Existence and Non-existence

    The Vedic doctrine is: In the beginning there was neither 'Existence' ('sada') nor 'Non-existence'' ('asada')! In this doctrine of 'nasadiya sukta' of Rk Veda, Mandala X, it is clear that, 'The universe was in such a state that could be stated as either 'is' or 'is not'. What was this state? It is a state of dynamic silence, a state of suspended animation. The Brahmanda purana says, "Supreme Creator breathes out a span of fourteen smavatsars and during 'His Day' and takes rest for equal length of time! This apart, one can easily visualize the fleeting time that takes the present in a fraction of a sec. into 'past' and 'future rendering the whole existence as a meaningless, futile exercise. The physical body of the humans mature without showing any sign of mental development, let alone spiritual!  There is another presentation in this regard. It state, there was nothing, so to say, llike akasha, air, water or fire  in the beginning! 

    If one says, "In the beginning, everything was ‘asat’ (Non-existence). Out of ‘asat’ (Non-existence) emerges ‘sat’ (Existence) how can existence come out of non-existence?" This is what the ordinary people normally ask since they cannot understand the subtler aspects of creation. It is their ignorance that they ask such questions since “Everything comes only out of nothing”. This does not mean that there was nothing before something came out! Whatever was already there only can come out. We cannot say things are not there just because we cannot see them.  What seems to be ‘nothing’ holds all things within, but in an invisible, subtler, finer form of potential ‘Energy’. ‘Everything is Energy’ is the fundamental principle. What was unmanifest (‘avyakta’) in the beginning only becomes manifest (‘vyakta’). What is already inside only must come out of it just whoever goes inside only comes out! Potential energy or Energy that is in a dormant or equilibrium state, a static condition, becomes kinetic, vibrant, creating different forms due to vibration at different amplitude, intensity, frequencies, and wave lengths. All that we see is nothing but forms, images, creation of our vibrant mind (chittavrutti). Thus, ‘brahmn’ is unmanifest, ‘avyakta’, from which everything manifest as the multifarious objective phenomenal world, just like the rain and snow precipitating out of clouds that appear in a clear blue sky! 

    The term ‘sat’ also means ‘Truth’; it also means light, consciousness, energy, and everything! Hence, the learned sages simply said everything is ‘sat’, the brahmn.  sarvam khaluvidam brahmaa | these terms – sat, chit, anand are of highly esoteric nature and of great significance. A lot can be said about them. In fact, the one ‘sat’ only has manifest as the ‘chit’ (consciousness, knowledge), and ananda (bliss); and, the entire universe is thus, the ‘sat’ only. Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, “Om tat sat iti” and concludes that everything is ‘That’, ‘that is it’!

     Now, whatever is ‘sat’ (‘tyat’/‘That’) is also the manifest phenomenal objective world-‘this’. This universe is the manifest form of the ‘sat’! Whatever is that eternal, immortal, intransient only has come within limitations of time, space, causality (cause and effect), and name, forms and functions. Duality such as this and that ceases to exist when these limitations are overcome with the help of ‘transcendental meditation, (samadhi yoga). When a person is ignorant of his true self, he /she tends to think- “I am different from that, this, you, he, she it, etc. Knowledge, truth, or reality dawns when this ignorance, avidya, knowledge covered by attachment, ego, desire, etc. are removed. This is what Bhagavan Shree Krishna teaches us through Arjuna. In Bhagavad-Gita, the Lord says, “Arjuna, you are full of attachment, ego, desire and have forgotten your true self. Once you realize who you are, ‘realize that you are none other than the unborn, eternal, immortal sat, you become Me only. You and I are always one. But, the moment you get attached to phenomenal objective world and begin to think of i, me, mine, etc you go away from Me. You can always return to Me when you drop what all you have acquired as the blemishes of the soul. This is the ‘Truth’.”

    The Universe in Different Perspectives: The Universe is like a mosaic seen through a kaleidoscope (triangular glass tube with one side closed) which displays ever-changing, colorful objects, in varying forms (like pieces of colorful glass bangles). So, each one of us get a different perspective of this transient phenomenal world. Little do the living beings (jivarashi) ever realize the ‘truth’, reality of this existence, until they get a divine vision?

       The living beings revel in ignorance and believe whatever is presented to them or they see as the illusory world. In fact, it is not that the world is unreal, but its transient or ever changing nature that makes it difficult to know. The scientists deal with matter and use their mind, intelligence, and the senses to study matter. They invent new methods and equipment such as the spectrometer, telescopes and microscope to study things that are beyond the capacity of their sense organs.

Om tat sat |

   
 There is a specific mention of Om tatsadii | in the Bhagavad-Gita. This verse (shloka) is a remarkable one where Bhagavan Sri Krishna tells Arjuna about the sum and substance of the universe. The beginningless beginning or the endless one is the Lord Himself and none else. Om is the beginning and end of all that exists. we open our mouth with 'aa' and close it with 'mm'! The auspicious sound 'a' is 'brahmn'. The two other manifest forms of this brahmn are: the 'sat' and 'anand'. The entire universe rests on these two fundamental concepts!

    Now coming back to our main issue of "Existence", it may now be stated that, "Our existence is a myth!" Time is a myth. Time does not exist! This is the reason why we qualify everything with the words- 'in point of time'. Everything is at a point of time? What is real or unreal is not discernible when it is covered by the myth of 'time', kaal! We do not exist in any point of time as such and such as a result of this 'fleeting time' that brings changes with it! Childhood is soon past and the adolescent and the youth presents itself and, that too, soon merges into old age and disappearance of the jiva in a flash of time! Then where is 'life' left". All jivas are a flash of the past memories and future hopes and aspirations, full of tension, and that is our “ex is tenc(s)e”? After all, what is a span of a hundred years of a jiva in a million years of history of life, and a billion years of life of earth, so far? Is there any meaning for all these?

   The Embodied Soul (Jivatman): The jiva located on this planet earth, in any form for that matter, is a mysterious one! The earth is supposed to be an ideal place for living beings (jiva rashi) to be alive for a short duration- 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), along with nitrogen, calcium, and other gaseous or non-gaseous, metallic and non-metallic, elements go to make the entire living entity- the biotic world. Even the universe consisting of the galaxies, stars, planets and their satellites are mainly gaseous elements that later condensed into gross solid, liquid, or semi-liquid gaseous objects. The subtler and subtler invisible atoms only have become gross elements and compounds, Thus, the living beings (jiva-rashi) and all that we find here on earth are essentially atomic energy ( € ) that radiates in the form of heat, light, electromagnetism, electricity, magnetism, and gravitational force. Even the human mind, the thoughts, ideas, images, imagination, dreams, aspirations, desire and will, as well as, resolve to act on the desire and forces that promote actions, the air we breathe, the life-force (prana), and consciousness (chit/prajnya), etc are all functions of this ‘quantum energy’ (derived from the Stars)!

    However, evolution of life, especially the human species is a slow process. It has just entered the third important level of Mind, starting from just a simple life-force (prana) in biotic and animal kingdom! The fundamental principles are just prana and annam, food to sustain it in the body, and ways and means of finding food. The humans are endowed with intellect, mind and thought force (chitta vrutti), and creative energy and skill to perform action (kriyashakti and kriyashilata). Basically, elements that go to make life are the fundamental particles that are subtler subatomic particles (as in a shooting Star), a meteorite that burnt out as it enters 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, as also, other forms of life exist in 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! Some scientists have identified a rare phenomenon and called it as ‘chiral’ that enters in and falls out creating bonds and disbands! The fermions transmit energy to bosons which turns into matter that is later identified as neutrons, protons, electrons. This is the beginning of all matter- metallic and non-metallic, organic and inorganic, living and non-living, entities and enable the living beings to breathe, eat and drink, hold on and survive and propagate.

  It is the Gravitational Force that holds the Universe together. It acts as an invisible powerful force that attracts every ionic particle and holds the Universe intact. This has been described in the Rk Veda in Madhu sukta.

   The concept of ‘Space’ in scientific literature is different from the one- Akasha that is used in Vedantic texts. The term ‘space’ as used in science is a vast thin elastic matter (as well as energy since it contains electric charges) But, Akasha as stated in Vedanta is the very Subject brahmn- kham brahma | that holds all! 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 this Akasha does not exist. “Everything is Akasha, brahmn”. Thus, there is Akasha 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, the inner and the outer become one again when the earthen pot is broken. This is what is done symbolically as ‘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 and 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’ remains unanswered. The search goes on. 

The Search: The search for ‘truth’ (‘sat’) is an endless one.  In its true nature, this ‘sat’ always exists without any change. It is eternal, immutable. All else found hare as phenomenal objects are subject to change over time and as such, do not qualify for the ‘sat’. They come within the influence of time, space and causality. There is enormous literature both in science and philosophy regarding this. But the spiritual literature is scarce. Whatever little we know from the spiritual texts give us a clear idea about the problems and the answers to them in cryptic aphorisms, code words, signs and symbols, imageries and formulae. Some of these are quite interesting. These are found in the ahirbudhnya samhita, sattavata samhita, Jayakhya samhita, Lakshmi tantra, Shaivagama shastra and other 250 samhitas of pancharatra agama. Many scholarly works are available in print.

   What these spiritual texts simply state is that “What we seek is our Self only, nothing but the Self”. The search ends with the seeker knowing his true self. Here the seer and the seen become one. What we seek outside is not permanent since all that is found outside of us is subject to limitations of time, space and causality. What we seek is the ‘truth’ the intransigent, permanent, that which is eternal. This, the ‘sat’, Truth and “That’s it”-. “tat sat iti |

I Am That, so'ham asmi |

    “I am That (tyat)”, says the Veda. “I am the Universe”, scientists declare! Aham brahmasmi is the Vedic doctrine. 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 AtmA bodha of Sri Shankaracharya. Aham brahmasmi is the Vedic doctrine.

    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- Gravitational Force, 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 about it!  

    The recent observations of the universe through the lens of the most 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. This should be reviewed in Vedantic way!    However, there is nothing new in all these since the Agama Shastra Samhitas (almost 200!), Srividya, Lakshmi Tantra, and the Cosmogram ‘Sri Chakra’ etc have already revealed these in very clear unmistakable explicit terms. We have the Pancharatra which describe the powers vested in ‘Sudarshana’. However, there is much symbolism involved in all these. Hence, there should be no doubt regarding the various aspects of creation (srushti), existence (sthiti), development (vikasa) and sustenance (samrakshana) and dissolution (laya) and merger (vilaya) 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. It is also stated- “phenomenal objective transient world is a myth”!

    The universe is expanding at a very rapid rate and each star and its paraphernalia are moving farther and farther away from each other, and this includes the nature of the human mind, attitude and behaviour in its interrelations, 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, Agastya, Ashtavakra, Raikva and Avadhuta knew all about these! They were the drushtaras who visualized and handed down their knowledge to us.

Sky watch and Earth watch

  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.

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

The Soul, Atman.

The Anglicised version is ‘Self’ for ‘Atman’. This is not a suitable word and there is no alternate word in English that can express Atman properly, not even the word ‘Soul’. We should, hence, avoid these terms as much as possible and use only Samskruta terms. So, ‘Knowledge of the Self’ is Atmavidya or Brahmavidya. Also, there are no capital letters (upper or lower case) as in English and the capital letters when used to transliterate the terms in Samskruta language will give wrong meanings (say, Brahman for brahman, where B is bh); so also V or M becomes just a  .  (dot). Hence, we should be careful while expressing these things in English.

    Thus, we come to the realm of higher knowledge, para vidya, the knowledge supreme, also known as Vedanta. The knowledge of the Self discussed here is of utmost importance to all those who have reached their evening of life, vruddhapya. But, the beginning has to be made sometime very early since it is not possible to study the ancient scriptures and take to yoga in old age when the physical body and the senses are weak. Most of the people die without attaining this ultimate knowledge, the knowledge concerning the Self and take to repeated births and deaths. The shackles of the chain of births and deaths cannot be cut without the sharp instrument of this atma-jnyan, ‘Knowledge of the Self’. This entire exercise has been advocated to only those who have experienced life, in toto, are happy, and say, ‘enough’! May be it is also for those who are totally unhappy and say ‘enough is enough’!!

   Anyway, all of us, the mortals, the embodied souls as jivas, will ultimately seek redemption one day or the other. This rendering of the divine principles selected from the scriptures will come handy to rescue us, those who seek redemption, mukti. It is needless to state that these are the ‘intuitive knowledge’ of the visionaries, great sages. These have come down to us as if a gift of our elders, Guru or teachers. This is our cultural heritage. It is advisable to keep a copy of this book at bedside and give a cursory glance now and then before going to sleep. It pays rich dividends.

The True Nature of the Universe

    Born as humans, promoted from the state of homo sapiens erectus (with ability to hold) to homo sapiens sapiens (with ability to think), we face a number of riddles like the questions posed by the Sphinx of Egypt. We are baffled with the problems for which we do not know either the causes or solutions. Hence, we look to some ancient scriptures or learned people who know the scriptures for guidance. Even if the answers are forthcoming, our ability to understand is extremely limited.

  Here, “The Advent of the Soul” takes us to unknown depths of the vast ocean of Consciousness, ‘sudha sindho’, and presents an invaluable insight into a world of immense joy and beauty. It is rather trying to present what is inexplicable, the hidden treasures of creation. It unfolds the vista, hitherto unheard of, and what is not heard (anahata) will be heard and what is not seen (adrushta) will be seen here. Since this is a spiritual journey inward reaching the innermost centre, the core of the entity, within, when the traveller realizes that it is one’s self only and there is no another, and the experience felt is one’s own and, as such, incommunicable. At this stage of exalted heights of consciousness one does not exist at all for all practical purposes (with awareness of body mind and senses) since the jiva has entered its own inner precincts- sanctum sanctorum, closing all the doors to the external world. In a way, it is ‘death’ or removal of the outer sheaths of the soul. ‘Death’ here does not mean the end of the journey. It is rather leaving for the next destination. In this long journey of the soul, what all that is experienced is the supreme bliss. It is ‘fulfilment’.

    We do not realize that are living in a magical world. The entire phenomenal objective world can be touched! Everything comes out of nowhere and ‘nothing’ and incidentally, the word ‘nowhere’ and ‘nothing’ contain the words ‘now’ (Time) and ‘here’ (Place), and ‘thing’ (Object) that emanates, manifest from nowhere! Thus, we find the three prime factors- Time, Space, and Object, come into existence from nowhere and nothing! This nothingness is not ‘void’ (shunya) as some are prone to think. It is the supreme quietude, ‘Absolute Silence’ (mahattanta shanta). It is called ‘brahmn’; the absolute abstract, nothingness (but not void), the unmanifest that is 'nowhere' and still everywhere in an invisible state; thus, what is called 'brahmn' is the source, origin of everything and everything ultimately merges into 'It'. The 'brahmn' contains the entire universe in a nutshell and manifests as the objective phenomenal diverse universe; it is manifestation of itself, its 'Self', the supreme Self- paramatman! The 'parmatman' and the individualized Atman are the same! The Vedic doctrine is Atma eva brahm |

   Further, it may seem surprising that, “that which does not move appears to be moving”. Also, that which is non-existent appears to us as real! Is it not strange that light comes out of darkness, knowledge out of ignorance, sound out of silence, baby out of the mother’s womb, and father out of Father in Heavens?

   The Biblical saying is “Let there be Light”, said the Lord, “Lo, there was Light”. The vast, deep, dark, space consists of innumerable galaxies. There is unimaginably dark space (distance) between each star. The distance between the Sun and the nearest star Sirius (Jyeshta) is 1.4 Light Years. The ‘Milky Way’ in which the Sun, a moderate sized Star, of our solar system is a spiral disc containing myriads of stars and planets. The Sun, a hot gaseous mass, is said to be born 4.56 billion years ago and would last another 7.44 billion years during which all its energy would radiate rendering it a cold, gross, inert body. We are all bound by this time and time is energy. The individualized Self, jivatman gets embodied due to the divine will, and its body is entirely made of the soil (food) and water. This embodiment of the Self, the Atman, the jiva jyoti, is the problem! To get this out, extricate the embedded soul is the goal, sole purpose, of the enlightened persons! The process begins almost at the end of the journey, the last  life, that too, hen the jiva realizes its true nature and seeks liberation, emancipation.

The Immortal and the Eternal Within Us

  Normally, the belief is that "all that is born shall die!" However, we do not understand that it is the physical body that has been developed on the constant supply of food and water that deteriorates and perishes in the long run. The core of the substance, the soul, remains the same spark of fire whether inside or outside of its embodiment. The Newtonian concept of Energy is at the root of all that exist. "No energy, no mass (body) or velocity (movement) is the rule. Thus, when we realize the fact that we entered the earth a photon, a particle of fire, the spark of the distant star and built a nest of nerves and neurons enmeshed by skeleton, flesh and blood made of earth (food), we will  know the truth. The soul is eternal, immortal, unborn and imperishable. However, it is the embodiment that creates the problem!

  Lord Shree Krishna says, “Arjuna, there is no time when you and I never existed” (Bhagavad-Gita, IV-5). We have been in existence (as stellar material in some elemental form?) even prior to the birth of Vivasvan, the Sun. Several are our lives and you do not remember the past ones, whereas I know the past, present and the future. Bhagavan Shree Krishna manifests here as pure Consciousness, the Witnessing Self (Sakshin) and Arjuna is depicted as born out of the sacred word (the mantra putra), blessed son of Indra, the Deity of the Mind!

   Now it is certain that all the jivas are taking a long journey on this earth with repeated births and deaths, as if changing the worn-out clothes. There is no beginning or end to the jiva’s ignorance. All the jivas live and work in a mysterious world that has no real existence of its own! The earth is borne out of the Sun, rather Solar flares, and the jivas survive on sun rays. Further, the jivas live on an unstable earth- rotating and revolving, subject to unexpected jerks, shaking now and then due to earthquakes, and volcanoes spewing gas, dust, boulders and magmatic material and lava flows, besides the vagaries of climate like storms, cyclones, floods and famines, tsunamis, etc. These are really the cause of great worry. Our very existence is at stake.

   It is no more a surprising fact that the earth is always on the move- rotating on its axis and revolving at a terrific speed, going around the Sun. The entire Solar System in our Galaxy called ‘Milky Way’ or ‘Akash-Ganga’ is racing along with millions of galaxies in the direction of the Pole Star. There is no safety and security or stability here. Still we all live and work peacefully, and sleep quietly every night as if nothing happens!

   The Earth, as a Planet of the Solar System was born 4.53 billion years ago from the solar flares. It has undergone cooling, condensation, and solidification for millions of years to reach the present state- Land (21%) found within the shallow depths of the earth’s surface and the inner core of the earth is plasma of boiling Nickel and Iron. The surface history of the earth is quite interesting. Six great convulsions of earth’s crust, upheavals have taken place so far and the face of the earth has changed remarkably over the billions of years by tectonic processes, orogenesis (mountain-building), weathering, denudation- erosion and deposition. But, these changes are slow and imperceptible. Many a deep Sea basins have been gradually filled with deposits of sediments by agents of weathering and denudation such as wind, rain, and rivers and new lands have been created. Many ancient lands (like the Atlantis) have disappeared under the sea. Mountains stand where there stood vast stretches of narrow sea. The Himalayas, for example occupy the place that was once a Sea of Tethys, the remnant of which is the Mediterranean Sea. There are large areas of land below sea level, dykes have been built to prevent flooding of the low-lying Scandinavian countries- Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Netherlands, and the entire Europe is a low-lying plain. These are exemplified in the epics as avatars of the Lord- varaha avatara, kurma avatara and matsya avatara to resurrect the earth and restore the Veda. Upliftment and submergence of land masses have taken place along the Western coast of India. Crustal movements and subsequent eustatic changes causing change in seal levels are common.

   As regards the origin of the solar system, the Sun is a Hydrogen-Helium spiraling boiling gaseous body, rotating on its axis and moving at a great speed in space. It is a million times larger than the Earth. Several smaller planets and satellites including the Earth and Moon have formed out of the spilling gas of these solar flares. It is on this unbelievably small mustard-sized planet, as compared to the Sun, that life is found in multitude of forms in different ecosystems like the marshes, forests, grasslands and deserts, mountain slopes, sea coasts, lake-sides and river-sides! May be several hundred such Earths are there around us!

      When we see all these and think about the appearance of life on earth, one feels that definitely there must be a powerful force, an unseen (adrushta) power (shakti) that create and govern all these. There is a higher power that sits everywhere, within us, too, driving the universe as a chariot by a charioteer like Lord Shree Krishna (driving the Chariot of Arjuna) in the epic Mahabharata War. It is He who creates jivas at His Will and pleasure and infuses prana, desires, dreams, ambitions, aspirations, thoughts and ideas, give imagination, forms, and motion and drive jivas around in all their pursuits. We do not believe that “He, the God is within us” and, do not realize that “It is He who breathes in and out within us as the life-force and consciousness!”

  There are people who abuse God for their ills. They do not understand the fact that, God has nothing to do with people’s behaviour and actions, for He has given them ‘Free Will’ to do as they like and ultimately pay for it. Let us be clear that He, the God, has not created anything like a country by name Aryavarta (India), America, Australia, or Africa, nor did He create the Varna (colour and creed), Ashrama and its divisions, dharma such as Brahmin (priestly class), Kshatriya (fighting clan or Royal families/kings), or Vaishya (tradesman), or a Shudra (farmer). Nothing prevents a wandering soul from continuing its journey in any part of the earth taking any form it likes! Sage Vishvamitra may take birth as an Alexander or a Galileo or Newton if he wishes so. In fact, He, the Lord says, “Everything is Him only.” These castes and creeds, the names of States and their divisions and demarcations of boundaries are all of people’s own foolish making! First they mark a boundary and then they cry foul! He, the Lord only exists in all. Is it not a miracle that we live and work together despite all our jealousy, infirmities, ignorance, poverty, squalor and deficiencies as if nothing happens? Rishis, discoursing on Brahman, ask: Is Brahman the cause? Whence are we born? By what do we live? Where do we dwell at the end? Please tell us, O ye who know Brahman, under whose guidance we abide, whether in pleasure or in pain. Should time, or nature, or necessity, or chance, or the elements be regarded as the cause? Or, he who is called the purusha the living self? [Yajurveda, Sveta. Upa. Part I, Chapter 1, 1-2].

    The supreme Lord manifests in numerous forms. In the Bhagavad-Gita, He asserts that, “maya is created in my seeing. People are mesmerised by this maya. ‘My’ maya is so sweet, a person cannot understand how very sweet is this ‘I’ is. Oh Arjuna, do not forget me; is you do not forget me, maya will not be able to do anything to you.” Further, He, the Lord goes on to say, “See the characteristics of maya! She created a huge lake and birds and insects! Observing this, it all appears to be true, but it is nothing. There is no escape from the hands of maya. Yet God saves one who takes refuge in Him. That person alone whom God bestows his grace can escape the hands of maya.”  This ‘i’ is the maya. The jiva goes on saying ‘i did this’, ‘i did that’, and ‘i am so and so’, etc. It disappears as soon gets into deep sleep (sushupti) every night or day. The moment one gets out of sleep, this ‘i’ appears! None has understood where this exists and when it makes its appearance. All the problems of the jiva are created by this ‘i’- the ego (ahankara). The moment this ‘i’ disappears (as saint Kanakadasa said), the jiva is liberated from the clutches of maya, that binds the jiva due to ignorance. Thus, ‘i am’, ‘i is’, i only, is the maya. This i merges in Brahman every night when we are deep sleep and the jiva enjoys a blissful existence unaware of the world! This i only will come out ignorance refreshed after a night-long sleep.  “This gross body of liberated souls will decompose; yet, even if the body goes, their powers remain; it does not go.” The vasanas, karma kleshas form the seedlings for next birth. People unmindful of this go on quarrelling themselves. They create divisions. So long as there is divisive thinking, divisive actions, so long will people create sects. If the divisive attitude departs, the upadhi, false identification, is destroyed. At the destruction of the upadhi, the tender hook on which the jiva is suspended one becomes aware of one’s divine consciousness. The realization comes when one realizes that “One Brahman has manifest as many". When one becomes pure, one will have the understanding that: "I am verily Vishnu. I am a child of Vishnu.” 'Shivo'ham' is the total awareness!

    Our existence on this planet is almost a miracle. Mysteries surround our birth and death. So far, no plausible explanation is forthcoming for our existence. It seems ‘no purpose is served merely eating and sleeping, whiling away time in seeking joy in extraneous things’. Moreover, all our thoughts and actions, behaviour, problems of hunger, disease, old age and death are not in our hands. Life is full of and probabilities. Nothing is certain here. What we see and believe may not be true at all! Things have to be seen in the background of an unstable earth, a vast expansive universe that is ever on the move, a universe of no known magnitude or dimension, and of illusory nature bound by Time and Space. In fact, this Time that creates Space by its movement is by itself an illusion! If Time is illusion, the space created by it as well as the objects that fill it and endure are also illusion. Illusion of illusion is delusion. Thus, there is no end to this delusion, ignorance. We, as the humans, should realize the fact that we are nothing but specks of dust, star-dust at that. These jivas or vibrant life-forms are like sparks of fire flying out of flames. Once we realize ‘who we are’, where do we come from, and where do we go from here when we die, or how we give up one mortal body and take another soon after, the ‘Reality’ dawns on us. We are truly the spiritual entity- the atman, embodied in an earthen shell like a pot made of clay susceptible to leakage and breakage. Symbolically, a pot filled with water is broken at the time of cremation of the dead bodies. This signifies the fact that the inside and the outside separated by an earthen shell is no more, and everything is one! 

    However, the purpose of our existence is yet to be defined. The ancient scriptures are our best guides. But, we neither have the complete texts of these, nor do we ever understand their coded language. The story of the arrival and departure of a jivatman on this planet is narrated here. It is an autobiography of the soul. Thus, the soul only speaks here. It is an intuitional knowledge obtained from parame vyoman in yogic trance.

     This spiritual study, like any other discipline calls for determination, steadfastness, keen interest, focused attention, concerted effort, and serious practice of yoga, and devotion to Guru. There should be a sense of purpose in life in order to attain to the highest level of existence and enjoy supreme bliss that is possible for any human being. Spiritual journey is more arduous than the journey in the material and sensuous world. Material world is also hazardous full of uncertainties, failures, disappointments, disillusionment, and frustrations. It is endless, with countless wants, insatiability, cravings for more and more, and finally, ordained to repeated births and deaths. The spiritual path is no less unpredictable and hazardous- full of unknown twists and turns and glaring mysteries, secrets, and coded secret words (mantra) that may often lead to doubts and disbeliefs, and sudden loss of faith and interest.

   Another hazard of this spiritual journey is that the sadhaka moves slowly away from the lower, ’here’, the concrete, the sensible, logic and sensuous gibbering towards the higher, ‘there’, abstract, nonsense, rather senseless(?), and silence. Worldly people are prone to treat this as madness. Most of the teachings of Great Masters are based on these principles and still people run to them! It seems paradoxical that people want solace in times of their distress and look to these renunciates, but do not want to follow their teachings in their daily life! For instance, if one tries to become a Raghavaendra Tirtha, one should follow in his footsteps and take to sanyas at the early age. If one follows his footsteps, the first casualty would be his wife and the next, his mother. As we know, Raghavaendra Swamy’s wife Saraswati Bai committed suicide and his mother died in distress. In fact, most of the mystics have undergone untold misery and sufferings in their life before looking to higher spiritual power for solace. 

  The teachings of Acharyas like Shankaracharya, Madhava (Vidyaranya), or Badarayana can never be understood unless one experiences the times and way of life they lived. Shankara experienced untold misery and things have changed over time. It seems thus impossible for a common man to come to spiritual field, adhyatma, giving up the hearth and home, sensuous worldly life. Nobody wants to leave the cosy life of comforts and take to a life of a recluse and do severe askesis (tapas). Hathayoga is out of question. Even those who have tried and succeeded to some extent have suddenly fallen from grace!

     What we mostly see around us as spiritual seekers or teachers of yoga are not what they should be, with exception, of course. Self-Realization (Atma sakshatkara) is not easy. Those who have attained to this highest state of spiritual state, pure consciousness, do not have any interest in worldly affairs for they have crossed the Mental-mental state of evolution and have stepped into Spiritual realm (See Aurobindo) after discarding conscious awareness of their mundane existence, albeit, they spend time here till they cast off their physical body. They live a life of absolute bliss unaware of the happenings to other earthlings. This should not be construed as a selfish way of life since these blessed souls have been emancipated, redeemed, or liberated! They rejoice in Brahmn consciousness.

   Sri Krishnananda, Shivananda Ashrama, Hrishikesh, says: “Nothing that comes from outside is of any help in attaining to the knowledge of the Self.’ In fact, thousands of teachers and preachers go on talking and talking without any substance. Many do not know what they are talking about. This can be verified from their life style. If some boast of 50,000 followers, some boast of 400 ashrams all over the world; some say, they have never read a scripture in their life but still talk like “devil quoting the scriptures’. The truth is very simple: “If i suffer from stomach pain, i only should take the medicine”. Unless i learn to sit in a place for just two minutes a day nothing is possible. The first step is taken when you take a crash course in Transcendental meditation and ashtanga yoga. It must be remembered, the first four steps of Patanjali yoga sutras such as yama, niyama, pratyahara, aparigraha, and Ishvara pranidana can never be followed in this life.

   It seems impossible to attain to Samadhi remaining in worldly life, hearing lectures on philosophy, religion and spirituality. This is the reason why some serious seekers leave everything and rush to Himalayas and undergo tremendous hardships. We want bed-tea and timely breakfast, lunch and dinner and friends to chat, and at the same time aspire for enlightenment! Lo! There are guru and swami who advice to stay in family, develop anasakti yoga, get vairagya (renunciation). The result is riding two horses (suti and asuti) at the same time. Contemplation, dharana and Samadhi are very important for attainment of atma jnyan and emancipation. This needs solitude.

   An attempt is made here to present altogether a different version of our understanding of the universe, and our place in an ever-changing universe in the light of recent findings in physical and biological sciences, as well as, the ancient scriptures. In fact, even the existing scientific theories are subject to change, but not the findings in Vedanta. What is so special about it? It is intuitional knowledge (shuddha vidhya) derived from a transcendental state, meditative or contemplative mode is samadhi, that needs no proof (pramANa).

The True Nature of the Universe

The True Nature of the Universe

    Can we ever know the true nature of the universe? Sage Ramana Maharshi says, "No, never"! Why? the answer is very simple. In the first place, we are all within it. One can know it(the true nature of the universe) only when one comes out of it! It is, thus, possible to know the true nature of the universe only when we come out of the universe that is constantly changing. The universe is what we can grasp by the senses, mind, and the buddhi. The true nature of the universe reveals itself once we withdraw these senses and mind from their outward going tendency!

    Born as humans, promoted from the state of homo sapiens erectus (with ability to hold) to homo sapiens sapiens (with ability to think), we face a number of riddles like the questions posed by the Sphinx of Egypt. We are baffled with the problems for which we do not know either the causes or solutions. Hence, we look to some ancient scriptures or learned people who know the scriptures for guidance. Even if the answers are forthcoming, our ability to understand is extremely limited.

  Here, “The Advent of the Soul” takes us to unknown depths of the vast ocean of Consciousness, ‘sudha sindho’, and presents an invaluable insight into a world of immense joy and beauty. It is rather trying to present what is inexplicable, the hidden treasures of creation. It unfolds the vista, hitherto unheard of, and what is not heard (anahata) will be heard and what is not seen (adrushta) will be seen here. Since this is a spiritual journey inward reaching the innermost centre, the core of the entity, within, when the traveler realizes that it is one’s self only and there is no another, and the experience felt is one’s own and, as such, incommunicable. At this stage of exalted heights of consciousness one does not exist at all for all practical purposes (with awareness of body mind and senses) since the jiva has entered its own inner precincts- sanctum sanctorum, closing all the doors to the external world. In a way, it is ‘death’ or removal of the outer sheaths of the soul. ‘Death’ here does not mean the end of the journey. It is rather leaving for the next destination. In this long journey of the soul, what all that is experienced is the supreme bliss. It is ‘fulfillment’.

    We do not realize that are living in a magical world. The entire phenomenal objective world can be touched! Everything comes out of nowhere and ‘nothing’ and incidentally, the word ‘nowhere’ and ‘nothing’ contain the words ‘now’ (Time) and ‘here’ (Place), and ‘thing’ (Object) that emanates, manifest from nowhere! Thus, we find the three prime factors- Time, Space, and Object, come into existence from nowhere and nothing! This nothingness is not ‘void’ (shunya) as some are prone to think. It is the supreme ‘Silence’, atyantaabhava (mahattanta shanta), that is called ‘brahmn’; the absolute nothing that is nowhere; thus, what is called Brahmn. The Brahmn contains the entire objective, phenomenal, world as a manifestation of its Self, the supreme Self- paramatman! Further, it may seem surprising that, “that which does not move appears to be moving”. Also, that which is non-existent appears to us as real! Is it not strange that light comes out of darkness, knowledge out of ignorance, sound out of silence, baby out of the mother’s womb, and father out of Father in Heavens?

   The Biblical saying is “Let there be Light”, said the Lord, “Lo, there was Light”. The vast, deep, dark, space consists of innumerable galaxies. There is unimaginably dark space (distance) between each star. The distance between the Sun and the nearest star Sirius (Jyeshta) is 1.4 Light Years. The ‘Milky Way’ in which the Sun, a moderate sized Star, of our solar system is a spiral disc containing myriads of stars and planets. The Sun, a hot gaseous mass, is said to be born 4.56 billion years ago and would last another 7.44 billion years during which all its energy would radiate rendering it a cold, gross, inert body. We are all bound by this time and time is energy.

   Time begins with the radiation of solar energy; but, our Almanac, Calendar, does not reflect this although it is based on the Solar Principle (Surya Siddhanta). During the last 4.53 billion years (since the origin of the earth), seven manvantara have elapsed (each manvantara consisting of four quarters called the ‘yuga’ – each of multiple duration, together lasting 3.42 million years) and another seven more manvantara would follow. Each one begins with a Sun as the first manu (from which the word ‘manvantara’ is derived). We are supposed to be living in Kali yuga, the fourth lap of the Seventh manvantara called the vaivasvata manvantara. The Calendars followed by different religions, castes and sects tell different stories and all these do not bring out the exact date of the beginning of the origin of the universe, the solar system, or that of the date of birth of the Earth and the Moon.

  To be precise, the Calendar that we follow reads like this- As on April 2014- vaishakha masa, Uttarayana, Shree Jaya nama samvatsara- 5114 years have elapsed from the first day of the First Quarter (prathama pada) of Kali yuga according to Hindu almanac. We are living in the 28^th Kali yuga, the last lap of the Seventh manvantara called the Vaivasvata. It is the Seventh since the birth of Sun as Vivasvan, the first manu. So far, 18025 kalpas (Six manvantara) are over and we are in the 18026^th kalpa called Shveta varaha kalpa. The life span of Solar System is about 36,000 kalpas and the earth would last for 8640 Million Years. However, these figures may not agree with the Gregorian or Christian and the Hijri Calendars. In India, the Hindu calendar, Shalivahana Shakha Panchanga, we have the paksha masa of two weeks from pratipada to Amavasya or Purnima based on the revolution of the Moon (constituting a year from April to April) around the earth and, the solar calendar of a year from January to December.