THE CANONICAL SET OF THIRTY-THREE GODS

The station of the Creator marks the shore of this world. Beyond that lies the great mystery, which leads ultimately to full immortality in the bosom of the infinite. Upon reaching the station of the Creator, the enlightened soul becomes identified with both the full set of universal gods directly responsible for upholding the created appearance of the universe and the full set of celestial gods, who administer the universe as so many godheads.

According to the Vedic seers, the created appearance of the universe is upheld by a set of thirty-three universal gods and their thirty-three universal shaktis. These gods constitute the religious canon of the Vedic tradition and directly correspond to the first thirty-three layers above the half measure, while their shaktis correspond to the first thirty-three layers below.

If we accept this picture as authoritative, then for all empirical purposes we can restrict our analysis to the first thirty-three layers above and below the half measure. The universal rule of thumb can then be used to predict that the limits of creation are characterized by two matched scales on the order of 2 ? 10³² centimeters and 2 ? 10^-33 centimeters.