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[Qinella]

[Rteacher]

Material science can't understand creation of life... Evolution theory does not explain consciousness... Vedic spiritual science provides intelligent answers for those who are open to at least the possibility of supernatural causation.

The unmanifest material nature, pradhana, is impregnated with the seeds of life by the glance of Vishnu.

The universes initially expand as they are breathed out of MahaVishnu's body, but at a certain point (during his inhalation...) they begin to contract...

The time-scale of each universe is set to Brahma's lifespan of 100 of his years (each of his days is four billion, three hundred million earth years...)

At the end of Brahma's life, there is a total devastation, and all the universal energy - including the individual souls that are still in the material world - are wound back up into the body of MahaVishnu in a suspended, dormant, unmanifest state once again - until it is time for a new creation after another 100 of Brahma's years (and another empowered person plays the role of Brahma...)
http://www.answers.com/topic/hindu-cosmology

Pradhana (a concept shared/copied by Buddhism) is described as follows in the quintessential Vedic literature, Srimad Bhagavatam:

Pradhana - "In the unmanifest stage of material nature, called pradhana, there is no expression of words, no mind and no manifestation of the subtle elements beginning from the mahat, nor are there the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. There is no life air or intelligence, nor any senses or demigods. There is no definite arrangement of planetary systems, nor are there present the different stages of consciousness - sleep, wakefulness and deep sleep. There is no ether, water, earth, air, fire or sun. The situation is just like that of complete sleep, or of voidness. Indeed, it is indescribable. Authorities in spiritual science explain, however, that since pradhana is the original substance, it is the actual basis of material creation." (SB 12.4.20-21)

[seoulunitarian]

[seoulunitarian]

[seoulunitarian]

Everything that exists does so within the confines of the Universal Spirit. The Universal Spirit is ALL that exists, and everything is part of that Spirit. Nothing exists outside the Universal Spirit.

The physical multiverse is simply the expression of the mind of the Spirit (in order to believe this, you would have to believe that mind is not dependent on chemical reactions within the brain). You, I, and the household cat are expressions/souls of the Universal Spirit. Sometimes there are more expressions and sometimes fewer (as when some souls are drawn back into reunion with the Spirit).

The Spirit expands and contracts eternally, so the singularity from which our specific universe began is simply the beginning of Spirit manifestation in our 3D reality. The Spirit manifests in other universes as well. Though it appears that the universe will expand indefinitely, it will actually contract (some physicists still believe this), and the process of Spirit manifestation will begin again. It is an endless cycle.

Peace

[Rteacher]

The Absolute Truth may be realized in three features: as impersonal, all-pervading formless spirit (Brahman), as the localized supersoul or "Supreme Soul" present in everyone's heart (Paramatma), and as the ultimate personal feature (Bhagavan or Krishna).

The following is from a Srimad Bhagavatam purport written by foremost devotional Vedic scholar Bhaktivedanta Swami:

The Supreme Being's manifest form is explained in the Vedas as sat-cit-ananda vigraha, "an embodiment (vigraha) of absolute eternity (sat), absolute cognizance (cit), and absolute bliss (ananda)." Impersonal Brahman realization is the realization of His sat (being) feature. Paramatma realization is the realization of cit (eternal knowledge). But realization of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is realization of all the transcendental features: sat, cit and ananda (being, knowledge, bliss) in complete vigraha (form).


The Absolute Personality may also be understood as the perfect person who has manifold energies, out of which the internal, external and marginal energies are primary. The spiritual world is the manifestation of the Lord's internal potency. By expanding his internal energies, He manifests as so many personalities, and exchanges or accepts transcendental loving service from them in the spiritual world. The material world is the manifestation of His external potency. The living entities are manifestations of His marginal potency, and by their own choice they can live in either the transcendental or material worlds...
http://www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/truth/truth.htm





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[Grimalkin]

seoulunitarian where do your ideas on the soul come from and how confident are you in them?

[otis]

I'm a big believer is the soul.

[seoulunitarian]

[Omkara]

"Soul" is a metaphor for some unknown.

I think it is incorrect to think of the soul in the terms we would for ego. Personal identity and soul are not the same. The personal identity at best is like a shadow of the soul.

We can think of the ego in terms of space and time. The soul is said to be eternal. Therefore, since all discursive thought requires the categories of space and time, and since the eternal has nothing to do with time, we cannot properly think about soul.

Therfore, there is a danger in the question. It is insufficient. To answer the question, the question must be left behind--paradoxically.

No answer which the question can possibly yield is sufficient. To be satisfied with any answer to the question of "is there as soul" would be to mistake the finger pointing at the moon with the moon.

Any ideas, therefore, must be negated and the mind silenced. Otherwise, we confuse ideas with reality, which is illusion.

Only direct experience of reality will do. Otherwise we're left only with questions, or worse: answers.

[Grimalkin]

[Grimalkin]

[seoulunitarian]

[Rteacher]

Buddha's appearance and mission were accurately predicted in the Vedic literature Srimad-Bhagavatam. Part of his mission was to bewilder atheists and trick them into following an empowered incarnation of God - himself. Technically, the voidist philosophy he propagated is atheistic because he denied the authority of the Vedas. However, that was justified at the time by the widespread misuse of Vedic rituals dealing with animal sacrifices. Out of compassion for the suffering of poor animals, he created a philosophy based on ahingsa (nonviolence...)

Because of Buddha's "silence" about many metaphysical topics (such as creation...) many interpretations of his philosophy were formed, especially after his disappearance. Essential similarities between the teachings of Buddha and the Vedas are nicely discussed in this article:
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/buddhism_and_its_vedic_connections.htm

In India, Buddhism was eventually defeated philosophically - and Vedic authority restored - by Shankar acharya (an incarnation of Lord Shiva...) However, his impersonalist philosophy, considering nondifferentiated Brahman to be the highest truth, was very similar to the concept of nirvana...

Vaishnava acharyas (exemplary spiritual teachers) Ramanuja, Madhva and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabu established the personalist understanding that the highest realization of the absolute truth is the Supreme Person (Bhagavan or Krishna...)

Since I - as a seeker of ultimate truth - have not found any philosophy superior to what Krishna speaks in Bhagavad-gita, I accept what He states about the soul to be authoritative, re-spoken by the original source of the Vedas and all incarnations - which I think ultimately trumps silence (and science...)

[Omkara]