In Parts 1 and 2 a foundation was established for an in-depth analysis of the cosmic harmonies in which India figures centrally to support an edifice consisting of a body of knowledge newly revealed in our times. In this section the applicability of the knowledge can be conveyed from the outset if we take as an example the celebration of Independence in 2014. I use this example to illustrate the necessity of bringing the lens of perception into focus if we are going to make sense of India’s contemporary life while honouring her illustrious past and the gifts she has bequeathed to the world. Mention was made of the Zero, for example, as one of her most valuable contributions. Therefore, I will continue to use the Zero with regard to the 2014 anniversary because it was officially celebrated as India’s 68^th. The common method of calculation would be to subtract 1947 from 2014; the result is 67, not 68. To explain the discrepancy it is said that India had started her 68^th year. This is of course correct, but to study her destiny on the backdrop of the cosmic harmony, as measured within our universal calendar, for applicability we must locate her Zero Point, on which basis India is 67.

This may be confusing. How can India be both 67 and 68? For the sake of consistency, following suit we would call a new-born infant one-year old at birth, ignoring the 12 months needed to complete the first year – which would actually be the infant’s true and proper zero year. We fill that zero with the 12 months, until the first is reached. At that point, as per the system used to reach 68, we should hold that 12-month old baby to be 2-years old, which clearly we do not do.

I bring up this point because the seed digit of 67 is 4 via the mathematics of unity (6+7=13=4); any year equalling 4 (13=1+3=4, 22=2+2=4, and so on) is usually important insofar as it is a stressful period for reasons I will make clear by the structure of our solar system itself, which tells us everything we need to know about that Orbit; but it is understood only when 0 is the starting point for calculating the birth, as in the birth of the independent nation. The conditions prevailing at that zero starting point will put their stamp on the evolving element that entered the Wheel of Time at that given moment, much like the stamp on the infant at birth of the converging circumscribing cosmic harmony. With the first independent breath of the infant that harmony is taken in, on which basis the horoscope of this convergence is read. That would be the infant’s zero point.

Going deeper it is seen that with the first independent breath (prana) at birth the child is fully disconnected from the subtle planes, a gradual process that has taken 9 months to complete, during which time there has been a compaction of the essence of ‘the other side’ into that zero moment of birth – or, as in Sri Aurobindo’s terminology, the compaction into the 0 of the three planes of consciousness that constitute the reality of our world: Transcendent, Cosmic/Universal, and Individual/Soul. These are compacted into the Zero, for which reason it is the supreme container of the Light of Gnosis, while its physical counterpart, the Sun of our solar system, is the giver of our material light and life. Of far greater importance than its usage in mathematics, the real revolution the Zero brought was when the Rishi first ‘saw’ the 0 and understood its significance for the world of higher knowledge; the rest followed suit.

Regarding Time the three are Future, Past, and Present. Precisely because the three times exist in the subtle dimension, albeit in compact form, we sometimes have glimpses of the future since it already IS. The number equivalents of this compaction of Time are 9 (future), 6 (past), and 3 (present). On ‘the other side’ they compact into the 0 in triads; but when the reversal of birth takes place, from contraction in the 0 numbers begin to extend or expand in a sequential order, 1 to 2 to 3, to 4, and so forth. That is why it is essential to be precise about the manner in which we register the passage of time on planet Earth.

Psychics often miscalculate the timing of events foreseen because they have penetrated the compaction which has not yet evolved in sequential time on this side of the demarcation. The blessing that birth offers is the conscious participation in that extension; therefore it is said that the Gods do not progress and in some cases are even envious of humans! Myths often describe delightful tales in this regard, especially the Greek myths.

I will provide an example of the precision required by referring to the 2014 discrepancy between 67 and 68. Which is it to be? The event itself will provide the answer. For that I must present a diagram, the Gnostic Circle, (The Gnostic Circle, PNB, Aeon Books, 1975) that can illustrate the way in which we bring precision in an area, Time, which is believed to be far too elusive to offer any exactitude, especially in our world of the Science of the Relative. It is important to draw in the triadic number sequence at this point because the entire history of New India is constructed around this sequence, 9, 6, 3, 0. In the enlargement below this triad is found in the golden triangle, or the orbits of Pluto, Saturn, the Earth, and the Sun, the 0. India stands out as unique in the world because by her very evolution in Time she plays out the grander harmony of the spheres that alone can make sense of why we exist on this planet, and the purpose of the Earth herself in the evolutionary scheme.

These higher processes involving birth – of an individual, a nation, an event, or even an idea – take place in 9 stages. Therefore we understand that 9 is of special importance and indeed it is held as sacred in India from ancient times, starting with veneration of the Cow, whose gestation period is the same as the human’s. This is often connected to the calendar, as for example celebration of the 9 Nights of Durga, or the Ram Navami, and so on. In the diagram above, called the Gnostic Circle, the 9 is incorporated centrally (see enlargement). This design could only have come into being in our times because the solar system had to reach the maturity of 9 planets in orbit around the Sun. As pointed out in Part 2, the number system India bequeathed to the world figures prominently in this exposition because the 0 (holding the key to the entire unfolding) is that Sun, and the 9, with which the 0 is equal, are the planets; the system’s maturity was reached only in the last century with the discovery of Pluto, 9^th in the series to complete the triad of the outer planets; this addition of a greater triad to the former six of the solar family in itself reveals the special times we live in, times of culmination. But this completion has been recorded in every Hindu temple ever built by the Navagrahas positioned at the entrance, exhorting all to pay homage to our solar family of 9. This is not superstition or ignorance of the mechanics and constitution of the System; rather the Seers of ancient times had to preserve the knowledge of 9 in attendance of a future age when astronomy would catch up, as it were, and discover physically what the Seer ‘sees’ subtly.

In this diagram, we have the harmony of our solar system contained. The 12 signs/months are given the zodiacal names used universally; this would be the horizontal/space plane, if we view the diagram three-dimensionally. The next to consider is the vertical/time which is the 9 planets in their proper orbits around the Sun, the 0. Thus, the Gnostic Circle is a combination of 9 (planets) and 12 (zodiacal signs); it is a Wheel of Time that one enters at birth or, as in the case of India, when she was born as an independent nation in 1947. The 9 orbits are actually 9 years, applying the Vedic laws of Equivalency and Correspondence. India would have moved through the Gnostic Circle 7 times from 1947, plus 4 years. In this manner we see that the nation in her time experience is dipping down and moving to the belly of the diagram. She reached the 4 Point on 15 August 2014 – or the orbit of Mars, the 4^th planet of the solar system.

To be carefully noted is the next stage, or the 4.5 Orbit – that is, the orbit situated between those of Mars (4) and Jupiter (5). It does not have a fully designated number because we do not find a true planetary body there. It is the Asteroid Belt, populated by millions of tiny particles, perhaps remnants of a celestial body seeking maturity but that never quite made it. Be that as it may, passage through this orbit (in calendar time) results in the stresses that celestial body may have experienced eons ago: a break-up, a shattering; or, as it is often experienced in the life of an individual passing through this orbit, a disengagement of excess baggage, as it were. However that may be, this passage is critical.

We may take the multiples of 9 to illustrate the 4.5’s unusual character. Moving down both sides of the circle (see GC’s centre portion) at the same time, we reach the numbers 1 and 8, or the second multiple of 9; next in line are 2 and 7, the third multiples; then 3 and 6, the fourth, and so on down the body of the circle. We end the exercise at the fifth multiple, the 4 and 5. But at this point, if we wish to continue the exercise we have to reverse the direction and move upward around the same circle. We then have 54, the sixth multiple, then 63, the seventh, and so on until we reach the ninth multiple at 8 and 1. Therefore, the 4.5 Orbit is also called the Reversal Point.

Succinctly, it can be said that the completion of Sri Aurobindo’s mission for the world is centred on this very Reversal Point, the 4.5 Orbit. Indeed, the core of his mission was to reverse the direction spirituality and religions had taken up to the time of his birth from a quest for the Beyond in favour of a reversed direction to establish those highest principles of Transcendent, Cosmic, and Individual/Soul on our very planetary home. This is the colossal labour of Vishnu’s 9^th emanation – himself as the 9^th embodying everything the 9 embraces. As the 9 he embodied Transcendence; as the 4th in his returned form, he embodied Immanence, certainly the greatest mystery theology has ever contemplated: How Transcendence becomes Immanence.

There is a method to the madness, however. As can be noted, the 4.5 marks the mid point in the 9-year cycle, barely half way through the cycle. What is shed at this point is whatever stands in the way of the loftiest attainment to which one can aspire if we are intent on developing into more evolved human beings, conscious participants in the process of evolution, as the species moves up the ladder to a higher stage beyond the rule of Mind, to serve as harbingers of the next principle which Sri Aurobindo called the Supermind. It can never be emphasised enough: the human race is transitory; it stands at the threshold of a great evolutionary leap.

There is so much more to learn from this diagram that explains the trials and tribulations of the ancient civilisation. To illustrate, this area, the 4.5 Orbit, is also known as the area of escape. When the stresses of an existence in this material creation become too much to bear, when suffering is a crushing experience, compassionate souls like the Buddha use this point as the path to help human beings avoid the suffering that seems to have no other solution. He took this option as the avenue of escape from the material universe with all its misery and pain, for this stage in the movement, or the ‘journey’ as it was called in the in Veda, does offer a choice of destiny: here we pass from the lower hemisphere across the cosmic horizon, as it were, and enter the upper hemisphere to serve the Higher Cause. The culmination is in Uttarayana. What this meant in the Age of the Rishis is that one was set upon the path to Immortality and no longer subject to death as experienced by the mortal race, children of Aditi’s 8^th son, Martanda.

The diagram displays this potential of the 4.5. With the enneagram (circle divided into 9 parts) forming the lines on the basis of which the planets are incorporated into this composite map of Time, we can actually see that this is like the birth channel. But is it to be birth leading to a higher experience within the material universe, or ‘birth’ into another dimension by dissolving all the ties that bind us to this creation in matter in preparation for death – that is, nirvana, the ultimate experience of dissolution? In this sense the 4.5 is the supreme location in Time of a choice of destiny: do we agree to continue the journey and complete the cycle, moving into what is known as the higher hemisphere as a service to humanity and the evolving species, or do we abdicate and refuse to fulfil our duty as prescribed by the formula 9, 6, 3, 0 – that is, to bring those highest principles of Reality to Earth by establishing on this planet what Sri Aurobindo called the Life Divine? That is true service, not limited to oneself or one’s personal liberation but to help the whole of humanity reach the summit of evolution by which the species itself can live in the luminous Truth-Consciousness of the Solar World or Swar. Sri Aurobindo made the position very clear when he wrote to his disciples what the goal of Buddhism was and that the realisation of Nirvana was ‘the halfway point’:

‘As to Buddha’s attitude towards life, I do not quite see how ‘service to mankind’ or any ideal of improvement of the world-existence can have been a part of his aim, since to pass out of life into a transcendence was his object… (Letters on Yoga, CE, p.60).

‘Nirvana cannot be at once the ending of the Path with nothing beyond to explore… The reconciliation would be that it is the end of the lower Path through the lower Nature and the beginning of the Higher Evolution. In that case it would accord exactly with the teaching of our yoga.’ (Ibid, p.67)

Fortunately for the human race India’s destiny is to be the leader and to carry the species through to completion of the entire circle, and during passage through the 4.5 Orbit to choose to be at the service of the higher Cause rather than dissolve all that binds us to existence in this material dimension. This is her blessing and her bane. As this study will reveal, India is by destiny the centre-soul of the Earth. Actually, she has no choice but to fulfil that Dharma to which she is duty-bound from the first breath she took as a civilisation committed to carrying forward the Sanatana Dharma, the purpose of which is to reveal the path to the solar summit and never to abandon the Earth. For this reason India maintains the thread linking her to that ancientmost period when the Dharma was breathed into and became embedded in the consciousness-soil of the Earth with the sequential appearances of Vishnu’s emanations. Much water has passed under the bridge of Time since then, many yugas have come and gone – but across the millennia India has kept the cosmic thread intact through the periodic appearances of Vishnu’s Avatars – the Line that I call the ‘backbone’ of Hinduism. If there is anything that we can call permanent in the long history of Bharat it is the continuity of the Avataric Line of Vishnu, to which her Epics bear testimony.

To conclude, we return to the Independence celebration, the proof that the new India is 67 is found in the developments since that anniversary which themselves confirm the point I am making. For if we consider that 67 is the age calculation applicable in the cosmic harmony, and we realise that the new nation had reached the orbit of Mars on 15.8.2014, we carry the calculation further ahead in the year and note that the critical 4.5 Orbit passage would occur in February of 2015 – that is, exactly six months after the 67^th anniversary as measured in the Gnostic Circle. Interestingly, and to prove the point, there were indeed shattering, asteroidal events at that very time. The intensity of the passage is usually noted from several days before the exact midway point to several days after. Right around the time leading up to the mid point there was considerable ferment engendered by the polls in Delhi. Moving closer to the exact 4.5 (15 February 2015) on 10 February the Aam Admi Party (AAP) was declared the winner; the new government was sworn in on 14 February, just a day before the exact passage. And as if to emphasise the correct birth number for these applications, the party won an unprecedented 67 seats!

To bear in mind is that this measurement starts from the birth of the New India and brings into play only issues related to that new happening – hence the political situation is important to note in studying the 4.5 effects counted from the 1947 Zero Point. I noted above that Sri Aurobindo confirmed my assessment of the 4.5 Orbit as the ‘escape’ route and the position in the cosmic harmony of the Buddhist Nirvana realisation, as well as all Yogic realisations that give vent to a tendency buried deep in the human constitution to abandon the Earth in favour of the luminous Beyond. The Heavens of all religions fall into the same category.

By these convergences the student of the new Indocentric cosmology realises that a consciousness capable of seeing in terms of interrelatedness, of the harmony of parts within the whole is a key element that carries us into a new dimension where we understand the true nature of Reality. Also to be understood by this analysis of the birth date of the new India and its arrival at the 4.5 Orbit in mid-February, is that withdrawal from involvement in the evolutionary process in favour of seeking repose in laya, as Sri Aurobindo noted, is really not in harmony with India’s higher destiny and the role she is destined to play for herself and on the world stage. Service is the keyword, but this extends beyond the nationalism we uphold today as the beacon for her youth. It is service to the higher cause wherever that may take her in the fulfilment of hers and the world’s destiny. This is the core of the Sanatana Dharma that can never be lost sight of. It is a Dharma for the Earth as a whole. There can be no separation, no isolation from all aspects of her life.

With this background we can now study the exquisite manner in which the ancient and the new are intermingled in the destiny of contemporary India by an in-depth examination of the cosmic harmonies that indicate the inevitability of America and India coming together for the uplift of the Earth and all her societies.