... and now, the modern scientific version.

   The scriptural version of creation has been given and now, the modern scientific version is quite interesting. All that we find here are materials that have a beginning in their primordial state as a p-particle called Xi-cc++ quarks that go to make the protons and neutrons, the fermions and the bossons the electrons and the like. All these are, in fact, invisible waves of Light! The Sun is a mass of Hydrogen and the activity such as fission and fusion creating Helium and the consequent radiation as electromagetic waves govern all that is formed out of the solar flares as the planets and their satellites, including the life-forms on earth. Thus, the Sun and its quanta of radiant energy waves have producd all that we see here. This activity of the Sun runs for another 7.44 billion years, at the most 8 billion years! Thus Energy that is present in space is the main basis of all thet we find here as organic or inorganic matter. This is the basic knowledge.
  Every living organism is just a combination and composition of a few important elements- Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Calcium and the like. The human body is almost 70 per cent water and the rest is flesh and bones with a network of nerves and neurons carrying air, blood, subtler waves and vibrations. These are similar to the pancha mahabhuta (bhutadi) mentioned in scriptures- space, air, fire, water and soil (earth).The core of the substance is Energy particle (E), the battery- almost a stellar battery cell charged by solar radiation. It is the soul, Atma, the cores of the substance!

   Sage Kanada is the author of the Naiyaya and Vaisheshika darshana shastra where the atomic structure part-less atom, trasareNu, aNu, dvyANu of the soul, Atman is discussed. The Sankhyans and the Vedantins, however, have not agreed to these proposals since they find something more powerful that create these atoms- trasarenu, dvanu and tryanus.The soul is said to be of the size of a barley or mustard; it is also stated to be a thumb-sized light that needs no oil, vick and pot! There are many interesting aspects of the jiva acquiring a body, Shiva becoming a jiva or paramatman as jivatman presenting a myriads of life forms on earth!
   The Sun, being the mainstay of all planets and a significant energy source supports all living beings with the supply of Light and Heat. The life-supporting energy is the actinic rays. Our soul is constantly generating, if not recharged, enough energy to run the body. However, the source of this Energy is not only the Sun rays, but the radiant energy from the distant stars as well. Our birth chart shows the star under which we are born, in the sense, the stellar particle of that particular star entered the earth via the sun rays and got embedded in soil and moisture to create life forms, may it be a blade of grass or an earth worm! The DNA analysis has shown that humans have 60 per cent earth worm as its DNA. By the way, these nucleic acids (as in Ribo or Di-ribo) are the basic ingredients of the cells. The components of a cell are: the amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, genes, chromosomes, hormones enclosed in a protein gelly-cover. The single sperm that successfully made its entry into the egg in the womb rapidly divided and multiplied to construct tissues, organs, and body according to the message received from the genes. The most surprising fact of life is the Intelligence and knowledge, technology and the blue-print of the jiva, and the road map of the journey already hidden in the cell! All these are already there as an in-built mechanism. The sperm hold the key. The off-spring takes the form of its parent material; however, this is limited only to the form, not to the other essentials of life such as growth and development of manas, buddhi, ahankara and prajnya. These are not common to all. Even among the humans, not all are developed in this sense of the term. The highest level of development in human life is yet to come!

   Thus, we have the body, mind, Intelligence, ego and consciousness at different levels or stages of development. Thus different jivas are at different stations in life. Many are sill their infant or immature stage of mental development with very little intelligence. Ego is common to all and gets reduces with the maturity and spiritual development of the jiva. Now, what makes life in the ordinary sense is just feeding the body with proteins and carbohydrates to maintain the functions from birth to death. This is not the purpose of life as the jiva is designed to attain something else! That has to be discovered by the jiva itself by its own persistent thinking since the human being is a thinking animal. Ultimately, the jiva should attain the state of pure consciousness!

    The higher and higher states of existence are that of existence, even without a physical body, and the jiva exercising the powers of Nature, prakruti, in its full potential shakti. In fact, even otherwise, the physical body plays only a limited role of movement, but the mind, intelligence and the ego runs the whole life. This is what makes a person a specialist in one or two faculties. But the jiva as a human being (manava jiva) can attain to the highest levels of devata, rishi, maharishi, devarishi, rajarishi, or a brahmarishi, and ultimately rest in brahmn. All the different stages of development of man are explained in Srividya, Sri-chakra, the yoga shastra, Garbhopanishad, Koushitaki, katha and kena, mundaka, and other Upanishads.
 An attained person is one who even as a human being living and working can be at a level of this brahmn, the highest. This highest state is the param padam where the jiva is 'happy for no reason' and  needs no external support!