Soul, Self or Atman

  What is this soul (Atman) like? “Of the size of a thumb, but brilliant, like the sun, the jiva possesses both volition and egoism. It is endowed with the qualities of both Intellect (buddhi) and the soul (Atman). Therefore it is seen as another entity, inferior and small as the point of a goad.” [Yajurveda, Shvet. Upa, Part I, Ch. V, 1-8].

The following verses give the sum and substance of the Gita:

यत्र योगेश्वर क्रिष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः तत्रश्री विजयोर्भोतिर्ध्रुवानेतिर्मतिर्मम॥ १८-६८  

 When King Dhrutarashtra asks his Minister Sanjaya, who will win this battle, Sanjaya was so excited that he exclaimed. “Who else but the side that has a warrior like Arjuna and a Guide as Yogacharya, Shree Krishna?” Here, Arjuna is praised as a warrior of great valour. But, why Krishna is called a ‘Yogeshvara’ is quite interesting.

तस्माद् योगाययुज्यस्व योगह् कर्मसु कौशलम्॥ (२-५०) means, “Doing one’s ordained duty without attracting its consequential fruits of action (karma phala) is yoga”, says Krishna. So nishkama karma is advised. To do one’s duty without ever desiring fruits of such action is nishkama karma. This is just service to mankind, or serves people without aspiring for any personal gains through corrupt practices.

  Bhagavan says, “No person can ever sit doing nothing, or keep quiet without doing some work or the other”.  Once a person gets engaged in some action that action is bound to beget its consequences. Thus, we acquire the fruits of our bad action as sin, or good action as punya. The results of previous actions act as the seeds for further actions and thereby we tend to act again and again. This becomes an eternal bondage. All actions begin as a consequence of our desire, aspirations, dreams, and resolve to perform action to fulfill the desire. No desire will ever be fulfilled for there is vidhi, kaala, time, that plays its role in between desire and fulfillment wearing away the zest! This karma phala becomes the seed for rebirth, too.

    In fact, the details of yoga- asana, dhyana, etc. are also given here. Chapter VI is devoted to yoga with special reference to “Realization of the Self”. It is specifically stated, “One should never ignore the self, the Atman; Atman should be realized by taking recourse to yoga, transcendental meditation (atindriya dhyana), in savikalpa samadhi. To be established in one’s self, Atman is yoga. (6.6-24). One who is firmly established in his/her self is a yogin.

 विशयावेदा निस्त्रैगुन्योभवार्जुना। २-४५ (Read as traiguNya not Traigunya and gunya ans guNya)

Who is Bhagavan Shree Krishna?

   Etymologically, the term 'Bhagavan' means, 'one who is seated within' and 'Shree' means, rich and resourceful, and 'Krishna' means, 'That which is immutable, unchanging, and never reducesordiminishes'! 

   There are many  avatars of Vishnu and one is Shre  Krishna. The Gita exemplifies this. The 'One' eulogized in the Gita is nirakara parabrahman. He is unborn, eternal and immutable. The other characters depicted in the Mahabharata as a King of Vrushni Clan, or the brother of Kunti Devi, the imaginary Mother Divine of the Pandavas and Karna born to her Mantra utterances is different and the one depicted in the epic Bhagavata that describes the prowess of the Child Krishna are  all different. One should not mistake the ancient history, epics and mythology and the Gods depicted in the Veda and other scriptures. Only an enlightened person can know all these with the help of an enlightened Guru.  

  Then, “Who is Shree Krishna, we are talking about here?" "Is He God, the Parabrahmn, Narayana, Vishnu or Vasudeva?" These questions are answered in the Taittiriya aranyaka Upanishad [10-1-6]. Here, in Bhagavad-Gita, Shree Krishna is addressed as Bhagavan, Achyuta, Vasudeva, Govinda, Janardhana, Keshava, Madhava, Purushottama, Yogeshvara, and many other names. Actually, all these names have their special context in the Shrimad Bhagavata and Mahabharata Puranas. In Vishnu sahasranamam [Bishma sthavara Raja in Anushasana parva / Shanti parva, Mahabharata], there are a thousand names of the Lord in which Bishma praised the lord before leaving his carnal body. Each one of these names has a hundred connotations! How can you call a name-less Supreme Spirit, the causeless cause of evolution of the Universe? Since there is no name or form and all functions are done by Him, call Him by His divine inherent quality / Moola svarupa- the “sat-chit-ananda”. But it is interesting here to know the exact nature of His relationship with Arjuna.

    Generally, the Vedic rituals include yajnya, yaga, homa, Havana, etc. to propitiate the Gods. It is with sankalpa or desire that the devotees perform these actions. So, Shree Krishna says, any action karma done with desire /sankalpa carries with it the fruits of action. So the desire is t the root of the tree of fruits of action that allows the tree grows; the more the fertile ground of desire, more the gregarious growth and plenty are the fruits bitter and sweet. The tree, its growth bearing fruits and the multitude of seeds and further sprouts and growth go on incessantly and life becomes an eternal bondage. This profuse growth is due to the ignorance, avidya. It leads to bondage. It is the desire that is the cause. This desire is due to lack of knowledge of the self.  Hence, it is necessary to cut this tree of ignorance and prevent further spread of its seeds from fruits of action. In order to cut this tree knowledge as a sharp axe becomes necessary. This knowledge is a secret called Brahm Vidya. Shree Krishna reveals this secret to us through Arjuna. It brings out the immortality of the Soul that can be attained by renunciation of fruits of action. In fact, Shree Krishna asks Arjuna to become a yogi. The Lord says,

मन्मनाभव मद्भक्तो मद्याजे मां नमस्कुरु।मामेवैश्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानं मत्परायणः॥(९. ३४)

Fix thy mind on Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice unto Me; bow down to Me; having thus united thy whole self with Me, taking Me as the Supreme Goal, thou shalt verily come unto Me.

 Therefore, practice ‘dharana’ / contemplation and dhyana. Contemplate on ‘Me’ and ‘Me alone’; focus all your attention on Me”; chant my name day and night 24/7 all the year round. I will redeem you from all this ignorance, avidya, dualities, repeated births and bondage”, says Shree Krishna. Meditation is the key to emancipation. Thus, the secret of becoming Yogi is the central theme of the Bhagavad-Gita. Control your senses. Withdraw them from their outward going tendency and turn them within to focus on the Self. For this yoga, one has to adopt the Yoga Sutra.

The Origin of Life

   As regards the origin of life on the earth, it is not yet clear whether there has been a gradual or a simultaneous creation of all the multifarious forms of creatures ranging from insects and germs to giant whales,elephants and the human species. Who created these is another mystery. However, there are hundreds of scriptures that unmistakably state how living beings are created. Even science vouchsafe these statements indirectly or directly. All living beings are just compounds of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon and a few other simple blocks that created the earth as well as the Stars including the Sun! The cells and tissues that are mere chemical bonds of energy create all forrms of living beings. Initially, everything is 'fire' (agnim). The Rk Veda mantra is agnimeelay purohitam, yajnyasya devam ritvijam hotaram ratna dhatamam | This suffices to say that Energy is at the base of all that exists. In a way, it is nothing but hydro carbons and carbohydrates!  

    The first image from a distant of the biological life forms that emerged in a jar devoid of living substances altogether. We know that the basic spiral of DNA has all of the basic aspects of Fibonacci or golden mean. That’s everywhere in nature, in the shapes of Nautilus shells, plants and even our own bodies. This suggests that the Phi Ratio is the fundamental characteristic of the wave, and that DNA is emerging from the Phi-Field of creation that is flowing through all of space and time.

Nervous system: The role of protein in forming a protective cover to the cell containing gene and chromosome without which they would fall apart is an important stage in evolution. As the organism or jiva gets aged this protective cover also becomes weak and unable to reproduce, thereby causing decay and death. There are also stages when the organisms had to adapt to changing environment and resources available such as Sulphur and iron by mutation. This mutation has led to higher organisms, such as hominids. The giant apes mutated to begin a new lineage, roughly about 4 million years ago!. The early four stages to humans are marked by macaques, orang-utans, gorilla, chimpanzee (4 to 5 m. y) and other higher mammals, primates, developed in the course of evolution due to mutation. The last specie spread rapidly everywhere as the Homo erectus, Homo Neanderthalensis and the Homo sapiens and coexisted. It is now human history and, the earliest fossil remains of this are dated 130 000 years.

The Vedic statements in this regard is very clear. It states, “There are in his body nerves (nadis) called hita, which are fine as a hair divided into a thousand parts and are filled with white, blue, brown, green and red fluids. They are the seat of the subtle body, which is the storehouse of impressions. Now, when he feels as if he were being killed or overpowered, or being chased by an elephant, or falling into a pit, in short, when he fancies at that time, thorough ignorance, whatever frightful thing he has experienced in the waking state, that is the dream state. So also, when he thinks he is a god, as it were, or a king, as it were, or thinks: This universe is myself and I am all that is his highest state. That indeed is his form-free from desires, free from evils, free from fear. As a man fully embraced by his beloved wife knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within, so does this infinite being (the self), when fully embraced by the Supreme Self, know nothing that is without, nothing that is within. That indeed is his form, in which all his desires are fulfilled, in which all desires become the self and which is free from desires and devoid of grief. In this state a father is no more a father, a mother is no more a mother, the worlds are no more the worlds, the gods are no more the gods, the Vedas are no more the Vedas. In this state a thief is no more a thief, the killer of a noble brahmin is no more a killer, a chandala is no more a chandala, a paulkasa is no more a paulkasa, a monk is no more a monk, an ascetic is no more an ascetic. This form of his is untouched by good deeds and untouched by evil deeds, for he is then beyond all the woes of his heart. [Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV, III-Investigation of the Three States, 20-22]

Did God Create the Universe?

   The Veda asserts that there was neither existence (sada), nor  Non-existence (asada) at the beginning-less beginning! [See nasadiya Sukta Rk Veda] Then what was there? The scientists say, "The universe is filled with dark 'Energy' (76%) and dark Matter (26%) and the remaining is the galaxies and stars. Hydrogen is the light gaseous element that has created the stars like the Sun and the fission and fusion produces the elements like Helium, Carbon, Oxygen, Gold, Platinum, Silver, Iron, Magnesium, Silicon, Aluminum, Magnesium, etc. the fundamental bricks of the universe. The clash and explosion of the neutron stars produce the gravitational waves, the electromagnetic waves, release of atomic energy, and the like. Now the question is that of energy becoming matter and vice versa. Who is the radical force behind all these physical and chemical actions and reactions? When did and how did Hydrogen manifest and how Water,earth and the living beings are created? Id there God or any supernatural powers that create these things or just they happen on their own?  What is Time and Space Continuum and when did they manifest and from where? The answer is not yet clear. 

 One view is that "God did not create the Universe" and the 'Big Bang' was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book. In The Grand Design (co-authored with U.S. physicist Leonard Mlodinow), Hawking says a new series of theories made a Creator of the Universe redundant according to the Times newspaper which published extracts on Thursday. "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason that there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist,"  

   We have made tremendous progress in cosmology in the last hundred years. The General Theory of Relativity and the discovery of the expansion of the universe shattered the old picture of an ever-existing and everlasting universe. Instead, general relativity predicted that the universe, and time itself, would begin in the big bang. It also predicted that time would come to an end in black holes. The discovery of the cosmic microwave background and observations of black holes support these conclusions. This is a profound change in our picture of the universe and of reality itself. Thus, general relativity on its own cannot answer the central question in cosmology: Why is the universe the way it is? However, if general relativity is combined with quantum theory it may be possible to predict how the universe would start. It would initially expand at an ever-increasing rate.

   Einstein's General Theory of Relativity unified time and space as space-time, but time was still different from space and was like a corridor, which either had a beginning and end, or went on forever. However, when one combines General Relativity with Quantum Theory, Jim Hartle realized that time can behave like another direction in space under extreme conditions. This means one can get rid of the problem of time having a beginning, in a similar way in which we got rid of the edge of the world.  If one believed that the universe had a beginning, the obvious question was what happened before the beginning? What was God doing before He made the world? Was He preparing Hell for people who asked such questions? The problem of whether or not the universe had a beginning was a great concern to the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. He felt there were logical contradictions, or antimonies, either way. If the universe had a beginning, why did it wait an infinite time before it began? He called that the thesis. On the other hand, if the universe had existed for ever, why did it take an infinite time to reach the present stage? He called that the antithesis. Both these thesis and the antithesis depended on Kant's assumption, along with almost everyone else, that time was Absolute. That is to say, it went from the infinite past to the infinite future, independently of any universe, that might or might not exist, in this background. This is just an image, a picture, in the mind of scientists today.

But, the Vedic doctrines were clear as to the nature of the creation, its sustenance and dissolution. The Veda and Agama Shastra invoke a Deva Narayana in the form of embodiment of pure Consciousness on the screen of which this entire universe moves as if a movie film! The universe is His ‘Will’, chittavrutti, mentation, images created in His own form! It is said, “God created man and man created God”. The sculptors cut the images in the sandal wood, marble, shalagrama stone, or mould in liquid metals of gold, silver, copper or five alloy metals (pancha loha). All these are images carved out of imagination! There is no doubt as to what the universe is and who the God is! But, in science, everything is a hypothesis, theory, postulation, and a probability, at the most. Even the visuals of images of stars and galaxies, the distances calculated  in mind-bogging ‘Light Years’ make no sense to ordinary people.

   The Sun is more massive and intrinsically brighter than 95% of stars in our galaxy. The red dwarf stars — M-class stars — which are no more than 40% the mass of our Sun, make up 3 out of every 4 stars that are out there. What’s more than that, our Sun exists in isolation; it is not gravitationally bound to any other stars. But that is not necessarily how stars exist in the galaxy, either. The universe is a vast infinite space which includes the earth and all the heavenly bodies in the sky. The sky contains the Sun, Planets (their moons), Stars, Galaxies, Comets, Asteroids and Satellites. [See Figs.] The earth is formed out of the gaseous 

matter (Helium) that was emitted by the solar flares and gradually cooled and condensed to the present gross physical state-Water 78 % sial and Sima crust 21%. There is enormous heat within the earth and molten material along with gas is emitted through vents, cracks, fissures and volcanoes even today. The interior of the earth is a hard Nickel and Iron (NiFe) core subject to fluctuations. Magmatic material constitutes the outer core of the earth. The inner core and outer core are separated by a shell that prevents any passage of seismic waves!

Effect of Self-Realization

Self-Realization (Atma-sakshatkara)

    What exactly happens when the jiva contemplates on itself is the realization of its true nature. After a long contemplation, the jiva realizes that the body it has built over a time from food, say a few drops of milk or a spoonful of baby food, starting from the day it is born to its ripe old age eating breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a few drinks in between holding is nothing but a earthen pot! It is the same food that is converted into cells, tissues, organs with blood and bones. It is almost 70 per cent water and 28 per cent earth (food), the rest being air, fire and space within. Thus, the microcosmic jiva is a replica of the macrocosm. That is the reason why the scriptures say; as is the macro, so is the brahmanda (micro) so is the pindanda (microcosm). The miniscule organic entity that constitutes the jiva as the ‘cells’ (jiva kosha) plays a vital role here. The blue print of the entire jiva is held in a jelly like protein-covered cell consisting of the amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, hormones, chromosomes, the Ribo nucleic acids (RNA) and the DNA. The entire plan and the path of journey of the jiva’s journey is mapped here. In fact, every aspect of birth, growth and death is clearly laid down in a zipped manner like a computer memory chip! This realization is ‘Atma sakshatkar’.

   The jiva, in the course of its deep contemplation in a state of transcendental meditation, suddenly gets a flash, realizes that it is not the physical body, the senses and mind, the buddhi or the ahankar, but a divine spark, a photon.  It is not even the torso, the limbs or the head that matters in day-to-day life. The mind itself plays a dominant role in life of the jiva, much to its disadvantage! Mind is the cause of misery and the jiva suffers due to its ignorance.

   Suddenly, a turning point comes in its life when it realises the nature of its true self. It realizes that the jiva arrived as an energy particle, a particle of Light, photon, reached the earth and got embedded in an earthen pot, a gross body, The horoscope give the exact location of the star in the sky. It is not difficult to decipher all these secrets from a horoscope provided the astrologer is also an astronomer! Otherwise, it is just a pastime.

     The Bhagavad-Gita also gives these details how the jiva is not a mortal body but an unborn, eternal and immortal entity as the soul, Atman or ‘jiva jyoti’ embodied in an earthen shell; Life is not just a journey from the date of birth to the date of death. It is the eternal journey of a particle of Light is space. This Light contains knowledge, consciousness (Chit), having all information in a zipped chip form, with the ability to transform objects and run a course in different forms and functions.

     Thus, LIFE is a manifest form of several subtler forces such as Light (Knowledge), Intelligence, Force (Shakti), and Energy (Prana). It also contains the essential ingredients of a divine nature, the sat, chit, and ananda. It is capable of visualizing its true nature. This is called ‘Shiva’ in the scriptures. Shiva is not only aware of Himself as the Self, but also, as ‘an other’, another not much different than the Self. The world, ‘prakruti’, or Shive is the creative power of Shiva. Thus, the jiva is nothing but Shiva.  Shiva is prakasha (Light), Shiva is also Shive, vimarsha, the analytical aspect, the universe. The combined aspect of Shiva and Shive, as Shivayuvati or ardhanarishvara is one. Thus, everything is the manifest form of one’s own, the Self.  

How the Jiva arrives on Earth:

   The Bhagvad-Gita explains how the jiva arrives on earth. All the living beings survive on food which comes from the soil. Plants depend on Rain for germination of seeds. Rain comes from clouds. Clouds are formed from evaporation of water from oceans due to sun’s heat. Thus, it is the same ‘solar energy’ that lies in the form of water vapor in the clouds that produce rain due to cooling and condensation. This ‘solar energy’ is the ‘life–force’ that we get from the sun as well as the distant stars. Each jiva is an ‘ion’, a subatomic particle, a photon, a stellar dust particle, in this sense of the term.

    This life-force or ‘prana’ is at the root of all jivas (prani). Water, heat, and soil play a very important role in germination of the seed. Vedic Texts say, “purusha’ (brahmn) is the seed. In the Gita, Bhagavan Sri Krishna says, “I am the seed of creation”. Everything is ‘chaitanya’, energy inherent in spirit as we as matter that is unborn, eternal and immortal. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy is derived from sun, also known as Aditya (and distant stars, too,) as far as earth and its living beings are concerned. The Sun is the chief source of energy for us. As regards the actual process of creation or evolution of life forms, there are a number of sources and Vishnu purana and Devi Purana are the important ones. Some of these details are given later. However, in brief, it is stated that “Eighty-four thousand species are created by cosmic force Adi parashakti. Two opposite forces-equal and opposite are created as Satyarupa (Aditi) and Diti as consorts of Kashyapa, the self effulgent, svayambhuva manu. From Aditi are created Sun, vayu, soma, Indra, agni, varuna, aryaman, pushan, ashvin, vasu- all considered the Vedic Devata. The human beings are created by svayambhu manu Kashyap and Aditi while all others including the demons are created by Diti. Brahma creates, Vishnu nurtures and Ishvara neutralizes the forces of fusion and fission. The energy component of the Trinity- brahma, vishnu, and Ishvara will be reflected in the human beings as the ‘Atman’. The Atma is the chaitanya of vishnu, intellect and creativity comes from Ishvara, and, finally the humans can cognize and realize Atman and experience sat chit and ananda only through self awareness. There are no physical entities or parents and off-springs as such here. Body, mind and intellect as well as the soul spontaneously generated tuned to cosmic energy of the supreme spirit sol, paramatman. The scientists are still busy in finding the mystery involved in the creation of life. The molecular biologists have discovered the constituents of the structure and composition of the cell- the protein gel membrane that covers the cells, the genes and their inherent characteristics, the DNA and RNA chains, the amino acids, enzymes, the vitamins, hormones, and the chromosomes are all now known but for the exact source of their energy component, may be traced to an extraneous source that can never be described! 

I Am the Universe- aham brahmasmi |

Trillions of Stars in the galaxies of the multiverse.

The solar flares that caused the planets like our Earth 

The Position of Solar System in the Spiral Galaxy, Milky Way. We are just a miniscule!

The Black Hole that ultimately swallows everything! (kaalo'smi | says Bhagavan Shree Krishna in the Gita.

    When we look at the universe through the powerful electronic telescopes what we see is the images of the stars, galaxies and the sun. These images are sent by the eyes to the brain and reflected in our mind and presented on the mind-screen. So, what we see is not anywhere outside of us, but within us.This is made possible by the soul that creates and sustains the physical body. In fact, the physical body has no separate existence and depends on the life-force supported by the food and food is prana. annam brahmaa | Now, the physical body supported by annam and prana is just an accessory to what all one views, knows or understands and all these are within us. The physical body made of the five great elements (pancha mahabhuta) is the earthen pot that separate the within and the without. When this earthen pot is broken, there exists nothing separate as the outer and the inner! Everything is one only.

   The Brhma sutra that states 'akshi purusha' emphasizes the fact that the sun, the eyes and the soul are one! All that exists is the Knowledge, the 'vid', the knowledge of the Self. Atmai vedgm sarvam | Thus, Atman knows all. In fact, every individual acquires some knowledge and serves as a professional throughout his life. Hence everybody is known as a faculty (doctor, engineer, professor, advocate or judge and the like) only and no such thing exists at the beginning (in childhood) and end (old age)! Death destroys all that is presented as affixes and suffixes (qualifications). Who took birth, who lived through and who died is the question! All that appears on this earth has a beginning and an end. But the core of the substance that gives shape to body remains forever, often changing its form? 

    Now, the question where  is the universe and where is the jiva? The jivatman and the Paramatman are an eternal chain of Lagragian string just like the two points of the circle are merged at the same point in the circumference of the circle. This is also explicitly stated as the Veda and the vyasa. The point at the centre only expands to form the circle, bigger and bigger to encompass the universe. Thus the Jnyani declared aham brahmasmi !
   Contemplate on Brahman. "One who contemplates on brahman becomes brahman only" is the last sutra (verse 555) of the Brahm sutras.

Sky Watch and Earth Watch

Who am I? Where Am I? Am I an alien who arrived here on Earth? What is my true nature of existence? Some of these questions are yet to be satisfactorily answered. We all take our existence for granted and dwell into secrets of nature without knowing the fact that what i am in search of is myself, my 'Self'! The pictures of the Galaxy, Stars, and the Sun as well as the Giant Black Hole give us an idea about the gross objects of the universe, but the subtler forces operating behind these are only left to our imagination! We have made much progress in analyzing the light and electromagnetic waves radiating from distant stars, but we cannot relate them to our birth and day-to-day life and activities, as yet. This is what is carefully analysed here. The principle of "I AM', or so'ham asmi, or 'Shivo'ham' answers this! But, very few can understand this.

Sky watch and Earth watch

    In a sense, we are all aliens who descended to this Planet Earth. We arrived here in the form of an energy particle, a nutrinos, a photon, an energy particle fully loaded with all knowledge, technology, ability to create, modify or transform, produce unbelievably miraculous forms and functions as a celia, biological cell that can create, develop, sustain and disseminate before dissolution or merger. “I am That”, says the Veda. “I am the Universe”, some scientists declare! Aham brahmasmi is the Veda. Now, the scientists have attained the state of the ancient sages and declare that the science and the Vedanta are one and the same! Today, we know more almost everything from a sub-atomic particle to the giant star, the universe, the multiverse and beyond! “I am Shiva” (Shivo’ham or so’ham asmi) is the ultimate truth! Look within and find ‘it’ out. This is explicitly stated in the Atmabodha of Sri Shankaracharya.

    It all starts with the tiny twinkling Star. Great astronomers starting from Aryabhata to Galileo, Tycho Brahe, Kepler and Stephen Hawking did a lot of sky watching and documented their observations. What all we know about the universe from sky watch are mere speculations, probabilities, theories and hypotheses, and postulations. Moreover, our knowledge is obtained from the study of ‘Light’. Scientists have presented the theories of ‘Big Bang’, ‘Black Holes’ and the General Theory of Relativity and Gravitational Theory. The most powerful telescope to get the pictures of the outer boundary of the universe is getting ready and will be operative in a few years; and, till then we have to be contented with what we have obtained from the Hubble telescope and the CERN, the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), and Virgo Observatory, and other sources. The discovery of Gravitational waves in February 2016 has opened up a new vista and scientists are excited about it. Already, they have come out with the rate at which the universe is expanding! We have now findings from experiments in molecular biology, DNA studies, Wave theory, quantum mechanics, and particle physics. Some elementary knowledge about the neutron stars, supernova, and white stars, red stars and dwarfs and other types of stars and their structure and composition, and we know how galaxies are formed in space. We also know that all that we see as the universe, the cosmos, is just 5 per cent and the rest are Dark matter (25 per cent) and dark energy (70 per cent). Only four powerful forces- Gravity, Electromagnetism, atomic energy and some strong and weak forces are operating this universe! How the universe is created is a matter of great interest and almost all the ancient Indian scriptures speak about it. The modern scientists do not have even a faint idea bout it!  

 The Vedic statement as well as the Scientific version of the Universe in its infant stage are same. It was all cold. Then it became hot,  hotter, and hottest the extent of exploding into Big Bang. This is 'shukra sphota'. The element that lies at the base is H and this Hydrogen is everything, 'Agnim'. Agni, Fire is everything and the Vedic mantra is agnimeelay purohitam yajnyasya devam Ritvijam hotaaram ratna dhaatamam | 

    The recent observations of the universe through the lens of the powerful electronic telescopes and the interpretations of the images obtained from them, reveal a lot of secrets regarding the origin of the universe. Today we know a lot more than what we learnt during the last hundred years. Twenty-first century heralds a new vision.

   However, there is nothing new in all these since the Agama Shastra Samhitas (almost 200!), Srividya and the Cosmogram Sri Chakra have already revealed these in very clear unmistakable terms. We have the Pancharatra which describe the powers vested in ‘Sudarshana’. Hence, we do not have any doubt regarding the creation, development and sustenance and dissolution of this universe. In fact we have realized the secret of all these life in its variety and diversity as described in the forgoing paragraphs. The phenomenal objective world is thus a myth! The universe is expanding at a very rapid rate and each is moving farther and farther away from each other, and this includes the nature of the human mind and the behaviour of beings in their relations, too! No wonder, one day, everything will fall apart! Strangely enough, all these are described in the spiritual texts; the great sages like Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Ashtavakra, Raikva and Avadhuta knew all about these! They were the drushtaras who visualized and handed down their knowledge to us.

  When we watch the earth and ourselves from space, the picture we get is something stranger than that we get from what we get from when we watch the space from the earth. This earth watch and watch of the self by the great sages or yogi of the past has revealed the true nature of our existence. Our existence here on earth as ‘earthlings’ or living creatures dependent on food is purely a transitory one. However, it is not the living body with which we are concerned here but the energy aspect constituting the core of the substance, the Atma. The unborn, eternal, and immortal soul is what all matters here. It is this tiny invisible particle smaller than the smallest (anoraniyan) that is the core of the substance, the universe. It is the same at all the three levels- the cosmos (brahmanda), the body (pindanda) and the cell (andanda). It is that abstract absolute indefinable eternal spiritual entity which acquires mass and becomes matter at a later stage and, thus, becomes a visible entity, called Atman. It is the embodiment of knowledge. It has everything within itself to manifest as it desires! This is the true story of creation. 

   Now, this mystery of the universe seems to be solved to some extent. It is a journey of the soul. It(the soul) may as well say, “I am the light”. I emerge from a distant star, travel down to earth as a particle of stellar particle of light, ‘Energy’, and get embedded in anything and everything. The famous poem “soundarya lahari” by Sri Shankaracharya eulogises the ‘stellar particles’, ‘star-dust’, in the very first verse. Accordingly, the ‘Trinity- hari, hara, virinchi, seated at the feet of “Devi trailokya sundari Adi Shakti Rajarajeshvari ask Her(Devi’s) permission to collect a few stellar dust particles from Her feet. Brahma, virinchi (Im), asks Her permission to create the universe and vishnu, hari (ra) wants Her permission to sustain what is created, and finally, ‘hara’ or maheshvara (ha) wants Her permission to burn all these to dust and smear it on his body! Thus, Shree and the trinity have been eulogised as the bijakshara maha mantra “shreem”. Thus, every jiva is an embodiment of Devi only!

    Thus, the nature of the origin of life, the embodiment of the Atman (soul) as the jiva (jivatman) is very clear. The dust particles of Devi’s feet is significant. Each and every stellar dust particle is intelligent, knowledgeable and has capacity to take any form Devi wills or desires! It is this stellar dust or ‘Energy’ particle that creates a body as per the will of Devi Shree trailokyasundari. Hence, all living beings, jivas, are inseparable part of Devi only and remain so for ever. It(the atman) enters the earth along with the sun rays, electromagnetic waves, and passes through clouds, raindrops, soil and vegetation like a person entering in and out of a car, train, ship or aircraft and comes out. This Atman- a photon, a particle of ‘Energy’ gets embodied and to run errands on this earth endlessly. Once it entered the soil, plants, fruits, vegetables, or food grains as ‘annam’ and has made its way to the would-be father’s body- his blood cell, bone marrow, desire, spermatozoa and entered the would-be mother’s womb it get struck in an eternal journey due to its desires and action (karma)!

    The spermatozoa is the seed of the purusha carrying the blue-prints and design of the jiva. It is the ‘chetana’, vital (pranic) energy, ‘I’ only that passed through all these! Thus, this ‘i’ (the jiva) is the ‘I’ brahman, who as a tiny energy particle Atman, emanated from a distant star as a particle of light and traversed the sky and entered the earth. This journey of the Atman (soul) is narrated in the Bhagavad-Gita. This particle of chetana Shakti (like sparks or electrical charges), as vital (pranic) energy, and has imbibed the powers of the Devi. It has knowledge, power, resources, strength, potency and the light emanating as the radiant rays (mayukha) and as such can take any form and function, however, in a limited way. It has entered all that is found here as water, minerals, fire, air, soil, food, plants, and, finally got embodied in different forms of living and non-living beings, as moving and non-moving beings. It has all the knowledge, information, technology, and ability to transform itself and design its own tissues, organs (like the heart, kidney, lungs, liver or brain) and becomes the living beings. The Mind is well developed in the humans. What governs the life of a man is his mind and moods (manas and chitta), buddhi, ahankara, and the imagination, thoughts and desires. Since the Atman or soul as prana has the ability to enter anywhere and everywhere it has consciousness- prajnya. It matters very little what form of living being, whether a fish or frog, pig, horse, dog or a cat, or a man. Whatever form of livings being the prana enters it comes out as their kind! It makes no difference what forms it takes since the purpose is only to experience the world.

    Is there any doubt as to the true nature of the jiva now? 

The Embodied Soul (Jivatman): The jiva located on this planet earth is a mysterious one. The earth is supposed to be an ideal place for living beings (jivarashi) to breathe, eat and drink, and survive and propagate. It is now clear from research findings in the fields of astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology and genetics that a few fundamental particles like hydrogen, carbon, oxygen (H + C + O) go to make the entire living entity, the living biotic world. Even the universe consisting of the galaxies, stars, planets and their satellites are mainly gaseous elements that later condensed into gross objects. The living beings (jiva-rashi), and all that we find on earth are essentially the made of these subtler energy in the form of light, electricity, magnetism and gravitational force. The humans are endowed with intellect, mind and thought force, intellect and energy. Basically, the fundamental particles are subtler subatomic particles (as in a shooting Star), a meteorite that burnt out as it entered the earth’s atmosphere, that radiate energy and light. This has prompted the scientists to speculate whether the life force (prana) of the jiva has come from the interstellar space!

    The four types of physical forces that govern the universe are classified as: 1. Gravity, 2. Electromagnetism, 3. Strong Nuclear Forces, and 4. Weak Nuclear Forces. The true nature and power of Gravity are yet to be clearly understood. While the Strong Nuclear Forces binds atomic nuclei. The Weak Nuclear Forces cause radioactive decay (like Uranium becoming lead) and it also creates earthquakes and continental drift.  Yet another important essential missing force which acts as a catalyst, or that binds all these, is believed to be there, yet to be discovered!

   The concept of ‘Space’ in scientific literature is different from the one that is used in Vedantic texts. The term ‘space’ used in science is matter, energy like any other object of observation. But in Vedanta, it is ‘Akasha’, the very subject, that holds all! It is called ‘brahmn’. Akasha and brahmn are one and the same. Not only that the akasha is there far above but it is much deeper within! There is no place where ‘akasha’ does not exist and “Everything is akash, brahmn”. Thus, there is aksh within us as well as outside of us! These inner (antar) and the outer (bahir) akasha are separated by the physical component (body) like a pot; the space within and without the pot are the same but for the separation by an earthen wall and they become one again when the earthen pot is broken. This is what is done symbolically breaking the pot during cremation of the dead body in our rituals. 

    Ancient scriptures give classification that is not much different from the present-day scientific one. The language may be different but the sum and substance are the same. Briefly, the scientific method is one of experimentation, observation, generalization and universal application. However, the findings are subject to further investigations and change; nothing is certain. They have thus presented hypotheses, postulations, theories of probability, etc. But, this is not the case with the scriptures that are intuitional statements, each one personally experienced by the learned ones through deep contemplation in transcendental meditation. These have been pronounced as final! There is no further question about it. Thus we have the opinions of the Spiritual scientists (vedantin) and the material scientists (padartha vijnyani). The views of the great sages are in aphorisms or cryptic verses, coded language with symbolism, imageries, and esoteric verses, and these need be properly decoded with the help of learned teachers; so also, the mathematical equations, formulae, and the theories of great mathematicians and scientists! Thus, nothing is easy. The common man remains ignorant of all these and somehow ekes out a living. Most of the people do not even bother to know about the spiritual aspects and simply live on.  So, the question of ‘what is it I am doing here’?  The search goes on.

How the Jiva takes a Form

How the Jiva arrives on Earth:

   The Bhagvad-Gita explains how the jiva arrives on earth. All the living beings survive on food which comes from the soil. Plants depend on Rain for germination of seeds. Rain comes from clouds. Clouds are formed from evaporation of water from oceans due to sun’s heat. Thus, it is the same ‘solar energy’ that lies in the form of water vapor in the clouds that produce rain due to cooling and condensation. This ‘solar energy’ is the ‘life–force’ that we get from the sun as well as the distant stars. Each jiva is an ‘ion’, a subatomic particle, a photon, a stellar dust particle, in this sense of the term.

    This life-force or ‘prana’ is at the root of all jivas (prani). Water, heat, and soil play a very important role in germination of the seed. Vedic Texts say, “purusha’ (brahmn) is the seed. In the Gita, Bhagavan Sri Krishna says, “I am the seed of creation”. Everything is ‘chaitanya’, energy inherent in spirit as we as matter that is unborn, eternal and immortal. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy is derived from sun, also known as Aditya (and distant stars, too,) as far as earth and its living beings are concerned. The Sun is the chief source of energy for us. As regards the actual process of creation or evolution of life forms, there are a number of sources and Vishnu purana and Devi Purana are the important ones. Some of these details are given later. However, in brief, it is stated that “Eighty-four thousand species are created by cosmic force Adi parashakti. Two opposite forces-equal and opposite are created as Satyarupa (Aditi) and Diti as consorts of Kashyapa, the self effulgent, svayambhuva manu. From Aditi are created Sun, vayu, soma, Indra, agni, varuna, aryaman, pushan, ashvin, vasu- all considered the Vedic Devata. The human beings are created by svayambhu manu Kashyap and Aditi while all others including the demons are created by Diti. Brahma creates, Vishnu nurtures and Ishvara neutralizes the forces of fusion and fission. The energy component of the Trinity- brahma, vishnu, and Ishvara will be reflected in the human beings as the ‘Atman’. The Atma is the chaitanya of vishnu, intellect and creativity comes from Ishvara, and, finally the humans can cognize and realize Atman and experience sat chit and ananda only through self awareness. There are no physical entities or parents and off-springs as such here. Body, mind and intellect as well as the soul spontaneously generated tuned to cosmic energy of the supreme spirit sol, paramatman. The scientists are still busy in finding the mystery involved in the creation of life. The molecular biologists have discovered the constituents of the structure and composition of the cell- the protein gel membrane that covers the cells, the genes and their inherent characteristics, the DNA and RNA chains, the amino acids, enzymes, the vitamins, hormones, and the chromosomes are all now known but for the exact source of their energy component, may be traced to an extraneous source that can never be described! The following illustrations will give us some idea about these.The Journey of  jiva starts as peck of star dust from a Star, reaches Earth as if by chance and through clouds, rain, soil, and  food, get converted into a spermatozoa, a zygote and, to  the form of a Baby as shown in Figs. A 1- 5 and from a seed to a huge tree as in B 1-2and its process as shown in Figs.above.. Note the potency of the sperm and the seed! The germination of seed and fertilization of eggs are curious aspects of life. Also, there are viruses and germs automatically appearing from nowhere! Shoots cut and transplanted also grow and thus propagation takes place. These are andaja, budbhuda, svedaja and retaja- the four types of propagation. Chaitanya, prana, life-force is the critical factor in creating life. This prana or life-force is coming from oxygen and hydrogen, but who puts it there is the question! Oreover, one seed only becomes a orchard, plantation, or forest. One person only becomes family, society, and nation.

   The word ‘Life’ is loosely applied to a collection of processes- DNA replication and transcription krebs cycle, and the lactic acid cycle. We are yet to decipher the true nature of the ‘life-force’ or ‘pranic energy’ that is at the root of all jivas (prani). Light, water, and soil together play a very important role in germination of the seed. Where do the ‘pranic energy’, chaitanya lie in these three supporting factors- soil, water, light, or the potency of the seed is still open to question since it is said to be elsewhere in space (akasha) associated with the invisible mind (manas) and desire, but whose?! The scriptures reiterate that ‘mind and mood’, desire and attachment, will and resolve are important subtler forces in creation. The doctrine is “no desire, no life”. This is explained in the famous ‘madhurashtakam’ (gravity/sweetness/attraction/magnetism?) and the doctrine of sacrifice (tyaga, yajnya) as stated in the Veda. “Everything is sweet’ (madhuram) and sacrifice”, says the Veda. The Sun burns itself, sacrifices itself, to produce heat, light, energy and life-force and thereby created all the paraphernalia of life-forms on earth. Each one is a link in the food chain and a sacrifice, at that. Man sacrifices his freedom for a wife and family, the family for the society, the society for the nation, and the nations for the world at large. This goes on and on until everything ends at the wave of the magic wand of the lord. Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, “I am the magician (mayavin) and I project/ create with my magic wand (Sudarshana chakra) and, withdraw/ destroy everything.” He says “I am Time” -Kaalo’smi | 

  According to the Gita, things should happen by will of God! The Lord says, it is my lila! Learned sages, Jnyani, say, “Oh Lord, not a blade of grass stirs without your will”; na trunamapi chalati te na vinaa | Only divine will prevails.

 

   

Holistic View of the Universe

      Visualization (darshan) is possible in deep Meditation –

       pashya me yogamaishvaram | [BG 5].

   "Look, look at my powers!" Arjuna says Bhagavan Shree Krishna.

    Hitherto, a single concrete holistic view of the universe- from the Big Bang with the thunder, lightning, clouds roaring and showering rain and snow to sprouting of seeds in the soil, and the Black Hole, swallow everything in a matter of second has been  explained by scientists as well as the Vedantins. In fact, The Gita contains everything what one wants to know!  Bhagavan Shree Krishna calls Himself 'Time' ( kaal)! He is Sudarshana. He says, "kaalos’smi’, I am kaal devouring everything! This was missing in the scientific versions since it was considered a taboo to think of Vedanta and science and talk about the two in the same breath, as if it was a taboo to talk while eating! There was no attempt to synthesize our knowledge and present a holistic view of our existence in this transitory make-believe world.

   In all reality, all living (chara) or non-living (achara) beings are nothing but ‘vibrant energy’ due to chemical bonds. In fact, there is nothing to assume anything beyond this! However, the case of human beings is slightly different. All human beings are not the same. Some are in advanced stage of evolution, where as, many are just opening up into a state of the human from the primate, say from monkey to man? This is due to the development of the manas (mind)- the vibrant mature mind. There are seven levels of consciousness at which one can exist!  Also, this study takes us from the ancient Greek’s ‘Geo-centric’ theory with the earth at the centre of the study to to the modern ‘Helio-centric’ theory with the Sun at the centre, and, now we take to the ‘Homeo-centric’ theory of the universe keeping man at the centre of the system of the universe. In a way, it is like the famous Rene Descartes’ doctrine of 'cogito, ergo sum’, “I think, so I am”; but, of course, there is a little modification here in the light of the doctrines of the Rk Veda Samhita- aham brahmasmi | so’ham asmi | ayam Atma brahmn | “The universe exists in Me. I am the universe”; ”I am the Self of all”, says Lord Sri Krishna. (Bhagavad-Gita). These are considered as the ‘spiritual aspects’.  Man as a thinking animal saying “I think, so exist” now becomes “I exist, so I think”. “Consciousness is Everything”, prajnyan brahma | sarvam khaluvidam brahmaa|

  The Upanishads explicitly stated, “It is not That”, neti, neti. What all we see are mere qualities, attributes, not the real! All that we see are objects that come within the grip of vibration, maya, limitations of time, space, and causality. Light travels and creates Time and Space and objects fill it. Since ‘Time” itself an illusion, ‘the space created by it as it moves’, and ‘the objects that fills it’ are also illusions. The true nature, ‘Reality’, is different! It never changes, it is immutable. Now, the modern scientists, too, have started talking in this very same tone. The latest research findings have have confirmed the observations of the great sages on the principle of ‘oneness’ and ‘immutability’- “the sub-atomic particles at the one end and the cosmos at the other constitutes one continuum- anoraniyan mahato mahiyan | The macro and the micro exist in a continuum as explained in the Lagrangian String (L) theory. The scientists now say, “solid is not solid” and, “what we see as the phenomenal objective world as real is not real”! There is an invisible subtler state, that is almost virtual,  a state of ‘is there’ and ‘is not there’, or ‘exists’ (sada) and ‘doesn’t exist’ (asada/ non-existence), rather, a state of ‘nothingness’, a dormant state of matter manifesting as something! The Nasadiya sukta, of Rk Veda,  Mandala X, has made this amply clear. Even the Purusha Sukta of the same Mandala has been confirmed by the scientists! The latest visuals from powerful camera have revealed the human shape of a cloud stellar dust (fermi’s ‘ion’) that later condensed Einstei-Bose condensate) into stars and planets.

    Thus, it is very clear as to how the visible universe has come into existence from almost a state of ‘nothingness’ to ‘everything’- manifest from ‘nowhere’ to ‘now and here’! What we see or experience as the real world is, ideed, a movie of forms of vibration of energy, like the picture on a screen depicting a story. The form is created by energy as stated in the Vedic statement Rupa is the tanmatra of agni. The following study brings out these aspects of creation in detail. Modern research studies in ‘Matter’ cover the entire field of particle physics, quantum mechanics, wave theory, energy concept, gravitation theory, and the structure of the atom down to the fermions and bosons, as ‘God Particle’! The most surprising fact is that the latest research findings in the fields of astronomy, physics, biology,  and chemistry confirm the statements of our ancient sages. What the modern scientists have found out with the help of the electronic gadgets such as the telescopes, spectroscopes, microscopes has been actually visualized by these Sages of lore, these saints have actually realized the ‘truth’ in their yogic trance, ‘savikalpa-samadhi’, or Transcendental meditative state visualizing saguna brahmn. They have stated their experience in brief aphorisms like the mathematical formula or the scientists equations! There is no contradiction, whatsoever, with the modern findings. In fact, what these sages (drushtara) have visualized are true for all times to come, whereas, the modern theories, hypotheses, postulations, and assumptions are subject to change! It is not the intention of the author here to make the text highly technical and difficult for common man to understand; however, making some of the doctrines that are depicted in highly esoteric symbolism cannot be made easy to understand in ordinary common language, for it will fail to convey the essence, ‘truth’. The ‘truth’ has to be realized by oneself in a ‘transcendental meditative state’, savikalpa samdhi, through yoga. The sadhaka can experience it. Whatever is experienced remains the individual’s own, inexplicable and cannot be put in words for the benefit of the others! Whatever one experiences as a ‘vision’ (darshan) by his/her own yogic effort cannot be questioned, too. Those who want similar experience will have to undertake similar practical yogic steps (ashtanaga yoga). There are innumerable methods of experiencing the truth. Once a person experiences ‘sat’, ‘the truth’, there remains nothing to be proved.