The Cosmic Octave Tuning Forks
by Hans Cousto
Introduction
"Abstract sound as defined by the Sufis 'Saute Surmad', means: the whole universe is filled with it. Sufis call the primal sound 'Saute Surmad', the tone that fills the cosmos. The frequencies of this tone are too fine to be seen with the eyes or heard with the ear... It was 'Saute Surmad', the tone of the abstract which Muhammad perceived when he was enlightened in the cave of GareHira. The Koran also knows the sound that says: 'Let there be...'. Moses heard the same sound on the mount Sinai in his union with god, the same word became obvious to Jesus when he was in union with the heavenly father in the wilderness. Shiva heard the same 'Anahad Nada' in her Samadhi in the caves of the Himalaya. The flute of Krishna is the symbol of this tone. This sound is the source of all manifestation, given to the masters from within.... "The knower of the mystery of sound knows the mystery of the whole universe." Hazrat Inayat Kahn
There is hardly a society wich there is no report of the universal sound or of the speric harmonies. In East India the beginning of all things is 'Nada', the primal tone. They speak of 'Nada Brahme', which means: the world is sound. In India and Tibet the eversounding tone is the OM. The syllable OM is the holiest mantra there is, and is also the symbol of the primal frequency of existence.
In ancient Greece there were many reports of the spheric sound. So Plato writes at the end of the 13th book of the law: "Every figure, every row of numbers and every assemblage of harmonious sounds, and the accordance of the cycles of the celestial bodies and the One as an analogy for all which is manifesting itself must become exceedingly clear to him who is searching in the right manner. That of which we speak will however come to light if one strives to recognize all, while not losing sight of the One. It is then that the connecting link of the ones named will come to light."
The connecting link is the law of the octave. Through systematic application of this law to all the period phenomena, it is possible to listen to the relation of the vibrations of the planets and also to the structures of the different atoms and molecules. In this hand-book we want to confine ourselves to the periods of our solar system and open the way into the harmonies of the spheres.
In 1946 Hermann Hesse received the Nobel prize in literature for his book: The Glass Bead Game. The principles of the Glass Bead Game are:
"... a new language, a sign and formula of which mathematics and music equally partake, enabling one to combine astro-nomical and musical formulas, acommon denominator for mathematics and music."
The law of the octave is this principle where mathematics and music equally partake. This law makes it possible to combine astronomical and musical formulas. It is the common denominator of astronomy, mathematics, music and colour.
Through the law of the octave it is possible to convert the whole solar system into sound. The number of octaves gives you the 'scale'. In the same way the scale on a map helps you to visualize the landscape, the law of the octave demonstrates realtionships. The base sounds in this booklet are calculated purely on mathematics and physics and show the scientific base of an old mystical lore. Each step is successive, you can recalculate it, you don't have to take it on faith. These primal sounds are based on a genuine mathematical foundation but "they unite all three principles: science, veneration of beauty and meditation."
Hermann Hesse writes further on in the Glass Bead Game: "I suddenly realized that in the language, or at any rate in the spirit of the Glass Bead Game, everything actually was all-meaningful, every symbol and combination of symbols led not to single examples, experiments and proofs, but into the center, the mystery and innermost heart of the world, into primal knowledge. Every transition from major to minor in a sonata, every transformation of a myth or a religous cult, every classical or artistic formulation was, I realized in that flashing moment, if seen with a truly meditative mind, to be nothing but a direct route into the interior of the cosmic mystery, where in the alternation between inhaling an exhaling, between heaven and earth, between Yin and Yang, holiness is forever being created."
The primal sounds in this booklet are acoustical exponents from our natural cosmic surroundings and our focus on them brings us into harmony with the way of thing or, as the Chinese say, in harmony with "Tao" (the way).
Being one means being one with the all. To perceive the vibrations and to reverberate with them means to bring your life - or simply yourself - in tune with the all. When the person (Laton: per-sonare), is in tune with the cosmos, then the cosmos is resonating in the person. When you become aware of this consciousness reaches cosmic dimensions.
Because of the universal significance of those sounds it is possible to use them in various areas. Therfore it is possible to create a precise cosmically tuned meditation music, which is more profound in its effects than normally tuned music. The same is true of the medicinal therapeutic music. The way these basic sounds function will be explained in the forthcoming pages.
These tones are also the base for a musical setting of a horoscope. Only when horos-cope music is in tune with these tones does it given a physically and musically true sound image of the given astronomical constellations.
Another area for use is tonepuncture (=tone- acupuncture, also known os Phonophorese). In this case you hold the tuningfork on the acupuncture points and the vibrations flow through the meridians.
The Cosmic Octave Tuning Forks
by Hans Cousto is licensed unter
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0