The Universe in Srividya

   Our universe thus consists of minute, almost insignificant particles of dust in the entire system of multiverses (several millions of universes) consisting of hundreds and thousands of galaxies, and such other stellar systems. What we call our Brahmanda here is restricted to only three realms of Bhu (earth), Bhuvah (sky), and the Svar (heaven where the Sun shines). There are many other Brahmandas, too, of which we are not concerned here. We, the mortals, are merely concerned about our state of existence on this earth and its true nature. Some of us may go a little forward to think about our future, our fate here, in this transient world. Thus, it is all about our transient nature of existence and SrIvidyA makes these aspects very clear.

    It is said that only a svayambhuva Manu, Vivasvan (Sun)- the self-effulgent one, comes at the beginning of every Manvantara and he is followed by Sapta Rishis, Devatas, Yakshas, Gandharvas and Kinnaras, Sadhyas and Siddhi Purushas, etc. The First Manu ‘Vivasvan’, the Sun is a small Star in our galaxy, Milky Way (‘ksheer path’). We are now in the Seventh  Manvantra called ‘Vaivasvata’ and this ‘Vaivasvata manu’ is the same as Vivasvan, the Sun!

     Thus, it must be inferred that every one of our manvantara starts with a manu- a Star, Sapta Rishi mandala, Devi devatas, and a host of yakshas, gandharvas, kinnaras, etc. and, interestingly, these are also stars! Stars are born every now and then, and they die out, too. There are 14 such Manus described in Vishnu Purana and we are in the Seventh Vaivasvata Manu’s Chaturyuga parva- prathama charana of the fourth, Kaliyuga. The six Manvantaras that have already passed are that of Manus called: 1. Vivasvan, 2. Svarochish, 3. Uttam (Grandson of Svayambhuva Manu), 4. Tamas, 5. Rewat, 6. Chakchus, and the 7. Vaivasvata. Seven more manus- Savarni and four of his sons (so called because they follow from the previous)- Savarnas, also sons of the Sun (Vivasvan), and Rouchya and Boudhya are to come!

    Thus, all the svayambhuva (first-born or self-effulgent) Manus are the self effulgent Stars only and called the off-springs of the first Manu Vivasvan. Along with the Star (Manu) come the seven Rishis (Saptarshis), the Devatas like Indra and other elemental gods (who are also stars). So, one has to be very careful in understanding the different levels of existence and the Vyahrutis (Realms or Lokas) where these Rishis and gods are found.

     The Bhagavata has several Chapters describing these aspects of creation and dissolution as well as methods of knowing them. The whole universe is like an inverted tree, the Ashvatha, whose roots reach out to the Heavens absorbing the elixir, nectar of life and the same bear fruits at the bottom where the Jivas enjoy as their karma phala (fruits of action). The Branches are the Veda and the Leaves are the Rks (mantra); Man is at the centre endowed with all the potential to reach to higher and higher levels of- Pitrus, Devatas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Rishis, Maharishi, Devarshi, Brahmarshi and finally the Brahman, as also one may go down the scale and become lowliest of the low creatures like the insects and worms by his action!

      However, each and every creature at all levels have an option to engage in realization of the Self and engage in self-less service and thereby attain to the highest in the scale! This concept has been beautifully portrayed here in the cosmogram of Sri Chakra. Sri Chakra upasaka may reach the desired level by Yantra Puja or mantropasane and Sri Chakra upasana (in samhara krama or srushti krama).

   One should always remember that the inverted tree of Ashvatha is the handiwork of Devi Tripurasundari. “This illusory tree Ashvatha has to be cut by the axe of jnyana” and this is possible by spiritual practices like yoga abhyasa or Shree DevI upasana. The kind and benevolent Devi who is the Creatrix is also the redeemer of Jivas and will save us from repeated births and deaths in this Mrutyu Loka.

    Thus, in this history of creation, the first svayambhuva Manu is Vivasvan, the self-effulgent Star. This Vivasvan only appears repeatedly again and again fourteen times as Svayambhuva Manus by different names like Svarocisha, Uttama, Tamas, Revat, Cakhsus, Vaivasvat, Savarnis, Rouchya and Boudhya. At the beginning of every manvantara, the svayambhuva Manu, the Sun, is accompanied by Saptarshis, Indra, Rudra, Varuna and other Gods, Devatas, RuShi gaNas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Yakshas, Daityas and the human beings every time each manvantara by different names!). in fact, the soul of all these different entities at different levels are not many but one only. One Soul only is reflected in innumerable levels of existence. Any human can reach to any level up to the state of Brahman by sheer Yoga sadhana (spiritual practice). Here, the Devi’s grace is enough!

  Thus, it is needless to state that all that we find here is just a transient world (mithya prapanca) of names, forms and functions; these creatures exist at different levels or ladders of evolutionary scale of this mysterious universe. It is the lila, a play of creation (srushti) and dissolution (laya), evolution and involution, at the whim and fancy of the Supreme Lord, Creatrix Tripurasundari.

    Evolution is the handiwork of a mischievous Mind. The Sapta RuShi(s) are created by the Mind (manas) by the power of concentration contemplation, meditation or ‘tapah-shakti’. Hence everything found as Jivas in the evolutionary scale are just the power of creation of Mind (citta shakti). It is often stated that a human being only is raised to the state or status of a star (e.g. Dhruva, son of King Uttanapada) by the grace of Shree Hari Narayana. But, who is Shree Hari Narayana?

   Shree Hari Narayana means the Eternal Flow of Consciousness. It is full of potency to create. The word ‘Shree’ means rich and resourceful, facilities of material (pancha mahabhuta(s) as resources provided by Nature (Prakruti); ‘Hari’ means the flow (of Consciousness) and ‘Narayana’ means the journey (yana) of man (nara); it is just a vibration of Consciousness. Consciousness pervades the universe as waves; it is akin to flow of water like the River Ganga or any other for that matter that supports life and promotes journey of man on this earth.

    Man only becomes a God-head! The term ‘Man’ need not be construed always as an embodied entity like ours  and, in fact, this embodiment is a process, karma; its true nature (svaroopa) is sat-cit-ananda only. Man is nothing but Mind, Energy, Light, Force, Intelligence, cit or Consciousness both before embodiment in an earthen shell and after discarding it (the Pancamahabhuta sharira) after death; it is an eternal soul, Atma. Indeed, it is just a reflection (pratibimba) of the supreme Soul, Paramatman. In other words, a star is born and a number of planets and satellites (like Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars, Saturn, etc.) are also created and, may be, one or two of the planets may support life (as in the case of ours).

   Each Manvantara is headed by a self-effulgent body, a Star, and its planets- formed out of the same stellar material by cooling and condensation. The Time taken for this process is estimated to be hundreds of millions of years. This Vaivasvata Manvantara in which we are living as humans along with plants, birds, aquatic amphibian, reptilian and mammalian species lasts for 4.32 million Years of which only 430 000 Years are still remaining! But, we do not know what this ‘Year’ is, and whether it is solar, lunar, human, divine (of Gods), or astronomical like Light Years! Of what use and consequence is the time? Thus, it makes a very confusing study, a cumbersome affair to recapitulate the events of bygone eons.

    Thus, it is understood here that each Chaturyuga parva consisting of a Krita yuga, Treta yuga, Dvapara yuga and a Kali yuga is said to run for about 432 Million years; 28th Kaliyuga (that lasts for 4.32 M.Y) has just started, very recently, say about 3500 years ago after the end of Dvapara Yuga (at the end of Mahabharata war). It is said that seven more Chaturyuga parvas are yet to come and go before total dissolution of the universe. The Puranas proclaim that one Brahma’s day is one thousand such yugas and he goes to sleep as the night falls (Vishnu Purana). What is evolution becomes an involution at this point of timeless state. Everything appears to evolve out of the unmanifest Brahman only to merge in him again. This process of evolution and involution is a continuous process and it takes place within the human Mind and nowhere else! This existence is Consciousness. This is the reason why the Veda proclaims strongly, “aham brahmn asmi”, “ayam AtmA brahmA”, “AtmaievEdgm sarvam”, and finally, “tat tvam asi”.

    This, in brief, is the story of creation that every child should know having born on this earth. It is also important to know that Sun (the Star shining in the sky) is our Father (who gives life) and Earth is our Mother (who gives food and shelter) - of all living creatures, in the broad sense of the terms. Jagatah pitarou vande Parvati Parameshvarou | Parvati and Parameshvara, Shakti (vimarsha) and Shiva (prakasha), or the Purusha and Prakruti, or Man and his prowess create this world in all its variety. There is no other cause, other than the fission and fusion, cittavrutti, spanda, vibration for creation. Brahmanda consists of the Earth, the sky, and the Sun (Bhu-Bhuvah-Svar) and it is ‘cit’. the ‘sat’ is beyond this.

     Since our self-created (svayambhu) Manu Vaivasvata is the son of Vivasvan, the Sun, we are all born of stellar material, solar dust, or Angirases (sparks of Fire). Rk Veda confirms this. We have a ‘Father in Heaven’, svar (the Sun): strangely enough, there is no mention of any feminine (Mother) figure here and we presume the Earth is our Mother! Rk Veda gives a detailed account of creation in the Mandala X. Almost all the Suktas praise the God Agni. Lord Agni is everything for us. Agni is the Sun in Heavens, Moon in the sky, and Fire on earth. All the living and the non-living, organic and the inorganic, moving and the non-moving are nothing but ‘agnim’ in one form or the other. Vaishvanara Agni Deva is the Fire God in our stomach that digests food with a very extraordinary sense of discretion! He is also the ‘Akshi Purusha’ (the witnessing self) in our eyes! The Sun, the eye, and the fire in the stomach and our Soul (Atman) are one! Thus, everything is ‘solar’ here and the Sun is our visible God. The Rk Veda is full of praise for God of Fire Agni and many Suktas address it as Indra (Indhada). Indra is incidentally the Deity of Luminous Mind and Moon is also associated with Mind as its Deity.

   People have been worshiping the Sun God all over the world since very early times. There are also some sections of the people who worship Moon as their God. Moon is a part of the Earth, its Satellite. Both the Sun and the Moon occupy the central place in this study as “Srividya”.