33 | Hindunet Forum Discussion on '33'

Hey truth seekers, the link below is an excellent forum discussion on the number 33.  I've already learned quite a few new things!  Check it out.

http://www.hindunet.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/45812/site_id/1#import

COPY AND PASTE FROM FORUM

Thirty-three is a number with special significance. On this page, you will find some information that is tied together with, or bears some relationship to, the number "33."

Your site host carefully strives to avoid drawing any conclusions with regard to this information; it is intended solely as a collection of "raw data." Some facts are repeated in multiple contexts. While I endeavor to present only factual information, some of this information has come from web resources, therefore I cannot absolutely guarantee its accuracy or timeliness.
Please contact me with any corrections, additions, or constructive suggestions.

Latest update: 6/07/04

GEOGRAPHY

RELIGIOUS

SCIENCE, SPACE, and MATH

WORLD HISTORY

LITERATURE

OTHER MEDIA

MISCELLANY

SOME INTERESTING GEOGRAPHY:
The area where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers come closest together -- allegedly the place of the earliest human "civilization" -- lies virtually at the 33.30°N latitude, in what is now modern Iraq. The ancient pre-India city, Harappa, once lay along this latitiude, as well as did Babylon.

Baghdad, Iraq is at 33.33°N latitude.

"The longest continually inhabited city in the world" is Damascus, Syria, at 33.30°N latitude.

The place where 33.30°N, meets 33.30°E, is near the Southern end of the island of Cypress, in the Mediterranean Sea, believed to host vast, unexplored archeological resources from nearby ancient cultures.

The 33.30°N parallel runs through the disputed Kashmir region, the Northern Himalayas, and Lungdo, Tibet.

Roswell, New Mexico (location of "Area 51") is at 33.37°N latitude. This geo-latitudinal line also passes through what is known as the "Bermuda Triangle" in the Atlantic Ocean.

Hiroshima, Japan, is very nearly situated at the intersection of 133.30°E longitude and 33.30°N latitude. Nagasaki is near the 33.30°N, as well as is the White Sands Testing Range (New Mexico), where the atom bomb was first detonated.



A list of some cities that lie very near the global North Latitude, 33.30°, includes:

Babylon (ancient)
Harappa, Indus Valley (ancient)
Baghdad, Iraq
Damascus, Syria
Islamabad, and Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Casablanca, Morocco
Beirut, Qiryat Shemona, Nahariyya, and Ma'alot Tarshikha, Israel
Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale, Arizona*
Anaheim, Brea, East Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas, Indio, Irvine, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, San Diego, and San Juan Capistrano, California
Roswell, New Mexico
Lubbock, Paris, and Texarkana, Texas
Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama
El Dorado, and Texarkana, Arkansas
Atlanta, Athens-Clarke, and Augusta-Richmond, Georgia
Columbus, and Greenville, Mississippi
Columbia, and Charleston, South Carolina
Kochi, Matsuura, Nagasaki, Oita, and Saga, Japan
Some Southern Hemisphere locales (33.30°S) are:


Atlantis, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth, South Africa (near the Southern tip of Africa)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Trinidad, and Durazno, Uraguay
Santiago, Chile
Richmond-Windsor, and Sydney, Australia
* Phoenix is the city in which I was born and where I currently reside, adjacent to Tempe and Scottsdale. Phoenix's altitude is 332 meters above sea level. Arizona's geographical area is: 294,333 km2.
[See also, SCIENCE, SPACE, and MATH]


...OF RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE:


HINDUISM:

The Rig Veda apparently describes, "the 33 divinities." There are claimed to be 330 million "Gods of Hinduism." (Dancing With Shiva, Subramuniyaswami) Also, this: [from The Book of Hindu Imagery by Eva Rudy Jansen] "...the early books mention three gods; later there are 33, later still, 3,339 gods 'worshipped Agni.'" "There are "33,333" gods," according to a children's book entitled, INDIA. Alain Danielou, in his book, The Myths and Gods of India, explains: "The number thirty-three is taken as a symbolic expression representing a particular aspect of the [Hindu] pantheon. Actually there can be no limit to the number of the gods. Each aspect of manifestation is a channel through which man can reach the Divine. The number of the Hindu gods is therefore the same as that of the possible aspects of manifestation, created or potential. It is, in later Hinduism, represented by the symbolic number of thirty-three crores (330,000,000)."

The Myth Of Invariance, (The Origin of the Gods, Mathematics, and Music From The Rg Veda to Plato) by Ernest G. McClain, on pg. 69, refers to the Vedic reference to "the Thirty-Three Gods," and suggests that this refers to music, representing a system of intervals shown in a diagram [Chart 13] entitled, "Mandala of the 33 Gods in 60 degrees." (pg. 67)

There are 33 consonants in the Hindi (Devanagari) alphabet.

The most sacred Sanskrit word, "AUM," when written as text in its original Devanagari script, appears to a "western eye" in such a way that the only identifiable elements are two similar figures: "3-3." (This is the Sanskrit word itself, not the familiar symbol for that word, and this appearance is entirely imaginary and unrelated to the meaning of the word.)



BUDDHISM:

"The scriptural reference to female forms of Kuan-yin appears as early as Kumarajiva's recension of Chapter 25 in the Lotus Sutra [which states that] Kuan Yin assumes thirty-three appearances, of which seven are female. The number thirty-three has been associated with Kuan-yin ever since by both devout Chinese and Japanese Buddhists." - Paul, Diana Y. Women in Buddhism - Images of the Feminine in the Mahayana Tradition, © 1979, Univ. of CA Press.

"The Saddharma Pundarika Sutra affirms that, of Avalokiteshvara's 337 earthly incarnations, all were male and all human except for one." - Blofeld, John: Bodhisattva of Compassion, The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin © 1977, Shambala Publications.

The story of "KUKURIPA, the maha-siddha" found in the book, MASTERS OF ENCHANTMENT, tells of "Gods of the Thirty-Three Sensual Heavens."



JUDEO-CHRISTENDOM:

The "Tree of the Sephiroth" of the Kabbalah has 33 elements, including the whole of it and its constituent parts.

A Rebbe I know has offered some interesting information about the Kabbalistic/Hebrew significance of the number 33: The number 33 signifies "entry into the mystery" or "the secret levels of creation." It is associated with the word, "GAL" which was used in Psalms in the manner of "asking God to reveal the secrets of the Torah." Also, it suggests "the end of suffering."

Lag B'Omer occurs thirty-three days after the start of Passover. Its name comes from the Hebrew letters lamed and gimmel, which together equal 33, according to gematriah in the Hebrew numerical system. The Omer period signifies a stage of the year in Biblical times, during which the harvest of grain was ritually counted and offerings made. Lag B'Omer is the thirty-third day of the omer count. It is this day that most Jewish people recognize as the end of the mourning period of the Omer. [Two events took place in Jewish history which led to the celebration of Lag B'Omer. On the 33rd day of the Omer, Rabbi Akiva's students stopped dying, and Rabbi Akiva started to reveal the light of the Torah to new students, including Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Also on the 33rd day of the Omer, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the central work of Kabbalah called the Zohar, died. His death is a celebration because on the day of his death he revealed the light of the Torah to his students.]

King David reigned in Jerusalem for 33 years. [See also, ...MATH, for "Star of David."]

In the English version of GENESIS, GOD is mentioned 33 times.

Jesus Christ is believed to have been 33 years old when He died. Many Christians consider the "perfect age" to be 33.

Some believe that Jesus lived 33 lives, the first as Adam of Genesis. (This idea appears in Edgar Cayce's 33 Lives of Jesus.)

Constantine declared the practice of crucifixion unlawful in 337 A.D.

From the Bible, in Revelation, there are references suggesting a third (33.3%) of things that will be killed or destroyed. Also, when Lucifer left Heaven, he took a "third" of the angels with him.

Billy Graham has said that the Biblical Eden existed on Earth at the location "between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle-East." If the place referred to is where they come closest together, this is at 33.30°N latitude. [See also: "GEOGRAPHY," and "HISTORY"]

33% of the world's religious people are Christian (as of 1/1/2000).

Pope Gregory IX created the Inquisition in 1233 to curb heresy, or denial of truths of the Catholic faith. It reached its peak in the 16th Century as it battled the Reformation; its most famous trial was that of Galileo in 1633.



GREEK ORTHODOX:

The Greek Orthodox "prayer rope" has 33 and other numbers of knots for numerical repetition of prayers.



AL-ISLAM:

Islamic prayer beads, mesbehah or tasbee (used like rosary or mala), are in two forms (at least): 33 beads, total, divided into 3 groups of 11; and, 99 beads in 3 groups of 33 or, two strings of 33 plus one of 34. Many prayers work in groups of 11, 33 and other numbers. [11x3=33; 3x33=99] There are "99 Names of Allah [God]" in Al-Islam.



SUFISM:

Sufis employ various numbers of repetitions of sacred phrases, or wazifas,, an important one of which is 33. [From the book, Spiritual Dance and Walk, by Samuel L. Lewis (founder of "Dances of Universal Peace,") we find this passage, on pages 46, 47: "The Spiritual Walk is connected with esoteric training and development. It may be begun in the Buddhist fashion by simply counting the breaths, a fixed number, or a certain number. Or it may be done in the Sufi fashion which is not too different, except there are accepted cycles like 4, 10, 14, 20, 33, 100 or 101, etc."]

In her unpublished book, The Divine Dance (1933), Ruth St. Denis wrote of her vision of a future dance for life and peace. Her work is partly the source of the current Sufi Ruhaniat International.



FREEMASONRY:

The 33rd degree is the highest degree within the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. (Indeed, "The Supreme Symbol" is a double-headed eagle with an illumined triangle balanced on its crown, with a "33" emblazoned within.)



GENERAL RELIGION, MYSTICISM, AND MYTHOLOGY

Mircea Eliade declares that there are 33 religions in the world today in his book, The Major Religions of the World.

According to many numerologists, "33" symbolizes "Christ Consciousness," and is one of the "master numbers," which means that it is not "reduced to a 6" (as is 42, for example).

The diamond is associated by some gemologists and numerologists with the "master number, 33."

Allegedly, "33" and "22" are patrilineal and matrilineal, respectively, in the history of "shamanism."

There may be an interesting relationship between the stories of Jesus and of Buddha with regard to periods of time each is alleged to have spent alone, seeking...: Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days; Buddha sat for seven days, leading to His enlightenment. [4+3=7; 40-7=33]


SOME INTERESTING SCIENCE, SPACE, and MATH:

The "Planck limit" or "Planck length" (physicist, Max Planck) is, "10 to the negative 33rd power cubic centimeters" [-10 followed by 33 zeroes]. This formulation describes that the smallest possible fragment of the Universe would be no smaller than this size. (Physicists agree about the usefulness of this idea, though the multiplier may differ slightly among those who describe it.)

The mass of Fermions [quarks] (elementary particles): "Down": mass=333; "Up": mass=330.

The lowest temperature at which water may remain in liquid form is 33 degrees F.

Sea water pressure doubles every 33 feet of depth.

The yearly Leonid Meteor Shower is at peak intensity every 33 years.

The Moon: "Blue Moons" (two full moons in the same month) occur, on average, once every 33 months; once every 33 full moons. Its mean density is 3.33 times more dense than water. Its mean orbital speed is 2,287 mi/hr; 33 minutes arc/hour. (The MOON BOOK by Kim Long, 1998.)

The mass of the Sun is 333,000 times larger than that of the Earth.

At the sun's equator, it takes about 25 days for the surface to rotate on its axis, but at the poles, surface rotation requires roughly 33 days (because the sun is made of gas, so different parts of its surface spin independently - unlike the surface of solid planets).

* Regarding the dynamics of rotating spherical objects, we see that delineated latitudes are fixed circum-spherically in relation to the axis. For this reason, geo-latitudinal lines are "real" while the earth is in motion, each having dynamic features unique to its given location, such as speed of rotation and centripetal/centrifugal forces. (As well, any point along such a line will pass through at each rotation a static location relative to any geo-axially fixed point in space.) Any lines of longitude circumscribed on the globe are, of course, only arbitrarily and artificially significant (except to directly delineate along the surface the orientation of the axis); they do not meaningfully relate to the rotation of the body. Following this reasoning, the 33.33...° lines of Earth's latitude, North and South, are relatively meaningful. [See, SOME INTERESTING GEOGRAPHY.][Please contact me with any relevant clarifications or information.]

02/12/01: NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) marks the first landing on an asteroid, in this case "433 EROS."

According to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, the Mars Pathfinder landed at 19.33°N and 33.52°W, July 4, 1997.

Martian temperatures are known to vary between about -133 Celsius and -3 Celsius.

The largest earth-based reflective telescope [mirror] is 33 feet in diameter (5/6/02).

The world's largest radio telescope is the 330 meter dish at Arecibo in Puerto Rico's mountains.

8/20/03: A news report stated that "...the new Space Infrared Telescope Facility observatory’s 33.5-inch telescope should be the most sensitive tool ever launched into space to study the heat emitted by objects throughout the universe."

The Triangulum galaxy M33, a slightly more distant neighbor of the Andromeda galaxy M31, is - for most people - the most distant object visible to the naked eye. It was among the first "spiral Nebulae" identified as such. Its specs are: Right Ascension 01 : 33.9 (h:m); Declination +30 : 39 (deg:m); Distance 3000 (kly).

The mean radius of galaxial nuclei can be considered as 0.33 light-year.



Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living organism at 133,300 square miles.

4/3/03: A 330-pound, 16-foot-long squid specimen -- going by the scientific name mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni -- caught in the Ross Sea, is said to be the largest ever found.

"Africanized killer bees" will not nest above the 33rd parallel.

On the island of Madagascar, there have evolved 33 species of lemurs from the one on the mainland of Africa, with which we share common ancestry. Chifalkas (Madagascaran lemurs) can leap 33 feet.

6/25/02: New "Bernhardi monkey" discovered in Brazil. Individuals average about 33 ounces (nearly 1 kilogram).

Recent studies confirm that, in general, the human body functions ideally with 8 hours, or 33.3%, of sleep out of each 24 day.

There are 33 vertebrae in the human spine (including coccyx as 5 bones).


The hexagram [a.k.a. "Solomon's Seal" or "Star of David"] can be seen as two superimposed triangles. (An effect of this, for me, is to find in the symbol a "33" -- two "three-fold" forms, combined.) This figure is found in many of the world's spiritual traditions.

The metric measurement, 1 meter = 3.3 feet; 10 meters = 33 feet; 100 meters = 330 feet, and so on.

{3+3=6; 3+6=9; 3x3=9; 3x11=33; 3x33=99 }

1 divided by 3 = 0.3333... [One cannot evenly subdivide, for there will always remain a factor of .~1.] The formula for the "Golden Rectangle" also has a 333... (infinite remainder at end of calculation).

In the series of numbers {000...999} there are 19 "33s" [counting "333" as one]. This means that the odds of a "33" showing up in a set of 100 random, 3-digit numbers is: 1.9:100, or about two per hundred. This describes the "statistical likelihood" of finding "33s" in such sets. [Please contact me with any correct, relevant formulae.]

Monday, 7 June, 2004: Largest Prime Number discovered. The new figure, identified by Josh Findley, expressed as 2 to the 24,036,583th power minus 1, has 7,235,733 decimal digits.



WORLD HISTORY:

Perhaps the earliest deciphered human writing apparently says, "33 vessels of oil," (from Pakistan - early Indus civilization, between 3,500 and 2900 BCE). Clay tablets containing primitive words were uncovered in southern Egypt and carbon-dated to 3300-3200 BCE. Archeological evidence suggests the urbanizing Sumerians independently developed writing, in 3200 or 3300 BCE, in the ancient city of Uruk, 155 miles southwest of Baghdad. [See, "GEOGRAPHY"].

Streets in the pre-Indian city, Mohenjo-daro (2500BCE), were exactly 33 feet wide. The ancient city, "Harappa," extends back to ****3300BCE, according to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (June 2000 Vol. 197).

The current flag of India has been in use since 1933. Also there, the ancient game of kabbadi (as seen in the movie, "Little Buddha") may be the oldest continually played game in the world. It is played on a court: 41' x 33'. Chess, also developed in early India, has 32 pieces, with the board: 33. There are 33 consonants in the Hindi (Devanagari) alphabet.

Rebels have been battling Indian forces in disputed Kashmir since 1989. India says more than 33,000 people have been killed in the conflict. Separatists say the toll is at least 80,000 [6/7/02].

The earliest portion of the Stonehenge complex dates to approximately 2950-2900 BCE (Middle Neolithic). It is comprised a circular bank, ditch, and counterscarp bank of about 330 feet (100 metres) in diameter. Around 2100-2000 BCE, a circle about ***108 feet (33 metres) in diameter comprised originally of 30 upright sandstone blocks (known today as sarsens ), was constructed in the centre of the original circular bank-and-ditch.

The Giza pyramid, Chephren, is 33 feet higher than the other two, by virtue of the higher ground it rests upon. Some assert that the resonant frequency of pyramidal structures is 33 hertz.

The Amarna kings governed Egypt for 33 years.

All in 1933: The Third Reich of Nazi Germany arose; The 13th Dalai Lama died; Einstein came to America; Hoover Dam construction began (first bucket of cement); Richard Byrd's first Antarctic journey began; the first "anima-tronic" dinosaur was made; The prohibition of alcohol was repealed; Harkins Theatres began; AZ's first Governor, Hunt, completed his 7th term.

Fretted instruments, after the year 1933, began using "modern-style frets." (Fretted Instrument Repair, Sloane)

Pope Gregory IX created the Inquisition in 1233 to curb heresy, or denial of truths of the Catholic faith. It reached its peak in the 16th Century as it battled the Reformation; its most famous trial was that of Galileo in 1633.

April 6, 1998: The stock market went over 9000 for the first time ever, to 9033.

US President Bill Clinton broke the record for world travel, making 133 foreign visits in his two (eight-years) terms.

10/31/99: Egypt Air Flight 990 traveled 33 miles before falling from 33,000 feet. Just after reaching the 33,000' level, the pilot said, "La ilaha il Allah...Mohammedar rasul Allah," then switched off the auto-pilot, beginning the end of the flight.

December 11, 2001: Today, the final count on this, the three month point after 9/11, is "in all, nearly 3,300 people were killed in the attacks." -- PBS News Hour.

September 11, 2002: "World Trade Center: City officials say 70 are missing. The medical examiner's office has issued 1,400 death certificates. An additional 1,331 death certificates have been issued without a body, at the request of victims' families..."

February 27, 2003: Announced today: The winning design for the WTC site would be the tallest building in the world, with a proposed cost of $330 million dollars.

The George W. Bush administration held office for 233 days leading up to 9/11/2001. During that period, 33 "Principals Meetings" were held, according to Condoleezza Rice, the president's National Security Advisor.

May 23, 2003: A $330 billion dollar tax cut was voted into law on this day. Critics of the tax cuts in 2001, 2002 and 2003 have noted that the very wealthiest Americans — those earning $337,000 or more per year — will be the greatest beneficiaries of the changes in the nation’s tax laws.

Aug. 5, 2003: The first report of a terrorist bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia today, finishes with this paragraph: "The Marriott, which opened in September 2001 and has 33 floors and 333 rooms, is the latest luxury hotel in the bustling city, home to over 10 million people."

March 19, 2004: On the one-year anniversary of America's war on Iraq, the PBS NewsHour reported there have been 570 US casualties and 3300 wounded.

June 2, 2004: The Iraqi Interim Government, offically installed today in Baghdad, is comprised of 33 members. [See also, "GEOGRAPHY"].



LITERATURE:

Dante's Divine Comedy is composed in 3 parts (Hell, Purgatory, Heaven), and each part is composed of 33 cantos. The lines total 14,233.

Mircea Eliade declared that there are 33 religions in the world today, in his book: The Major Religions of the World.

In Hesse's, Demien, an eagle appears at a subway exit at "33rd."

Sir Francis Bacon wrote with ciphers employing the number "33." "...In the first part of King Henry the Fourth, the word 'Francis' appears 33 times on one page." (Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manley P. Hall., pg.CLXVI)

There are 33 lines of text on page 33 of Paramahansa Yogananda's landmark book, Autobiography of a Yogi.



OTHER MEDIA:

The year 2001 marked the 33rd anniversary of the movie, 2001: a space odyssey (1968).

The movie, The Fisher King, features dialogue whereby we learn that the main character discovers the goal of his spiritual mission (the "Holy Grail") on "page 33" of an architecture publication ("Progressive Architecture"?).

The first "license plate" (perhaps the first obvious numerals) to appear in the movie Deep Impact has a "33" on it.

The movie, Man Facing Southeast, employs the number 33, presumably suggesting Jesus.

The composer, John Cage, wrote a piece of "silent" music, entitled, 4'33".



MISCELLANY:

The ROLLING ROCK BEER Co. uses what they call, "The 33 Mystery," as a gimmick. The number appears on all the bottles and means 3 things, which are revealed upon inquiry to the company. It refers to the repeal of prohibition (1933); there are 33 words in the paragraph on the bottles; and there are 33 letters in the list of ingredients.

"Every 33 minutes someone will die in an alcohol related traffic accident." -- Farmer's Insurance ad, 7/31/01

Americans 65 and older are most at risk for suicide: 33 of every 100,000 of them commit suicide every year, translating to 4,655 suicides in 1998 alone.

Among food additives, coloring agents in particular are rigidly controlled, with 33 of them considered safe by the FDA.

At Disneyland in Anaheim California, there is an exclusive "Club 33," upstairs next to the "Blue Bayou" restaurant. Anaheim's global latitude is 33.84°N.

The Italian language has 33 sounds.

There are 33 consonants in the Hindi (Devanagari) alphabet.

David Koresh died at age 33.

The "Heaven's Gate" cult left this world from almost exactly the 33.30°N latitude ("Rancho Sante Fe," north of San Diego.)

A group that calls itself "Unariuns" believed that 33 spaceships would land in Jamul, CA (near the 33rd parallel) in the year 2001, stacking up to form some sort of "interplanetary learning center." This "UFO" cult believes there is some "Interplanetary Federation" consisting of 32 planets, Earth someday to become the 33rd.

Roswell, New Mexico (location of "Area 51") is at 33.37°N latitude.

The author, Bruce L. Cathie, in his first book, Harmonic 33 (published in 1968, now out of print), claims to have mapped out the Earth's magnetic grid, explaining that the "harmonic" of that grid is "33," adding that the "UFOs" he had observed always traveled along that "harmonic." He also correlates atomic bomb detonations with the 33rd North latitude and grid points and details some of the related global effects of these events.

A June 16, 1997 report on a television tabloid show profiled a nun who sees visions of the Virgin Mary. Allegedly, some aspect of her brain functions registers "333...(hz?)" when in trance. This was in Conroy, GA, mere miles from Atlanta. (See, "GEOGRAPHY")

Dec. 29, 2003: Engineers are completing plans for what may be the largest movable structure ever built - a 20,000-ton steel shell to enclose Chernobyl Reactor 4, site of an apocalyptic nuclear accident, the world's worst ever. The inside dimensions would be 803 feet across and 330 feet high.

From to a friend of mine (09/25/00): "According to Apache belief, from the time of the Harmonic Convergence (1987) until 2020, we'll be in the chaos of the world, like a red ray leaving and a purple ray trying to get a foothold...There will be such imbalance that everyday will be a juggling act -- a challenge to remain in harmony and not be thrown off by the chaos of these two powerful energies, war and peace. This is a 33-year cycle."

07/26/00: According to the World Resources Institute, [every year] 33 million acres of tropical rain forest are logged, slashed, burned, or otherwise destroyed.

09/05/00: A PBS documentary stated that Earth's CO2 has risen 33% since the Industrial Revolution.

4/6/2003: Associated Press reports that, in just 20 years, poaching and the Ebola virus have cut in half the ape population of western equatorial Africa. "At current rates of decline, ape populations will drop 80 percent over the next 33 years — if not much sooner."


http://home.earthlink.net/~acb_33/33facts1.html
Very interesting things mentioned about INDUS valley of India plus many facts..