Dear All,
While the author was thinking of how to give
you various theories regarding creation in a simple manner before getting into
the actual part of creation as per Vedanta and then as per samkhya, he
incidentally found a very lucid explanation of various theories regarding
creation in a web store- speekingtree.in
A portion of the same is being given to you
in few posts.
Please note that these theories are only for
knowing once. We will get into the actual depth of the theory of creation after
giving you various concepts which are for knowledge and not as much for
contemplation.
1. So how did life arrive on Earth?
This question has always troubled me, how
exactly did human race come to dwell in a blue ball spinning in completely
black space? Were we put here by an architect? Did we evolve from simpler forms
of life (as science says)? Could we have migrated here from another planet?
Let’s explore the diverse theories that are prevalent in Hinduism of those
earliest days…
2. The Big Bang theory
One of the theories put forward by
cosmologists is the Big Bang theory. This suggests that about 15,000 million
years ago there was a massive explosion. This was the point at which all matter
in the universe began; space and time began then too. Over time the universe
that we know, and human and animal life, emerged. This theory is generally
accepted by scientists as being the best theory they have to explain the
origins of the universe.
3. Science versus sacred texts
Most of us have read and accepted the verdict
of science - that we are the chance result of billions of years of evolution
from single-celled creatures, to sea-born creatures, to reptiles, birds,
mammals, to apes and finally to man. But the Vedas and Puranas have different
stories to tell. Read on to know about a few concepts that converse beyond
science…
4. It all started from Lord Vishnu
Vedas say that before the creation of the
universe Lord Vishnu is sleeping in the ocean of all causes. His bed is a giant
serpent with thousands of cobra like hoods. While Vishnu is asleep, a lotus
sprouts of his navel (note that navel is symbolised as the root of creation).
Inside this lotus, Brahma resides. Brahma represents the universe which we all
live in, and it is this Brahma who creates life forms.
5. The idea of multiverse
Vishnu is the personification of the eternal
multiverse that exists forever without any beginning or end. Brahma is the
personification of our temporary physical universe that was created in the big
bang. Brahma is said to have been created from the navel (which is a single
point) of Vishnu, described as a lotus blooming out of the navel, much like our
big bang universe.
6. A temporary place to be
Now this universe represented by Brahma is
not a permanent universe, it is temporary, Brahma lives for 100 years, says the
Vedas, and then dies and then a new universe (Brahma) is born. So as per Vedas,
our universe lives for 100 years. Talking of time measurements - Brahma lives
for hundred years say Vedas and we are in the first day of the 51st year of the
Brahma.
7. Talking of symbolism
For now, Brahma represents our universe which
has birth and death, a big bang and a big cruch, from a navel singularity.
Vishnu represents the eternity that lies beyond our universe which has no birth
or death and that which is eternal! Many such universes like ours exist in
Vishnu. Vedas say that thousands of Brahmas have passed away! In other words,
this is not the first time universe has been created.
8. The theory involving Purusha
In the Rig Veda (the first scripture of
Hinduism, containing spiritual and scientific knowledge) it says that the
universe was created out of the parts of the body of a single cosmic man
Purusha when his body was sacrificed. There the four classes (varnas) of Indian
society come from his body: the priest (Brahmin) from his mouth, the warrior
(Kshatritya) from his arms, the peasant (Vaishya) from his thighs, and the
servant (Shudra) from his legs.
9. As per the Chandogya Upanishad
In the Chandogya Upanishad it says that in
the beginning was the Brahman, and through heaven, the earth, and the
atmosphere and the three seasons of summer, rains, and harvest he produced the
entire universe.
10. Where science meets Vedas
Some scientists have suggested that,
following the Big Bang, the process of the expansion of the universe will
eventually be reversed and at some distant point in the future will start to
contract, eventually imploding into a `Big Crunch’. This could lead to another
‘Big Bang’, with a new universe being formed. This somehow relates to the
present Brahma years coming to an end.
