Over the last few years, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) has been gathering helpful videos on the Cosmology of the Srimad Bhagavatam. These insightful presentations, offered by several well-known ISKCON devotees, authors, and scholars, provide diverse perspectives on the rich subject matter.

The TOVP offers a helpful introduction to the content, emphasizing the need for an open mind. “The subject is extremely complex and sometimes confusing because we are dealing with a subject that has different levels of reality, gross and subtle, often even inconceivable. As a result, sometimes even the opinions of educated researchers may differ on specific topics, what to speak of differing from the perspectives of gross material scientists who only deal with direct sense perception. Keep an open mind as you watch these videos and take in as much as you can at one time.”

Scholars in the compilation include Danavir Swami, Sadaputa Das (Richard L. Thompson), Ghanashyam Govinda Dasa, Caitanya Chandra Das, Radha Mohan Das, and others. Contributor Radha Mohan Das, who serves as the Communications Officer at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, emphasized the importance of this collection, “Srila Prabhupada wanted the cosmology of the Bhagavatam to have an important place in the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium – to bring to life this ancient and fascinating science and to attract world attention.” He continued, “The point is, that the Bhagavatam and the other Puranas are not mythological, but based on deep and profound spiritual and even material knowledge that has been lost over time. Five thousand years into this Kali Yuga, humankind is a species with amnesia. But it was Srila Prabhupada’s mission to remind people of what we have forgotten.”

Noting the many perspectives represented in the TOVP video collection, Radha Mohan remarked, “Every video on the TOVP website has its own validity, and often the only difference between the work of the devotees is the emphasis.” He further explained, “There are those who like to present Vedic cosmology in a very literal way, while others try to, at least to some degree, reconcile some areas with the modern understanding of the universe.”

Radha Mohan follows the “multiple model theory,” which holds that the Fifth Canto of the Bhagavatam presents several models simultaneously.

Radha Mohan has produced many videos on the subject of Vedic cosmology and other relevant topics. You can visit his popular YouTube channel here. He recommends three videos in particular:
Invisible Realms in the Vedic Hindu Universe

Models of the Celestial Worlds according to the Hindu scriptures

Reconciling the Puranic and Observable Universes

To explore the entire TOVP video collection of videos, click here.