Lesson 1: Introduction I
Creation of the Universe
Every ancient mythology has given a special place to the creation of the universe. This can be attributed to mankind’s quest for its roots, for the answer to the question – “how did it all begin?” And it is no different in Hinduism.
The following description of creation is found in the “Matsya Purana” or the scriptures revealed by Vishnu during his first incarnation, that of The Fish. In the beginning there was nothing in the universe, only darkness and the “brahman” or divine essence. The brahman being without trait is not describable. When it was time for creation of the universe the brahman dispelled the darkness and divided itself into the three supreme gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma and brahman are different. Brahma is one of the three manifestations of the brahman. Then water was created and out of the water came a huge serpent with many heads known as “Seshnag”. This serpent became the resting-place for Vishnu. Since “nara” means water and “ayana” means resting place in Sanskrit Vishnu is also known as Narayana.
Next from the waters came a golden egg that shone with the brilliance of a thousand suns. Brahma, who is responsible for the creation, ensconced himself in the egg and stayed in it for a thousand years. Hence he is also known as “Hiranyagarbha” meaning “from golden womb”. During these thousand years he created the entire universe within the egg. Then the egg broke into two and Brahma emerged from within. The upper part of the eggshell was made the heaven and the lower part the earth. The entire features of the universe then began to emerge from the shell and take their ordained places. The sun was the first to emerge and took his place in the heaven. (Some texts state that the sun was born of Sage Kashyap and his wife Aditi with the rest of the demi-gods somewhat later). The land forms, rivers, oceans, mountains then followed.
Another and more popular version has Vishnu playing an initiating role. This may be because Vishnu had gained prominence amongst the three supreme gods. It goes as follows. In the beginning a vast dark ocean washed upon the shores of nothingness and licked the edges of night. Vishnu was asleep on Seshnag the serpent. At the time of creation the vibrant sound of Om filled the void with energy. The night had ended and Vishnu awoke. As the dawn began to break, from Vishnu's navel grew a magnificent lotus flower. In the middle of the blossom sat Brahma. Vishnu commanded Brahma to create the world. Brahma split the lotus flower into three. He stretched one part into the heavens. He made another part into the earth. With the third part of the flower he created the skies. He filled the earth with landforms and trees and plants and animals and birds and fish.
The Creation according to Hindu mythology is not an event that happened once. Creation and Destruction follow each other without beginning and without end. Some mythologies may have only creation and then the universe continues indefinitely. Other mythologies may begin with creation and end with destruction – there would be nothing before creation and nothing after destruction.
Today even science is not certain how the universe began. Three theories predominate. The Steady State theory says the universe was always essentially as it is now and that is how it will always be. The Big Bang theory says that the universe had a specific beginning. There was nothing before that. Even time began with the birth of the universe. The Oscillating Universe theory is one in which the universe expands to a point, then contracts and collapses into a singularity which then explodes into a new universe, repeating the cycle. This has some similarity with the Hindu mythology model.
We see many cycles in nature. After every day there is a night and after every night there is a day. The same applies to the movement of tides and to seasons. The alignments of stars and planets follow a cyclical pattern. Even the ice ages have occurred periodically. It must have therefore been reasonable to assume that the universe also follows a cyclic pattern.
Optional Exercises
5a. Compare the Hindu creation myth with some others. Information on other creation myths is available at the following site.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/creat...
5b. Read the note on Cosmogony of the Universe on page 629 of ‘The Indian Epics Retold’.
