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WHEN THE UNIVERSE WAS DARK...
=============================
The Western scientific view, primarily stemming from the work of
Albert Einstein, favours a world developed as a result of a
completely random process with no intelligence behind it. His
theory that all matter can be turned into energy and all energy
turned into matter has formed the basis of all Western ideas on
the origins of the universe.
One commonly held belief, developed in light of Einstein's theory
is the "Big Bang Theory". This theory maintains that a huge
explosion about 5 billion years ago created all the material in
the universe. The theory is there, but any good theory should be
backed up by practical experience. If it is a fact the universe
emerged from a "big bang" then we should see similar things
happening in nature.
We have recently seen one scientist, Mandelbrot, who stunned the
scientific world with his "fractals". He showed complex patterns
could be generated from fairly simple mathematical equations if
these equations are repeated over and over again. He made a big
thing out of similarity at different levels. He noticed in nature
things we see on a big scale are repeated on a smaller scale and
then on an even smaller scale and so on. There is similarity at
every level. He gave two examples: the coastline and the branching
structure of a tree. In both cases you can look at any level of
magnification and the structure is essentially the same.
If we accept this work of Mandelbrot we would expect to see the
process of universal creation mirrored on a smaller scale within
our experience.
If the hypothesis of similarity at different scales is to hold
true we would expect the universal creation to be similar to any
other creation we experience in our day-to-day lives, but the
Western scientists explanation of creation is completely foreign
to us.
If the universe was created by a "big bang" then why couldn't a
child be created by a "small bang"? A child is essentially a self-
contained universe so his creation should be similar to that of
the universal creation.
I challenge the scientists to prove their "big bang" theory by
creating anything (They should be able to create a child, but
failing that they could create a city, a building or even a
motorcar) with an explosion. The idea is actually ludicrous, we
have no experience anywhere of an explosion ever creating
anything, explosions destroy things. Instead of creating order,
they create disorder. This "big bang" theory can't be simply
accepted on the basis of sentiment, they have to give us some
proof.
You have probably (like myself before I came to Krishna
consciousness) blindly accepted the vague ramblings on the "big
bang" without really giving it a second thought, but if you
analyse the theory it's not at all plausible. I have since heard
another explanation of the creation of the universe which is at
least as amazing as the "big bang" theory but it is completely
reasonable and it is mirrored on a smaller scale in our day-to-day
experience.
The universal knowledge we currently have has come to us through
the limited perceptions of scientists who's universal vision is
not much more valuable than the vision a frog in a well has of the
universe. The frog has spent his whole life at the bottom of a
well three feet wide but he has developed so much philosophy, he
thinks his universal vision is perfect, but what does he know?
Similarly the scientists, with their telescopes and tiny
spaceships haven't seen much more of the universe than the frog,
but they have come up with so many "scientific facts". I would
like you to, at least theoretically, consider that reality might
be completely different from what we accept.
If we want to understand the cosmic creation we need to get an
eyewitness report. If we want to find out the structure of the
universe we have to find someone who has seen it, what is the use
of a so-called scientist who can only say: "Perhaps it may be like
this."
It is not that the earth is the only planet inhabited by living
entities, the living entities are everywhere. If we apply
Mandelbrot's theory we would expect to find similar things on all
the planets.
We have eyewitness reports from people who are not tied down to
this tiny planet. There are people who can travel freely within
the universe at will and one such great soul is Narada Muni.
Narada Muni is the spiritual master of Srila Vyasadeva and Srila
Vyasadeva is the author of all the original Vedic scriptures.
Vyasadeva simply wrote down the instructions of his liberated
spiritual master Narada Muni. Because Narada has travelled all
over the universe and also entered the spiritual world he has
first-hand experience of everything, his experience is infinitely
more valuable than the scientists who are no better than frogs in
a well.
The Vedic scriptures written by Vyasadeva contain all knowledge,
both material and spiritual, so whatever we want to know can be
found in these books. Of all the books written by Vyasadeva one
book stands supreme, it is called the Srimad Bhagavatam and it is
called "the ripened fruit of the desire-tree of Vedic knowledge."
The idea is the Vedic knowledge is likened to a desire-tree
because it can fulfil anyone's desire and Srimad Bhagavatam is
the ripened fruit because it contains the topmost, most relishable
knowledge of all the Vedas. Srimad Bhagavatam describes the
creation and the structure of this universe and its version is
completely authorized and authentic. Every word in the Srimad
Bhagavatam is perfect, there is no speculation or errors, it is
pure knowledge coming from the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Krishna, through the heart of Lord Brahma, the first and most
powerful person within this universe. From Lord Brahma the
knowledge is passed to his son Narada Muni and Narada Muni is the
spiritual master of Srila Vyasadeva. This is the transcendental
system, the knowledge is handed down from the spiritual master to
the disciple. If the disciple actually receives the knowledge and
presents it purely without adding his own concoctions and mental
speculations he becomes qualified to act as a spiritual master.
This system of receiving knowledge is perfect. It is called the
descending process because the knowledge descends from a perfect
higher authority, in this way it is perfect knowledge. On the
other hand, the process used by the scientists is the ascending
process. By this method one uses his own intelligence to
understand things around him. This process is not perfect because
it relies on information gathered through the senses and the
senses themselves are imperfect. Our eyes can only see a limited
range of the spectrum, they can only focus on objects within a
certain range, they can only resolve objects up to a certain
distance, then everything becomes a blur. Similarity all our
senses are imperfect, so any knowledge gathered by the senses must
also be imperfect.
We can see the "Scientific Process" is imperfect by looking at the
history of science. Western scientists have continually disproved
the theories held by their predecessors, in retrospect Western
science can be seen as a collection of incorrect and imperfect
guesses. The scientists would generally accept this critique
however they would have us believe they are learning from their
mistakes and their guesses are becoming more accurate. While there
is a glimmer of truth in this, how long will it take? If the
perfect knowledge is available from a perfect source why not take
advantage of it?
It is not mystical and unexplainable like a "big bang" which
magically creates the universe from "nothing at all". We have seen
a father impregnate a mother and thus produce a child, a small
universe, so why is it surprising that the whole universe is
produced as a result of the Supreme Father, Krishna, impregnating
the supreme mother, the mahatattva, or the material elements. In
the same way the father puts the living entity within the mother
and the living entity then develops within the mothers womb,
Krishna, the Supreme Father, places the living entities within the
womb of mother nature where they develop. It is completely
reasonable.
Thank you. Hare Krishna!
Madhudvisa dasa
(madhudvisa@krishna.org) /sudarsana
All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada!
Sudarsana Home madhudvisa@krishna.org