Hindu cosmology
Hindu cosmology is the description of the universe and its states of matter, cycles within time, physical structure, and effects on living entities according to Hindu texts. Hindu cosmology is also intertwined with the idea of a creator who allows the world to exist and take shape.
Substance
All matter is based on three inert gunas :- sattva
- rajas
- tamas
- pradhana : gunas in an unmixed and unmanifested state.
- prakriti : gunas in a mixed and unmanifested state.
- mahat-tattva : gunas in a mixed and manifested state.
The manifest material elements range from the most subtle to the most physical. These material elements cover the individual, spiritual jiva-atmas, allowing them to interact with the material sense objects, such as their temporary material bodies, other conscious bodies, and unconscious objects.
Manifested subtle elements:
- ahamkara
- buddhi
- citta/''manas''
- Akasha> sound > ear
- Vayu > touch > skin
- Agni > sight/form > eye
- Jal > taste > tongue
- Prithvi > smell > nose
Time
The earliest mentions of cosmic cycles in Sanskrit literature are found in the Yuga Purana, the Mahabharata, and the Manusmriti. In the Mahabharata, there are inconsistent names applied to the cycle of creation and destruction, a name theorized as still being formulated, where yuga and kalpa are used, or a day of Brahma, the creator god, or simply referred to as the process of creation and destruction, with kalpa and day of Brahma becoming more prominent in later writings.
Prakriti remains mixed for a maha-kalpa of 311.04 trillion years, and is followed by a maha-pralaya of equal length. The universe remains manifested for a kalpa of 4.32 billion years, where the universe is created at the start and destroyed at the end, only to be recreated at the start of the next kalpa. A kalpa is followed by a pralaya of equal length, when Brahma and the universe are in an unmanifested state. Each kalpa has 15 manvantara-sandhyas and 14 manvantaras, with each manvantara lasting for 306.72 million years. Each kalpa has 1,000 and each manvantara has 71 chatur-yugas, with each chatur-yuga lasting for 4.32 million years and divided into four yugas : Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga, of which we are currently in Kali Yuga.
Life
The individual, spiritual jiva-atma is the life force or consciousness within a living entity. Jivas are eternal; they are not created or destroyed, and are distinct from the created unconscious matter. The gunas in their manifest state of matter, cover the jivas in various ways based on each jiva's ''karma and impressions. This material covering of matter allows the jivas to interact with the material sense objects that make up the material universe, such as their temporary material bodies, other conscious bodies, and unconscious objects.Material creation is called maya due to its impermanent, temporary nature in which it is sometimes manifest and sometimes not. It has been compared to a dream or virtual reality, where the viewer has real experiences with objects that will eventually become unreal.
Through the interactions with the material sense objects, a jiva starts to identify the temporary material body as the true self, and in this way becomes influenced and bound by maya perpetually in a conscious state of nescience. This conscious state of nescience leads to samsara, only to end for a jiva when moksha is achieved through self-realization or remembrance of one's true spiritual self/nature. Taking action to develop this state of awareness of ones true identity, and to understand the illusionary nature of maya is known as striving for moksha. Hindu's believe that dharma is a means to moksha, thus perfecting dharma is one such action. The spiritual practice known as sadhna is another action. The jiva is considered the place where all positive qualities within us are housed, yet remain hidden due to the "layers of maya".
The different schools of thought differ in understanding about the initial event that led to the jivas entering the material creation and the ultimate state of moksha''.
Creation and structure
is a group of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid common set of beliefs. It includes a range of viewpoints about the origin of life. Hindu texts do not provide a single canonical account of the creation; they mention a range of theories of the creation of the world, some of which are apparently contradictory.Rigveda
According to Henry White Wallis, the Rigveda and other Vedic texts are full of alternative cosmological theories and philosophical questions. To its numerous open-ended questions, the Vedic texts present a diversity of thought, in verses imbued with symbols and allegory that sometimes clothe the forces and agencies of the cosmos anthropomorphically with distinct personalities.Hiranyagarbha sukta (golden egg)
Rigveda 10.121 mentions the Hiranyagarbha that existed as the source of the creation of the universe, similar to the world egg motif found in creation myths of many other civilizations.This metaphor has been interpreted differently by later texts. The Samkhya texts state that Purusha and Prakriti made the embryo, from which the world emerged. In another tradition, the creator god Brahma emerged from the egg and created the world, while in yet another tradition Brahma himself is the Hiranyagarbha. The nature of the Purusha, the creation of the gods and other details of the embryo creation myth have been described variously by the later Hindu texts.
Purusha Sukta
The Purusha Sukta describes a myth of proto-Indo-European origin, in which creation arises out of the various body parts of the Purusha, a primeval cosmic being who is part of a yagna by the gods. Purusha is described as all that has ever existed and will ever exist. This being's body was the origin of four different kinds of people: the Brahmin, the Rajanya, the Vaishya, and the Shudra. Viraj, variously interpreted as the mundane egg or the twofold male-female energy, was born from Purusha, and the Purusha was born again from Viraj. The gods then performed a yajna with the Purusha, leading to the creation of the other things in the manifested world from his various body parts and his mind. These things included the animals, the Vedas, the Varnas, the celestial bodies, the air, the sky, the heavens, the earth, the directions, and the Gods Indra and Agni.The later texts such as the Puranas identify the Purusha with God. In many Puranic notes, Brahma is the creator god. However, some Puranas also identify Vishnu, Shiva or Devi as the creator.
Nasadiya Sukta
The Nasadiya Sukta takes a near-agnostic stand on the creation of the primordial beings, stating that the gods came into being after the world's creation, and nobody knows when the world first came into being. It asks who created the universe, does anyone really know, and whether it can ever be known. The Nasadiya Sukta states:Other hymns
The early hymns of Rigveda also mention Tvastar as the first born creator of the human world.The Devi sukta identifies a goddess, identified as the cosmic form of Speech, with the creator, empowering, nourishing and giving joy to gods and humans.
Rig Veda 10.72 states:
RV 1.24 asks, "these stars, which are set on high, and appear at night, whither do they go in the daytime?" RV 10.88 wonders, "how many fires are there, how many suns, how many dawns, how many waters? I am not posing an awkward question for you fathers; I ask you, poets, only to find out?"
Brahmanas
The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions a story of creation, in which the Prajapati performs tapas to reproduce himself. He releases the waters and enters them in the form of an egg that evolves into the cosmos. The Prajapati emerged from the golden egg, and created the earth, the middle regions and the sky. With further tapas, he created the devas. He also created the asuras, and the darkness came into the being. It also contains a story similar to the other great flood stories. After the great flood, Manu the only surviving human, offers a sacrifice from which Ida is born. From her, the existing human race comes into the being.The Shatapatha Brahmana states that the current human generation descends from Manu, the only man who survived a great deluge after being warned by the God. This legend is comparable to the other flood legends, such as the story of the Noah's Ark mentioned in the Bible and the Quran.
Upanishads
The Aitareya Upanishad mentions that only the "Atma" existed in the beginning. The Self created the heaven, the sky, the earth and the underworld. He then formed the Purusha from the water. He also created the speech, the fire, the prana, the air and the various senses, the directions, the trees, the mind, the moon and other things.The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions that in the beginning, only the Atman existed as the Purusha. Feeling lonely, the Purusha divided itself into two parts: male and female. The men were born when the male embraced the female. The female thought "how can he embrace me, after having produced me from himself? I shall hide myself." She then became a cow to hide herself, but the male became a bull and embraced her. Thus the cows were born. Similarly, everything that exists in pairs, was created. Next, the Purusha created the fire, the soma and the immortal gods from his better part. He also created the various powers of the gods, the different classes, the dharma and so on. The Taittiriya Upanishad states that the being was created from the non-being. The Being later became the Atman, and then created the worlds. The Chhandogya states that the Brahma creates, sustains and destroys the world. A similar perspective is also portrayed in the Mundak Upanishad verse 2.1.10, which states "puruṣa evedaṃ viśvaṃ karma tapo brahma parāmṛtam", meaning "out of this Purush, everything is born, and by knowing him, everything becomes known"