of cycles per second (hertz), the unit and measure of hertz (cycles per second by whatever name) is sacred in the sense of its resonance with the resting heart rate of 60 beats per minute, which has been suggested as being linked to the Sexagesmial measure of Time and Space (discussed in Part Three). The frequency of 432 hertz corresponds to 432 oscillations per second, which amounts to 25,920 (432 x 60) oscillations per minute, or 25,920 x 1440 (= 432 x 86,400) oscillations per day (all sacred numbers already discussed in this series). As others have noted, the frequency of 432 hertz has a real resonance with the number power of 9. It also harmonizes with the measure of the 24-hour day, which contains in itself 86,400 (43,200 x 2) seconds. That said, I think it would be a huge leap at this point to suggest that the sacred sound, syllable or word the Rishis were referring to in their text was the frequency of 432 hertz (432 cycles per second). Regardless, there is definitely a mathematical connection between the 432,000" measure of the Vesica Piscis and the frequency of 432hz.

The Solar Pulse

In her book The Gnostic Circle, Thea [Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet] wrote of the sacred measure of 432,000  (the radius of the Sun in miles and the measure of the Kali Yuga) as the pulse of the Sun in relation to the 24-hour Day.

"[The 'Measure of Unity'] is the radius of the Sun, or the measurement which unites the central point to the outer circle or sphere. This is 432,000 miles (the figure of kaliyuga). The same figure is the number of ticks that a precision clock gives in 24 hours; there are 5 ticks or beats per second, which amounts to 432,000 in the 24 hours. In the same relation the Sun is our pulse or our ticking mechanism, and the Earth adjusts its 'clock' or its workings to this Central Piece. Everything on our planet therefore is in harmony with this great Machine. As a matter of fact, we can say that the Sun is our heart-beat, and the perfection of organic life is found when it adjusts itself to this great Heart. Thus in astrology the Sun belongs to the sign Leo which is said to rule the heart in the human organism, hence the student can understand the connection between the heart, Leo, the Sun, the kaliyuga and the Age of Truth, as described in the section on the Yugas, ‒its beginning at 0° Leo. Truth is unveiled when the Earth has found its harmony with the Sun, physical and subtle, which occurs when in each individual the barriers of time are broken and the experience of simultaneous time is achieved." ‒ Thea, The Gnostic Circle, p. 247-48

As mentioned above and elsewhere in my work, 0° Leo falls precisely at 432,000ʺ (120°) of the 1,296,000ʺ (360°) circle. It marks the first sacred step, measure, wave or pulse of the vesica piscis through the Zodiac. In the same discussion (The Gnostic Circle, p. 248) Thea equated the 432,000-mile measure of the Sun’s radius and the 432,000ʺ (120 = 4 x 30) measure of the Kali Yuga within the 12-Age Precessional cycle with the “Solar Heart-beat”. 

“[T]he Solar Heart-beat … is [the Great Circle's] radius, 432,000 miles = 4 signs = 1 solar year….”

In this equation, the solar year is equivalent to the Kali Yuga. Nine of these solar years, she posited, constitutes the full Maha Yuga count of 9 (4 + 3 + 2) Yugas. Below are a couple more instances of Thea’s discussion of the 432,000 measure of the Sun’s heartbeat.

“[Five] beats per second … is the heart-beat of the Sun. If we want to reduce the experience of Time to a fraction perceivable in the most normal consciousness we must consider this to be the measure of 5 ticks to a second, the Measure of Unity, the 432,000 mile radius of the Sun.” ‒ Thea, The Gnostic Circle, p. 252 

“The importance of the Sun's radius has been explained, the 432,000 miles that we have called 'The Measure of Unity', being as it is the Heart-beat of the whole System, the determinator of the System's time and therefore the key piece in the structure of matter of different degrees. [It has been pointed out that 4322= 186,624, or approximately the speed of light.]” ‒ Thea, The Gnostic Circle, p. 272 [Thea’s footnote in brackets]

In 1976 a scientific study was published establishing that the Sun pulses 9 times in one 24-hour cycle. Thea wrote of these finding in her books The Hidden Manna and The New Way, Vols. 1&2. In both of these books Thea cites 1975 as the date of this discovery, which perhaps preceded the actual publication of the findings.⁹ 

“The correspondence between the circle divided into 9 parts and the Earth's' time-measure, and the relationship with the Sun, can be understood by the following, from the standpoint of scientific observation: the Sun, in esoteric knowledge, is known as the heart of the solar system, hence it rules Leo, the zodiacal sign of the heart. In The Gnostic Circle … written in 1974, this role of the Sun is discussed at length. In 1975 Science corroborated the information by discovering that indeed the physical Sun is like a great heart, for it has a pulse beat of one in every 2 hours and 40 minutes [[160 minutes]]. In 24 hours, or the time it takes for the Earth to make on complete rotation on its axis, thereby turning every side of itself to the luminary, the Sun has pulsed a total of 9 times. With this discovery the student can observe the very direct physical relationship between the Sun, the 9 and the Earth. [Text in double brackets and bold emphasis mine.] 

“The Sun sets the time-experience for a planet (in its most profound sense) by the amount of pulsations that occur during that planet’s full rotation on its axis, which the Earth accomplishes in 24 hours. Hence during that time 9 pulsations are ‘felt’ by the Earth and its living organisms, and this rhythm is then ingrained in the structure of all organic life on the planet; this (combined with the year rhythm) is the secret pulse or essence of the evolution of life on Earth and the hidden formula that distinguishes it from the quality of evolution on other planets, in terms of matter and the experience of consciousness. This is the Time experience of organic matter, the energy that binds it or crystallises it into the particular forms that we know. And this Time experience also holds the key to death or immortal life. 

“Furthermore, in those same 24 hours, the Earth in its rotation has also turned itself to all the 12 divisions of the space/zodiacal circle, the division of the ecliptic. Consequently, the measure of 24 hours is the period during which the 9 of Time and the 12 of Space are simultaneously lived on Earth. The experience of contraction and expansion, or Time and Space movements, are simultaneous, not one following upon another. From the Sun – the throne – we know our Time; from the ecliptic – the river of life – we know our Space. The rhythmic harmonization of the two is the source of life; to become aware of this rhythm is to begin a conscious evolution on Earth, which leads to the portals of everlasting Life.” ‒ Thea, The Hidden Manna (1976), pp. 323-24 

“[T]he Sun sets the planet's time by means of its pulsation which is recorded in a period of 24 hours upon Earth. This pulse being 9, the [15.20m] Shaft of Light [of the Mother’s Temple vision] that is one twenty-fourth part of the year of 365 days has this magical number as its sacred Key.”  ‒ Thea, The New Way, Vols. 1&2, p. 206 [24 x 15.208333… = 365, brackets added]

The 9 pulse of the Sun in the 24-hour Day demonstrates the real power of the 9 (or triple-3) base of Vedic Math from which arises the 432,000 measure or PULSE of the 9 Yugas (4 + 3 + 2) within the Maha Yuga cycle comprised of three Precessional Cycles. Via this real cosmological pulse and its real relation to Earth’s Day, modern-day humans can perhaps better appreciate that the 0-9 number system the world inherited from Vedic or Pre-Vedic civilization is not arbitrary. We can see that, in addition to being born out in the geometry of the circle, the number 9 is linked to the Sun’s “heartbeat” of 9 beats per day. While researching this article I found some intriguing commentary, suggesting the Sun’s 160-minute oscillations is a wider, cosmic phenomenon, not specific to our Sun or our Solar System.   

“The birth of Helioseismology occurred in 1976 with the publications of papers from Brookes, Isaak, van der Ray, Severny, Kotov and Tsap, both of which reported upon the observation of a 160-minute solar oscillation with an amplitude of approximately two metres per second. Mainstream solar physicists are ignoring this well observed feature of the sun since it is impossible to explain the periodicity in terms of solar g-modes. However, recent discovery [sic.] have shown the same 160-min periodicity in the light-flux variations of several AGN (active galactic nuclei). This finding is decisive evidence that the 160-minute pulsation of the sun has a cosmological origin.” – Jamal Shrair, Co-Founder and Chief scientist at Shrairfusion Ltd., “The 160-Minute Pulsation of the Sun has a Cosmological Origin”, 17 March 2019 [as found on LinkedIn, bold emphasis added]

It is fascinating that the acronym of “active galactic nuclei” boils down to AGN, the first three letters of AGNI – the Vedic God who is the central fire of the Vedic Sacrifice which is based on the math of the circle of 9. Given the 9-pulse-per-day rhythm of the Sun (and of several galactic nuclei), the assertion that the musical note of A should be tuned to the 9-number power of 432hz, rather than to the 8-number power of 440hz seems logical enough to me;  but I certainly don't believe that tuning to A to 440hz is the root cause of humanity's darkened consciousness or that shifting the tuning of A to 432hz will magically uplift and harmonize human consciousness.

On the other hand, the Vedic Rishis did speak (or sing) of the release of the sacred waters and knowledge of the sacred syllable of the Vedas as a purification and uplifting of truth-consciousness and a liberation from Ignorance. My understanding is that this release (on one level at least) is the release of the geometric and zodiacal sense of these Vedic Symbols, which once known, quickly clears up thousands of years of misunderstanding, distortion and falsehood regarding ancient symbols, mythology, iconography and texts.

The vesica piscis (the sacred syllable, word, tone, wave, river and roar of the Vedas) establishes the triadic pulse, essence and measure of the 12-month Vedic Sacrifice/Year. Each of these three pulses correspond to 432,000 seconds of arc of the circle which just so happens to be associated with the actual measure of the Vedas, and amounts to one-third of the 12-age Precession of the Equinoxes. This pulse or wave of the radius-vesica piscis through the circle of Time and Space sets the base rhythm or tone for the harmonies of creation. In Rig Veda the three formative waves or pulses of the vesica piscis in the circle are depicted as three mothers (streams), and the number 9 is depicted as “thrice (or triple) three”, i.e. 3 x 3.

"Streams! the wise Gods have thrice three habitations. Child of three Mothers, he is Lord in synods. Three are the holy Ladies of the Waters, thrice here from heaven supreme in our assembly." – Rig Veda 3.56.5, RTH Griffith

Nicola Tesla is often quoted as having said or written: “If you knew the magnificence of the three, six and nine, you would have a key to the universe.” [Sadly, no reference for this quote is ever given.] Thea’s writings offer readers a real and life-altering initiation into the “magnificence” of the Sacred Trinity 3, 6 and 9. She wrote extensively about the significance of the Divine Trinity of 9-6-3 which must be understood as a Triple Oneness – the Oneness of the Transcendent, Cosmic and Individual aspects of being. She made it clear that progress towards understanding the key of this Vedic Trinity was one-hundred percent connected to the realization of (the descent and ascent of) the supramental consciousness-force in our Aquarian Age, and simultaneously to gnosis of the ancient Zodiac.

The yoga or work that has fallen into my lap, so to speak, since the year and week of Thea’s passing in 2016 has been to illuminate and uplift the role the divine measure or sacred syllable (word) of the radius and vesica piscis plays laying down the eternal law, structure and geometry of the Vedic Year, and its role in deciphering and understanding the occult, symbolic language of the Rig Veda, as well as post-Vedic symbols and mythologies. This sacred geometry of the radius and vesica piscis within the circle is the foundation of the 0/9-base math used by the Vedic Rishis and still used throughout the world today. This fundamental geometry is thus the foundation of Tesla’s 3-6-9 “key to the Universe” which cannot be seen or understood outside of the Vedic circle of 0/9.

No doubt humanity has much yet to learn and discover about this Trinity in relation to the geometry of light, energy, sound, matter and life within the unified field and matrix of creation in our Age of Aquarius. In the Rig Veda, the radius (symbolized in myriad ways) creates and dwells within myriad forms of sound, matter, life, light, and water, which stand as veiled symbols of the vesica piscis within the circle of Time and Space. My sense is that this is not just a case of imaginative symbolism on the part of the Rishis, but a case of their real (not symbolic) knowledge of the role eternal laws of geometry plays in the manifestation of sound, matter, life, light, etc. One way to look at this is to see the form of the circle as a symbol of the undivided totality or (Uni-Verse) of Cosmic Manifestation. Within this undivided circle or Oneness, the vesica piscis can be seen as the essential INDIVIDUAL of the circle created and in-formed by the divine ray or flame of the radius (the ray of deus/god). The vesica piscis is a perfectly measured/created offspring of the circle. It is a division and individual form which is inseparable from Oneness of the Circle. This one eternal geometric form is thus an apt symbol for ALL individual forms within the circle of life, which are brought into existence by the divine ray (radius) or fire or energy of life – Agni in the Rig Veda. This geometric symbolism is well-portrayed in Rig Veda 1.67

[Agni] crouched in the cavern, struck the Gods with fear. Men filled with understanding find him there, when they have [sung] prayers formed within their heart. He, like the Unborn [Aja], holds the broad earth up; and with effective utterance [speech/mantra] fixed the sky. Whoso hath known him dwelling in his lair, and hath approached the stream of holy Law,—They who release him, paying sacred rites,—truly to such doth he announce great wealth. He who grows mightily in herbs, within each fruitful mother and each babe she bears, Wise, life of all men, in the waters’ home,—for him have sages built [[measured]] as ’twere a seat. Rig Veda 1.67.2-5, tr. RTH Griffith [Bold emphasis added, text in double brackets by J&B]

In my view, veiled symbols of the vesica piscis in this hymn include Agni’s cavern or lair (the hiding place of the “Hidden One”), Agni’s speech, the stream of holy Law and the water’s home which is Agni’s seat (elsewhere his golden womb and the waters in which he is hidden/born). In my view the image of Agni growing within the plants and mothers corresponds to the presence of the divine ray/radius in the multiple (infinite) vesicae piscium (vessels of the divine fire) that can be drawn out by the radius and contained within the One Circle.

***

In Part 5 I will write about the sacred measure of 432,000" in relation to the iconography and mythology of Vishnu the Preserver as well as the Holy Law (Sanatana Dharma) he is expected to restore and preserve.

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Endnotes: 

¹ J.A.B. van Buitenen, “Aksara”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol 79, No. 3 (1959), p 178.

² Ibid., p 178.

³ Ibid. 176-87. Sri Aurobindo also wrote about this in The Secret of the Veda, CWSA Vol. 15, p. 355: “Brahman in the Veda signifies ordinarily the Vedic Word or mantra in its profoundest aspect as the expression of the intuition arising out of the depths of the soul or being. It is a voice of the rhythm which has created the worlds and creates perpetually. All world is expression or manifestation, creation by the Word.”

⁴ Panikkar translated the Sanskrit word vyoman as “point” RTH Griffith and Jamison and Brereton both translated vyoman as “heaven”.

⁵ “As Jatavedas [Agni], most excellent Fire, sparkling in the Syllable which is thy mother’s womb, as thy father’s father, seated in the womb of the true order, deliver the child-bearing brahman (word) which radiates in heaven” – J.A.B. van Buitenen, “Aksara”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol 79, No. 3 (1959), p 178.

⁶ The two Mothers of the Vedas are the circle and the vesica piscis, which hold within them (and surround) the Child/radius.

⁷ RTH Griffith’s translation of RV 9.64.19-20: “Loud neighs the Courser Etaśa, with singers, harnessed for the place, Guided for travel to the lake. What time the Swift One [Horse/Sage] resteth in the golden place of sacrifice, He leaves the foolish far away.” The text in single brackets is mine. Griffith translated yonim as “place”. The Sanskrit Cologne Digital Lexicon defines yonim as: “the womb, uterus, vulva, vagina, female organs of generation (together with the [Linga]) , a typical symbol of the divine procreative energy; place of birth , source , origin , spring , fountain; place of rest, repository, receptacle, seat, abode, home, lair, nest, stable”.

⁸ See “Prehistoric art hints at lost Indian civilisation” (BBC, 1 October 2018); “Carved by a Lost Ancient Civilisation, ‘History on the Rocks’ Discovered in Ratnagiri!”  (Tanvi Patel, October 23, 2018); and “12,000-Year-Old Petroglyphs In India Show Global Connections”, (Bibhu Dev Misra, October 5, 2018).

⁹ "First claims that the Sun pulses every 2 hours 40 minutes came from Soviet observers at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, back in 1976.” – New Scientist, Aug 21, 1980, p. 587. One article discussing this phenomenon is Valery Kotov’s “A Possible Relation Between Planetary Distances and the 160-Minute Solar Pulsation”, Izvestiya Kryniskoi Astrofizicheskoi Observatorii, Vol. 72, pp. 199–208, 1985.