“The Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths…the time scales correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang. And there are much longer time scales still.” Carl Sagan in Cosmos
Cosmologists now believe that the Big Bang happened roughly 13.77 billion years ago. This number of 13 billion years is of the same magnitude to what the Hindu Vedas say. This aspect of Rig Veda is nothing short of spellbinding. How could have they come up with such a grand scale – in billions of years – for the cosmological age of the universe? What kind of minds and awareness did they possess to get into the same ballpark timeline wise, when it has taken us billions of dollars worth of equipment and painstaking scientific research to get into the same ball park?
What’s even more incredible is that the Hindus didn’t restrict themselves to the current universe. The Rig Veda tells us that the life of the cosmos stretches endlessly before the Big Bang and will stretch endlessly well after the current version of the universe ends. The life of a Brahma, we’re told, is 100 years of 360 days each, where each day = 8.64 billion years. Simple math (100 x 360 x 8.64 billion) gives us the life time of Brahma, which is the life of the cosmos. This number is a staggering 311 trillion years. And after 311 trillion years, the ‘old’ Brahma ‘dies’, and a ‘new’ Brahma is ‘born’. And the cycle of 311 trillion years repeats itself with a new Brahma, endlessly into time. Mind boggling! –from Life in the Middle Age of Brahma: What Ho!
The Indo-Europeans or Aryans invaded northern India it is believed some 1500 years BC. They were a nomadic race who paid great attention to the cosmos and the movement of the planets. Their altars were set up as a symbolic representation of the universe and the Cosmic Order. Their priest/magicians, also known as Rishi (divinely inspired or saint), would become the channel for the transmission of divine knowledge. It wasn’t until about 1000 BC that this divine knowledge, known as the Vedas, were put into writing. Vedas is from a Sanskrit word Veda, meaning knowledge. The essence, however, is not just knowledge, but heard knowledge. Thus these writings represent a form of revelation given to the Rishi from the gods. The Vedic pantheon of gods it must be noted were clearly understood to be personifications of the energies flowing from the one divine source–not as facts, as we so love to concretize deities here in the West. We find much of this Vedic doctrine also in the Hermetic lore of the West.
As the Aryans integrated with the Hindu culture, we find the sublimation of this Vedic wisdom manifesting in the most popular Hindu texts called the Upanishads, which manifested around 800 BC. The Upanishads represent a powerful collection of teachings which represent a most wonderful and relevant Mythological system. As one example, The Brahma-vaivarta Purana has a story called “The Humbling of Indra” that really hits the mark. As the story goes, this somewhat haughty king of the gods finds himself confronted with a cosmic knowledge of the universe and the vastness of time and space—such that his entire sense of self importance goes out the window. Eventually, he learns how to deal with these revelations and finds balance in having a direct knowledge of the Eternal; and yet still able to participate in the rapture and wonder of the radiance of the eternal through the forms of time and space. Does this little story sound familiar?
Indra indeed represents us all on one level. The revelations of the scientific community concerning the nature of the universe are forcing mankind to open up to a new and wonderful cosmic awareness. Many are even beginning to sense the thrill and transforming power of the divine radiance pouring through these forms of time and space. It is only through humility however, that we as a humanity shall be able to re-connect with this far greater cosmic realization.
The purpose of myths and religions across the planet, it should be noted, are to assist man in his ability to re-connect with the mystery of mysteries and indeed to reconcile these higher revelations with his day to day life. The science of today must be integrated and in accord with humanitity’s new and unfolding Mythos. Interestingly enough, this ancient religion calls forth countless mythic images that are so profoundly relevant to this current age of exploration and awakening. For the Universe is within us as God is within us—as well as without us—in a mysterious way. As vast and infinite as this universe is, the entire mystery is closer to us than our hands and feet. We need not transverse the vastness of the Universe to find it. It is right here: now.
From the Book of Alchemy Jacob Boehme states:
“In this Stone there lieth hidden, whatsoever God and the eternity,
also heaven, the stars, and elements contain, and are able to do:
There never was from eternity anything better or more precious
than this, and it is offered by God, and bestowed upon man;
everyone may have it that doth desire it; it is in a simple form and
hath the power of the whole Deity in it.”
James
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Psalms 121: 8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.