The Sacred Time of 2012 - Vedic Astronomy in a comparative perspective

The Sacred Time of 2012

Vedic astronomy in a comparative perspective

Part IV of IV: Vishnu the Precessional Deity

by

Willard G. Van De Bogart

June 21, 2008

The deity with the equine head found at Sambor Pri Kok in Cambodia

Vishnu the Precessional Deity

It was these demons who had caused the skambha to change its position causing the end of an age symbolizing the loss of the primordial harmony. Although little known, Hayagriva appears as a deity in Japan, Cambodia, China, Laos, India and can be found on the prayer flags in Tibet. In India the equine deity begins as the god Surya and with his wife (also equine) begot the Ashvin twins who bring forth the dawn represented by the two stars in Aries (Alpha Arietis, Hamal and Beta Arietis, Sheratan). The Ashvins prepare the way for the Solar Lord who illuminates our world. Once these star stories become re-learned it will be seen how the divine intent of our universe and our solar world gives us light and life to be re-united with the gods.

Vishnu’s precessional journey has been immortalized as the star group known as Vishnupada , “The Path of Vishnu”, a path he followed until reaching the fixed pole star known as Dhruvaloka, the spirit center near the star groups that define Vishnupada. This group of stars is near the galactic plane which intersects the ecliptic on, “The Path of Vishnu”, in the northern hemisphere where the journey ends above Orion near Gemini and Taurus. The same path along the ecliptic intersects the galaxy in the south between Sagittarius and Ophiuchus above Scorpio’s tail where the journey of recreation above the keel of the Sun Boat near the star Canopus begins.

The Srimad-Bhagavatam says that this region near Canopus lies on the road to the Pitra, the fathers, sons of the gods, the world of the ten Prajapatis, the mythical progenitors of the human race and where Yama, god of the dead, is King of the Pitra in the underworld. At the end of the Path of Vishnu, upon the completion of the 26,000 year journey, Vishnu will again appear only this time as Kalki, the giver of wisdom, riding on a sacred white steed (white light). The wisdom gained from the depths of the underworld is that there is a place which contains all the dead souls, demons and serpents. It is the place of the first time when existence was an emotional force looking for a face to transmit the secrets contained in that dark abyss. The underworld is mentioned in all myths and is a place where all heroes must go before bringing their light back to mortal man. Vishnu, upon returning from the abyss with the stolen Vedas, was now prepared to guide humanity through the gates of heaven. Since all divine heroes must travel this byway, 2012 represents a cosmic moment when all myths of origin can reunite and the differences on the chess board of life will represent strategic moves made for the sake of life’s sacred ritual in each region and cultural divide.

Paradoxically, the secrets of the sacred time of 2012 are contained in the souls of the dead which is now a resolved enigma because on the one hand a divine power emanates from the unknown, the unseen, and the unknowable, yet, on the other hand a divine impression experienced by mortal man from the underworld is a fearsome form which must be preserved to thwart off any hapless intruder who is not afraid to perish before the face of god due to selfish impious deference. Sanctity prevents the eternal loss of cognition. All cultures, including the culture of material science, have their totem righteous wrath protector images for the preservation of the sanctity of their place in the universe and in the Vedas it is called the face of glory (Kirttimuka). The road to this underworld was also traveled by the Mayan Hero Twins, Xbalanque and Hunahpu, who by succeeding at playing on the cosmic ball court against the demonic Lord’s of Xibalba would then resurrect the First Father who was decapitated by the Lord’s of Xibalba upon failing to successfully play the game of life; cogito ergo sum. The twins then become gods and returned to heaven above; Hunahpu conjoined Venus, Xbalanque the Moon and Mercury and Hun Hunahpu (first father) emerges out of the entrance to the underworld of earthly emotions, which are symbolized by an amphibious frog’s mouth, and Hunahpu becomes the god of the next world age.

Egyptian star chartThis is the journey forward in time that leads back to the First Father. There are many variations to this myth but essentially a great battle had to take place enabling the underworld and upper world to be reunited in due time. This unification of heaven and earth, (Prthiva and Dyau) is immortalized in the most sacred gayatri mantra from Vedic scriptures, “Om Bhur Bhuvah swah”.

The star chart shown here indicates the Egyptian First Father Sebek. He was the crocodile whose mouth contained the hieroglyph that is the neter, or god symbol. It is the flag asterism just south of the Cave of the Dead under the fore legs of the Centaur. And for the Maya, out of the depths of the underworld, in the southern hemisphere, comes the god of the new age, One Hunahpu, who emerges out of a maternal caiman’s mouth at the center of the galaxy, and in the Vedic scriptures the entrance to the underworld is represented by the fearsome crocodile face known as the Simsumara shown here on a lintel at the 5th century Khmer temple Vat Phu in Champassak, s. Laos.

crocodile on lintel at Vat Phu

This opening at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is visible to the naked eye when looking at the central buldge of the galactic center and has been the sourse for all the star stories dealing with birthing from the cosmic womb. If you compare the star chart with the lintel carving at Vat Phu it is easy to see the how the opening in the Milky Way prompted the ancient sages to see an opening or a mouth which in this case led to the stories of the under world.

For us today who have incarnated at this sacred time of 2012 we become, “avatars of synthesis”, a term proposed by the late Dr. Oliver L. Reiser. We have to see our relationship to the heavens to know how we are becoming the fulfillment of the divine intent. So, rather than let the world pillar fall into the abyss it is us who have to emulate the divine by resurrecting ourselves to enter the new age with the understanding that it is our reincarnate cognition of the sacred unseen divine intention which is giving us a new life and a new birth into the stars. With our ability to see this cosmic knowledge written on the dark matter of space, with a billion points of light, we can then be the avatars who uphold the world pillar ushering in the new age. If we can’t see the relationship to ourselves and the divine intent we return to the eternal abyss awaiting the next avatar to guide us through the “Sun Doors” at the end of another 26,000 years.

Even Shiva with his ashen covered body with serpents swirling through his hair, half man half woman, is an image of how death and re-birth, fusing of earth and sky, had been envisioned by the Vedic scribes who tried to mirror in words the spirits of sounds they heard coming from the depths of space, a place where gods were crafting the golden egg to bring Brahma into existence. The depths of the underworld held the secrets enabling the senses to respond to creation. Sight unseen the great OM was heard and the spark of life shot out of those dark stirrings to create the star which became the star of all stars, the light of all light, the Mayan Ahau, the Vedic Surya, and the Egyptian Ra. The gods of light would conceive the senses of mortal man to be used to regain entrance back into the realm of the gods, but only if the hero followed the “Path of Vishnu” and learned the sacred lessons on the 26,000 year path of the sacred Number of the Years; only then would entry back into the “Nodus Eternum” be possible. This is what Eliade refers to as “The Myth of the Eternal Return”, which is also the sacred time of 2012.

To attain cosmic intelligence and immortal cognition like the gods the conscious mind now had to view its starry home as being aligned with the cross of reality made by the four axes connecting the great year season markers on the hero’s journey. The completion of that journey made possible the light of the sun to shine directly on the gate of heaven at the galactic center, illuminating Coomarswamy’s “Sun Doors” at the end of the journey, and the tree of life becoming visible with golden fruit waiting to be plucked.

Mayan glyph The gods’ unseen hand had shifted the hero’s path for 26,000 years by constantly placing barriers in front of his journey. Finally, after completing the journey the hero could pluck the fruit to enter the kingdom of the gods if all the lessons from each encounter on the 26,000 year pilgrimage had been learned and the ultimate secret for the sacred time of 2012 was obtained. Allen’s interpretation of Stella 25 at Izapa is that, “the golden fruit is the son of Seven Macaw whom Hunahpu would prefer to guide away from the Ball Court in Xibalba by giving of his own arm to support the defeated Seven Macaw that represents the alter ego of his generation. Regardless of the sanctity of one generation, the next must find its own path. This Light of the World is not intended to destroy the egocentricity of the child; it is designed to tell the egocentric child where to draw the line between one generation and the next." Jenkins (2000) points out that the fall of Seven Macaw is the movement of the North Celestial Pole and it was this movement which is part of the Maya Creation Myth; an astrological doctrine of World Ages.

Gateway to the Gods

The golden sun illuminated the sacred Kousthubha gem on heaven’s door, worn by Shiva on his breast emitting a blinding light which the hero must pass through by stepping over the luminous threshold into the kingdom of the gods. However, the secret for immortality would not be granted unless the hero knew that entering heaven by mind alone was not possible. Only a complete body mind soul could enter the realm of the gods, a soul made manifest out of the golden egg where individuation and separateness were non existent. Every facet of the hero that was illuminated from the sacred Kousthubha gem was a ray for each and every soul who also made that journey. To enter the gates of heaven the hero would have to be the sum total of all mortals both living and deceased, for Oneness is not a singularity, it is the All.

The dead souls were also allowed to enter the gates of heaven to once again be re-born into the new age of golden wisdom but only if the hero carried their souls into heaven with the vernal rising sun across the river (Milky Way) at the end of the journey. Life and death were fused ready to pass through the gates of heaven, two natures as one, without attachment in order to reach the enlightened state of Moksha. Shiva and Parvati would be smiling on the heroes completed pilgrimage. We are now at the end of the beginning for past has now become a reasonable future, again.

The Mayan elders had crafted the phrase “In’Lakesh” (I am yourself another) representing this unity where all contraries and pairs of opposites become one without opposition and is another way to give voice to the concept of two as one. In’Lakesh is a phrase where all the ancestors who were met by the hero on the 26,000 year journey were now ready to pass over the luminal threshold and be one with the universal waters of the next age symbolized by the Aquarian water bearer; the giver of life. In India the phrase “Namaste” has become universal and is spoken usually with both palms touching symbolizing the bringing together the feet of the divine and the head of the devotee bridging the realm of the gods and mortals as one and recognizing the divinity of the other.

The sacred time of 2012 is before us all, and before our crossing into eternity if we bridge our earth born revelations and understandings of our quantum physical selves extending into infinity, including the divine intent of the universe, with the emotive forces within our multi-faceted spiritual selves, comprising all the value-dimensions defined as the “ecology of the spirit” (von Eckartsberg 1974), both being born from mother nature, who follows the divine intent, then the unmanifest will become manifest at the crossing (Zimmer 1972, 136). Through Coomaraswamy’s “Sun Doors” the immortal cognition of the gods joins the etheric forces forming mortal cognition (soul) which are both actualized by the guiding force of sacred intent and light which we call love. These guiding forces gave birth to Brahma and have been beautifully visualized by the Hindu sages as a coming forth from Vishnu’s navel symbolizing our entering the sacred universe. It is this time then of 2012 that mirrors the wisdom found in the Egyptian text, Coming Forth by Day, indicating the moment of the first occasion making our era truly the sacred time of 2012.

We have tested the wisdom of the ages and that wisdom has proven that eternity is real? Is modern culture ready to enter the re-creating passages of life? The recreation of the Mayan Ball Court is at hand and only the living can learn what the dead have revealed. If we hold 2012 to be sacred, then All Time is sanctified by the First Time. That is the purpose of the End Times of the Sacred Time of 2012. We must recreate ourselves in the image of the First Father being ignorant but not demented in our thoughts or we shall lose our head to the treachery in the mythical court of Xibalba. Past generations must walk as gods for the sake of the cognition of future generations.

This paper began by mentioning the Hindu deity Varuna emanating from the creation of the universe. A verse from a Vedic hymn dedicated to Varuna summarizes all we have learned on our short journey through the stars.

“You are the father, you are the mother,
You are elder brother,
You are all kinsmen,
You are fair women, and abundant riches,
You are family, friends, and home,
Fount of pure wisdom, of wisdom to press onward,
You are gold, you are jewel, you are pearl,
You are lord, Rider of the Bull, you are bliss”.

Previous

References

Books

Coomarswamy, A.K. (2004) Guardians of the Sun Door: Late iconographic essays and
drawings of Ananada K. Coomaswamy
. USA, Fons Vitae.

Coomaraswamy, A.K. (1997) The Door in the Sky: Coomaraswamy on myth and meaning. USA, Princeton University Press.

Dawson, J. (2003) Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology. UK, Trubner and Company
LTD.

de Santillana, G., Von Dechend, H. (1977) Hamlet’s Mill: An essay on myth and the
frame of time
. USA, David R. Godine Pub.

Eliade, M. (1964) Shamanism: Archaic techniques of ecstasy. USA, Penguin Books.

Eliade, M. (1959) The Sacred and the Profane: The nature of religion. USA, Harcourt, Inc.

Eliade, M. (1954) The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and history.  USA, Princeton University Press.

Feuerstein, G. Kak, S., Frawley, D. (1995) In Search of the Cradle of Civilization.
Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Pub. Pvt. LTD.

Guenon, R. (1921) Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines. USA, Sophia Perennis.

Hancock, G., Faii, S. (1998) Heaven’s Mirror: Quest for the lost civilization.  New
York, Crown Pub., Inc.

Jenkins, J.M. (2002) Galactic Alignment: The transformation of consciousness according
to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic traditions
. USA, Bear&Company.

Jessup, H.I., Zephir, T. (2004) Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia:
Milennium of glory
. UK, Thames and Hudson.

Muller, M. (2003) India: What it can teach us. New Delhi, Cosmo Pub.

O’Flaerty, W.D. (1975) Hindu Myths: A source book translated from the Sanskrit. New
Delhi, Penguin Books India Pvt. LTD.

Ramaswamy, K. et al. (2007) Invading the Sacred: An analysis of
Hinduism studies in America
. New Delhi, Rupa Co.

Robinson, M. (1997)  Sacred Places, Pilgrims path: An anthology of pilgrimage.
UK, Harper Collins Publishers.

Steward, P. (2007) A Spiritual Science of the Stars: a guide to the architecture of the
spirit  creation
. USA, Inner Traditions, Bear&Company.

Wales, H.G. (1961) The Making of Greater India. UK, Bernard Quaritch LTD.

Wilkins, W.J. (1882) Hindu Mythology. New Delhi, Rupa Co.

Wood, K., Wood, F. (1999)  Homer’s Secret Iliad. UK, John Murray Pub.

Worthen, T.D. (1991) The Myth of Replacement: Stars, gods, and order in the universe.
USA, The University of Arizona Press.

Zimmer, H. (1969) Philosophies of India. New Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Pub. Pvt.  LTD.

World Wide Web

Achar, B.N.N. (2004) A Critical Examination of the Astronomical References in Mahabharata and Their Simulation by Planetarium Software. [online]. Available  from: http://sanskritdocuments.org/articles/ACriticalExaminationoftheAstronomicalReferencesinMah.doc [Accessed 20th July 2008].

Agnikula, (2004) Vishnu the Precessional Deity. [online]. Available from: http://manollasa.blogspot.com/2006/04/dandins-purvapithika-of-dasha-kumara.html [Accessed 15th January 2008].

Allen, R.E. (2008) The Material World: How Universe Consciousness Creates The Self-Aware [online]. Available from: http://www.eyeofsiloam.com/Willard/SacredAwareness.pdf [Accessed 20th July 2008].

Allen, R.E. (2006) Teotihuacan, Gateway of the Gods. [online]. Available from: http://www.siloam.net/members.aol.com/rex1kids/private/maya1/mexico.htm [Accessed 15th January 2008].

Allen, R.E. (2001) Common Aspects of Astronomical and Psycho-Spiritual Navigation. [online]. Available from: http://www.siloam.net/ancients/heaven&earth.html [Accessed 23rd March 2007].

Allen, R.E. (1998) 1998, The Year the Sun Began to Rise: The number of years. [online]. Available from: http://www.siloam.net/sunrise/sunrise.htm [Accessed 24th April 2007].

Allen, R.E. (1998) Transcendence in Mayan Mythology: Finding invisible messengers [online]. Available from: http://www.siloam.net/jenkins/5thsun3.html [Accessed 5th April 2007].

Babu, S.S. R. (2008) Creation-Annihilation-Vedic View. [online]. Available from: http://www.serveveda.org/anihilation.pdf [Accessed 5th June 2008].

Balakrishna, S. (2000) Astronomical Identity of Saptha Rishi’s Dhurva and Arundhathi. [online]. Available from: http://www.boloji.com/astro/00305.htm [Accessed 27th March 2006].

Balakrishna, S. (1998) Names of Stars from the period of Vedas. [online]. Available  from: http://www.vedicastronomy.net/stars.htm [Accessed 2nd December 2007].

Chakram, S. No date) Cosmos: The Divine and Scientific Aspects. [online]. Available from: http://www.serveveda.org/cosmos_divine_scientific.pdf [Accessed 5th June 2008].

Dasa, S. (1991) and Antiquity of Vedic Culture. [online]. Available from: http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/astrantq.htm [Accessed 25th June 2007].

Fomenko, A.T., et al. (2001) Mysteries of Egyptian Zodiacs and Other Riddles of Ancient History. [online]. Available from: http://www.new-tradition.org/zodiacs.pdf [Accessed  1st May 2007].

Giamario, D. (1995) A Shamanic Look At The Turning Of The Ages. [online]. Available from: http://www.shamanicastrology.com/a-shamanic-look-tota.html [Accessed 10 April 2006].

Hamilton, C. (No date) The Self Aware Universe: An interview with Amit Goswami. [online]. Available from: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sai/goswami1.htm [Accessed 6th May 2008].

India Yogi, (No date) Varuna- Guardian of Cosmic Justice. [online]. Available from: http://www.indiayogi.com/content/indgods/varuna.asp [Accessed 4th February 2008].

Jenkins, J.M. (2000) Reconstructing Ancient Cosmologies: The Maya's galactic cosmology compared to the primordial tradition of Coomaraswamy and Guenon.[online]. Available from: http://edj.net/mc2012/early-essay-forAGAG.html [Accessed 4th December 2007].

Lash, J. (2007) On the Endtime Horizon: Real-Sky observations for 2012.  [online]. Available from: http://www.metahistory.org/EndtimeHorizon.php [Accessed 17th April 2008].

McGillion, F. (1997) The Pineal Gland And The Ancient Art Of Iatromathematica. [online]. Available from: http://www.astrology-research.net/researchlibrary/Iatr/pineal.htm [Accessed 24th May 2008].

Nanduri, V. (2008) Universe-Cosmic Alignment 2012:A Cosmological Vedic Interlinks Philosophy for World Peace. [online]. Available from: http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger/nanduri3.html [Accessed 24th July 2008].

Nanduri, V. (2006) Cosmology Interlinks Vedas. [online]. Available from: http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v162/_show_article/_a00162_000001.htm [Accessed 5th March 2008].

Nehru, K.V.K. (2008) Consciousness, Motion, Space and Time. [online]. Available from: http://www.serveveda.org/PDF%20Files/Consciousness_%20Motion_%20Space_Time.doc [Accessed 10th May 2008].

Owen, J. (2008) Stonehedge was cemetery first and foremost, study says. [online].  Available from: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/62359357.html  [Accessed 11th June 2008]

Poponin, V. (2002) DNA Phantom Effect: Direct measurement of a new field in the vacuum substructure. [online]. Available from: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sai/DNAPhantom.htm [Accessed 8th May 2008].

Prasad, J. (No date) The Hindu Concept of Death. [online]. Available from: http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/tlink/general/projects/grieving/hindu_death.html [Accessed 6th June 2008].

Rogers, L. (2002) Myth Made Flesh-The Maya Ballgame. [online]. Available from: http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/mayaball.htm [Accessed 30th April 2008].

Shastry, S. et al. (No date) Natural Cycles in the Solar System and the Chaturyuga. [online]. Available from:  http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/colloquium/yugo01.doc [Accessed 24th April 2008].

Timms, M. (2001) Raising The Djed.[online]. Available from: http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger/djed.html [Accessed 10th July 2008].

Van De Bogart, W. (2007) The Bamboo Galaxy and the Vedas. [online]. Avaialble from: http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger/bamboogalaxy.html [Accesed 12 January 2008].

Wahiduddin, (2005) Gayatri Mantra. [online]. Available from: http://wahiduddin.net/mantra/gayatri.htm [Accessed 6th June 2008].

Widner, J. (2004) The Topology of Time: Part II – the Alchemy of time. [online]. Available from: http://www.jayweidner.com/time.html [Accessed 24th May 2008].

Yusef-Zadeh, F. (2004) Origin of Enigmatic Galactic-center Filaments Revealed. [online]. Available from: http://www.sciencedailycom/releases/2004/06/040603064808.htm [Accessed 21st April 2006].

Journal

von Eckartsberg, R. (2008) Dasein-Synthesis. The Humanistic Psychologist, 36, 9-18. [online]. Available from: http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger/daseinsynthesis.html [Accessed 15th July 2008].

Video

2012 The Odyssey. [Video]. (2006) USA, Sacred Mysteries Productions.

 

 


Return to:| Top | Biography | The Portal Messenger - Willard Van De Bogart | Home |

vanflight@hotmail.com
©1995-2008 Earth Portals