The vedic seers or rishis should be acclaimed as super scientists first and then as the foremost visionaries of cosmic truths, says Dr Asha Goswami
The ancient Indians, who were best known as the seers or rishis, often had direct revelations of varied levels of thought and wisdom and could directly visualise high powers in nature which were named by them as devas. They were also endowed with a visionary mind and intellect, and had great mental power.
Consequently, they were possessed with the super knowledge of the principles of order in the universe as well as its origin and were even capable of putting forward varied notions on the mystery of creation of the world, which may be deemed being in complete agreement with science, since these incorporate within many scientific truths which were unknown to even the scientists in the previous century.
This article aims at probing vedic seers’ perspective on the theory of cosmogony and cosmology, which is hinted in the form of their relentless answers to their own questions as to how the world came into existence; who is the first creature, and the originator of the worldIJ
Replying to the first question, their prompt answer was that the world came into existence through natural generation and mechanical production process like the other worldly things similar to a carpenter’s act of building a house and the same in this act of world creation is called Brahma (the most expanded entity) who is also stated to have been performing such an act with the help of another group of architect Gods called Ribhus since the earlier ages.
likewise, the vedic seers next assigned the world creation act to another God Tvashtaa, who is stated to have first measured the whole space with the help of sun God Indra and sea God Varuna using them as scale for measuring the same; and afterwards accomplished the creation of the three regions bhu, dyu, and svar. Another assumption of the vedic seers on the same notion was that instead of the five gross elements or the pancha mahabhutas (air, light, space, water, and earth) which were earlier thought to constitute the source base of the world, another source appeared before the world came into existence that be named “the one who is that: Tadekam”, a crude material, not refined, all empiric-being that was superior in all aspects and distinct from the Gods, the main agents of the creation.
This view of the vedic seers to formulate an impersonal, non-theistic form called ‘that one: Tadekam’ as a source of the evolution of the universe, brushing aside all the Gods, be acknowledged as “the most remarkable notion of the ancient Indians of the vedic era”. Besides the same source of the world is also named ‘gross mind (Mahad Brahman) and Prajaapati’.
As regards what forces control the movements of the world, they presumed them in the form of Rita and Satya, which denote the unique force; the cosmic order and the inflexible law underlying the natural phenomena, such as sunrise or sunset, which command and control every movement of the world and direct every cosmic function to move in proper order. No wonder, the same are called by them as Parameshthi, Dhata, and Vidhata.
Besides, the vedic seers also likened the creation of the world to “yajna or cosmic sacrifice implying an evolution in the form of a unitive function; sort of natural generation and manufacturing that took place from a primordial basic material, who was named by them variedly as ‘Purusha,Vishvakarma and Hiranyagarbha’. In this cosmic sacrifice-like creation rite, Vishnu (implying the sun) serves both as the creator and the source material for the creation of the universe.
Besides, the vedic seers had also developed another notion about the creation of the world which was called by them ‘a reciprocal generation process’, implying that the creators themselves another time turned into children and vice-versa’. They also expressed different views as regards the primordial material out of which the world was supposed to evolve. According to them, it was the sun that was called by them through different names eg Hiranyagarbha; and what God Ka implying germ of gold and an unknown entity respectively.
The source of the world was also conceptualised by them in the form of a gigantic man, who combining within himself both the material cause as well as the activator and the creator of the world, when acted as an offering in the creation sacrifice, his limbs turned into the various parts of the world. The waters were also treated by them as the source of the world, as these are said to have produced the first germ of all life named viraaj (sun).
This was followed by the prana or the primeval ether which in the form of vak also constitutes the eternal substratum of the universe. Keeping in view all these notions on the enigma of the world creation, the vedic seers finally arrived at a district conclusion that the creation of the world was out of nothing, the state of non-existence ex nihilo: Sato bandhumasati niravindan”, which be deemed a daring speculation ever framed on cosmogony and cosmology.
The ancient Indians’ knowledge of the creation theory is no less scientific in its outlook and they should be acclaimed as super scientists first and then as the foremost visionaries of cosmic truths.
The writer is a noted Indologist and authority on Krishnaite Studies