The structure of the universe and its entire physics has been described in detail in many Hindu scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam and vedas dating back to thousands of years still not precisely traceable to historians!
CREATION OF UNIVERSE
According to Srimad Bhagavatam, the total life of the universe is 100 universal days and 100 universal nights where each universal day/ night lasts for 4,320,000,000 earth years. Two types of recreation are described.
1.Partial recreation
2. Total recreation
After each universal day, partial dissolution takes place which starts a universal night. After this universal night is over, partial recreation occurs starting another universal day and so on. Total destruction of the universe takes place after 100 universal nights and days in which all planetary systems collapse.
PLANETARY SYSTEMS
According to vedic cosmology, there are 14 planetary levels in our universe which in descending order are:
1. Satyaloka
2. Tapaloka
3. Janakloka
4. Maharloka
5. Svarloka
6. Bhuvarloka
7. Bhurloka
8. Atala
9. Vitala
10. Sutala
11. Talatala
12. Mahatala
13. Rasatala
14. Patala
Srimad Bhagavadam tells that the earth is located in the Bhurloka planetary level and in the Bhumandala planetary system.
The Bhumandala planets are divided into 7 subdivisions.
From a vast distance, the Bhumandala planetary system looks like a disk.
Below the 14 planetary levels , a planet called Pitriloka is located and below the Pitriloka planet is the Narakloka planetary system(hell) which has further 27 sub divisions containing hundreds of thousands of planets more.
It isstated that the consciousness level of the souls that are sent to the Narakloka is shrinked to extreme low levels.
THE SUN AND ITS ORBIT
Bhagavadam allows us to calculate the exact age of Sun and its life span. The sun manifested 155,521,960,853,098 years ago (taking 1990 as the present year) and will dissolute after 155,518,039,146,902 years from now.
During its life span, partial dissolutions take place periodically at which it cools down and its light diminishes. The last partial dissolution occured 6,280,853,098 years ago and the next one will take place after 2,359,166,902 years from now.
Bhagavatam 5.21,8-9: People living in countries at points diametrically opposite to where the sun is first seen rising, will see sun setting and if a straight line were drawn from the point where the sun is at midway, then people in countries at the opposite end of the line would be experiencing midnight and vice versa.
This tells that the spherical nature of planets were known hundreds of years back before people like Thales, Aristotle proposed the flat structure of the earth.
Bhagavatam 5.21.19: In its orbit through Bhumandala, the sun traverses a distance of 95,000,000 yojanas (ancient Indian measurement unit)at the speed of 2000 yojanas and two krosas in a moment.
When converted, the traversing distance becomes 760,800,000 miles and the speed of completion of one revolution comes out to be 16,004 miles per second which is very close to modern scientific calculations.
THE MOON AND ITS ORBIT
The Surya Siddhanta or the book on vedic cosmology informs that the diameter of the moon = 2,400 miles and the circumference of its orbit = 1,620,000 miles.
Bhagavatam 5.22.8: Moon travels at a speed faster than that of the sun. In two lunar fortnights the moon travels through the equivalent of a year of the sun, in two and a quarter days it passes through a month of the sun, and in one day it passes through a fortnight of the sun.
SPACE TIME THEORY
Vedic physics states that time is a subtle energy or force which is manifested before the cosmic manifestation. Time moves the unmanifest material energy and controls the movements in the universe. Without the manifestation of time, the unmanifest material energy cannot become active and take form. Only after the time fluctuations agitate the unmanifested material energy does the cosmic manifestation begin!
Bhagavatam 3.11.4: Elementary time is measured according to its covering of a particular elementary space. That time which covers the unmanifest aggregate of the elementary particles is called the great time.
The space time web structure is clearly evident from the above statement pointing out to the existence of 4 dimensional Euclidean geometry. Note that the concept of great time ( time irrespective of the reference taken ) is also mentioned here.
TIME DILATION
Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity results in time dilation for inertial systems.
Bhagavatam 9.3.30 - 32 narrates how one spaceman went to the highest planetary system due to an urgent situation in panic and stayed there for 20 minutes. When he returned to earth, 116,640,000 years had passed by on earth. He neither found his friends, relatives or sons, grandsons. He could not find a record of their family tree!
TIME MEASUREMENT AND CALCULATION
Bhagavatam 3.11.5 - 6: The division of gross time is calculated as follows - two elementary particles make one double particle, and three double particles make one hexaparticle. The time duration needed for the integration of three hexaparticle is called a truti, and 100 trutis make one vedha. Three vedhas make one lava. It is calculated that if a second is divided into 1687.5 parts, each part is the duration of one truti, which is the time needed for the integration of eighteen elementary particles.
The duration of three lavas = 1 nimesa, the combination of 3 nimesas = 1 kasana. 5 kasanas together combined make one kastha, and 15 kasthas make one laghu.
Bhagavatam 3.11.8 : Two laghus = two minutes. 15 laghus make one nadika, which is also called a danda. Two dandas make one muhurtha , and 6 dandas make one fourth of a day or night.
Bhagavatam 3.11.10 : It is calculated that there are four praharas, which are also called yamas, in the day and four in the night of the human being. Similarly, 15 nights are a fortnight, and there are two fortnights ina month.
Bhagavatam 3.11.11 - The aggregate of two fortnights is one month. The duration of life of a human being is said to be 100 earth years. One day and night on Satyaloka planetary system =8,640,000 years on earth.
Bhagavatam 3.11.8 - The Universe exists in time cycles. Four time periods during each cycle of the universe are
1. Satya yuga
2. Treta yuga
3. Dvapara yuga
4. Kali yuga
Bhagavatam 3.11.19 : The duration of these periods is given in terms of years of devas ( inhabitants of higher planetary systems ).
1 year of devas = 360 years of human beings.
Duration are thus as follows:
1. Satya yuga = 4800 * 360 = 1,720,000 earth years
2. Treta yuga = 3600 * 360 = 1,296,000 earth years
3. Dvapara yuga = 2400 * 360 = 864,000 earth years
4. Kali yuga = 1200 * 360 = 432,000 earth years
We are currently living in the second half of kali yuga.
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
Vedic evolutionary theory differs from the Darwinian in that the coommon ancestor is a super intelligent humanoid, not a single-celled bacterium. In addition, all species evolve from a complex form to the simple structure and not vice versa. Genes of complex species contain all the necessary genetic information to build genes of simpler species. In addition, vedas describe another type of evolutionary process : that of Consciousness!
The units of consciousness within the bodies of all species are indestructible. These individual units are qualitatively identical with each other, yet display a certain range of powers and abilities based upon the particular characteristics of the physical form they inhabit. During the evolutionary process, the imperishable conscious units transmigrate from lower to higher species for example ape to man. Thus vedic literatures describe the evolution of forms descend from higher to lower and the evolution of consciousness ascend from lower to higher!
NATURE OF MATTER
Bhagavatam states that matter exists in two conditions:
1. manifest condition
2. unmanifest condition
When matter is transformed to a manifest condition, the universe is created and when the universe is annihilated, matter is transformed back into its unmanifest condition.
According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of an isolated system always increases. The entropy is a physical quantity which measures the degree of disorder of a system. It is a common experience that entropy of a system must always increase if a system is left alone.
One can create order out of disorder, but that requires expenditure of effort or energy and so decrease the amount of energy available. Thus, for matter to be ordered, requires a conscious being! Without a conscious being behind matter, matter's only tendency is to increase disorder. This tendency of the universe to expand comes from the conscious being who activates matter by injecting consciousness into it!
DIMENSIONS OF UNIVERSE
According to vedic physics, space inside our universe is multi - dimensional. There are 64 main dimensions and each dimension is further divided into many sub-dimensions. Since the inhabitants of earth can perceive 3 dimensions, their senses have no access to many other realms of universal reality!!
It is said that through the ancient process of yoga ( specifically kriya yoga ) , one can obtain access to many other dimensions. When a yogi obtains access to other dimensions, he can perform unusual activities!
A yogi can achieve 8 mystical perfections. Each perfection gives him access to 8 additional dimensions. Thus by achieving all 8 perfections, a yogi obtains access to all the 64 (8*8) dimensions making his body unaffected by space time bound physical laws!
Excerpts taken from COMPARATIVE COSMOLOGY by AKIF MANAF J.
CREATION OF UNIVERSE
According to Srimad Bhagavatam, the total life of the universe is 100 universal days and 100 universal nights where each universal day/ night lasts for 4,320,000,000 earth years. Two types of recreation are described.
1.Partial recreation
2. Total recreation
After each universal day, partial dissolution takes place which starts a universal night. After this universal night is over, partial recreation occurs starting another universal day and so on. Total destruction of the universe takes place after 100 universal nights and days in which all planetary systems collapse.
PLANETARY SYSTEMS
According to vedic cosmology, there are 14 planetary levels in our universe which in descending order are:
1. Satyaloka
2. Tapaloka
3. Janakloka
4. Maharloka
5. Svarloka
6. Bhuvarloka
7. Bhurloka
8. Atala
9. Vitala
10. Sutala
11. Talatala
12. Mahatala
13. Rasatala
14. Patala
Srimad Bhagavadam tells that the earth is located in the Bhurloka planetary level and in the Bhumandala planetary system.
The Bhumandala planets are divided into 7 subdivisions.
From a vast distance, the Bhumandala planetary system looks like a disk.
Below the 14 planetary levels , a planet called Pitriloka is located and below the Pitriloka planet is the Narakloka planetary system(hell) which has further 27 sub divisions containing hundreds of thousands of planets more.
It isstated that the consciousness level of the souls that are sent to the Narakloka is shrinked to extreme low levels.
THE SUN AND ITS ORBIT
Bhagavadam allows us to calculate the exact age of Sun and its life span. The sun manifested 155,521,960,853,098 years ago (taking 1990 as the present year) and will dissolute after 155,518,039,146,902 years from now.
During its life span, partial dissolutions take place periodically at which it cools down and its light diminishes. The last partial dissolution occured 6,280,853,098 years ago and the next one will take place after 2,359,166,902 years from now.
Bhagavatam 5.21,8-9: People living in countries at points diametrically opposite to where the sun is first seen rising, will see sun setting and if a straight line were drawn from the point where the sun is at midway, then people in countries at the opposite end of the line would be experiencing midnight and vice versa.
This tells that the spherical nature of planets were known hundreds of years back before people like Thales, Aristotle proposed the flat structure of the earth.
Bhagavatam 5.21.19: In its orbit through Bhumandala, the sun traverses a distance of 95,000,000 yojanas (ancient Indian measurement unit)at the speed of 2000 yojanas and two krosas in a moment.
When converted, the traversing distance becomes 760,800,000 miles and the speed of completion of one revolution comes out to be 16,004 miles per second which is very close to modern scientific calculations.
THE MOON AND ITS ORBIT
The Surya Siddhanta or the book on vedic cosmology informs that the diameter of the moon = 2,400 miles and the circumference of its orbit = 1,620,000 miles.
Bhagavatam 5.22.8: Moon travels at a speed faster than that of the sun. In two lunar fortnights the moon travels through the equivalent of a year of the sun, in two and a quarter days it passes through a month of the sun, and in one day it passes through a fortnight of the sun.
SPACE TIME THEORY
Vedic physics states that time is a subtle energy or force which is manifested before the cosmic manifestation. Time moves the unmanifest material energy and controls the movements in the universe. Without the manifestation of time, the unmanifest material energy cannot become active and take form. Only after the time fluctuations agitate the unmanifested material energy does the cosmic manifestation begin!
Bhagavatam 3.11.4: Elementary time is measured according to its covering of a particular elementary space. That time which covers the unmanifest aggregate of the elementary particles is called the great time.
The space time web structure is clearly evident from the above statement pointing out to the existence of 4 dimensional Euclidean geometry. Note that the concept of great time ( time irrespective of the reference taken ) is also mentioned here.
TIME DILATION
Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity results in time dilation for inertial systems.
Bhagavatam 9.3.30 - 32 narrates how one spaceman went to the highest planetary system due to an urgent situation in panic and stayed there for 20 minutes. When he returned to earth, 116,640,000 years had passed by on earth. He neither found his friends, relatives or sons, grandsons. He could not find a record of their family tree!
TIME MEASUREMENT AND CALCULATION
Bhagavatam 3.11.5 - 6: The division of gross time is calculated as follows - two elementary particles make one double particle, and three double particles make one hexaparticle. The time duration needed for the integration of three hexaparticle is called a truti, and 100 trutis make one vedha. Three vedhas make one lava. It is calculated that if a second is divided into 1687.5 parts, each part is the duration of one truti, which is the time needed for the integration of eighteen elementary particles.
The duration of three lavas = 1 nimesa, the combination of 3 nimesas = 1 kasana. 5 kasanas together combined make one kastha, and 15 kasthas make one laghu.
Bhagavatam 3.11.8 : Two laghus = two minutes. 15 laghus make one nadika, which is also called a danda. Two dandas make one muhurtha , and 6 dandas make one fourth of a day or night.
Bhagavatam 3.11.10 : It is calculated that there are four praharas, which are also called yamas, in the day and four in the night of the human being. Similarly, 15 nights are a fortnight, and there are two fortnights ina month.
Bhagavatam 3.11.11 - The aggregate of two fortnights is one month. The duration of life of a human being is said to be 100 earth years. One day and night on Satyaloka planetary system =8,640,000 years on earth.
Bhagavatam 3.11.8 - The Universe exists in time cycles. Four time periods during each cycle of the universe are
1. Satya yuga
2. Treta yuga
3. Dvapara yuga
4. Kali yuga
Bhagavatam 3.11.19 : The duration of these periods is given in terms of years of devas ( inhabitants of higher planetary systems ).
1 year of devas = 360 years of human beings.
Duration are thus as follows:
1. Satya yuga = 4800 * 360 = 1,720,000 earth years
2. Treta yuga = 3600 * 360 = 1,296,000 earth years
3. Dvapara yuga = 2400 * 360 = 864,000 earth years
4. Kali yuga = 1200 * 360 = 432,000 earth years
We are currently living in the second half of kali yuga.
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
Vedic evolutionary theory differs from the Darwinian in that the coommon ancestor is a super intelligent humanoid, not a single-celled bacterium. In addition, all species evolve from a complex form to the simple structure and not vice versa. Genes of complex species contain all the necessary genetic information to build genes of simpler species. In addition, vedas describe another type of evolutionary process : that of Consciousness!
The units of consciousness within the bodies of all species are indestructible. These individual units are qualitatively identical with each other, yet display a certain range of powers and abilities based upon the particular characteristics of the physical form they inhabit. During the evolutionary process, the imperishable conscious units transmigrate from lower to higher species for example ape to man. Thus vedic literatures describe the evolution of forms descend from higher to lower and the evolution of consciousness ascend from lower to higher!
NATURE OF MATTER
Bhagavatam states that matter exists in two conditions:
1. manifest condition
2. unmanifest condition
When matter is transformed to a manifest condition, the universe is created and when the universe is annihilated, matter is transformed back into its unmanifest condition.
According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of an isolated system always increases. The entropy is a physical quantity which measures the degree of disorder of a system. It is a common experience that entropy of a system must always increase if a system is left alone.
One can create order out of disorder, but that requires expenditure of effort or energy and so decrease the amount of energy available. Thus, for matter to be ordered, requires a conscious being! Without a conscious being behind matter, matter's only tendency is to increase disorder. This tendency of the universe to expand comes from the conscious being who activates matter by injecting consciousness into it!
DIMENSIONS OF UNIVERSE
According to vedic physics, space inside our universe is multi - dimensional. There are 64 main dimensions and each dimension is further divided into many sub-dimensions. Since the inhabitants of earth can perceive 3 dimensions, their senses have no access to many other realms of universal reality!!
It is said that through the ancient process of yoga ( specifically kriya yoga ) , one can obtain access to many other dimensions. When a yogi obtains access to other dimensions, he can perform unusual activities!
A yogi can achieve 8 mystical perfections. Each perfection gives him access to 8 additional dimensions. Thus by achieving all 8 perfections, a yogi obtains access to all the 64 (8*8) dimensions making his body unaffected by space time bound physical laws!
Excerpts taken from COMPARATIVE COSMOLOGY by AKIF MANAF J.
