Hindu cosmology
[16][17] The different states of matter are guided by eternal kala (time), which repeats general events ranging from a moment to the lifespan of the universe, which is cyclically created and destroyed.
[21] Prakriti (primal matter) remains mixed for a maha-kalpa (life of Brahma) of 311.04 trillion years, and is followed by a maha-pralaya (great dissolution) of equal length.
It has been compared to a dream or virtual reality, where the viewer (jiva) has real experiences with objects that will eventually become unreal.
This conscious state of nescience leads to samsara (cycle of reincarnation), only to end for a jiva when moksha (liberation) is achieved through self-realization (atman-jnana) or remembrance of one's true spiritual self/nature.
[35][36][37][38][39] Taking action to develop this state of awareness of ones true identity, and to understand the illusionary nature of maya is known as striving for moksha.
[41] The jiva is considered the place where all positive qualities within us are housed, yet remain hidden due to the "layers of maya".
Hinduism is a group of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid common set of beliefs.
There is no single story of creation due to the dynamic diversity of Hinduism, and these are derived from various sources like Vedas, some from the Brahmanas, some from Puranas; some are philosophical, based on concepts, and others are narratives.
[44] According to Henry White Wallis, the Rigveda and other Vedic texts are full of alternative cosmological theories and curiosity questions.
The gods then performed a yajna with the Purusha, leading to the creation of the other things in the manifested world from his various body parts and his mind.
These things included the animals, the Vedas, the Varnas, the celestial bodies, the air, the sky, the heavens, the earth, the directions, and the Gods Indra and Agni.
[51]: 102–103 The Shatapatha Brahmana states that the current human generation descends from Manu, the only man who survived a great deluge after being warned by the God.
He also created the speech, the fire, the prana (breath of life), the air and the various senses, the directions, the trees, the mind, the moon and other things.
[68] A similar perspective is also portrayed in the Mundak Upanishad verse 2.1.10, which states "puruṣa evedaṃ viśvaṃ karma tapo brahma parāmṛtam", meaning "out of this Purush, everything is born, and by knowing him, everything becomes known"[69] The Puranas genre of Indian literature, found in Hinduism and Jainism, contain a section on cosmology and cosmogony as a requirement.
There are dozens of different Mahapuranas and Upapuranas, each with its own theory integrated into a proposed human history consisting of solar and lunar dynasties.
[70][71] According to Annette Wilke and Oliver Moebus, the diversity of cosmology theories in Hinduism may reflect its tendency to not reject new ideas and empirical observations as they became available, but to adapt and integrate them creatively.
[72] In the later Puranic texts, the creator god Brahma is described as performing the act of "creation", or more specifically of "propagating life within the universe".
Brahma is a part of the trimurti of gods that also includes Vishnu and Shiva, who are responsible for "preservation" and "destruction" (of the universe) respectively.
Other creatures came from the various parts of his body (e.g. snakes from his hair, sheep from his chest, goats from his mouth, cows from his stomach, others from his feet).
The Jyotisha Shastras, Surya Siddhanta, and Siddhānta Shiromani give the Brahmanda an enlarged radius of about 5,000 light years.
Some Puranas describe innumerable universes existing simultaneously with different sizes and Brahmas, each manifesting and unmanifesting at the same time.
[citation needed] The Samkhya texts state that there are two distinct fundamental eternal entities: the Purusha and the Prakriti.
[51]: 104 According to the Upanishads, the universe and the Earth, along with humans and other creatures, undergo repeated cycles of creation and destruction (pralaya).
The later puranic view also asserts that the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles.
In Hindu cosmology, the age of the Earth is about 4.32 billion years (the duration of a kalpa or one day of Brahma)[77] and is then destroyed by fire or water elements.
Patrick Olivelle explains that during the early vedic period the universe was viewed as consisting of three spheres (loka): the earth (bhūḥ), an intermediate region (bhuvaḥ), and the sky or firmament (svaḥ), which this tripartite cosmology was shared with other Indo-European peoples.
[82][83] The Hindu texts describe innumerable universes existing all at the same time moving around like atoms, each with its own Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Every universe is covered by seven layers—earth, water, fire, air, sky, the total energy and false ego—each ten times greater than the previous one.
The countless universes, each enveloped in its shell, are compelled by the wheel of time to wander within You, like particles of dust blowing about in the sky.
Such is the pure vacuous space of the Divine understanding, that like an ocean of light, contains these innumerable worlds, which like the countless waves of the sea, are revolving for ever in it.There are many other large worlds, rolling through the immense space of vacuum, as the giddy goblins of Yakshas revel about in the dark and dismal deserts and forests, unseen by others.You know one universe.
