BHAGWADGITA AND ASTRONOMY

The Bhagwatgita (estimated to be over 5000yrs old) has shlokas (verses) on Brahma(the creator) creating the cosmos and with every opening and closing of his eyelids a yuga (an era) consisting of Satyayuga, Tretayuga, Dwaparyuga and Kaliyuga all together with a cycle of more than 17000 yrs begins and ends. Brahma would do this for 100 yrs equivalent to some 8 billion years. This is how significantly calculations were then denoted. More importantly the age of the cosmos as derived by modern day mathematicians and astronomers to have which kick-started with a Big Bang some 13.4 billion yrs earlier is quite close to available mathematics in those days.

 The Ramayana describes Hanuman as taking millions of flights to the north in reference to flying to mount Meru to fetch a herb for the ailing Laxmana, Ram’s (the epics hero) brother. Further description has Hanuman having leapt into the sky and vanished into a spec and left the speed of mind behind. This is how you can travel in space today.

 These and such references in the Bhagwatgita and Ramayana are born in astronomy. Some of recent day saints refer to the characters of the Gita and Ramayana to have been aliens with weird faces like Ravana having 9 heads, the three pronged face of the Brihma , Vishnu and Mahesh or the  monkey  like face of Hanuman seem not belonging to humans. But to imagine them to be aliens and create analogies of them having invaded the earth and created all these epics is amazing. This is like the Devas (gods) having descended from the planet Swarg (or heaven) and Asuras (demons) having lofted themselves from a planet called Nark (hell) to Earth and fought wars here is a fantasy that could stir one’s mind into deep azure thoughts.