Prana

  All that moves and moves-not are the products of the Earth. The difference between these two lie in movement, the motor power. "Plant do have life" (J.C.Bose). Plants grow, propagate but do not move. The animals, birds, insects and all living beings move, grow and propagate. The magic of life lies in the life-force (prana shakti). Nothing moves unless this 'energy' is operative in the body. This is the magical element, may be traced to Oxygen. 

   Where does the prana lie? This is still open to question since it is said Prana is life-force like Oxygen in the space (akasha), or with the mind and desire! Mind and mood, desire and attachment, dreams and aspirations, attachment to physical body (abhinivesha) are the important subtler forces in creation and sustenance. Desire is the oot cause and this 'desire' is brahmn. “No desire, no life”, is the doctrine. Everything is desire and association. Life is sweet due to desire and attachment. This is explained in the ‘madhurashtakam’ (Sweet/attraction/magnetism?) and the doctrine of sacrifice, ‘yajnya’, 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 |

    There is a Space-Time Continuum in the Creation of phenomenal objectives that are transient. This is termed ‘maya’ in Vedanta. This is the subtlest factor that governs all that is our Universe, including the Planet Earth and its living beings!

    The Vedic doctrine is “Desire is brahmn”. All that we see here is brahmn. In a way, it is desire that creates life. Desire arises due to the inherent divine aspect of ananda. Everybody lives only due to this joy, happiness derived from prana. Breathing itself is joy, 'ananda'.

 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”; trunamapi na chalati te na vinaa | Only divine will prevails.

The Scientific view:

    The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking covers the growth of modern physics (Quantum Mechanics, General Relativity, and Modern Cosmology) sprinkled with the wild speculation about multiple universes that seems mandatory in popular works these days. Short but engaging and packed with colorful illustrations, the book is a natural choice for someone wanting a quick introduction to mind-bending Theoretical Physics. Early on, the authors claim that they will be answering the ultimate riddles of existence