Recently there was a news story going around about a physicist named Vivek Sharma who is part of the international group hunting for the Higgs boson. The story mentions that one of Vivek's inspirations was a Rig Veda hymn that talked about the origin of the universe. I smiled to myself when I read that.
Here is what I think may have inspired him
In the beginning,
There was neither Being nor Non-being
Neither sky, earth, nor what is beyond and beneath.
What existed? For whom?
Was there water?
Death, immortality?
Night, day?
Whatever there was, there must have been one
The primal one
Self-created, self-sustained, by his own heat,
Unaware of himself
Until there was desire to know himself.
That desire is the first seed of the mind, say seers
Binding Non-Being with Being.
What was above and what was below?
Seed or soil?
Who knows?
Who really knows?
Even the gods came later.
Perhaps only the primal being knows.
Perhaps not.
I have taken these lines verbatim from Devdutt Pattanaik's "mithya" - a collection of Hindu mythological stories - quite fun to read. This verse is a translation from the original Rig veda which was written in Sanskrit. I am pretty sure this would leave an impression on most of us - knowing that this verse is probably more than 3000 years old. The fact that men were thinking about the origin of the universe so long ago makes me feel warm inside. The sheer number of ways this could be interpreted blows my mind.
A news story like this one often leads to some common opinions. Some might say this is a sign of how advanced Indian civilization was in those times. Some might lament about its relevance in the current state of affairs in India. Some may use it push their own propaganda. Some may wonder how this influenced other Hindu philosophies.
I fix myself a drink. And immerse myself into the wonder this universe is. Some day...we just might know the answers to Life, the Universe and Everything.
Additional information
Here is what I think may have inspired him
In the beginning,
There was neither Being nor Non-being
Neither sky, earth, nor what is beyond and beneath.
What existed? For whom?
Was there water?
Death, immortality?
Night, day?
Whatever there was, there must have been one
The primal one
Self-created, self-sustained, by his own heat,
Unaware of himself
Until there was desire to know himself.
That desire is the first seed of the mind, say seers
Binding Non-Being with Being.
What was above and what was below?
Seed or soil?
Who knows?
Who really knows?
Even the gods came later.
Perhaps only the primal being knows.
Perhaps not.
I have taken these lines verbatim from Devdutt Pattanaik's "mithya" - a collection of Hindu mythological stories - quite fun to read. This verse is a translation from the original Rig veda which was written in Sanskrit. I am pretty sure this would leave an impression on most of us - knowing that this verse is probably more than 3000 years old. The fact that men were thinking about the origin of the universe so long ago makes me feel warm inside. The sheer number of ways this could be interpreted blows my mind.
A news story like this one often leads to some common opinions. Some might say this is a sign of how advanced Indian civilization was in those times. Some might lament about its relevance in the current state of affairs in India. Some may use it push their own propaganda. Some may wonder how this influenced other Hindu philosophies.
I fix myself a drink. And immerse myself into the wonder this universe is. Some day...we just might know the answers to Life, the Universe and Everything.
Additional information
- Vivek Sharma is a Professor of Physics at UC, San Diego
- Devdutt Pattanaik is a mythologist and author
