Hindu Cosmology

Various Hindu creation myths

The god to

The oldest legend is contained in the hym " Purusha sukta "(from the Rig Veda , in the first millennium BC ). Describes the creation of the universe from the remnants of a huge primeval man called Purusha ("male") in a very early period, which were made medha purusha ('human sacrifice').

The cosmic egg

It is unknown when human sacrifice disappeared and were replaced by animal sacrifice. Following the emergence of Buddhism ( VI century BC ) with its ajimsá ('non-violence'), began to disappear animal sacrifices, and new legends appeared that contradicted the original legend.

The universe emanated from a cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha ('golden womb'). Egg was born Prayapati . (A few centuries later, at the time Puranic - this Prajapati was identified as the demiurge Brahma ).

The Brahma's lotus flower

The Puranas (first centuries of the Christian era ) have several processes of creation.

First, in a corner of the infinite spiritual universe there is a "cause ocean [material]." There is the biggest lie of the forms of Vishnu: Vishnu Karanodakasai ('the Vishnu slept [sayi] in the ocean [Udaka] cause [karana] '). Your body universes emanate (sometimes improve this myth with the idea that every molecule of air you breathe is a finite universe).

Each spherical universe is filled with water halfway. Lying on the ocean is another form of Vishnu, called Garbhodakasai Vishnu ("the Vishnu slept [sayi] in the ocean [Udaka] cause [karana] '), lying on the divine serpent Ananta Shesha . In his navel as a lake, and on the lake created a lotus flower. When the flower opens, it is born the god Brahma with four heads .

Description of the entire universe

Brahma with your mind creates the entire universe: the flat world (Earth) and all the lokas ('local' or 'places', planets and stars visible and invisible in heaven, home to the gods and other beings). In the fifth canto of the Bhagavata Purana explains that the rooks (stars) move in the sky sometimes "twisted ways." The range of "height" of the planets from Earth is the same (1,300,000 km). Your order of closeness to the Earth is:

In some legends the planets are presented in a schematic or symbolic, and then they are considered fixed one above the other, under the lotus of Brahma, several thousands of miles away from each other, forming the stem of the lotus. The Moon is the biggest star.

The sun and planets, however, are in different signs and constellations at different times. This indicates that their motion is different than the zodiac and the wheel of time itself [the sky].

The Hindus believed that the Earth was round (now known to be spherical), and that was fixed, while the Sun, Moon and the stars were moving at different speeds:

The sun has three speeds: slow, fast and moderate. [...]

Yojanas 100,000 [1,300,000 km] beyond the sun is the moon, its speed is greater than the Sun [...] A yojanas 200,000 [2,600,000 km] beyond the Moon there are many stars, which stand 28.

A yojanas 200,000 [2,600,000 km] beyond the stars is the planet Venus.

Beyond Venus (always at equal distances, from 2.6 million kilometers) are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Then there is a jump of 14.2 million km, to Pitrloka , the planet of the pious forefathers.

Description of the Earth's continents

Under all the lokas Earth is flat, with Mount Meru in the center, surrounded by high mountains (the Himalayas). Around the Himalayas is a continent roughly round, called Bharata Varsha (India). Around the continent there is an ocean of salt water perimeter (the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea), surrounding the entire Bharata Varsha. Beyond that there are several exotic ocean circular concentric continents, each surrounded by oceans of fresh water, molasses, wine, honey and ghee (butter fried).

In the Hindu doctrines, the existence of the universe is governed by the Trimurti ("three ways"):

* Brahma (the creator god)

* Vishnu (the god maintainer)

* Shiva (the destroyer god).

Today, Hindus believe that Darwin's theory is endorsed by the Dasavatara ('the ten inca ations of God'). Although this sequence is an arbitrary list (do not take the 24 main inca ations Bhagavata Purana , for example), created by the poet orisano Yaia Deva (in the XIII century AD ) does not come from the lists of the Puranas and the Vedas .

The universe is made of atoms, but nice bhuta pancha ('five great elements') arbitrary, each eight times more dense than the previous

* Akasha ( ether )

* vaiu (air)

* Agni (fire)

* ap (water)

* Prithvi (earth).

Today, Hindus believe that the cycle of creation and destruction of the universe has no beginning (I added) or end (ananta) .