H o w W e C a m e T o B e

Part - 2 : 36000 Creation happens in one lifetime of Brahma

Now let’s look at how long is a Brahma Day comprising of night & day. Each day of Brahma consists of 1000 caturyuhas, which is equivalent to 4,32,00,00,000 human years. Then follows Brahma’s night which is of the same duration. Total Brahma Day i.e., morning plus night is 8,64,00,00,000 human years.?

Brahma year is 360 Brahma days and Brahma lives for 100 such years. Hence 360 multiplied by 100 years i.e., 36000 new creation happens in one lifetime of Brahma. At the end of 100 Brahma years , Prakrta Pralaya (dissolution) happens and this lasts for 100 Brahma years. At the end of 100 Brahma years a new Brahma comes into existence and creation starts again.

So, I wondered where are we in this humungous time span and that is answered by the scripture. Life span of Brahma is 100 years and is divided into two portions of 50 years each – each of this is called parardha. We are now in the second parardha i.e., the present Brahma has completed 50 years of age.

At the end of??another 50 Brahma years, we will have a complete dissolution (Prakrta Pralaya), which will last for 100 Brahma years and then a new Brahma comes into existence and let’s see how creation happens. During Prakrt Pralaya , when Maya did not exist, this universe made of gross and subtle matter also did not exist. There was neither bondage nor liberation – neither day nor night. Brahman alone remained as Supreme Bliss – consciousness.?(Please note - Brahman is Supreme Bliss-Consciousness and Brahma is the creation of Brahman. Brahman and Brahma are different)

At the end of Prakrt pralaya, Brahman willed Maya (the power by which the universe becomes?manifest ; the?illusion or appearance of the?phenomenal world) and thus emerged past deeds of all jivas and the resulting tendencies. The reflection of Brahman in Maya is Isvara and the reflection of Brahman in Avdiya (ignorance, misconceptions, misunderstandings, incorrect knowledge, and it is the opposite of Vidya) is Jiva. During the Prakrt pralaya, maya was nonexistent and the Gunas (quality, peculiarity, attribute, or tendency - three in Hinduism viz Sattvic, Rajasic, Tamasic) in equilibrium and now because of maya bestirring, the equilibrium of the three gunas gets disoriented??leading to the rise of “Mahat” (cosmic intelligence). From Mahat, the concept of “I” and “ego” (ahankara) rose. The inner instrument of Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Ahankara (ego) and Citta (cognition / to perceive) created by the sattvic aspect of “ahankara”. Ten Indriyas (?Five acts of elimination, procreation, motion, grasping, speaking.Fives senses of hearing, touching, seeing, tasting and smelling) created by the rajasic aspect of ahankara. Sound was created by the tamasic aspect of ahankara.?

The five elements were thus born from the Tamasic ahankara. Each element had its own specific quality plus the qualities of its predecessors. Thus :

o???Space has sound

o???Air had touch and sound

o???Fire has form, touch, and sound

o???Water has taste, form, touch, and sound

o???Earth has smell, taste, form, touch, and sound

From the 5 elements Brahmanda was created and it??remained in the already created cosmic waters. Breaking it, Thou made the 14 worlds known as Virat.?

The 14 worlds are?Bhuh, Bhuvaha, Suvaha, Mahah, Janha, Tapaha, & Satya above and Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasātala, Talātala, Mahātala & Pātāla??at the bottom.?The 7 nether world is called collectively as “Patala”, Bhuloka as it is, and the other 6 worlds above are taken as one called “satyaloka” and hence it is also referred to Three worlds.

(To be continued......)