Showing posts with label bhagwat puran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bhagwat puran. Show all posts

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Bhagwat Gita and third law of thermodynamics about creation decoded Nasadiya Sukta of Rigveda


In the field of particle physics, it has been established by many scientific experiments that the universe had a beginning in the remote past and it will have an eventual collapse in some remote future. In this context, the Second Law of Thermodynamics asserts that the processes occur in a certain direction but not in the reverse direction. A cup of hot coffee left on a table in an office, for example, eventually cools, but a cup of cold coffee on the same table never gets hot by itself, that is, the heat can only flow from hot to cold bodies. The science of thermodynamics deals with “equilibrium states” and it declares that a system, which is in equilibrium, experiences no changes when it is isolated from its surroundings. For example, a system is in thermal equilibrium if the temperature is same throughout the entire system. And in this state there are no unbalanced driving forces within the system. A reservoir that supplies energy in the form of heat is called a source and one that absorbs energy in the form of heat is called a sink. When source and the sink are both at the same temperature, there is no flow of energy and, therefore, there is no movement. In the same way we find that life is an effort to climb the slope that ‘matter’ descends. Matter moves increasingly toward a state of disorganization or of increasing randomness, and Consciousness or Life moves towards increasingly complex forms of purposeful organization or decreasing randomness. These are known as what the Bhagavad-Gita calls as the two cosmic tides of pravritti and nivritti, symbolically known as the ‘path of night’ and the ‘path of light’ or the ‘path of action’ and the ‘path of reflection’ respectively.

And, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the universe is slowly moving towards a state known as "heat death", that is, a state of existence when all the stars and galaxies will have dissipated their energy in the form of heat and radiation and the whole universe will attain one uniform temperature. This concept of Heat Death is very similar to the Hindu concept of pralaya or dissolution of the universe, and Lincoln Barnett describes it with rare clarity. In this state, the existence of the universe can be described as follows: “All space will be at the same temperature. No energy can be used because all of it will be uniformly distributed through the cosmos. There will be no light, no life, no warmth- nothing but perpetual and irrevocable stagnation. Time itself will come to an end. For entropy is a measure of randomness. When all system and order in the universe have vanished, when randomness is at its maximum, and entropy cannot be increased, where there no longer is any sequence of cause and effect- in short, when the universe has run down, there will be no direction to time, there will be no time. And there is no way of avoiding this destiny.”

Hymn of Creation

This very phenomenon is explained in the Rig Veda (verse X.129) in a famous hymn known as “Naasdeeya Sooktam” or the Hymn of Creation. This verse in Sanskrit describes the vision of the universe, as it existed before its creation. Many scholars and sages have translated the Naasdeeya Sooktam into English; however, I have selected the translation of Prof. Juan Mascaro.

Naas_daaseenno sadaa_seett-daanee
naaseedra_jo no vyomaa paro yat
kimaa_vareevah ? Kuh ? kasya sharmann ?
ambhah kimaaseed_gahnam gabheeram ?

na mrityu_raasee_damritam na taarhi
na raatya ahna aaseet_praketah
aaneedavaatam svadhayaa tad_ekam
tasmaa_ddhanyan_na parah kim chanaas .....

...iyam visrishTiryat aab_bhoova
yadim vaa dadhe yadi vaa na
yo asyaadhyakshah parame vyoman   
so aNga ved yadi vaa na ved.

(In the beginning…)
There was neither existence nor non-existence.
There was not then what is not, what is not.
There was neither sky nor any heaven beyond the sky.
 What power was there? Where 
Who was that power?
Was there an abyss of fathomless water?

There was neither death nor immortality then
No signs were there of night or day.
The One was breathing with its own power,
in deep space.
Only the One was:
And there was nothing beyond.

The darkness was hidden in darkness.
And all was fluid and formless.
Therein, in the void,
By the fire of fervor arose One.
And in the One arose love.
Love the first seed of the soul.

The truth of this the sages found in their hearts:
Seeking in their hearts with wisdom,
The sages found that bond of union
Between being and non-being
Between the manifest and the unmanifest

Who knows this truth?
Who can tell, when and how arose this universe?
The gods came after its creation.
Whether this universe was created or uncreated
Only the God who sees in the highest heaven:
He only knows, when came this universe
 And, whether it was created or uncreated
He only knows or perhaps He knows not?


In this poem an attempt is made by the poet to describe the nature of the Ultimate Reality, and it is beautifully explained by Yogi Krishna prem. It says that in the beginning, the One without a second polarized itself or expanded itself to become Many. While it is absolutely absurd to attempt to explain how the polarization of parbrahman, the One without a second, occurs, it may be useful to make a few suggestions as to how we may conceive it as occurring. The manifestation of a Cosmos depends on the polarization of the One, the parbrahman, into the transcendental Subject, the shaant atman, and the transcendental Object, the mool prakriti. So, far beyond all thought or imagination is that One, Parbrahman, the causeless Cause or the First Cause of the Western thought. Since it cannot be known as an object of knowledge, therefore, “It” is only to be conceived as Darkness. Since it is unknown, therefore, it is called darkness and in that darkness was buried the potentiality of all existence and by the power of tapas, literally, heat or self-limitation arose the Atman or the Unitary Consciousness.

The modern day astronomers call this “darkness” as the dark matter and dark energy of the universe, and of which they have very little knowledge. As recently as February 2003, scientists using NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), during a sweeping 12-month observation of the entire sky, have captured the new cosmic portrait, capturing the afterglow of the big bang, called cosmic microwave background. The WMAP team found that the universe is 13.7 billion years old and the contents of the universe include 4 percent atoms or the ordinary visible matter, 23 percent of an unknown dark matter and 73 percent of the mysterious dark energy. The measurements even shed light on the nature of the dark energy, which acts as a sort of an anti-gravity. This is what the Rig Veda means when it says: “The darkness is hidden in Darkness.”

The actual first impulse to creation, according to the Hindu scriptures, is forever hidden in that Darkness, and that is why even Buddha, the Enlightened One, when queried on this subject, remained silent and refused to go beyond desire. According to the Rig Veda, the gods who were in the levels of manifested consciousness came into being later. In other words, consciousness cannot penetrate to its own root. The first impulse to creation, therefore, can only be called the Lila the ‘divine spectacle’ or ‘divine sport’ of the Supreme. The ultimate root is, however, even beyond atman. Nor even for atman can Brahman be an object of knowledge, for to know It is to merge in It and in that merging the separate “knower” comes to an end. In this essay, only a few paragraphs of this hymn are tackled, as a full explanation of this cryptic hymn is beyond its scope.

Cosmos and the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali

On further analysis, one might ask how could the Vedic sages know the nature of the universe at the time of its origin, when they, themselves did not exist? The late Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer of Cornell University posed the same question during one of the episodes of the TV series “Cosmos” which was broadcast in the US during late Seventy’s. He once took his show to South India and showed how the Vedic seers accurately calculated the age of the universe without any radio-astronomy available to them. They discovered the cosmological truth not by scientific observations but through intuitive insight gained through the process of yoga, as explained in Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, that is, 1) through the process of pratyaahaar, 2) through dhyaan-yoga and finally 3) through samaadhi. Now, let us ask ourselves a question: what is Samaadhi? In the yoga-sutra, we are told that Samaadhi is the process of withdrawing the senses into mind, the mind into intellect, and the intellect into Sat or atman the pure consciousness, the substratum of the universe. In other words, Samaadhi is a state of reversal of creation, a return to the primordial or the “un-created” state. In this state the difference between ‘this’ and ‘that’ disappears and what remains is only the Absolute, the One without a second. The best description of Samaadhi is given us in the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad, verse VI.v.15, and it says that in the state of Samaadhi, there is no duality, and this concept is beautifully explained in the following poem translated by Prof. H. B. Phillips:


When everything has become the very Self, then
What should one see and through what? Then
What should one smell and through what? Then
What should one taste and through what? Then
What should one speak and through what? Then
What should one hear and through what? Then
What should one think and through what? Then
What should one touch and through what? Then
What should one know and through what? Then
Through what one should know “That”
By means of which all this is known?


It is difficult for anyone to write about cosmos without invoking the name of a famous immigrant, the lateDr.S.Chandrashekhar of the University of Chicago who received Nobel Prize in 1983 for his contribution to the knowledge of the collapse and the death of stars. He has shown that the stars collapse as a result of their gravitational force and the collapse in-turn, triggers thermonuclear explosion inside them. In that process hydrogen is converted into helium, and in case of heavy stars, even helium is converted into carbon and oxygen and eventually to iron, an element, which releases no energy and the nuclear reaction, stops there. Thus, this process of creation, from the Avaykta, the undifferentiated, or the unmanifest, the nirgun brahman and of destruction, or of srishti and pralaya, continues forever ...and without end. To honor Dr.Chandrashekhar, NASA has named its new observatory as Chandra X-ray observatory, which is simply known as Chandra which was put in the elliptical earth orbit, varying in distance from 9,200 miles to 82,000 miles, in July 1999 to observe X-rays from high-energy regions of the universe. It can also be said about samaadhi that in that state the consciousness goes beyond the dominion of space and time. To express it in the manner of the physicists, it is like saying that in this state a person can go beyond the event horizon of an astronomical black hole and return from it at will. We are also told that in his quest for perfection, Swami Ramakrishna Paramahansa, the 19th century yogi and the monk of Dakshineshwar, used to go in and out of samaadhi at his own free will.

In an effort to realize the Absolute through the process of Yoga, it is observed that these yoga disciplines, as described in the Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali, are also given us in the Bhagavad-Gita. Out of the eight yoga disciplines, only three are listed here and are described as: 1) pratyaahaar in verse 2.58, 2) dhyaan in verse 8:8 and 3) samaadhi in verse 6:20-6:23 of the Bhagavad-Gita, and these are7:

1) Pratyahaar: Bhagavad-Gita, verse’ 2:58, says: “yadaa sanharte chaayam koormo-angaaneeve sarvashah…He who is unattached and when like a tortoise, which draws in its limbs from all directions, he withdraws his senses from the sense objects, he is a man of stable wisdom.”

2) Dhyaan: Bhagavad-Gita, verse’ 8:8, says: “abhyaasyo-yukten chetasaa naanya-gaaminaa…He who with his mind disciplined through yoga in the form of practice of meditation and thinking nothing else, is constantly engaged in contemplation of the Supreme attains the supremely effulgent Divine Being.”

3) Samaadhi: Bhagavad-Gita, verses’ 6:20-6:23 declare: “yatroparmate chittam nirudham yog sevayaa… When the mind, absolutely restrained by the practice of concentration, attains quietness, and when seeing the Self by the self, that Yogi beholding Atman by Atman, is satisfied in the Atman itself; when he feels that infinite bliss-which is perceived by the purified intellect and which transcends the senses and thus established therein he never departs from the Real state.”

The purified state, in these cryptic verses is described as that state of cognition when the purified intellect can grasp independent of the senses. When in meditation, the mind is deeply concentrated, the senses do not function and are resolved into their cause- that is, the mind; and when the later is steady, so that there, only the intellect is functioning, or in other words, cognition only exists; and the indescribable Self or the Atman  realizes itself. And this is known as Samadhi.


Coming back to the theme of this essay, the question arises: “How do we know this knower?” This question is asked, over and over, in almost all the scriptures. “Who knows this truth? He only knows or perhaps He knows not?” This is how the Rig-Veda ends its poem, which was one of the favorite poems of another famous traveler from India during the last century, namely, Swami Vivekanand. This shows that the seer of the Rig-Veda even questions the highest knower or his knowledge. Thus the Vedic system of thought is not based on some blind faith or some sectarian dogma taught by a teacher but on scientific basis developed and known by what we call the dhyaan yoga or the knowledge developed through meditation or by the intuitive understanding of the seer. When that knowledge dawns, then the Great Being shines forth through every pore of our being as the blissful or the immortal. Thus, in the Rig Veda, began the scientific inquiry not only for the outer worlds of prakriti but also for the inner worlds of atman, the unchanging substratum of the universe, or the universal constant as we may call It. This Universal Constant proved too illusive even for Einstein when he declared: ‘God does not throw dice’ but after a lifetime of groping, he finally gave up trying to find the universal constant for his “too- too static” a view of the universe of names and forms, which the Hindu mystics had already figured out thousands of years before him, that this cosmos was nothing but a passing phantom show which veils from sight the true and the unchanging Eternal Reality that is forever unmanifest. However, the Bhagavad-Gita gives us the nature of this Universal Constant in verse 2:24 when it says:


The self can never be cleft,
Nor can one dry or make him wet,
He is never combustible,
Present everywhere but stable

Is eternal and changes never,
Remains always the same forever



Maya and the Uncertainty Principle

Then came along Werner Heisenberg, a young German Physicist with his idea of the ‘uncertainty principle’ and with this ‘new understanding’ he stumbled onto the ancient vedantic truth that ‘the subjective decides the nature of the object’, that is, in a mystical sense, “the purity of the soul or consciousness of the scientist or that of the seer determines his outlook.” The same theme is expressed in the words of Vishnu Puraan, where it is stated: “As is God, so is His creation and as you are, so is your creation.” Thus, Werner Heisenberg found out about the maya of the electrons and in the same spirit, Stephen Hawking, the famous astro-physicist from Cambridge University, while intuitively realizing the deeper uncertainty of the nature of the Black Holes realized the Maya relating to the Cosmos and declared that: “God not only plays dice but also sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen”. Thus Hawking also intuitively stumbled onto the ancient Hindu concept of Maya, in the same way as Heisenberg had figured it out earlier. In this context Bhagavad-Gita verse’ 2:16 says: “naasto vidyate bhaavo, na bhaavo vidyate satah…the unreal has no existence and the real never ceases to be.” Now that the word maya has some how crept up in this essay, let us find out what Saint Kabir, the 15th century mystic poet of Northern India says in one of his poems about maya which was translated by Gurudeva Shri Rabindra Nath Tagore (1861-1941) and it goes as follows:

Maya Taji Na Jaay

“Tell me, Friend, how can I renounce Maya?
When I gave up the tying of ribbons,
Still I tied my garments about me:
When I gave up tying my garment,
I still covered my body in its folds

So, when I gave up passion
I see that anger remains;
And when I renounce anger,
Greed is with me still;

And when greed is vanquished,
Pride and vainglory remain;
When the mind is detached and
Casts Maya away, still it
Clings to the letter

Kabir says, “Listen to me dear friend!
Yogis and Sanyaasis are disputing each other,
But the true path is rarely found.”

 The philosophy taught by Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita about the creation of the universe is the same as the concepts given us in the Hymn of Creation in the Rig-Veda. In the Bhagavad-Gita, the verse’ 2:20 says: “ajo nitya shaashvato ayam puraano, na hanyate hanya maane shareere” in which Sri Krishna declares that Parbrahman, Parmatman or Atman is the substratum of the universe and it is neither born and nor does it ever die. The poetic rendition of this verse goes as follows:

 

No soul is ever born nor does he ever,
Once coming to being he ceases never;
Permanent, eternal, ancient and unborn,
This dies not even when the body is gone.

 

 nasadiya.pdf

Essence Of Parbrahman

 According to the Bhagavad-Gita, verses’ 9:7 and 9:8, Parmaatman or the atman remained in a state of quiet throughout the duration of time known as the Night of Brahma, also known as the kalpa-antaya, with no objects, because as yet there is no modification. But resolving to create, or rather to emanate the universe, It formed a picture of what should be, and this at once was a modification willingly brought about in the previously wholly unmodified spirit; thereupon the Divine Idea was gradually expanded, coming forth into objectivity while the essence of parbrahman, the presiding deity or the essence of atman remained unmodified and became the perceiver of its own expanded idea. The essential nature or the svabhaav of the One as transcendent Subject, here called adhyaatma and declared in Bhagavad-Gita verse’ 8:3, separates out as it were, leaving the other aspect of Brahman, to stand as the eternal Object, the mool-prakriti. This mool-prakriti, the unmanifest basis of all the objectivity, is, from its very nature, the source of all the manifested Many. Reflecting as it does the Light of the One Atman; It is the root of all objectivity and all plurality. If the Brahman is to appear as an object at all, it is only as the mool-prakriti that it can so appear. This is how the One without a second, at the commencement of a kalpa known as kalpa-praarambh, chose to become Many.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Mysteries of Sacred Universe- Śiśumāra Planetary Systems’ -By Richard Thompson


The Śiśumāra Planetary Systems’
Vedic Cosmology Decoding the 5th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam's photo.Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Canto 5 Chapter 23 ‘The Śiśumāra Planetary Systems’ Text 1 to Text 9 by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
This chapter describes how all the planetary systems take shelter of the polestar, Dhruvaloka. It also describes the totality of these planetary systems to be Śiśumāra, another expansion of the external body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Dhruvaloka, the abode of Lord Viṣṇu within this universe, is situated 1,300,000 yojanas from the seven stars. In the planetary system of Dhruvaloka are the planets of the fire-god, Indra, Prajāpati, Kaśyapa and Dharma, all of whom are very respectful to the great devotee Dhruva, who lives on the polestar.
Like bulls yoked to a central pivot, all the planetary systems revolve around Dhruvaloka, impelled by eternal time. Those who worship the virāṭ-puruṣa, the universal form of the Lord, conceive of this entire rotating system of planets as an animal known as śiśumāra.
This imaginary śiśumāra is another form of the Lord. The head of the śiśumāra form is downward, and its body appears like that of a coiled snake. On the end of its tail is Dhruvaloka, on the body of the tail are Prajāpati, Agni, Indra and Dharma, and on the root of the tail are Dhātā and Vidhātā. On its waist are the seven great sages.
The entire body of the śiśumāra faces toward its right and appears like a coil of stars. On the right side of this coil are the fourteen prominent stars from Abhijit to Punarvasu, and on the left side are the fourteen prominent stars from Puṣyā to Uttarāṣāḍhā.
The stars known as Punarvasu and Puṣyā are on the right and left hips of the śiśumāra, and the stars known as Ārdrā and Aśleṣā are on the right and left feet of the śiśumāra. Other stars are also fixed on different sides of the Śiśumāra planetary system according to the calculations of Vedic astronomers. To concentrate their minds, yogīs worship the Śiśumāra planetary system, which is technically known as the kuṇḍalini-cakra.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.1
TRANSLATION
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, 1,300,000 yojanas [10,400,000 miles] above the planets of the seven sages is the place that learned scholars describe as the abode of Lord Viṣṇu.
There the son of Mahārāja Uttānapāda, the great devotee Mahārāja Dhruva, still resides as the life source of all the living entities who live until the end of the creation. Agni, Indra, Prajāpati, Kaśyapa and Dharma all assemble there to offer him honor and respectful obeisances. They circumambulate him with their right sides toward him. I have already described the glorious activities of Mahārāja Dhruva [in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam].
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.2
TRANSLATION
Established by the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the polestar, which is the planet of Mahārāja Dhruva, constantly shines as the central pivot for all the stars and planets. The unsleeping, invisible, most powerful time factor causes these luminaries to revolve around the polestar without cessation.
PURPORT
It is distinctly stated herein that all the luminaries, the planets and stars, revolve by the influence of the supreme time factor. The time factor is another feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone is under the influence of the time factor, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind and loves His devotee Mahārāja Dhruva so much that He has placed all the luminaries under the control of Dhruva's planet and has arranged for the time factor to work under him or with his cooperation.
Everything is actually done according to the will and direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but to make His devotee Dhruva the most important individual within the universe, the Lord has placed the activities of the time factor under his control.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.3
TRANSLATION
When bulls are yoked together and tied to a central post to thresh rice, they tread around that pivot without deviating from their proper positions — one bull being closest to the post, another in the middle, and a third on the outside. Similarly, all the planets and all the hundreds and thousands of stars revolve around the polestar, the planet of Mahārāja Dhruva, in their respective orbits, some higher and some lower.
Fastened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the machine of material nature according to the results of their fruitive acts, they are driven around the polestar by the wind and will continue to be so until the end of creation.
These planets float in the air within the vast sky, just as clouds with hundreds of tons of water float in the air or as the great śyena eagles, due to the results of past activities, fly high in the sky and have no chance of falling to the ground.
PURPORT
According to the description of this verse, the hundreds and thousands of stars and the great planets such as the sun, the moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter are not clustered together because of the law of gravity or any similar idea of the modern scientists.
These planets and stars are all servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda or Kṛṣṇa, and according to His order they sit in their chariots and travel in their respective orbits.
The orbits in which they move are compared to machines given by material nature to the operating deities of the stars and planets, who carry out the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by revolving around Dhruvaloka, which is occupied by the great devotee Mahārāja Dhruva. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.52) as follows:
yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāḿ
rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ
yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro
govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under whose control even the sun, which is considered to be the eye of the Lord, rotates within the fixed orbit of eternal time. The sun is the king of all planetary systems and has unlimited potency in heat and light."
This verse from Brahma-saḿhitā confirms that even the largest and most powerful planet, the sun, rotates within a fixed orbit, or kāla-cakra, in obedience to the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This has nothing to do with gravity or any other imaginary laws created by the material scientists.
Material scientists want to avoid the ruling government of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore they imagine different conditions under which they suppose the planets move. The only condition, however, is the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All the various predominating deities of the planets are persons, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also a person.
The Supreme Personality orders the subordinate persons, the demigods of various names, to carry out His supreme will. This fact is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), wherein Kṛṣṇa says:
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
"This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again."
The orbits of the planets resemble the bodies in which all living entities are seated because they are both machines controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61):
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāḿ
hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy." The machine given by material nature — whether the machine of the body or the machine of the orbit, or kāla-cakra — works according to the orders given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead and material nature work together to maintain this great universe, and not only this universe but also the millions of other universes beyond this one.
The question of how the planets and stars are floating is also answered in this verse. It is not because of the laws of gravity. Rather, the planets and stars are enabled to float by manipulations of the air. It is due to such manipulations that big, heavy clouds float and big eagles fly in the sky.
Modern airplanes like the 747 jet aircraft work in a similar way: by controlling the air, they float high in the sky, resisting the tendency to fall to earth. Such adjustments of the air are all made possible by the cooperation of the principles of puruṣa (male) and prakṛti (female).
By the cooperation of material nature, which is considered to be prakṛti, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is considered the puruṣa, all the affairs of the universe are going on nicely in their proper order. prakṛti, material nature, is also described in the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.44) as follows:
sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā
chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā
icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā
govindam ādi-puruṣaḿ tam ahaḿ bhajāmi
"The external potency, māyā, who is of the nature of the shadow of the cit [spiritual] potency, is worshiped by all people as Durgā, the creating, preserving and destroying agency of this mundane world. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, in accordance with whose will Durgā conducts herself."
Material nature, the external energy of the Supreme Lord, is also known as Durgā, or the female energy that protects the great fort of this universe. The word Durgā also means fort. This universe is just like a great fort in which all the conditioned souls are kept, and they cannot leave it unless they are liberated by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord Himself declares in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):
janma karma ca me divyam
evaḿ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaḿ punar janma
naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
Thus simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can be liberated, or, in other words, one can be released from the great fort of this universe and go outside it to the spiritual world.
It is also significant that the predominating deities of even the greatest planets have been offered their exalted posts because of the very valuable pious activities they performed in previous births. This is indicated herein by the words karma-nirmita-gatayaḥ.
For example, as we have previously discussed, the moon is called jīva, which means that he is a living entity like us, but because of his pious activities he has been appointed to his post as the moon-god. Similarly, all the demigods are living entities who have been appointed to their various posts as the masters of the moon, the earth, Venus and so on because of their great service and pious acts.
Only the predominating deity of the sun, Sūrya Nārāyaṇa, is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mahārāja Dhruva, the predominating deity of Dhruvaloka, is also a living entity. Thus there are two kinds of entities — the supreme entity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the ordinary living entity, the jīva (nityo nityānāḿ cetanaś cetanānām). All the demigods are engaged in the service of the Lord, and only by such an arrangement are the affairs of the universe going on.
Regarding the great eagles mentioned in this verse, it is understood that there are eagles so big that they can prey on big elephants. They fly so high that they can travel from one planet to another. They start flying in one planet and land in another, and while in flight they lay eggs that hatch into other birds while falling through the air.
In Sanskrit such eagles are called śyena. Under the present circumstances, of course, we cannot see such huge birds, but at least we know of eagles that can capture monkeys and then throw them down to kill and eat them. Similarly, it is understood that there are gigantic birds that can carry off elephants, kill them and eat them.
The two examples of the eagle and the cloud are sufficient to prove that flying and floating can be made possible through adjustments of the air. The planets, in a similar way, are floating because material nature adjusts the air according to the orders of the Supreme Lord.
It could be said that these adjustments constitute the law of gravity, but in any case, one must accept that these laws are made by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The so-called scientists have no control over them. The scientists can falsely, improperly declare that there is no God, but this is not a fact.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.4
TRANSLATION
This great machine, consisting of the stars and planets, resembles the form of a śiśumāra [dolphin] in the water. It is sometimes considered an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva. Great yogīs meditate upon Vāsudeva in this form because it is actually visible.
PURPORT
Transcendentalists such as yogīs whose minds cannot accommodate the form of the Lord prefer to visualize something very great, such as the virāṭ-puruṣa. Therefore some yogīs contemplate this imaginary śiśumāra to be swimming in the sky the way a dolphin swims in water. They meditate upon it as the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.5
TRANSLATION
This form of the śiśumāra has its head downward and its body coiled. On the end of its tail is the planet of Dhruva, on the body of its tail are the planets of the demigods Prajāpati, Agni, Indra and Dharma, and at the base of its tail are the planets of the demigods Dhātā and Vidhātā.
Where the hips might be on the śiśumāra are the seven saintly sages like Vasiṣṭha and Ańgirā. The coiled body of the Śiśumāra-cakra turns toward its right side, on which the fourteen constellations from Abhijit to Punarvasu are located. On its left side are the fourteen stars from Puṣyā to Uttarāṣāḍhā.
Thus its body is balanced because its sides are occupied by an equal number of stars. On the back of the śiśumāra is the group of stars known as Ajavīthī, and on its abdomen is the Ganges that flows in the sky [the Milky Way].
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.6
TRANSLATION
On the right and left sides of where the loins might be on the Śiśumāra-cakra are the stars named Punarvasu and Puṣyā. Ārdrā and Aśleṣā are on its right and left feet, Abhijit and Uttarāṣāḍhā are on its right and left nostrils, Śravaṇā and Pūrvāṣāḍhā are at its right and left eyes, and Dhaniṣṭhā and Mūlā are on its right and left ears.
The eight stars from Maghā to Anurādhā, which mark the southern course, are on the ribs of the left of its body, and the eight stars from Mṛgaśīrṣā to Pūrvabhādra, which mark the northern course, are on the ribs on the right side. Śatabhiṣā and Jyeṣṭhā are on the right and left shoulders.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.7
TRANSLATION
On the upper chin of the śiśumāra is Agasti; on its lower chin, Yamarāja; on its mouth, Mars; on its genitals, Saturn; on the back of its neck, Jupiter; on its chest, the sun; and within the core of its heart, Nārāyaṇa. Within its mind is the moon; on its navel, Venus; and on its breasts, the Aśvinī-kumāras. Within its life air, which is known as prāṇāpāna, is Mercury, on its neck is Rāhu, all over its body are comets, and in its pores are the numerous stars.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.8
TRANSLATION
My dear King, the body of the śiśumāra, as thus described, should be considered the external form of Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Morning, noon and evening, one should silently observe the form of the Lord as the Śiśumāra-cakra and worship Him with this mantra: "O Lord who has assumed the form of time! O resting place of all the planets moving in different orbits! O master of all demigods, O Supreme Person, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You and meditate upon You."
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.23.9
TRANSLATION
The body of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, which forms the Śiśumāra-cakra, is the resting place of all the demigods and all the stars and planets. One who chants this mantra to worship that Supreme Person three times a day — morning, noon and evening — will surely be freed from all sinful reactions. If one simply offers his obeisances to this form or remembers this form three times a day, all his recent sinful activities will be destroyed.
PURPORT
Summarizing the entire description of the planetary systems of the universe, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that one who is able to meditate upon this arrangement as the virāṭ-rūpa, or viśva-rūpa, the external body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and worship Him three times a day by meditation will always be free from all sinful reactions. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura estimates that Dhruvaloka, the polestar, is 3,800,000 yojanas above the sun.
Above Dhruvaloka by 10,000,000 yojanas is Maharloka, above Maharloka by 20,000,000 yojanas is Janaloka, above Janaloka by 80,000,000 yojanas is Tapoloka, and above Tapoloka by 120,000,000 yojanas is Satyaloka. Thus the distance from the sun to Satyaloka is 233,800,000 yojanas, or 1,870,400,000 miles. The Vaikuṇṭha planets begin 26,200,000 yojanas (209,600,000 miles) above Satyaloka. Thus the Viṣṇu Purāṇa describes that the covering of the universe is 260,000,000 yojanas (2,080,000,000 miles) away from the sun.
The distance from the sun to the earth is lower planetary systems called Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala and Pātāla. Below these lower planets by 30,000 yojanas, Śeṣa Nāga is lying on the Garbhodaka Ocean. That ocean is 249,800,000 yojanas deep. Thus the total diameter of the universe is approximately 500,000,000 yojanas, or 4,000,000,000 miles.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to the Fifth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Śiśumāra planetary System."

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Cosmology of Hinduism is more advanced than modern #bhagvatam #bhagvatgita #jambodweep


For many people Bhagvatam or Sri bhagvatgita is only religion of Hindu book, but during Krishna there was no other so called cult religion what we have now since last ~2000 years ago.There was sanatan dharma, religion of truth- called Dharma everywhere. It is Kaliyug that entered after Dwapar gone when Sri Krishna departed from this earth, that made and still making all confusion. And this will carry on untill next Sri Krishna in diff form come.
Here ,I am trying to decode what is written in Bhagvatam about Cosmos,which modern scientist still far away to get even after many satellites and telescope they have.
This is based on Bhaktivedanta Institute scientist Sadaputa Dasa (Dr. Richard Thompson)'s article-"Mysteries of sacred universe".


While there is debate as who was a 9th Avtar of God- Buddha or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Hindus believe Chaitanya Mhaprabhu was a 9th Avtar of Vishnu.  And per Chaitanya“In every verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam and in every syllable, there are various meanings.”(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 24.318).
The Fifth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam enumerate many universes. Each universe is like egg  shell surrounded by layers of elemental matter which is a boundary between mundane space and the unlimited spiritual world.
The region within the shell  is called the Brahmanda, or “Brahma egg.” It contains an earth disk or plane—called Bhu-mandala—that divides it into an upper, heavenly half and a subterranean half, filled with water. Bhu-mandala is divided into a series of geographic features, traditionally called dvipas, or “islands,”
varshas, or “regions,” and oceans.The circular “island” of Jambudvipa, lies in  the center of Bhu-mandala ) with nine varsha subdivisions. Subdivisions are known as -Bharata-varsha, which  is India/Bharat . In the center of Jambudvipa stands the cone-shaped Sumeru Mountain, which represents the world axis and is surmounted by the city of Brahma, the universal creator.
 Bhu-mandala are a stereographic projection of a globe .The land area between the equator and the mountain arc is Bharata-varsha, corresponding to greater India. Since its purpose was astronomical, rather geographical,so many other countries were not described.
The way it describes earth's is like this-It points out that night prevails diametrically opposite to a point where it is day. Likewise, the sun sets at a point opposite where it rises. Therefore, the Bhagavatam does not present the naive view that the Earth is flat.

In middle ages, astronomical instrument called an astrolabe was used which can be used today to compare Bhu-mandala.On the astrolabe, an off-centered circle represents the orbit of the sun—the ecliptic. The Earth is represented in stereographic projection on a flat plate, called the mater. The ecliptic circle and important stars are represented on another plate, called the rete. Different planetary orbits could likewise be represented by different plates, and these would be seen projected onto the Earth plate when one looks down on the instrument. The Bhagavatam similarly presents the orbits of the sun, the moon, planets, and important stars on a series of planes parallel to Bhu-mandala.
Bhu-mandala as a Map of the Solar System
Descriptions of Bhu-mandala have features that identify it as a model of the solar system.
The scholars Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend carried out an intensive study of myths and traditions and concluded that the so-called flat Earth of ancient times originally represented the plane of the ecliptic (the orbit of the sun) and not the Earth on which we stand. In India, the earth of the Puranas has often been taken as literally flat. But the details given in the Bhagavatam show that its cosmology is much more developed.


Bhagavatam used the ecliptic model, and  the disk of Bhu-mandala corresponds to the solar system . The solar system is nearly flat. The sun, the moon, and the five traditionally known planets—Mercury through Saturn—all orbit nearly in the ecliptic plane.Thus Bhu- mandala does refer to something flat, but it’s not the Earth. The structures of Bhu-mandala correspond with the planetary orbits of the solar system  If we compare the rings of Bhu-mandala with the orbits of Mercury, Venus,Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, we find several close alignments that give weight to the hypothesis that Bhu-mandala was deliberately designed as a map of the solar system
Until recent times, astronomers generally underestimated the distance from the earth to the sun. In particular, Claudius Ptolemy, the greatest astronomer of classical antiquity, seriously underestimated the Earth-sun distance and the size of the solar system. It is remarkable, therefore, that the dimensions of Bhu-mandala in the Bhagavatam are consistent with modern data on the size of the sun’s orbit and the solar system as a whole.
Jambudvipa as a Topographical Map of South-Central Asia
Jambudvipa,represents the northern hemisphere of the Earth globe. But the detailed geographic features of Jambudvipa do not match the geography of the northern hemisphere. They do, however, match part of the Earth.
Six horizontal and two vertical mountain chains divide Jambudvipa into nine regions, or varshas . The southernmost region is called Bharata-varsha. Careful study shows that this map corresponds to India plus adjoining areas of south-central Asia. It is easily understandable  as  Bhagavatam assigns many rivers and mountains, like Himalayas  in India to Bharata- varsha. Thus Bharata-varsha represents India. Bhagavatam places the Himalayas to the north of Bharata-varsha in Jambudvipa
A detailed study of Puranic accounts allows the other mountain ranges of Jambudvipa to be identified with mountain ranges in the region north of India. In ancient days, this part of Himalaya mountain was a place which had famous SILD ROAD to business activity between Middle east and India and Europe.The Pamir Mountains can be identified with Mount Meru and Ilavrita-varsha, the square region in the center of Jambudvipa. (Mount Meru does not represent the polar axis in this interpretation.)
Bhu-mandala as a Map of the Celestial Realm of the Devas

Per other Puranas,Bhu-mandala is a map of the celestial realm of the demigods, or devas. Other interpretation could be like this-Bharata-varsha includes the entire Earth globe, while the other eight varshas refer to celestial realms outside the Earth. This is a common understanding in India.
But the simplest explanation for the heavenly features of Jambudvipa is that Bhu-mandala was also intended to represent the realm of the devas. For example-
 India is said to be 72,000 miles (9,000 yojanas) from north to south, or nearly three times the circumference of the Earth. Likewise, the Himalayas are said to be 80,000 miles high. Such unrealistic value is secondary to representation of Jambudvipa as  heavenly realm and part of earth and there is connection between two so it doubles in size.Even modern scientist now believe that there is a parelles world. By siddhis, or mystic perfections, one can take shortcuts across space. This is illustrated by a story from the Bhagavatam in which the mystic yogini Citralekha abducts Aniruddha from his bed in Dvaraka or Dwarika and transports him mystically to a distant city
The  literature is full of stories of parallel worlds. For example, the Mahabharata tells the story of how the Naga princess Ulupi abducted Arjuna while he was bathing in the Ganges River .Ulupi pulled Arjuna down not to the riverbed, as we would expect, but into the kingdom of the Nagas (celestial snakelike beings), which exists in another dimension.
Mystical travel explains how the worlds of the devas are connected with our world. In particular, it explains how Jambudvipa, as a celestial realm of devas, is connected with Jambudvipa as the Earth or part of the Earth. Thus the double model of Jambudvipa makes sense in terms of the Puranic understanding of the siddhis.
 Bhagavata Cosmology


Sunday, November 30, 2014

FUTURE PREDICTIONS

Photo: In the last canto of the Bhagavata Purana there is a list of predictions and prophecies about the dark times for the present age of Kali Yuga. The following 15 predictions, written 5,000 years ago by sage Vedavyasa, are amazing because they appear so accurate. Despite the negative tone of these prophecies, there is still one bright spot for all of us, which is mentioned at the end.

Prediction 1:

Religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.1

Prediction 2:

In Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man's good birth, proper behaviour and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one's power.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.2

Prediction 3:

Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one's expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brahmana just by his wearing a thread.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.3

Prediction 4:

A person's spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person's propriety will be seriously questioned if he dos not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.4

Prediction 5:

A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.5

Prediction 6:

A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one's hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.6

Prediction 7:

As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of ther social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.7

Prediction 8:

Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.9

Prediction 9:

The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.10

Prediction 10:

The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali Yuga will become 50 years.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.11

Prediction 11:

Men will no longer protect their elderly parents.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.42

Prediction 12:

In Kali-yuga men will develop hatred for each other even over a few coins. Giving up all friendly relations, they will be ready to lose their own lives and kill even their own relatives.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.41

Prediction 13:

Uncultured men will accept charity on behalf of the Lord and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant's dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.38

Prediction 14: 

Servants will abandon a master who has lost his wealth, even if that master is a saintly person of exemplary character. Masters will abandon an incapacitated servant, even if that servant has been in the family for generations. Cows will be abandoned or killed when they stop giving milk.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.36

Prediction 15:

Cities will be dominated by thieves, the Vedas will be contaminated by speculative interpretations of atheists, political leaders will virtually consume the citizens, and the so-called priests and intellectuals will be devotees of their bellies and genitals.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.32

Despite all of these dark prophecies, there is one good quality in this age of Kali yuga:

"Although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: simply by chanting the names of Krishna, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." (Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51)

So let us take advantage of this special spiritual gift given during the dark times of Kali yuga to quickly raise ourselves spiritually through chanting of God's holy names.

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma
rāma rāma hare hare
In the last canto of the Bhagavata Purana there is a list of predictions and prophecies about the dark times for the present age of Kali Yuga. The following 15 predictions, written 5,000 years ago by sage Vedavyasa, are amazing because they appear so accurate. Despite the negative tone of these prophecies, there is still one bright spot for all of us, which is mentioned at the end.


Prediction 1:

Religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.1

Prediction 2:


In Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man's good birth, proper behaviour and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one's power.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.2

Prediction 3:

Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one's expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brahmana just by his wearing a thread.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.3

Prediction 4:

A person's spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person's propriety will be seriously questioned if he dos not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.4

Prediction 5:

A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.5

Prediction 6:

A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one's hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.6

Prediction 7:

As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of ther social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.7

Prediction 8:

Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.9

Prediction 9:

The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.10

Prediction 10:

The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali Yuga will become 50 years.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.11

Prediction 11:

Men will no longer protect their elderly parents.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.42

Prediction 12:

In Kali-yuga men will develop hatred for each other even over a few coins. Giving up all friendly relations, they will be ready to lose their own lives and kill even their own relatives.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.41

Prediction 13:

Uncultured men will accept charity on behalf of the Lord and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant's dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.38

Prediction 14:

Servants will abandon a master who has lost his wealth, even if that master is a saintly person of exemplary character. Masters will abandon an incapacitated servant, even if that servant has been in the family for generations. Cows will be abandoned or killed when they stop giving milk.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.36

Prediction 15:

Cities will be dominated by thieves, the Vedas will be contaminated by speculative interpretations of atheists, political leaders will virtually consume the citizens, and the so-called priests and intellectuals will be devotees of their bellies and genitals.

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.32

Despite all of these dark prophecies, there is one good quality in this age of Kali yuga:

"Although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: simply by chanting the names of Krishna, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." (Source: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51)

So let us take advantage of this special spiritual gift given during the dark times of Kali yuga to quickly raise ourselves spiritually through chanting of God's holy names.

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma
rāma rāma hare hare