On The Origin of The Universe and Consciousness

Man has always been a curious creature. This curiosity has led to various questions and which in turn have led to answers in the form of discoveries. One of the thought which has always occupied the human beings is the question of creation of this universe and what prompted it. One of the prominent theories in this regard is Big Bang Theory, which explains how the universe expanded from a high density and high temperature state. This theory of the origin of the universe gained popularity in the 20th century after the theoretical findings were backed by several experimental observations by Edwin Hubble, who defined Hubble’s Law.

The scientists, philosophers and thinkers in the western world were largely unaware of several existing facts about the origin and creation of universe which were known to the Indian common man through various ancient scriptures. One of the earliest evidence about the origin of the universe is found in the ancient Indian book known as Rigveda. While in general, the Rigveda consists of hymns which mostly discuss cosmology, even while praising the deities. In particular, the 1st and 10th book of Rigveda (Prathan and Dasham Mandal) answers several questions about the origin of the universe and explains the Big Bang in cryptic form. The 16 verses of 90th Hymn in the 10th book of Rigveda is also known as Purusha Sukta (puruṣasūkta). According to the Veda’s “Purusha” is the person who runs “this universe”.

A very simplified description of the supreme being and the creation of the universe has been explained in “White Paper on Religion of Saints And Radhasoami Faith”, published by Radhasoami Satsang Sabha, Dayalbagh, Agra, India.

While all these verses and the current scientific theories explains the creation, none explains what prompted it. How did the creation started. God or the supreme being has been described as the one without name, form or demarcation. In my opinion any such entity can only be classified as “Pure Energy” or in other terms – “Consciousness”.

Although the subject of consciousness has always been drawing attention, but this attention and the associated researches in the area have increased dramatically in the last decade and a half or so. It is highly difficult to explain consciousness, although it is something embedded in all our experiences. In the western perspective the focus is mostly on the outward and in the eastern tradition the focus is on the inwards. As a result of this the western approaches prefer scientific methods. In the eastern tradition, reason is often seen as secondary to the inner experience.

Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University), Agra, India has been aggressively pursuing highest level of scientific research in the areas of Consciousness and Quantum Nano Computing via its Quantum-Nano Systems Centre And Centre for Consciousness Studies.

I will continue sharing the researches done in the field of consciousness in the upcoming posts.