Diameters

 

Why is the number "108" important in Hinduism and Buddhism? Hmmm...

So it *is* true, then?

 

Ekakshara Ganapati: The Ultimate Reality?

Ahem, surely this means that the statement I was quoting (from Sadhguru) *is* true? ChatGPT sounds like a pesky little Reddit skeptic here. Still, interesting!  

Is this true? "The diameter of the sun is 108 times the diameter of the earth. The distance between the sun and the earth is 108 times the diameter of the sun. The distance between the moon and the earth is 108 times of the diameter of the moon. So isn't it incredible? This mathematic in the creation around us in the space that we are trying to explore has manifested itself in the human system."

The claim is based on a mixture of:

• real astronomical approximations,
• numerological interpretation,
• and spiritual symbolism.

It is not literally exact, but it is also not completely invented.

Here is the reality.

---

1. Is the Sun’s Distance About 108 Solar Diameters?

Yes — approximately.

Modern values:

• Diameter of the Sun:
  about 1.39 million km
• Average Earth–Sun distance:
  about 149.6 million km

Now divide:

$$149.6 \div 1.39 \approx 107.6$$

So:

the Sun is about 108 solar diameters away from Earth.

That is genuinely close.

---

2. Is the Moon’s Distance About 108 Lunar Diameters?

Also approximately yes.

• Diameter of Moon:
  about 3474 km
• Average Earth–Moon distance:
  about 384,400 km

Divide:

$$384,400 \div 3474 \approx 110.6$$

So it is not exactly 108,
but reasonably close.

Because the Moon’s orbit varies significantly,
the ratio fluctuates.

At some points it can come closer to 108.

---

3. Is the Sun 108 Times Wider Than Earth?

No — that part is false.

• Sun diameter:
  ~1.39 million km
• Earth diameter:
  ~12,742 km

Divide:

$$1,390,000 \div 12,742 \approx 109$$

Actually:

the Sun’s diameter is about 109 Earth diameters.

So “108” here is just a rounding approximation.

---

4. Why Is 108 Spiritually Important?

The number 108 is extremely important in:

• Hinduism,
• Buddhism,
• yoga,
• tantra,
• and some martial arts traditions.

Examples:

• 108 beads on a mala,
• 108 Upanishads (traditionally),
• 108 defilements in Buddhism,
• 108 sacred names of deities.

Because of this,
people often look for:

• cosmic correspondences,
• sacred geometry,
• and symbolic harmonies involving 108.

---

5. Why These Ratios Exist

The Sun and Moon appear almost exactly the same size in the sky because:

• the Sun is vastly larger,
  but also vastly farther away,
• while the Moon is smaller and closer.

This coincidence allows:

• total solar eclipses.

The “108” relation emerges partly from this geometric coincidence.

---

6. Is This Evidence of Divine Design?

That becomes a philosophical or spiritual interpretation.

Scientifically:

• the ratios are approximate,
• not exact,
• and partly depend on averages and rounding.

Spiritually:
many traditions see meaningful symbolism in these correspondences.

So one could say:

Scientific View	Spiritual/Numerological View
Approximate coincidence	Sacred cosmic harmony
Ratios vary	Symbolic resonance matters
No proof of design	Possible sign of hidden order

---

7. “Manifested in the Human System”

This refers to esoteric traditions that connect:

• the cosmos,
• the body,
• mantra,
• sacred number,
• and consciousness.

In Hindu and Buddhist tantra especially:

• the human being is viewed as a microcosm of the universe.

Thus:

• sacred geometry,
• astrology,
• bodily channels,
• mantra counts,
• and cosmological numbers

are often linked symbolically.

So the statement is expressing a traditional mystical worldview:

the same hidden order appears in cosmos and consciousness.

---

8. Important Caveat

One should avoid overstating the precision.

These are:

• approximate ratios,
  not:
• mathematically exact universal constants.

For example:

• planetary orbits change,
• lunar distance varies,
• and the Sun/Earth ratio is closer to 109 than exactly 108.

So:

• spiritually suggestive?
  Possibly.
• scientifically miraculous?
  Not really.

---

9. Why People Find It Fascinating

The appeal comes from the convergence of:

• astronomy,
• sacred number symbolism,
• and contemplative traditions.

For many people,
108 feels like:

a bridge between cosmos, ritual, and consciousness.

That symbolic power is real even if the arithmetic is only approximate.

Demons

 

I´m always wide awake at 3am, so to me, going to sleep at that time would be more sensational. Diurnal humans, you! As for my dreams, the stranger ones stopped some time ago.

I´m fine, guys. 

Army of Lovers hade rätt

 

Mycket småungar i snabbköpet. Vid plockgodiset. Givetvis för att det är Eurovision-final i kväll. Army of Lovers hade alltså rätt. Mello (och Euro) är ett jävla barnprogram, LOL. 

Själv fyllde jag på dagsbehovet! 

Dumheter

 

Den *verkliga* "krismaten" är såklart barkbröd. Och kanske nässelsoppa? Vågar man säga att potatistårtan är "fake and gay"? LOL. 

Potatistårta

Dubbelkoll

Credit: Tabercil

Någon borde dubbelkolla de här planerna. Med tanke på Erdogans illa beryktade multi-vektoralism...

Eller ska vi helt enkelt acceptera att han inordnat sig i NATO-ledet nu?

Turkiet planerar jättebygge - ska gå igenom hela Europa

J D Vance krossad?

 

Kanske lite tidigt att ta ut segern i förskott. 

Rent politiskt är Marco Rubio antagligen en "nykonservativ" som LARP-ar Trump-nationalist/populist för att hålla Den Store Ledaren (och "basen") på gott humör. Jag tror personligen att Vance egentligen är en ännu värre opportunist, så vad han skulle ta sig till i presidentsitsen går nog inte att förutsäga. Fråga Peter Thiel! Fast hans isolationistiska LARP verkar mer övertygande än många andras.

Ron DeSantis, slutligen, är antagligen också "nykonservativ" men med en märklig förmåga att tilltala de allra knäppaste populisterna (de som vill förbjuda elspisar eftersom det luktar klimatanpassning, et cetera). 2023-2024 tilltalade han även tidigare Trump-väljare som tröttnat på *den* gubbens ständiga idiosynkrasier. Vilket kanske är...ironiskt.

Blodbad 2028?   

J D Vance krossad

The Order of Caesar

 

Credit: Walt Disney Studios

"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" is the latest film (2024) about a post-apocalyptic world in which apes have become the dominant life forms, spouting human-like speech and intelligence. Meanwhile, humans have regressed to a beast-like existence. Or have they? Unknown to the apes, some intelligent humans have managed to survive in underground bunkers and are plotting a comeback as a species, which would threaten the dominant status of chimps, gorillas and orangs. 

The main character, the smart chimpanzee Noa, is taken prisoner (alongside his entire clan) by the gorilla dictator Proximus and is faced with a tough moral dilemma. Either co-operate with the still-intelligent humans to save his clan, while risking a new war between apes and unforgiving Homo sapiens in the future. Or support Proximus, whose projected authoritarian kingdom could save apekind by capturing human high tech weapons, but at the expense of everybody´s freedom. Noa choses the first option, presumably setting the stage for a sequel.

There are obvious references to the original "Planet of the Apes" movie (1968) throughout this production, and I believe some scenes were actually taped at the same location. A funny difference is that the orangutans are the good guys. Noa meets the orang Raka, who belongs to the "Order of Caesar" working to restore peace between Pongidae and Homo. Caesar was the effective founder of the ape civilization, but generations after his death, few remember his message of tolerance or his laws. Raka can read and write, and comes across as a kind of monk-intellectual, trying to salvage as much knowledge as possible during the Dark Age. The catch is that the orang doesn´t know that some humans can still speak and have no intention of co-existing with their former circus animals. Thus, Raka is the archetypical "naive intellectual".

Even worse is Trevathan, a dissaffected and weak human who collaborates with Proximus against his own kind. Trevathan also looks like a parody of an intellectual, presumably a fatalistic and demoralized hippie resigned to the fact that his utopian dreams have been dashed. The man spends his time entertaining the gorilla-king with stories about the ancient glories of Rome, until his grizzly end. 

While somewhat interesting (*are* there LOTR-like elements in the plot? What about "MonsterVerse"?), "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" strikes me as an extended "Planet of the Apes" fan fic story. I´m not sure if the average viewer remembers all the details from the 1968 film! Still, a sequel might be worth doing. Is there some reason why the main character has a name resembling the Biblical character Noah, for instance? Do the still-talking humans have a doomsday weapon? Et cetera. 

With that, I close this review!  

  

50 years of the ICC

 

Not the ICC, for the record 

Last year, the zany International Communist Current (ICC) celebrated its 50th anniversary. Yes, really! The ICC was founded in 1975. Imagine accomplishing *absolutely nothing at all* in half a century. Except publishing weird magazines with interminable articles nobody actually reads. OK, the book about the history of the Italian Left was somewhat interesting. So was the agent-baiting and Mason-bashing during the 1990´s.

Personally, I don´t think the ICC will be around in 2075, but I suppose it´s not *entirely* impossible. The Bordigists and their eternal Communist party will of course be around still in 3000 AD...

I deny everything

 

This isn´t me. For the record. It´s Styx, for crying out loud!