Evolution in Hinduism

The reason why the Universe is Eternal,
Is that it does not live for Itself,
It gives life to others as it transforms,
And thereby lies the process of Evolution.

Change, they say, is the only thing Constant. All of us experience change in our life - our views take shape, thoughts mature, perceptions get molded, and if ever we sit and reflect, we wonder how it could be that we are so different from the way we were just a few years back!

Similar change in the life of our planet is evidenced by the process of Evolution. The current post deals with the 'Theory of Evolution' as proposed by the Biologist Charles Darwin and compares it with similar thoughts in the Hindu tradition.

Origin of Species

As discussed in the 3rd post (Creation by Brahma), our Universe required at least ten billion years of Evolution before life was even possible. Even on our own planet, the process has only progressed by taking baby steps and it has taken millions of years of trial and error to provide us with the backbone!

Evolution by Carl Sagan 

Evolution is clearly visible in the huge diversity of species on our planet and today most of us consider Evolution to be an undisputed fact, yet there was a time when the concept was brand new and quite controversial.The controversy began with one man - Charles Darwin. Darwin (1809-1882), was an English Naturalist, who wrote the immensely popular thesis Origin of Species in the year 1859 CE, thereby rocking the foundations of both scientific as well as religious world of that time.

Charles Darwin

What was stated in his book, went totally against accepted beliefs of the Church and Darwin had to face a lot of criticism for his revolutionary theory. Yet, it is only because of this theory that we can understand the full purport of Evolution on our planet. The story of how Darwin came upon these conclusions is also quite fascinating as well and I was lucky to have visited the place where he came up with his theory.

 Visitng Darwin's Home in Bromley, London

The spirit of adventure had gripped the imagination of most European nations at that time and there were expeditions from different countries to chart and explore the world around them. On one of these trips, our guy Charles Darwin landed at the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. These are a group of 12 disjointed atolls with the sea separating all of them, so that the flora and fauna in each is isolated from outside intervention.

Darwin's Voyage

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Darwin began to study the different species present there and to his surprise, observed huge variations in the species present in each of these islands!! In Darwin's own words -"When on board H.M.S. Beagle, as a Naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent.

Darwin began to ask himself why some birds on these islands had beaks different from others, and why some turtles had upright necks while others had their necks pointed down! Could all these differences be a result of the ENVIRONMENT these animals lived in and the circumstances in which they had to obtain food?

A note from Darwin's Diary

Despite suffering badly from sea-sickness, Darwin wrote copious notes while on board the ship. He found that the mockingbirds from different islands of the Galpagos group differed in shape and color and collected 12 different species of finches from each of them!

He traveled throughout the world and collected specimens wherever the ship docked. The same were handed over to experts when he landed in his mother country for further analysis. The research conducted on these specimens by various Anatomists, Ornithologists, Zoologists and Geologists, made the entire scientific world sit up and take notice of this radically NEW notion that Darwin had proposed. Inspired by the geographical differences in the wildlife (past and present), Darwin finally conceived of the Theory of Natural Selection. Today, the 'Origin of Species' is a widely acknowledged classic, and Evolution is today accepted as a truth of life.

Stages of Evolution

Evolution in Hinduism

Ancient Indians believed that Life comes from pre-existing Life. As discussed in the 3rd post (Creation by Brahma), Hindu Creation closely follows actual appearance of elements in our Universe -First appear the intangible substances followed by the tangible matter; followed by the immovable planets and landmasses; then the vegetation; birds, aquatics and animals; and finally the Higher species.

Taking an example from Hindu Philosophy, one of the most important concepts in Hinduism is of Samsara. All religions of Indian origin viz. Jainism, Budhism, Sikhism and the numerous other sects, believe in this concept and I'm sure most of you are aware of it as well. The concept is also known as the Transmigration of Soul, and refers to an endless cycle of re-incarnation that a soul must undergo in order to fulfill its Karma.

Transmigration of Soul through different Species

A soul takes birth in different species of life until it attains the form of a Human-being that enables it to strive for Nirvana. Compare this concept with the diagram above and you will immediately observe the similarity with Evolution!!

Another point to notice is the mention of  84 Lakh (8.4 million) different forms that a soul is obliged to take in order to reach a Human form which is remarkably close to the 8.7 million Eukaryotic species that scientists believe exist today!!

Different species are an evidence of Evolution

Sir John Woodroffe (1865-1936), Advocate General of Bengal and Legal member of the erstwhile Govt. of India, had the same revelation after the study of Sanskrit texts. He said and I quote,

"Ages before Lamarck and Darwin, it was held in India that man has passed through 84 lakhs births as plants, animals, inferior species and then came the ancestors of developed man existing today. The theory was an act of brilliant deduction in which observation may also have had played part!"

We all have heard of evolution and know that mammals are at its peak but is interesting to find the principles of Darwin's evolution in an old Hindu tect - the Shatpatha Brahman! The scripture mentions that when Prajapati Brahma created living beings in the beginning, they kept dying. He created the birds & the crawling reptiles, but they passed away from want of food. Finally #Brahma created living beings who could store food to nourish their children in the from of milk and thus came the mammals who ultimately survived!

The verse 2:5:1:66 says: Now that milk is indeed food; for in the beginning Prajâpati produced it for food. But that food also means living beings (progeny), since it is by food that they exist: by resorting to the breasts of those who have milk, they continue to exist. And those who have no milk are nursed by the former as soon as they are born; and thus they exist by means of food, and hence food means progeny. Is it just co-incidence or were the ancient Rishis actually aware of all the complexities of their environment around them?? While the above theory by itself may not be sufficient for some to believe in what I'm saying, I'll elucidate it further through an analysis of the order of Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

The Dashavatar

For the sake of the neophytes who may not be aware of them, I am listing the Ten Avatars below:

Matsya, the Fish
Kurma, the Turtle
Varah, the Boar
Narasimha, the Half-man/Half-lion being
Vaman, the Dwarf
Parashurama, Rama with the axe
Rama, Ramachandra, the prince and king of Ayodhya
Krishna, the Man-god
Buddha, the Spiritual Master, and lastly,
Kalki, expected to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga.

 

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It would be worthwhile to note that originally, there were 24 Avatars of the Lord listed in Srimad Bhagvatam. Why then, were only 10 selected by the Rishis for glorification? Furthermore, the order of the Avatars is NOT chronological! The actual order is as follows -  Varah, Narsingh, Kurma, Vaman, Matsya, Parshu-Raam, Raam, Krishna/Balrama, Buddha and Kalki.

To a student of Biology, it may be quite apparent that these incarnations bear a startling resemblance to the Concept of Evolution - in the Dashavatar, we start with the aquatic Matsya, the Savior of the World; move on to the amphibian Kurma, the Support of the World; and follow it up with the Protector of the World, the terrestrial Varah.Compare this with the diagram below to see how the current understanding of Evolution exactly matches this description.

Evolution of Amphibians and Terrestrials from Aquatics

(Images courtesy Rima Chadha)

The Eusthenopteron in the diagram above is a good example for demonstrating evolution. This particular animal looked and behaved like modern fish for all practical purpose, YET within its fins were  precursors of arm and leg bones of the four-limbed land animals!To add weight to this Out-of-Water theory, we next have the Tiktaalik, a half-fish, half-amphibian animal discovered in the Canadian Arctic in 2004. This animal was a further step towards TERRESTRIAL life with early wrists and finger bones that allowed it to prop itself up and poke its head above the water!

Evolution through animation

There are also indications that the animal breathed both through gills (like the earlier Eusthenopteron), as well as by means of a lung-like structure like the later amphibian Ichthyostega! This is just one of the many example that confirm Paleontologists' theories about land-dwelling animals evolving from fish ancestors and co-relates well with the Dashavatar sequence of Kurma after Matsya.

Kurma Avatar of Lord Vishnu

If you are intrigued by this similarity between science and religion, wait coz there's more to come :o)

After Kurma, we have the Varah and the story of this incarnation has many sub-layers. At one level, it signifies the next level of evolution moving from Water to Land while at a deeper level, it shows that Humans can not survive on the planet without the help of animals. Lord Varah is followed by the half-man-half-lion Nar-singh signifying the development of Man from the beasts. The victory of Narasimha over Aasurik ambitions of Hiranyakshipu also signifies that Humanity can be born only if we manage to subdue our demonic tendencies.

Narsingh, the Man-beast who tames Asurik tendencies

 

Varaha, the savior of Earth

{Image courtesy - Vimanika Comics}
Dashavatar Volume 2

Scientifically, there are numerous specimens recording this development from 'Water to Land' and from 'Beasts to Man' and many so called Missing Links have been found to corroborate the same. However, for our purpose, let us shift focus to a new animal that was spreading slowly out from the African heartland about 120,000 years ago - the Human-being. Evolution of Humans from an ape ancestor is supported by DNA and fossil evidence of over 20 species of Hominids and the complete genomes of several primates provide ultimate proof of our relatedness to apes and other Primates.

Evolution of Early Man

Dryopithecus in the image above, was a common ancestor to humans as well as other apes, and walked on all fours. The next guy in the image, Australopithecus afarensis, retained remnants from his quadrupedal past (such as hind toes suited for climbing and a wrist joint indicating it could knuckle-walk). However, its thigh bone, the femur, was shaped like that of the later Homo erectus to bear the stress of upright movement! In addition, both the proto-humans' femurs were also angled inward to help maintain balance on two legs, just like we do today.

Hindu mythology also finds the mention of these proto-humans in the form of the Vanars but that's a topic for a future post so I'll leave it at that for now. Coming back to the Dashavatar sequence, we first have the pygmoid Vaman followed by the fully developed but jungle-dwelling man represented by Lord Parashu-Raam. 

As the famous sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke describes - The stone club, the toothed saw, the horn dagger, the bone scraper - these were the inventions which the Early Man needed in order to survive and hunt.No longer were they faced with starvation when their teeth became damaged or worn; even the crudest tools could add many years to their lives. And as their fangs diminished, the shape of their face started to alter; the snout receded, the massive jaw became more delicate, the mouth able to make more subtle sounds to enable Speech.

Video showing skull changes from primates to modern Humans

In using the Tools, their hands developed a dexterity found nowhere else in the animal kingdom permitting them to make still BETTER tools, which in turn helped develop their limbs and brains yet further. It was an accelerating, cumulative process; and at its end was the Modern Man. This stage represents Early Man who had started using tools and weapons and quite fittingly, Parshu-Raam is the FIRST of the ten incarnations to posess primitve ARMS (Axe and Bow).

Parshuram represents forest-dwelling man who used tools

 {Book Cover of The Legend of Parshu-Raam}

Soon, mankind discovered Fire and Agriculture, and civilization began. Hence, next in the list we have the civilized man with a strong moral code - Shri Rama followed by Balrama, the Man-who-can-tame-Nature. In the image below, we can see the modern human represented by Shri Rama accompanied by the proto-human Vanars.

Maryada Purushottam Shri Rama

Next in line, Buddha, represents man with a spiritual drive and the need for infusing fresh thoughts in age-old traditions to keep religion and spirituality within the reach of the Masses. The final Avatar, Kalki, refers to the techno-humanoid man of tomorrow wielding mechanical contraptions and riding the steed of fire perhaps hinting at the technological advancement yet to come, maybe somewhat similar to Arnold from one of my childhood favorites, the movie Terminator :o)

The 10 Avatars certainly represent much more than just the incarnations of Lord Vishnu and as we saw above, are an allegory for the Process of Evolution which is evident in nature and within our own beings as well.

Lord Vishnu and the Ten Avatars

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I hope I was able to suitably present before you another aspect of Science uncovered from the depths of the treasure trove of Hindu Mythology. I again bow down to the intellect of the ancient Rishis and culminate this post with the Dashavatar Stotra, translated from the Geet-Govind, and dedicated to the 10 glorious Incarnations of Lord Vishnu:

In the Great Deluge, You kept Vedas safe,

Like a ship undeflected, from its original course,

Hail Keshav in the form of Matsya,

Glories to Hari, Lord of the Universe!

On Your expansive back, You let the Mountain rest,

Like a Cosmic pivot, for churning the Ocean,

Hail Keshav in the form of Kurma,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

In the depths of Garbhodak, You kept Bhu-Devi safe,

Like a speck on Moon, she rested on Your tusks,

Hail Keshav in the form of Varah,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

On your mighty knees, You let the demon rest,

Like a leaf Hiranyakshipu lay, entire existence torn,

Hail Keshav in the form of Narsingh,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

In three steps subduing Bali, You kept Three worlds safe, 

Like a mountain spring, Ma Ganga washed Your feet,

Hail Keshav in the form of Vaman,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

On the land destroying tyranny; You let our anguish rest,

Like the cleansing sunlight, You rid us of the wicked,

Hail Keshav in the form of Parshurama,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

In the interest of Dharma; You kept All species safe,

Like the ten directions, were Ravan's ten heads spread,

Hail Keshav in the form of Shri Rama,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

On Your plough, wearing blue; You let the Yamuna rest,

Like the celestial clouds, garments adorned Your form,

Hail Keshav in the form of Balraam,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

In Kaliyug You opposed sacrifice; Keeping animals safe,

Like Your compassion, Your fame too shone,

Hail Keshav in the form of Buddha,

Glories O Hari, Lord of the Universe!

On Judgement day destroying Evil; You'll let their Souls rest, 

Like a comet, your sword trailing destruction,

Hail Keshav in the form of Kalki,

All Glories to Hari, Lord of the Universe!

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Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:

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Devi - God as a Female

God may be in the details, 
But the Goddess is in the questions..

Once we begin to ask them, 
There's no turning back...

Keeping in line with the above sentiment, I'll begin this Navratri post with a question- God is Female.. Agree or Disagree?

For a follower of one of the Abrahamic Religions, the answer most likely would be 'NO', as Western religions are based on the premise of a Male God, generally envisioned with white robes and a flowing white beard, sitting high on a throne in a distant heaven.

For a person following one of the Eastern religions, the answer could very well be 'YES' as most Eastern religions give equal emphasis to both Male and Female aspects of divinity. For example, Hindu Theology, believes God to be a balance of the Male and the Female Powers, the Purush and Prakriti, otherwise referred to as Shiva and Shakti.

Shiva-Shakti

Continuing in the same vein, I'll ask another question.. Bible, Genesis 1:27, states that - God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female.

Now the question here is, if God is Male, how is a female in His image???

You may not have an outright answer to this one, but I hope the questions did begin a thought process in your mind! In the current post, we will try and understand the cult of the Goddess, not only from an Indian perspective, but also from the point of view of various other world religions.

 The Historical Perspective

Historically, the cult of the Mother Goddess was more widespread all over the globe than it is now. Older Western religions viz. the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Native American etc. included Goddess worship as a central part of their cultures.

In fact, more than 50 figurines of the Goddess have been found in excavations from all over Europe, dating more than 20,000 years ago, of which, Venus of Willendorf, is the most famous. Let us take a look at some of the goddesses worshiped in other ancient religions. Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Celts, Incas, Aztecs, all had their favorite goddesses viz.-

• The Celts had Abnoba- a goddess of rivers and forests and 
• Agrona- the goddess of war;
• Greeks had Rhea- the Mother of Gods;
• Aphrodite- the goddess of Love and Beauty and
• Athena- the goddess of Wisdom and War.
• Similarly, the Egyptians revered Bast- the protector of the pharaoh and 
• Isis- the goddess of magic, motherhood and fertility.

Goddesses in World religions

There are many more examples from Native American, Chinese, Japanese and Polynesian mythologies indicating that most ancient religions gave as much importance to the feminine aspect of God as the masculine. It is also interesting to note that most of these depictions look at the Goddess as the Guardian of Nature and have a Maternal connotation just like the Mother Goddess in the Indian sub-continent. Indeed, excavations from the Indus-Saraswati Civilization, have thrown up abundance of seals and figurines that suggest goddess-worship. Sometimes its a male-god or tribal chief worshiping a goddess while on other seals there are seven attendants accompanying the central goddess.

Man bowing to Goddess

 

The female figurines in terracotta found at Mohenjo-daro are comparable to similar artifacts excavated from archaeological sites in Baluchistan, Elam, Mesopotamia, Transcaspia, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, Crete, the Balkans and Egypt. Famous Scottish anthropologist, James George Frazer, believes that all diverse goddesses worshiped in Europe were derived from a single concept originating from the Indo-European Neolithic cultures. The figurines also show an exaggerated fertility aspect suggesting the role of the goddess as a MOTHER-figure heralding a tradition that is still unbroken in Hinduism.

Goddess Worship in Hinduism

Throughout its millenia-old history, Hinduism provided its followers with the freedom of worshiping God in whichever form they want. While Vedas talk about the elemental gods, later scriptures especially the Agams and Puraans glorify three major aspects of God:

Vaishnavism, worship of Lord Vishnu and His Avatars 

Shaivism, worship of Lord Shiva

Shaktism, worship of the Goddess or Devi

These different sects provide different concepts, rituals and spiritual exercises for different modes of Awareness of the soul. Thus, Shaivism and Shaktism identify the Goddess as the consort of Shiva but while the Goddess is one half of the Complete Whole in Shaivism, she is Supreme in the latter. In Vaishnav tradition, Goddess is considered Lord Vishnu's Yogmaya who takes the form of Mother Durga to look after the Material Creation as Her own child.

Goddess Durga as Lord Vishnu's Yogmaya

The worship of Mother Goddess actually shows a FIVE-FOLD approach by the devotees. The FIRST approach is the one we have seen repeated in all ancient communities of the world - that personifies Divinity as the Mother Goddess. Rigved refers to Her as the Mahimata, or Earth-Mother; Viraja, the Universal-Mother; and Aditi, the Mother-of-Gods. Verse 7.8i.4 while addressing the Dawn-goddess Usha states - Vayam syama maturna sunavah - Let us be dear to you like sons to a mother.

Mahimata, the Mother of Creation

In the SECOND approach, Goddess is visualized Mystically in the form of Shakti, the Cosmic Energy which is the Source of all Creation. All things, material and abstract are only the manifestations of the Divine Female. Both the Puraans and Upanishads contain numerous references to Goddess as Shakti. The Mahabharat mentions Pradyumna’s worship of Goddess Katyayani, Aniruddha’s hymn to Goddess Chandi and Yudhishthira’s hymn to Goddess Durga.

 Aadi-Shakti, Cosmic Energy of the Universe

The THIRD approach, identifies the Goddess in the form of Dash-Mahavidyas or the Ten Wisdom Goddesses, who represent a spectrum of feminine divinity, from horrific goddesses at one end, to the ravishingly beautiful at the other. Worshiped by the followers of Tantrism, they are led by the fiercest of all, Goddess Maha Kali. The devotees understand them as different aspects of the same Great Goddess suited to the tastes, temperaments, and mental levels of spiritual aspirants

The ten goddesses are: Kali, Tara, Shodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Matangi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagala, and Kamala.

Dash Mahavidyas

 

The FOURTH approach is again devotional in nature, but here the goddess is (surprisingly) worshiped as the patron of the warriors. These warrior-goddesses are known as the Saptamatrikas, or the Seven Mothers. This group comprises of the warrior avatars of even otherwise benign goddesses such as Saraswati and Lakshmi (!!). Thus in the Matrika cult, Brahma's consort in martial mode is Brahmani, Shiva's better half is Maheshwari and Vishnu's consort is Vaishnavi.

The fierce Matrikas in battle mode

Image courtesy Grant Morrison's 18 Days

{Art by Mukesh Singh}

At this point, it may be worthwhile to remember the Indus-Saraswati seal shared earlier which depicted seven attendants of the central goddess. The seven may actually represent the Matrikas, especially since the depiction of these goddesses has remained almost unchanged even in later Art.

The FIFTH approach is of the Puranas like the Skanda Puraan, Brahmavaivarta Puraan, Devi Bhagwat Puraan, Prapancha-saratantra, Linga Puraan etc. which describe various goddesses as consorts of the Male gods. Thus, while Devi Durga is described as the Core Goddess, other goddesses are  described as Her expansions who form the Vital Energy (Shakti) of the Gods without whom, it is impossible for them to vanquish the Demons.

This fifth approach also covers all assorted LOCAL goddesses as well as the Nav-durga worshiped in India's towns and villages and accords them the status of being one with the Supreme Goddess Durga. The principal THREE forms of the Devi according to the each of the three gunas of course are Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati.

Female Hindu Holy Trinity

The Supreme Goddess DURGA

Of all texts related to goddess worship, Markandeya Puraan contains the most vivid description in the form of  a full book, known as Devi Mahatmya conceptualizing and adoring the Goddess and is the first scripture to celebrate the Goddess as the Supreme Divinity.

Goddess Durga is referred to variously as Chandi, the fierce goddess, who destroys the evil Asuras; as Annapurna or the giver of food; and as Jagaddhatri, one who upholds the world. In the ‘Devi Kavacha’ an auxiliary of the Mahatmya, Devi is conceived of in nine forms known as the Nava-durga.

These are:

1. Shailputri, daughter of the mountains; 
2. Brahmacharini, dwelling in Brahman; 
3. Chandraghanta, who has the moon for her bell; 
4. Kushmanda, the fertility goddess; 
5. Skandamata, mother of the war god Skanda; 
6. Katyayani, the daughter of Rishi Katyayana; 
7. Kalaratri, the dark night of dissolution; 
8. Mahagauri, the light of knowledge; and 
9. Siddhidatri, the bestower of success.

According to the traditional story of appearance of the Goddess, once a Buffalo-demon called Mahishasur (Greek Minotaur??) had conquered the Three Worlds. Due to a boon from Brahma, he was invincible against any male, be it a beast or human or even a demigod.

Mahishasur, the Minotaur

Mahish had subjugated the three realms and made them his slave. Tired of his tyranny, the Devas ran to Brahma for help and after Brahma disclosed his boon, the male gods decided to create a FEMALE warrior to eliminate the buffalo demon.

They decided to pool all their creative as well as destructive powers for the process, and the COMBINED energies of all the gods took shape of a beautiful Goddess who was the Devi Durga.

Goddess Durga emerges from the Energy of Gods

The goddess was gifted weapons by all the assembled gods and she set forth on her mission. As soon as the Minotaur saw Durga's Divine form, he understood that the demigods had found a way around the boon granted to him by Brahma!

Rishi Markandeya, gives a detailed account of Ma Durga's battle with the demonic forces, including the slaying of Mahish in about 700 verses, chanted religiously by ardent devotees of the Goddess especially during the current Nine Days of Durga Puja.

Durga, Kali and other Matrikas together killed scores of demons including the dreaded Asuras like Shumbh, Nishumbh and Raktabeej.


 

 Ma Kali defeating Raktabeej

After a prolonged battle, the buffalo-demon was slain, and henceforth, Goddess Durga was given the epithet of Mahishasur Mardini, the Slayer-of-Mahish. This is the most widely depicted representation of the Goddess in art and there's a lot of profound symbolism inherent in the depiction of the Goddess in battle mode.

By vanquishing the buffalo-demon and reigning in a fierce Lion, Goddess Durga inspires us to tame our own ANIMAL INSTINCTS and rid ourselves of our Inner demons.

Goddess Durga slaying Mahishasur

The depiction also reflects taming of the MALE EGO by the Feminine principle to bring back balance in Creation and prevent the annihilation of our World.

The FEMALE principle tames this animal urge of mankind to destroy itself and gives it a push towards the creative process of sustenance. Men have indeed been responsible for a lot of blunders in our history just to pander to our egos. The development and deployment of the first Nuclear bomb; Iraq's annexation of Kuwait; America's attack on Afghanistan; Pakistan's attempt to steal Kargil from India, all being very apt examples of the same.. By controlling our animal urges, Ma Durga prevents us from straying from the path of Spiritual growth and brings us back in line.

Not only Hinduism, other ancient Eastern religions also recognized and revered the Goddess for the same. In my travels, I found an unlikely temple dedicated to the Goddess in Penang Island of Malaysia! Even though the deity here is worshiped as a form of Buddha, its name and depiction clearly refers to Goddess Chandi, which is another name for Goddess Durga :o)

Chundi Bodhisattva in Penang, Malaysia

Even with the increasing opportunities available to women in civilized societies, a majority of women in the developing economies as well as certain fanatical societies do not have equal rights as their male counterparts. The many hands of the Goddess could easily represent the multi-tasking woman of today!

    Traditional Goddess                                                    Modern Goddess

The prerogative is on us, the Men of today to acknowledge and respect the Goddess in women around us and to accord them the same respect we reserve for the Goddess in our Temples. 

Let this Navratri be a reminder to us to deal with our inner demons and re-establish the high status accorded to women in our ancient scriptures! I conclude this post with the ode to the Goddess, the Mahishasur-Mardini Stotra compiled by Shri Adi Shankracharya-

O Daughter of Himalayas, Dwelling in the Vindhyas, 

O consort of Shiva, glorified by Indra,

Creatrix of the Universe, Slayer of Mahisha,

O Daughter of the Mountain, Victory to You!

Arising from the Ocean, Nourishing the Three worlds,

Delight of Raas Dance, O consort of Vishnu,

Remover of all sins, Destroyer of evil Pride,

O Daughter of the Mountain, Victory to You!

Conqueror of Daityas, Vanquisher of Danavs,

Destroyer of Dhumralochan, Slayer of Shumbh-Nishumbh,
You stemmed the spawn of Rakta-bija,

O Daughter of the Mountain, Victory to You!

You are Invincible, with your Trident,

You string your mighty bow, and weild your shiny sword,

To remove the miseries, of all the Three worlds, 

O Daughter of the Mountain, Victory to You!

You are fond of battle, against worthy warriors,

You are fond of dancing, with Shiva as Ardha-narishwar,

Your beauty captivates even the heart of Cupid,

O Daughter of the Mountain, Victory to You!


You are all Auspicious, the Merciful Mother of All,

You are my mother, and I too am Your son,

Do not reject my prayer, even if its flawed,

O Daughter of the Mountain, Victory of Victories to you!
 

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Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:

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Creation by Brahma

There has always been an argument in the Scientific world - Whether an Intelligence created this World or, the World led to the creation of Intelligence. Sounds like a Chicken & Egg situation there! However in Hindu Cosmology, the process of creation is more purposeful than a random explosion in nothingness.

In the current post, I'm gonna share the Creation Phenomenon as per Hindu Scriptures and will take you through the Theological as well as Evolutionary details hidden in them. Swami Vivekananda, one of the most intellectual proponents of Hinduism says - Indian philosophy goes beyond both Intelligence as well as Matter and describes a Purush, or Self, of whom Intelligence is but the borrowed light - This Adi-Purush or Original Being is the Supreme Lord Vishnu.

Adi Purush, Shri Hari Vishnu

We saw in the first post {A for Astronomy} that there exist two different Realms in this Creation - Spiritual and Material. While Spiritual Realm is the abode of pure souls living on the Vaikunth Planets, the materialistic souls (like You & Me) take birth on different planets in different galaxies of different Universes of the Material Realm.

There is one important concept that we need to understand here - According to the Satvata Tantra,  there exist, not One, not Two, but THREE different forms of Lord Vishnu in the Material Realm.

The Three Forms of Lord Vishnu

The first and foremost form of Lord Vishnu in the Material Realm, is that of Shri Karanodak-shayi Maha Vishnu or Narayan (One-who-lies-on-Water). The Lord reclines on Cosmic waters of  the Causal Ocean (That-Causes-Everything) known as Karan-Odak that emanates from His own body and fills the lower half of the Material Realm.

 Shri Maha Vishnu, lying on the Causal Ocean generated from His own Self

(Images courtesy Sri Madhav Priya Dasi)

Shri Maha Vishnu is the ONLY Living entity present in the Material Creation right now and this form of the Lord has been called Kaal-Swabhavah or the foundation of the Space-Time Continuum. He forms the basis of Quantum Physics that runs this Universe at Sub-Atomic as well as Super-Galactic levels.

The as yet unmanifest stage of material nature is called Pradhan or Prakriti - till this stage, there is no Words or Expression, no Mind or Elements, and the three modes of Goodness, Passion and Ignorance are in an equilibrium. There is no Life or Intelligence, no Pleasures or Pains and no Demons or Gods. There is no Ether, Water, Earth, Air, fire or Sun nor the different stages of Consciousness - sleep, wakefulness and deep sleep. Yet, this Pradhan is the original substance of Material Nature and the basis of all further Creation.

Creation Begins in the Material Realm

1. The First Step in Creation is called the FIRST Sarga:

Because of the Wish of Maha Vishnu, there arises a disturbance in equilibrium of the 3 qualities of Satva, Rajas and Tamas which results in the formation of subtle imperceptible matter called the Mahat Tattva. This subtle matter can not be perceived by our material senses yet it forms the basis of all that follows - It is from this that Intelligence or ‘Buddhi’ arises further giving rise to ‘Aham’ or Ego that further gives rise to ‘Manas’ or Mind. 

Mahat Tattva created by Shri Maha Vishnu's glance

2. In the SECOND Sarga, the Mind gives rise to the Dash-Indriyan which include 5 Sensory Perceptions - Ears, Skin, Eyes, Tongue and Nose as well as 5 Organs of Action - Mouth, Arms, Legs, Excretory and Reproductory. 

3. The THIRD Sarga shows the formation of the FIVE Tanmatras or subtle elements of Sound, Touch, Taste, Form & Smell followed by the Basic Elements, the Panch-Mahabhoot which, like the three Primary colors, give rise to Matter in its various forms through their permutations and combinations. These Famous Five are - Space, Air, Water, Fire & Earth.

The Panch Mahabhoot manifest

These THREE Phases of Creation are collectively are known as PRAKRITIK Sarga as they are NOT a creation of Brahma and come into being from the Natural Energy of the Lord, known as Prakriti. After these basic building blocks, the stage was now set for the creation of our Universe (and indeed other Universes too!). Before we move ahead just a quick tabular shot of what we have learnt above:

All this detail may be too much to handle in the first instance but if you have managed to grasp the above, feel relieved for the difficult conceptual portion is out of the way :o)

Creation of OUR Universe

As we learnt in the previous post, Multiple Universes emerge from the Infinite pores of Shri Maha Vishnu's cosmic body each time He exhales. The Lord again enters EACH of these egg-shaped Universes in His SECOND form of Shri Garbhodak-shayi Vishnu.

Each Universe emerging from Maha-Vishnu contains a Garbhodak-shayi Vishnu

This second form of the Lord reclines on the Great Serpent Anant (Without-an-End) and is the Maintainer for His respective Universe. To use an analogy, consider Him sort of a Governor for His Province while Maha-Vishnu is like the Head of the Nation!

Shri Garbhodakshayi Vishnu, First LIVING Being in EACH Universe

 

After a period of 1000 Maha-Yugas, a lotus bud emerges from the navel of the Lord, inside which is Brahma or Ka, the First MORTAL Being in each Universe. The stem of this cosmic lotus connecting Brahma to the Navel of the Lord, signifies the Umbilical Cord that binds a baby to its mother. In a sense, Lord Garbhodak-shayi Vishnu is the Father as well as Mother of ALL creation beginning first and foremost with Lord Brahma.

Lord Brahma, First MORTAL Living Being in EACH Universe

Imagine the plight of the Creator-god when he would have opened his eyes for the first time.. He must have been as lost and clueless as a new born baby coming into this world! Lord Brahma did not know the purpose of his being. Trying to look all around him simultaneously, he sprouted 5 heads to enable him to spot even a hint of an activity in any direction yet could not see anything except darkness all around him.

To clear his confusion, he then decided to explore the stem of the Lotus from which he had emerged but came to a dead-end. Thereafter, he went into meditation for a 100 Maha-Yugas and to clear his confusion and provide him guidance, Lord Garbhodak-shayi Vishnu made Himself VISIBLE to Brahma.

Shri Garbhodakshayi Vishnu becomes visible to Lord Brahma 

Lord Brahma was transfixed with the divine spectacle of the Supreme Lord resplendent in Blue and Gold, lying on the Great serpent with a thousand hoods on the mighty waters of the Garbh-Ocean! Shri Hari Vishnu, then told Brahma his purpose of existence and realizing the magnitude of work that lay ahead of him, Brahma was (quite understandably) left speechless! It's sort of like being asked by the Boss to create a new Business Model when you dont even know which industry you are working in :o)

Fortunately, the BIG-BOSS here was Lord Vishnu, the Adi-Purush who in the noblest of sacrifices asked Brahma to use portions of Lord's own body for beginning the process! It is from here that actual Creation by Lord Brahma begins.

Creation within EACH Universe

We FINALLY begin with the Creation of our Universe. To give it some perspective, I should inform you that my calculations give the staggering number of 155.524752 Trillion Solar Years ago as the time of occurrence of this event!

Another point to be noted here, is that EACH Universe has a personal form of Lord Vishnu AND an Individual Brahma as well. Ergo, there are billions and billions of Brahmas in the Material Realm each taking care of Creation in his OWN Universe!!

Lord Brahma begins Creation

4. Brahma first creates the Immovable objects such as Planets, Land, Mountains, etc. which do not have any inherent power of Motion (Remember that Planets also move due to Gravity and do not have an intrinsic motion of their own). This is the FOURTH phase of Creation known as the Mukhya Sarga.

5. In the next phase called the Tiryak Sarga, Brahma creates 6 different types of Vegetation covering trees/herbs/creepers etc., 12 different varieties of Birds and 28 different broad classifications of Animals which I'm not detailing here to prevent a system overload and subsequent crash ;o)

6. The SIXTH Phase saw Creation of Demigods and other Advanced Species of life and is therefore known as the Deva Sarga. Most important Divinities were created in this Phase of Brahma's Creation.

• First come the 4 Eternal Kumars, the First Incarnations of Lord Vishnu. These cherubic kids remain the same in appearance throughout their lifetime which is as long as that of Brahma himself! But all of them chose to follow the path of Spirituality instead of following Brahma's command for beginning procreation.

• This frustrated Brahma so much that from his forehead, (the region of the third eye) emerged a dark red and blue child bawling at the top of his voice! This crying baby was named Rudra (The Howler)!

Rudra born from Brahma's Forehead

• However, Rudra too decided to follow the path of Tapas or Penance and Brahma was sorely disappointed. After a lot of cajoling by Brahma, Rudra agreed to help and manifested 10 more beings with the same appearance as him (Binary Fission?!?). These are known as the 11 Rudras, ONE of whom is Lord Shiva. 

• On Brahma's request again, Rudra appeared as Ardhanarishwar and generated a female principle (Asexual Reproduction??) which was the Rudrani.

• Each of the 11 Rudras similarly obtained a consort thus providing Brahma some satisfaction of seeing his creations multiply. However, the Rudras were all fierce since they represented the Supreme Lord's power of Destruction!

The 11 Rudras

• Realizing that the progeny of Rudra was not what he really wanted to populate the world with, Brahma then created 10 Manas Putras by just visualizing them in his mind! Neat, eh? I wish I could finish all my work by just thinking about it!! These Mind-born sons of Brahma are - Atri, Angiras, Atharva, Bhrigu, Daksh, Marichi, Pulah, Pulatsya, Vasishtha and the youngest one Narad.

The First Rishis - Brahma's Manasputras

Images courtesy Grant Morrison's 18 Days

{Artist - Mukesh Singh}

• When all these sons preferred to follow footsteps of the Kumars, by refusing to get entangled in the process of procreation, Brahma again filled up with Negative energy - this resulted in the creation of Asurs, who in common parlance are known as Demons. When Brahma let go of this Tamsik Dark aspect of his being, it resulted in the creation of Night-time.

Asuras or Demons

• Focusing his positive energy again, Brahma took a Satvik form and created the Deities or Devas. These are the illumined effulgent demi-gods who became the care-takers of different aspects of the Material Creation. This Bright aspect of Brahma's personality also led to the creation of Day-time. 

Devas or Demigods

• The next creation of Brahma was the Pitras or Manes. It may be worthwhile to mention that the planet of the Pitras has one day and night equal to a fortnight each of the humans. (In a later post I'll discuss how this relates to Einstein's Theory of Relativity)

Pitras or Manes

• Brahma now manifested other divinities such as the Goddesses Saraswati and Gayatri; the Four Vedas; the goddess of deliveries Prasuti; elements such as Emotions, Music and Rishi Kardama (Ka's Shadow).

• Prasuti became the consort of the eldest Mana-putra Daksh, and this is where Copulative creation began! It is interesting to note that the Sanskrit word for parturient labour is also Prasuti, probably a recognition of her being the FIRST woman to give birth to a child by normal delivery!!

Thus, Daksha became the Second Prajapati after Brahma; the Guardian and Custodian of All Creation. With this, the Deva Sarga came to a close and Lord Brahma, who must have been completely exhausted by now, decided to take a break. The point to be remembered here is that like the Greek Titans, the Asuras are older than the Devas who correspond quite well to the Olympians.


7. At the end of all this, Lord Brahma sat ruminating about the direction his work had taken till now, and took a body which was Rajsik or in the Mode-of-Passion. Thus from his right hand emerged a creature a lot like him - this was the First Man, Swayambhu Manu (Born-on-his-Own) who was born with the Kaya of his father Brahma (Ka-Brahma, ya-form). Interestingly, the same incident is noted in Bible as well - 'Man was created in the Image of His Maker'.

 

 Swayambhu Manu, the First Man

Along with Manu, emerged the female Shatrupa and Brahma assigned for them the planet Earth. Thus, Human-beings, the progeny of Manu and Shatrupa were given the sanction for populating the globe and till date we show ABSOLUTELY no sign of stopping! ;o)

Manu and Shatrupa - Hindu Adam and Eve

In this context, I wanna mention the beautiful similarity drawn by the character called Agent Smith in the super-hit movie Matrix, where he tells Neo - Humans are like viruses.. multiplying till they exhaust all resources of a particular place and then moving on to greener pastures.. Guess we and viruses have the same level of Evolution then!

It is also interesting to note that the Germanic tribes call their ancestor Mannus which is also the root of the English word - Man just as Manu is the root of the Hindi word Manushya. Since the SEVENTH Phase saw the creation of Human-beings, it is known as the Manushya Sarga. 

8. In the EIGHTH Phase called the Anugrah Sarga, other species with magical powers were created such as the Yakshas, Gandharvs, Sarpas, Apsaras etc. Some of these species are in the mode of goodness while others in the mode of darkness.

9. The NINTH and FINAL Phase of Brahma's Creation is called the Kaumar Sarga wherein the four Eternal Kumars considered re-appeared in this day of Brahma. With this ends the exhausting process of Creation. If you as a reader and me as a chronicler are both boggled by the details and technicalities of this, imagine the condition of Lord Brahma!

 Brahma looks at His creation with relief

 

Yet, in my personal opinion, it would be a golden opportunity for any artist to get the freedom to express his creativity without any restraints, utilizing no less than the sublime form of Adi-Purush Himself!! How noble the Sacrifice and how Liberating the experience!

It would be worthwhile to note that the 4 Kumars as well as the 10 Manas Putras are older than the Devas and Asurs both, therefore, they are held in deep respect by both the clans. Also, I can't help but notice that Brahma's Creation closely follows actual appearance of elements in our Universe -

First to appear are the intangible elements like the protons, neutrons etc. followed by  matter in gaseous form; followed by the immovable planets and landmasses; then the vegetation; birds, aquatics and animals; and finally the Higher species.

Also, the Mode of reproduction is clearly ASEXUAL in the beginning (as seen with the generation of Rudras and Rudranis) and becomes COPULATIVE only after the germination of Daksha and his consort Prasuti!

Before winding up, let me just mention the Third and the Final form of Lord Vishnu in the Material Realm. This is Shri Kshirodak-shayi Vishnu present in each atom of the creation as 'Parmatma' or the Super-soul. His vehicle is the Golden-eagle Garuda and it is from Him that all the Avatars take origin! The Lord resides on planet Shvet-dvip in the Dhruv-Loka, reclining on the Sheshnaag (One-that-remains) with His consort Lakshmi and supervises this ENTIRE Creation that we discussed above!

Shri Kshirodakshayi Vishnu, the benefactor of all devotees

There are many more complexities involved in the Creation Process but I hope I was able to make it simple enough for your understanding! I'm gonna conclude this post with the verses of Purush Sukta, that extoll the Supreme Sacrifice of the Adi-Purush that resulted in the commencement of Creation:

A Thousand heads has Purush, 

A thousand eyes, A thousand feet,

Manifesting Earth and the World, 

He extends beyond countability.

Purusha is all that Exists,

What Was and What shall Be,

He Consumes and is Consumed,

The Hidden Lord of Immortality.

What's visible is but One-quarter; 

Beyond destruction lies a Quarter and Three!

From Purusha was born the Universe; 

Even the Creater was born of Thee!

In this Srishti-Yagnya performed, 

Purusha Himself became the Havis,

Summer lent the fire-wood, And 

Spring became the pouring Ghee.

Birds that travel in the air, 
Beasts of forest were thus born,

Village dwellers, Humans came forth; 

Hymns of Vedas came from Thee.

From His face the Brahmins rose, 

Men-of-arms from His arms,

His thighs became the Trader creed, 
Shudras rose from His Holy feet,

From His Navel spread the Sky; 

From the Head, Heavens sprung,

From His feet Earth was born; 

From the Ears, directions decree.

From the Waters and the Earth,

He forged Creation, the Divine smith,

Lord of Universe; Unborn; Omnipresent; 

Lives within; Yet only the Wise can see.

Request we Lord, Greenery for Earth, 

Request we the good of Community,

Request we the good of ALL living beings, 

May Peace Envelop our Destiny.

 

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Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:

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