The Original Cause

Of the two theories, Vedic references tend toward the Big Bang theory, which suggests that at a certain time well in the future the process will reverse itself, and all the planetary systems, galactic clusters and so on will begin to decompose as the universe again turns in on itself. At that time all forms within the universe will cease to exist, having returned to their original state, and the program will begin anew.

"At the end of the millennium [the Lord says], every material manifestation enters into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I again create." (Bhagavad-gita 9.7)

"This material nature is working under My direction, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again." (Bhagavad-gita 9.10)

The major distinction between scientific theories and Vedic statements is that scientific theories are obliged to stop at the point of primal origins (where did the primeval "lump" or source of the steady state come from?), whereas the Vedas continue their explanation back to the adi-purusa, or the primal cause of all causes.

According to Vedic statements, no creation exists without a clearly defined purpose, though that purpose may remain hidden from our eyes for some time. Contrary schools of thought, however, such as the Existential and Absurdist schools, propose that the creation is purposeless, meaningless, and that life is an absurdity, a dreamlike state that ends with death. Followers of these rather depressing ideologies generally lead unhappy lives, for they find no meaning for living yet are unable to explain why they prefer to live rather than die.

Neither the meritorious men of science nor the devoted followers of the Vedas agree with the idea of purposelessness. In fact, neither in the macrocosm of the universe nor in the microcosm of the tiniest atomic particle do we find such aimlessness or disorder. Order pervades every inch of space and time, and the history of man reads like a captain's log book-with page after page of notes, charts and graphs, all attempting to define and order the world around us.

The creation took place, according to the Vedas, by the will of the Supreme Lord. To accommodate the desires of living beings who sought to live outside His jurisdiction, the Lord created the material world, just as a government constructs a prison for citizens who want to live outside the laws of the state. The rebellious souls who prefer the pseudo independence of material life get various bodies in this world according to how lusty they are to enjoy the resources of material nature (animals occupy a position lower than human beings, yet higher than plants and trees). The forgetful living beings, ignorant of their original spiritual nature, try to enjoy to the best of their tiny ability, but in this way they implicate themselves further and further in the entanglements of material life.

"The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature." (Bg. 3.27) "The living entity in material nature follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species." (Bg. 13.22)

The Vedas describe the human form of life as the loophole through which to escape from the world of birth and death. After a natural evolution through 8,400,000 species, the living being achieves a human form, in which he can revive his dormant self-consciousness and return home, back to Godhead.