Pre Universe : Cosmology

On this lazy Saturday I am sitting alone in my flat and thinking something to do. Suddenly I started thinking about Universe, its creation, the state before Bing Bang theory. I took one of book from my collection and started reading it. I started reading "Nasdiya Sukta" the creation hymn from Rigveda and tried to link it with Big Bang theory and thus is this blog post.

Nasdiya Sukta philosophically describes the state before creation of universe, how secret the cosmology is and how creation of universe started. Though its always tough to explain vedic philosophy with limited set of words, I will try my best.

नासदासीन् नो सदासीत् तदानीं नासीद् रजो नो व्योमापरो यत्

किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद् गहनं गभीरम्|1|

In pre-creational state of universe "not the non-existent existed, nor did the existent exist then". Then was neither being nor non-being; there was no realm of air nor sky beyond. What covered it, and where? what sheltered it? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water?

न मृत्युरासीदमृतं न तर्हि न रात्र्या अह्न आसीत्प्रकेतः

आनीदवातं स्वधया तदेकं तस्माद्धान्यन् न परः किं चनास|2|

Death was not then, nor was there immortal; no sign was there, nor day's and night's divider( as no Sun and moon were there) . "The One" being, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it there was nothing else.

तम आसीत् तमसा गूळमग्रेऽप्रकेतं सलिलं सर्वमाइदम्

तुच्येनाभ्वपिहितं यदासीत् तपसस्तन्महिनाजायतैकम्|3|

Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness all was indiscriminate chaos. The stage was different from real-unreal, truth-false and there was no knowledge of existence. All that existed then was void and formless: by the great power of warmth was born "The One". When compared 2nd and 3rd hymns with Big Bang, the Big Bang says there was one indescribable point, the nucleus of the would-be expanding universe. That nucleus was not in space and not in time, because space and time had not been created yet - the basic quantum uncertainty.

कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः प्रथमं यदासीत्

सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन् हृदि प्रतीष्याकवयो मनीषा|4|

Thereafter rose desire in the beginning, desire, the primal seed and germ of spirit. Seers who searched their heart for wisdom discovered the bond of being within non-being with their heart's thought.

तिरश्चीनो विततो रश्मिरेषामधः स्विदासी दुपरिस्विदासी

रेतोधाआसन् महिमान आसन् स्वधा अवस्तात् प्रयतिः परस्तात्|5|

Transversely was their severing line extended: what was above it then, and what below it? There were seminal begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and energy up yonder. The desires originated and also the consumers of the desires.

को अद्धा वेद क इह प्र वोचत् कुत आजाता कुत इयंविसृष्टिः

अर्वाग् देवा अस्य विसर्जनेनाथा को वेद यतआबभूव|6|

Who knows and who can say, whence it was born and whence came this creation? The Gods are later than this world's creation. Who knows then whence it first came into being? Here the Gods means the gods of air, water, fire but not the Supreme One.

इयं विसृष्टिर्यत आबभूव यदि वा दधे यदि वा

न यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे व्योमन् सो अङ्ग वेद यदि वा नवेद|7|

The One, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not, He who surveys it all from his highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps even he does not! Its again a paradox, "The One" was the creator and/or also the creation. The One was creator or creation is similar to "Egg Chicken" puzzle.

The One described in this sukta is similar to center of universe of Big Bang theory. The search for creation is agnostic. The supreme power, the Brahma, the Absolute condensed Itself into the point of a universal will of potentiality to outline the process of the would-be creative universe. Brahman becomes Ishvara; Ishvara becomes Hiranyagarbha; Hiranyagarbha becomes Virat - the Param Purusha, the Axis Mundi......

But the question is who we are our part in this creational philosophy....