End of the World - Dooms Day calculations - Hindu theories vs. Scientific theories

The topic of today is quite challenging. It needs very deep understanding as it includes lot of calculations and analysis of two different theories. It is just an attempt to compare the time calculations as it is mentioned in our Hindu Scriptures and time calculations of the estimated life span of Sun (End of the World) according to modern scientific theories and finding the connection between the two. It will be quite confusing and I will try my best to give the information in small bits and pieces for better understanding :

How advanced were our scriptures and how precise were they!!!  Fascinating..

First, let us proceed with modern scientific information as it is much clearly given in various websites including NASA and Wikipedia. According to those websites, Sun is formed about 4.567 billion years ago. And it is estimated to Last for another 5.4 billion years when it will become a Red Giant and its outer layers already would have consumed mercury and venus.  (In the full period of Sun, it undergoes two stages Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion). But before that itself, in another 3.5 billion years from now, the Sun will by 40% brighter than it is today and the water vapor will be lost to space. You can get all these information in the internet when you google it. We will compare what will happen at this stage with that to our mythological facts at the end of this article as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

Now let us come to the calculations as per our Scriptures. In Mahabaratha, the Yuga calculations are clearly written. I have attached the pages for your reference.(I took a shot from the Mahabaratha book I have with me)  Please read it clearly and you will be amazed by the accuracy. All my below calculations are based on this text, so a better reading will aid in a clear understanding.

 Now let me split it clearly for everyone to understand better. We have four yugas in one "Chathur Yuga" (a full cycle) and they are "Kritha Yuga" or "Sathya Yuga" , "Thretha Yuga", "Thwapara Yuga" and "Kali Yuga".

The multiplication factor in each set is going to be 360. Why because 360 human years is one year for the Devas and hence we use that number. Henceforth, wherever I mention year, it is Deva year only (which is 360 human years).

Sathya Yuga = 4000 years. Starting period is 400 and ending period is 400
Thretha Yuga = 3000 years. Starting period is 300 and ending period is 300
Thwapara Yuga = 2000 years. Starting period is 200 and ending period is 200
Kali Yuga = 1000 years. Starting period is 100 and ending period is 100

Lets proceed with the calculations now. I am not a math expert but arrived at the calculations with the help of a calculator. Lol...

Sathya Yuga - (4000 + 400 + 400) = 4800 * 360                                                                    = 1728000
Thretha Yuga - (3000 + 300 + 300) = 3600 * 360                                                                   = 1296000
Thwapara Yuga - (2000 + 200 + 200) = 2400 * 360                                                               =    864000
Kali Yuga - (1000 + 100 + 100) = 1200 * 360                                                                         =     432000

Sum Total of all the above (1 Chathuryuga)  :

1728000+1296000+864000+432000 = 4320000               

You can find a pattern in this too. Kali yuga * 2 times is Thwapara yuga. 3 times of Kali yuga is Thretha Yuga and 4 times of Kali Yuga is Sathya Yuga.


One Chathuryuga * 1000 = one day time for Brahma  = 4320000 * 1000 = 4320000000 (4.3 billion)
One Chathuryuga * 1000 = one night time for Brahma= 4320000 * 1000 = 4320000000 (4.3 billion)

Total (Day + night for Brahma = one full day)                                            = 8640000000 (8.6 billion)

Please see the above scientific calculation in the beginning of this article. There it says Sun is formed 4.5 billion years ago. Now please take our day time calculation of Brahma. It is 4.3 billion years. See the connection between the two. Isn't it amazing. The remaining period of Sun is roughly 5 billion years but in another 3.5 billion years itself, life in earth will become extinct because of the sun's heat.

We  can say one thing for clear. Some scientific facts do change from time to time. Theories established once do not stay the same forever. Scientists change it from time to time based on different researches and predictions.  But what is written in our Scriptures are not like that. They do not change. You will come to know about this when you read the scriptures carefully and deeply. There is an interconnection between all the Hindu Scriptures.

                                                                (Art by Kala Balaji)

So my understanding is finally this :

1. Time calculations are very accurate according to our Scriptures. (We do not know, may be scientists will change their calculations in the future which can even match with that of our scriptures).

Art by Kala Balaji

2. At the end of Brahma's day, Pralayam (apocalypse) will come which is the end of the world (according to science this is when life in earth will become extinct, roughly 3.5 billion years from now)




                                                                                                                       

3. May be Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion in sun (according to science) is Day time of Brahma and Night time of Brahma respectively.

Very time consuming calculations. But if we understand it better and clearer, we can easily find the connection. In those olden days, without any modern equipments like telescopes etc, how it would have been possible to predict things with such an accuracy. If even one theory is proved according to science (why because even our people believe in only western theories than relying on our ancient gems like these. It is very sad indeed), all the mysteries can be resolved one by one. I am trying my best to establish this connection in my blog.

Now since you took your precious time in studying this entire (time consuming and somewhat confusing) article , I will now give some light facts according to Mythology and Science regarding end of the world (Dooms Day). You can easily establish some connections by reading and comparing both.

As per Mythology - At the end of Kali Yuga, People will live their lives by telling lies only. Robbery, gambling and all sorts of crimes will be everywhere. Gents will get grey hair (which shows the sign of ageing) by the age of 16 and Ladies will give birth to children at the age of 7. All the oceans and rivers will dry because of extreme heat. Everything will be burning because of the heat. Then it will be followed by non stop rain for many years. That is the time of Pralayam. Wherever you see, you will find water only.

As per Modern Science - In 3.5 billion years from now, it will be so hot that the oceans will boil and water vapor will be lost to space. All the ice caps will melt and snow will be ancient history. Life will not be able to survive anywhere on the surface of earth. Earth will resemble dry hot Venus.

Special thanks to my friend Kala Balaji for providing two excellent art pieces for this post. The Geethopadesam and Aaalilai Krishna which represents Pralayam are both painted by her. Amazing talent Kala Balaji and many thanks once again.

Thank you everyone for reading.

Rituals for our dead ancestors - why should we do that?

When my dad passed away four years ago, I saw various rituals that were performed continuously for some days. Those rituals are there in our Hindu system and are being followed generations after generations. But when it was actually performed for my dad, that's when I had a few questions in my mind. (since I saw everything very closely those days).

Lets touch some base on why we should do these in the said ways immediately after someone passes away. Once a person leaves this world, his/her body is burned according to Hindu traditions. Only the subtle body (soul) exists. Since the gross body has departed, this subtle body is not capable of any enjoyments/sufferings. Those rituals which we perform, gives this subtle body a shape (hands, legs, limbs, head etc - like how a baby in the womb develops day by day) each day. And at the end of  all the rituals, the subtle body gets full shape and goes to pithru lokha. (A different world where our dead ancestors live. Please refer to my other post : Our gods and devas are aliens"?)

Some other day I was seeing the movie "Periyar" (acted by Sathyaraj),  Periyar is an athiest and in one scene he will see somebody performing death rituals for their ancestors by doing Tharpan. By seeing this Periyar will ask "What is he doing?" and he will be told, "He is offering his prayers to his dead father!!" Then Periyar will go to a nearby river and take the water and pour it in the land. People will come to him and ask "What are you doing?". He will say "I am trying to send the water from here to River Ganges!!!" People will laugh and say "Are you crazy! How will that be possible?" For this Periyar will reply, "If this is not possible, how come those offerings given by him will ever reach his dead ancestor. Is that not crazy? You people still believe in these superstitions?"

When I saw that movie for the first time, this question went deeply in my mind. Yes, indeed that is a good question but really those rituals are not superstitions. There should be some reason behind it and I started  to collect some information about that. I then got the beautiful explanation given by Maha Periyava (Sankaracharya). Here is that explanation.....

When we do Tharpan to our ancestors, we do it with sesame seeds, water, raw banana, rice etc. But where do they actually go? It is hard to believe that our ancestors come in person and receives them. And since there is no proof, it is ignored as a superstition. Think it this way..... When we send Indian currency to USA, it will be converted to US dollars before actually sent to USA. Why? Because Indian currency cannot be used in USA. So we go to a "Medium" called Exchange and transfer our INR to USD and then only can send it. Likewise, When we do rituals in a described way, the "Mediums" called "Pithru devathas" will transfer those offerings what we send in a way it can be received by the pithrus. For example, if the ancestor is born as a cow, he will get those offerings in the form of hay."

By Jim Champion (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html),
 CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Excellent clarification. Isn't it? Now read the same question raised by Periyar. I think no one can give a great fitting reply than this for that question. That "Medium" or "Exchange" here is the hidden science behind our rituals to our ancestors.

The water from the River will not reach Ganges by simply pouring it from that place, Agreed. But it will surely reach if we store it in a container, travel to Ganges and pour the water in the Holy River... isn't it?  Rituals are like that. They may seem superstitious at the outset, but if you indulge in analyzing the reasons behind them, you will certainly get valid reasons. All that is needed is little patience and true effort to know them, That's it.

For your further reference :


http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part1kural51.htm

http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part1kural83.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarpana

Nadi Shashthra - The past, present and future!!!!

Have you ever heard of Nadi Josiyam? Personally, I have heard about that but do not have any prior experiences..... I am curious to know about the future but at the same time, little bit scared too. Let's just have a look at this interesting concept.

Nadi Shashthra is believed to have been composed by Saptha Rishis (They change for each Manvanthra), mainly by Agathiyar. He is also a Tamil Sidhar who is believed to have lived for more than 5000 years. The Nadi scrips are written in vattezhuthu (an ancient tamil script) and written in a poetic language. It has to be correctly interpreted to know the exact predictions.

It is written on palm leaves and are mainly interpreted and used in Vaitheeswaran Kovil in Tamilnadu.






Some interesting facts about this are :

1. If only your destiny allows you, you will get access to your Nadi leaf. It is your destiny which creates curiosity inside you to go in search for your leaf.
2. Your thumb impression is used to find the accurate leaf for you. Males Right hand thumb and for females left hand thumb impression is used. (scientific fact is that each thumb impression is unique and there cannot be two identical thumb prints)
3. For each thumb print there are 5 to 6 matching nadis (bundles) each one having 50-100 individual palm leaves.
4. First, your most matching bundle will be selected according to the thumb impression and then by asking simple questions, they will move on leaf by leaf until selecting your leaf (which is most accurate) and then the predictions will start.
5. Nadi scripts are believed to be very ancient and they are sacredly protected by astrologers in Vaitheeswaran Kovil. They are passed from one generation to the next.
6. These scripts were initially stored in the Saraswathi Mahal in Tanjore. Some leaves were auctioned during the British Rule.

Nadi scripts tell the past, present and the future. Some people say it is a myth and some people say it is genuine and accurate. The above points will give you a good intro picture about what it is all about.

When you see and read the various principles of creation, the most accepted and agreed concept is rebirth. Most religions believe in rebirth. Hinduism strongly believes in karma and rebirth. According to this concept, the same set of people are born again and again but in various places and countries and in various forms. Just a simple example as fly as a cow and cow as a human. There is a famous saying in Tamil, "pullagi, poondagi, puzhuvagi, maramagi.........

People could question..... The leaves are very few but human population is in millions. How can they select one leaf and say that is the accurate match? Here comes the closest solution in the form of rebirth. If the same person is born again and again in various forms, one leaf is enough for his past life, present life and future life (in this janma and more janmas to come). Sounds sensible???

In this blog, I am trying to relate and connect to various myths of our religion to science. Just to clarify one more time, everything I write is according to my thoughts and nothing is a proved or researched one. I refer to various websites to collect and gather information related to a particular subject though.....

If you ask me personally, "Do you believe in these Nadi and other astrology?" Well.... My answer is yes, but it depends on the genuinity and integrity of the person who interprets that. I strongly believe that astrology is not false but astrologers may be........

We cannot deny the fact that astrology has become a good business and many fake people have entered that field misguiding the population.  But there is no doubt that astrology is a pure science and as always I am amazed by our ancient sages and their power in calculating and measuring all these complicated things with such an accuracy. Salute to them.