Seeing the vast canopy of stars that ornament the night sky, one naturally wonders about the creation and their place in it. While theories on the topics abound, those who follow Vedic teachings turn to these teachings for clues, and indeed find no shortage of explanations there. The Fifth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the ripened fruit of all Vedic literature, for one example, devotes eleven chapters to the structure and inhabitants of the universe.
The challenge is that the Bhagavatam’s elaborate and detailed descriptions of the structure of the universe do not always tally with what we can observe, and thus the word “virodha,” meaning “contradictions” or “differences” in this book’s subtitle. The book’s stated purpose is to reconcile (“parihara”) the astronomy we can observe with the scriptural descriptions of the cosmos that are found in the Puranas.
This is not a small undertaking both in terms of the dichotomy between what’s observable and what we’re told, as well as in terms of the importance of this reconciliation. Devotees do not reject any portion of the Vedas on account of their mind-boggling statements. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement and translator of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, writes, “Our experimental knowledge can neither verify nor disprove the statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam. We should simply hear these statements from the authorities. If we can appreciate the extensive energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that will benefit us” (SB 5.16.10 purport).
In other words, on one hand the expansive cosmos is largely beyond the reach of our telescopes as well as our intellectual grasp. On the other hand, the relatively tiny portion of the cosmos that we have access to does not fully tally with the scriptural descriptions of the Bhagavatam. Devotees trying to reconcile these contradictions (virodha-parihara), approach the topic with humility. “Only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly engaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself,” the Bhagavatam informs us (SB 5.18.36). By His mercy, such wholehearted endeavors will bear fruit.
However, even those who are not inclined to approach the Vedic body of knowledge with humility and who have no inclination to wholeheartedly search for God and seek His mercy, must wonder at the perfect calculations found in the astronomical science called jyotisa Veda (such as the Surya-siddhanta) that existed long before modern astronomers could even image such things and which largely tally with the calculations of modern scientific astronomy.
One example of a contradiction between the Srimad-Bhagavatam and the jyotisa texts is the shape of the earth, the former apparently describing it as a plane (flat) and the latter describing it as a sphere. One immediately thinks, the earth can’t be both flat (a joke) and round (which most people take as obvious), yet a thoughtful reading of Vedic Cosmography in a Modern Context will give one pause, which is indeed one purpose of this book.
Great acaryas like Srila Prabhupada and his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (who was also a renowned astronomer), fully accept both the Bhagavatam depiction of earth as a plane as well as the jyotisa explanation of the earth as a sphere.
While our logical, analytical minds rebel at this, “Something cannot be flat and round at the same time!,” we must be prepared for our simplistic understanding to be challenged in this unique book.
Sri Vamsidhara, for example, one of the eight commentators on the Srimad-Bhagavatam that Srila Prabhupada referred to in writing his purports, explains that actually the earth has two forms, the bigger, flat one being a reflection of the smaller, spherical one.
Scholar Richard Thompson (Sadaputa Dasa) suggests that which one of these two forms we perceive depends on our level of consciousness; ordinary people will see only the smaller, spherical earth.
Another reconciliation is offered by a leading jyotisa scholar of astronomy, Suryadasa, who opined that “the Puranas [like Srimad-Bhagavatam] and Siddhantas [the jyotisa Vedas] are both correct, but describe earlier and later stages in the history of creation.”
Besides the shape of the earth, there are also contradictions between the Bhagavatam and empirical statements about the distances between the planets. Sri Vamsidhara reconciled this by explaining that there’s more than one system of measurements. In addition, he says, one’s perspective also has an influence: from a distant place a big thing looks small and from another place a small thing looks big. Thus distant objects of the universe like the moon, look small, whereas the earth, which is close by, looks big.
As Vedic Cosmography draws to a close, what we’re left with is that the contradictions between the statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the jyotisa Vedas (which has calculations that correspond with modern astronomy) may not always exist. In other words, rather than contradictions (virodha), what we’re seeing may be only apparent contradictions (virodha-abhasa), which would explain why the acaryas are quite comfortable with both explanations.
A prayer in the Bhagavatam graciously explains, “O Supreme Personality of Godhead, all contradictions can be reconciled in You…Your potency is so great that it can do and undo anything as You like. With the help of that potency, what is impossible for You? Since there is no duality in Your constitutional position, You can do everything by the influence of Your energy“ (SB 6.9.36).
But the reconciliation or even the elimination of contradictions is not the final goal. The actual purpose of the scriptures is to elevate our consciousness and eventually to evoke our love of God. Viewing the magnificent cosmos – or any part of God’s creation – from a mundane perspective will not help us progress toward this exalted goal. In Srila Prabhupada’s words, “Mundane scholarship and its concomitant attachments and detachments cannot arouse spontaneous love of Godhead” (CC Madhya 2.86 purport). To arouse love of Godhead, we must humbly and wholeheartedly search for Godhead.
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About our Reviewer, Visakha Dasi
Visakha Dasi currently serves as the Temple President of Bhaktivedanta Manor, is a disciple of ISKCON’s Founder Srila Prabhupada, and a prolific writer. You can explore her reflections, books, and other inspiring projects by visiting her website OurSpiritualJourney.com
Feature photo credit: Bhismadeva Das
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