Acceptable Spirituo-Scientific Elucidation
The Dictum
“Everything that begins has to end”. If there is a beginning, there has to be an ending. Moreover, in this world of duality, nothing is permanent. Transitory is the nature of everything in this universe.
Cyclicity
According to Vedic wisdom, creation and Dissolution have been going on from times immemorial in a cyclic fashion. For that Matter, the Vedic time scale is ever cyclic.
Dissolution
In the previous part of this blog, though somewhat similar and yet bizarre events of dissolution, were described as found in the various mythological texts. Of the multiple dissolutions mentioned, two of them are of significance, having a common theme. They are the Naimitik or causal dissolution and the Maha or Prakritik dissolution. The latter can be referred to as the Elemental or the Great Dissolution. The mythological descriptions of them appear to be mythical or catastrophic. Moreover, they are a bit unscientific. It is, therefore, necessary for us to have a meaningful spirituo-scientific understanding.
Spiritual Events: Scientific understanding
I am not considering here the so-called Nitya Pralaya (recurrent or continuous Dissolution) and Atyantik Pralaya (Absolute or final dissolution), as they involve, according to scriptures, all living things and the more extraordinary souls. They have qualified for final salvation or deliverance by their spiritual endeavours. Since I consider Dissolution as applicable to created worlds, I shall restrict myself to Dissolution of the various created material worlds.
Lesser Dissolution or Planetary Dissolution
This involves the Dissolution of some planets, life-sustaining or not, that are routinely known to scientific cosmology. Planets do die all the time in our galaxy and its neighborhood. This generally happens in a time scale of 3.1104 million years.
Minor or Causal Dissolution (Naimitik Pralaya)
This represents the Dissolution of an entire solar system from the time of origin of life with 4.32 billion years. So, our solar system has another half life span left before annihilation (another 2 billion years).
According to the scriptural description, all the seven worlds below the earth and the three worlds above, including earth, get annihilated during this Dissolution. They are the seven nether worlds below the earth – Atal, vital, Sutal, Rasātal, Talātal, Mahātal, and Pātāl, and the three upper worlds – Bhu (Earth), Bhuvar (world of semi-divine beings), and Svar or swar (heaven or paradise, place of devas, gods and goddesses)*
*These descriptions are based on mythological scriptures and not according to Vedic wisdom. Please see the FAQ section for a proper understanding of the same.
Galactic Dissolution (Suryasamvatsara or Mahakalpa Pralaya)
As there is the Dissolution of solar systems, there is also galactic Dissolution, as everything has a life span, and a cyclic phenomenon of creation and Dissolution is the feature. Mention of such a dissolution is found only in certain quarters but not seen in all scriptures.
A galaxy lasts about 20-30 billion years (About seven days or Kalpas)*, the shortest; while some may last up to 60 – 61 billion years a week or seven kalpas), the medium-aged, and yet others may last up to about 260 billion years (30 kalpas or a month), the long-lived ones.
*A period of 25.92 billion years is also taken as a ‘Surya Samvatsara or Maha Kalpa). This is the time taken equal to the sun’s time to complete 60 revolutions around the galaxy. A dissolution occurs at this period, which lasts for a similar period before a new galaxy takes shape.
Major Dissolution (Dissolution of Universes)
Such Dissolution does not find mention in any scriptures. Just as the solar systems and galaxies undergo cyclic creation and destruction as per their fixed time, even individual universes undergo Dissolution at the end of their life span. Accordingly, a universe has a life span of 3.11 trillion years. At the end of this time scale, every universe would undergo Dissolution. As per the scriptural understanding, this is equal to a period of 360 Kalpas or one year of the Creator God.
The Great/Elemental Dissolution (Prakritic Pralaya)
This represents the ultimate dissolution of the entire cosmos after a span of 311 trillion years. Three hundred and eleven trillion solar/human years is equal to 100 divine years or the age of the Creator God. At this time, nothing exists except a vacuum and is like the pre-creation age, a time of total non-existence. Vedas, clearly detail this dissolution, the cosmic dissolution. Scriptures refer to this as Prakritik or elemental pralaya.
Why a confusion about the various pralayas?
The confusion is because of no clarity regarding the terms and descriptions, leading to differing interpretations. When we look into religious or scriptural denoting, there is absolutely no clarity regarding the terminologies. The one word that finds common mention is ‘Brahmand’. This term refers to a solar system, a galaxy, a universe, or the entire cosmos that is not transparent. It could be taken differently by different people.
I would, however, like to make a clear distinction between them. I use the term ‘cosmos’ for the entire vastness where material worlds and creation exist. It is in this cosmos, innumerable universes appear from time to time and meet their end. Each universe has numerous galaxies, and again, within each galaxy, there are countless solar systems. There is a shelf life for everything that gets created. Accordingly, solar systems, galaxies, universes, and the cosmos as a whole undergo Dissolution at increasing time scales, as detailed above.
Following Dissolution, there is Recreation/Reformation
The Indian spiritual texts attest to cycles of creation and dissolution going on endlessly from times immemorial. Interestingly, the period of dissolution is precisely equal to the period of existence. Accordingly, the solar system undergoes dissolution after about 4.32 billion years and, a new solar system would be formed/recreated exactly after an equal period of 4,32 billion years. Similarly, a galaxy undergoes dissolution at the end of anything between 25 – 250 billion years, depending on the type of galaxy. Again, the period of dissolution also lasts for the same period. A universe exists for about 3.11 trillion years, and the period of dissolution is of the same duration. The ultimate dissolution is of the entire cosmos at the end of 311 trillion years. A new cosmos then gets created after an equal period (311 trillion years) of non-existence.
The reality of the Process of Dissolution
Most of the scriptural descriptions of dissolution are macabre and mostly seem like a holocaust or a catastrophe. To start with, there would be many calamities, leading to famine. The fire of the sun would scorch and burn everything, then torrential rains would follow, inundating everything, and the cosmos would be a large water body. Then everything will disappear, starting with the earth, followed by water, fire, air and ultimately ether.
I fail to understand why would the Creator God subject all living to torturous conditions and inflict much pain, suffering and sorrow before bringing about dissolution? Wouldn’t it be quite contrary to the nature of God? Why would God want to enjoy the vicarious pleasure of tormenting humans and other living things? Obviously, the human-engineered spiritual texts have got it wrong and have painted a frightful macabre picture of dissolution.
The Truth of the Matter
Both the creation and dissolution are clean divine acts without any hiccups and sans inflicting any physical tragedies and trauma. It is something like you are here just now, and the next moment you are not there and are absorbed back into the source. The act of dissolution is just a reversal of the act of creation. All the humans and living things disappear in the exact order in which they appeared initially. Ultimately, the solar systems, galaxies, universes and the cosmos will dissolve into the source. It happens as clean as a whistle. And at that stage, if it is the Great Dissolution, nothing exists with only emptiness and darkness. During the lower dissolutions below the cosmic dissolution, everything else will continue to exist as per their life span except for the gone entities.
All the descriptions of fire, water and wind ravaging the solar systems and the universes are mythical and unfounded. Such depictions of bizarre doomsday happenings are in contravention of the divine plan and the nature of God himself. In this iron age (kali yuga or day of judgment or the period of kiyamat), when righteousness is at this lowest ebb, many natural calamities, like floods, forest fire, earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis etc. are likely to be a regular affair.
