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You can sing this hymn to Saraswati to the following tune. There are two measures of introduction:
Hail to the Goddess of learning art and song. We pray you grant us good hearts and voices strong. By your grace will flower our creative power. And through your will di-vine perfection with in us is manifested. Hail to the Goddess, all hail to Thee. All dressed in white, how radiant is your face. Embodiment of purity and grace. We strive through learning to have thoughts inspiring. And by your grace descending sweetly we will reach our goals completely. Hail to the Goddess, all Hail to thee. Pure sattwa guna, the power that reveals. That part of Ma-ya that does not much conceal. Con-sort of Brahma, You're the bringer of all arts. Oh Know-ledge learning mu-sic beau-ty You're our Mother Saraswati. Hail to the Goddess, All Hail to thee. |
Scientific study on OM
Participants who had never chanted the mantra Om before were instructed to chant it for few minutes. Their chants were recorded and waveforms analyzed. The time frequency analysis showed irregular waveforms which indicated unsteadiness in the mind. They were instructed to chant OM on a regular basis for a few days. The time-frequency analysis showed that the waveforms were improved with regular spacing, had almost perfect symmetry and harmony.
Yogic Breathing
Research has shown that regulating the breathing to about 3.5 to 6 times per minute affects the nervous system in ways that produce a great calming effect.
Information about OM from the Scriptures.
Mandukya Upanishad
“Om: this syllable is all this.… All that is the past, the present and the future, all this is only the syllable Om. And whatever else there is beyond the threefold time, that too is only the Syllable Om.… The Self is of the nature of the Syllable Om.… Thus the Syllable Om is the very Self. He who knows it thus enters the [Supreme] Self with his [individual] Self” (Mandukya Upanishad 1, 8, 12).
Mundaka Upanishad
“Taking as the bow the great weapon of the Upanishads [Om], one should place in it the arrow sharpened by meditation. Drawing it with a mind engaged in the contemplation of That [Brahman], O beloved, know that Imperishable Brahman as the target. The Syllable Om is the bow: one’s Self, indeed, is the arrow. Brahman is spoken of as the target of that. It is to be hit without making a mistake. Thus one becomes united with it [Brahman] as the arrow [becomes one with the target]. He in whom the sky, the earth, and the interspace are woven, as also the mind along with all the pranas, know him alone as the one Self. Dismiss other utterances. This [Om] is the bridge to immortality. Meditate on Om as the Self. May you be successful in crossing over to the farther shore beyond darkness” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.3-6).
Yoga Vashishtha
“The Cosmic Spirit utters Om and by pure will creates the various objects” (Yoga Vashishtha 3:67).
“The holy word, Om, bestows the highest state” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:54).
“Pranayama is accomplished by effortlessly breathing and joining to it the repetition of the sacred Om” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:78).
“I abandon all thoughts and notions; contemplating Om, I shall remain in the Self, in total inner silence” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:81).
“I shall now enter into the Self by the Self indicated by the culmination of the Om sound–as a lamp without fuel” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:87).
“Brahman is the Truth that is indicated as ‘Om.’” (Yoga Vashishtha 6:1:30).
Shankara's commentaries
Shankara
“Om is used to serve as a means to the meditation on Brahman. As other scriptures say, This is the best help (to the realization of Brahman) and the highest” (Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“‘One should concentrate on the Self, uttering Om’ [Mahanarayan Upanishad 24:1]. ‘One should meditate upon the Supreme Being only through the Syllable Om’ [Prashna Upanishad 5:5] ‘Meditate upon the Self with the help of the Syllable Om’ [Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.6]. And so on. Although the words Brahman, Atman, etc. are names of Brahman, yet on the authority of the scriptures we know that Om is its most intimate appellation. Therefore it is the best means for the realization of Brahman” (Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“Whether the unconditioned Brahman or the conditioned Brahman [is the goal], the Syllable Om becomes a means of realizing it… Therefore Om, being so important, should be used as a means to Self-realization. If it is used as a means to realization, the entire Vedas are practically used” (Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“Just as the image of Vishnu or any other god is regarded as identical with that god (for purposes of worship), so is Om to be treated as Brahman” (Shankara, Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“It is known in all the Upanishads that Om, as a name and as a symbol, holds the highest position of being an aid to the meditation of the Supreme Self. And its highest position is also well known from its being used very frequently at the beginning and end of repetition of holy names, rites, [scriptural] study, etc. Therefore this Syllable Om is to be meditated on in its verbal form. That is, one should continuously concentrate one’s mind on Om which forms a part of rites and is a symbol of the Supreme Reality.…
“The soul, when it departs from the body, goes upward by meditating on the Self with the help of Om as he did while living” (Commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad).
“The syllable Om is the inmost essence of all essences. It is supreme because of Its being the symbol of the Supreme Self. It is competent to be worshipped as the Supreme Self. It is competent to take the place of the Supreme Self since It is to be worshipped like the Supreme Self” (Shankara, Commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad).
Participants who had never chanted the mantra Om before were instructed to chant it for few minutes. Their chants were recorded and waveforms analyzed. The time frequency analysis showed irregular waveforms which indicated unsteadiness in the mind. They were instructed to chant OM on a regular basis for a few days. The time-frequency analysis showed that the waveforms were improved with regular spacing, had almost perfect symmetry and harmony.
Yogic Breathing
Research has shown that regulating the breathing to about 3.5 to 6 times per minute affects the nervous system in ways that produce a great calming effect.
Information about OM from the Scriptures.
Mandukya Upanishad
“Om: this syllable is all this.… All that is the past, the present and the future, all this is only the syllable Om. And whatever else there is beyond the threefold time, that too is only the Syllable Om.… The Self is of the nature of the Syllable Om.… Thus the Syllable Om is the very Self. He who knows it thus enters the [Supreme] Self with his [individual] Self” (Mandukya Upanishad 1, 8, 12).
Mundaka Upanishad
“Taking as the bow the great weapon of the Upanishads [Om], one should place in it the arrow sharpened by meditation. Drawing it with a mind engaged in the contemplation of That [Brahman], O beloved, know that Imperishable Brahman as the target. The Syllable Om is the bow: one’s Self, indeed, is the arrow. Brahman is spoken of as the target of that. It is to be hit without making a mistake. Thus one becomes united with it [Brahman] as the arrow [becomes one with the target]. He in whom the sky, the earth, and the interspace are woven, as also the mind along with all the pranas, know him alone as the one Self. Dismiss other utterances. This [Om] is the bridge to immortality. Meditate on Om as the Self. May you be successful in crossing over to the farther shore beyond darkness” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.3-6).
Yoga Vashishtha
“The Cosmic Spirit utters Om and by pure will creates the various objects” (Yoga Vashishtha 3:67).
“The holy word, Om, bestows the highest state” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:54).
“Pranayama is accomplished by effortlessly breathing and joining to it the repetition of the sacred Om” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:78).
“I abandon all thoughts and notions; contemplating Om, I shall remain in the Self, in total inner silence” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:81).
“I shall now enter into the Self by the Self indicated by the culmination of the Om sound–as a lamp without fuel” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:87).
“Brahman is the Truth that is indicated as ‘Om.’” (Yoga Vashishtha 6:1:30).
Shankara's commentaries
Shankara
“Om is used to serve as a means to the meditation on Brahman. As other scriptures say, This is the best help (to the realization of Brahman) and the highest” (Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“‘One should concentrate on the Self, uttering Om’ [Mahanarayan Upanishad 24:1]. ‘One should meditate upon the Supreme Being only through the Syllable Om’ [Prashna Upanishad 5:5] ‘Meditate upon the Self with the help of the Syllable Om’ [Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.6]. And so on. Although the words Brahman, Atman, etc. are names of Brahman, yet on the authority of the scriptures we know that Om is its most intimate appellation. Therefore it is the best means for the realization of Brahman” (Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“Whether the unconditioned Brahman or the conditioned Brahman [is the goal], the Syllable Om becomes a means of realizing it… Therefore Om, being so important, should be used as a means to Self-realization. If it is used as a means to realization, the entire Vedas are practically used” (Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“Just as the image of Vishnu or any other god is regarded as identical with that god (for purposes of worship), so is Om to be treated as Brahman” (Shankara, Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
“It is known in all the Upanishads that Om, as a name and as a symbol, holds the highest position of being an aid to the meditation of the Supreme Self. And its highest position is also well known from its being used very frequently at the beginning and end of repetition of holy names, rites, [scriptural] study, etc. Therefore this Syllable Om is to be meditated on in its verbal form. That is, one should continuously concentrate one’s mind on Om which forms a part of rites and is a symbol of the Supreme Reality.…
“The soul, when it departs from the body, goes upward by meditating on the Self with the help of Om as he did while living” (Commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad).
“The syllable Om is the inmost essence of all essences. It is supreme because of Its being the symbol of the Supreme Self. It is competent to be worshipped as the Supreme Self. It is competent to take the place of the Supreme Self since It is to be worshipped like the Supreme Self” (Shankara, Commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad).
Science and Vedanta
Here are some ideas from science that convince me that the Vedanta paradigm is really a great way to understand this world:
The nature of Brahman
Start with the idea that Brahman is the infinite, undivided, unchanging reality behind everything that we experience. Shankara says that we have mis-perceived Brahman as this world, like mistaking a rope for a snake. His opponents sometimes object that to mistake a rope for a snake implies previous experience of snakes. But this objection can be overcome when we realize that if you mistake the infinite, your only choice is to see it as finite. If you mistake the undivided, your only choice is to see it as divided. Similarly the unchanging is seen as changing.
The Three Gunas and Maya
Shankara points out that maya is made of three gunas - the veiling power of tamas, the projecting power of rajas, and the revealing power of Sattwa. (Sankhya philosophy that is found in the Yoga Aphorisms and most Gita translations define the gunas differently than Shankara). For example, if you mistake a rope for a snake, first you have to fail to see the rope - the veiling power of tamas. Then you project some other idea, the snake. But some aspects of the rope show through in your idea of the snake (revealing aspect of Sattwa) The length and diameter of the rope, the general shape of ropes and snakes are similar. You did not mistake the rope for a loaf of bread or a car or a house. So what aspect of the infinite which we mis-perceive as finite shows through? How do the qualities of undividedness and unchanging show through? How do the infinite, undivided, and unchanging show through in our physics?
The sattwa guna reveals the infinite, undivided, and unchanging in our physics
The electron represents the infinite seen as small. The proton represents the undividedness seen as divided. Inertia represents the unchanging seen as changing. I will explain each one.
The Electron as the infinite showing through
Remember that two like charges (negative charge and negative charge) repel each other. So two electrons repel each other. The electron's negative charge doesn't even like itself. The electron is nothing but an electrical charge seen as small. If (using calculus) you calculate the energy it would take to squeeze one charge of electricity from an infinite volume to the volume we perceive as an electron, that energy in the equation E = mc2 gives you the mass of the electron. The mass of the electron is due to it being a negative charge seen small. If you mistake the infinite to be the finite, you get an electron that "wants" to be infinite, but because you see it as small, it is endowed with a mass equal to the energy required to make appear small.
Electrons are spooky if you think of them as physical things. They are nothing but the infinite seen as finite. For example. If you take two coins and flip them, statistically you would get 25% heads, 50% one of each, and 25% both tails. When you take two electrons at random and determine if they are both spin up, both spin down, or if one is spin up and the other spin down, you do NOT get the same results. You get 1/3, 1/3, and 1/3. There is no "this one and that one". IT is an illusion.
The Proton as the undivided showing through
The proton is 18.36 times heavier than the electron and its mass cannot be due simply to seeing a positive charge as small. Where does the rest of the mass of a proton come from? It comes from it being separated in the gravitational field from all the other protons in the observable universe. If you separate two objects with mass from each other, while the gravitational attraction goes down, the gravitational potential energy GOES UP. It takes energy to separate two objects that have mass and are gravitationally attracted. When you separate them, the energy of the system comes up, as you can get that energy out by letting them fall back together, giving kinetic energy. Therefore, the more spread out all the protons in the universe are from each other, the more gravitational energy they are storing, and hence their mass is greater. Their mass is greater because E = mc2. The bigger E is, the bigger M is. So the rest mass of a proton depends on it being separated from all the other protons in the observable universe. Why "observable" universe? Because if light messages can't get from one proton to another, neither can gravitational energy, so the proton is not affected by anything that is moving away from it so fast that light messages can no longer get to it.
If suddenly half the protons in the universe were to disappear, the protons would all have lower rest mass, because they would be separated from fewer other protons. Talk about oneness and inter-connectedness. Every proton "knows" about every other proton in the universe in the sense that its mass depends on how far it is separated from all these protons.
The new physics requires an observer
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Einstein's theory of relativity both depend on observers. That makes sense if this is an 'apparitional' universe. Apparitions depend on an observer. Notice that the electron is a singular problem. Its mass/energy is dependent only on its smallness in the electrical field. The proton is a plurality problem. Its mass/energy is dependent on its separation from all the other protons in the observable universe. To me this represents the subject/object split of the universe which is fundamental in getting from the Oneness of Brahman to the multiplicity of Maya. The perceiver is always experienced in the singular, but the perceiver observes a pluraity in the perceived. Schoedinger has stated that there is no objective evidence in our physics for the plurality of the observer. In fact Quantum theory seems to require ONE observer or you run into paradoxes as to who is collapsing the wave function. We think we are many, but we are really one.
Inertia as the changeless showing through
It is much more obvious that the unchanging shows through as inertia. An object tends to stay at rest or in uniform motion unless something acts upon it. It 'likes" to be unchanging.
Equation of Separation
Einstein was troubled by the fact that his theory of relatively said that different observers measured different times and space separations between two events. He searched for some combination of space and time separations that would be objective, i.e. the same, for all observers. He came up with this combination of distance d separation and time t separations. S = √ (d2 – t2 )
Einstein's theory of relativity puts the "objective" separation between the observer and the observed as the square root of the space separation squared minus the time separation squared. S = √(d2 – t2 ). The d and t must be measured in commensurate units - like light years and years. So the event of light leaving alpha centari and the event of that light arriving in your eye are about 4 light years away in space and about 4 years separated in time. If you put d = 4 and s = 4 in the equation for the objective separation S, you get zero. So the objective separation between you and everything you see is zero. That is because this has all sprung from the one Brahman and it is an illusion that there are many different objects separated from each other. We see a universe "out there" by the trick of seeing things out in space and backward in time, making the objective space-time separation zero. The reality is that you are one with the entire universe. So you can see why the Hindu spiritual traditions say that it is our out-going sense organs and ego sense that block us from knowing our true nature as one with Brahman. In light of this physics, this makes sense.
The 3 degree back-ground radiation is frequently sited as the crowning proof of the big bang model. However there is an alternative explanation which comes from this apparitional model. The expansion of the universe means that we see everything going away from us in space and the further away it appears, the faster it appears to be going. When particles are going away from an observer, their energy is red-shifted down and the faster it is going away, the more the energy is red shifted toward zero. Since E = mc2 the mass is also red-shifted down toward zero as the apparent speed increases toward the speed of light. So the borders of our observable universe are populated with low-rest-mass particles. When radiation passes through a field of low rest-mass particles, it is picked up and re-radiated and thermalized to 3 degrees kelvin.
recycling universe
Also note that if the mass of a particle is approaching zero, our uncertainty about its mass goes to zero, since you can't make a big mistake about something known to be very small. (You could easily be off by a few kg if you were trying to guess my weight, but you could not possible be off by even a nanogram in guessing the weight of a particle approaching zero mass). By the uncertainty principle, since our uncertainty about its mass is approaching zero, our uncertainty about its location has to approach infinity. Hence the particles can re-appear in our observable universe anywhere. This explains the excess free hydrogen gas which has been observed by the Hubble telescope. The big bang model has a hard time explaining why any free hydrogen should be hanging around after 13 billion years. This gives us a recycling universe which appears to be ever changing and headed for a "heat death", but in actuality is recycling to give an eternally existing universe. When the Hindu scriptures refer to the involution and evolution of the universe, this could be referring to individual galaxies. I think it is possible to equate Brahma with a galaxy and Indra with solar stars and their planetary families. Galaxies come and go, stars come and go, but the universe is eternal.
Five Elements
The scriptures talk about the universe being made of five elements. Since the discovery of the nature of the atoms and the chemical elements of the periodic table, this five element theory has been seen as an archaic fiction. However it can be seen as profoundly true in light of our current knowledge of physics. These five elements are most likely meant as metaphors for five energies. The clue to this connection is that each element is connected with a sense organ, and each sense organ specializes in perceiving a particular energy.
Akasha - space - gravity - perceived by the ear (sense of balance)
Vaya - wind (moving air) - kinetic energy (temperature) - perceived by the skin
Tejas - That which shines - radiation - perceived by the eye
Ap - water - electric dipole molecule - perceived by the tongue (Protons = hydrogen ions = acids taste sour)
Prithivi - earth - magnetism (the earth is a giant magnet) - perceived by the nose (magnetic dipole bonds determining molecular structures)
Since E = mc2, the universe can be understood as being "made" of these five energies, since an objects mass is its energy.
The human side
It is interesting to note that since our true nature is one with Brahman, it is infinite, undivided, and unchanging as well. Just as these three aspects can be seen in our physics as electricity, gravity, and inertia, we can see our true nature "showing through" as our yearning for freedom (infinite), love (undivided) and peace and security (unchanging). When we realize our true nature we will get all three as one. When we pursue these in the world of maya we find that pursuing one of these tends to require a sacrifice of at least one of the other two.. For example, absolute dictators bring peace at the price of freedom. Marriage brings love at the price of freedom. Freedom is often obtained by sacrificing peace or love.
Here are some ideas from science that convince me that the Vedanta paradigm is really a great way to understand this world:
The nature of Brahman
Start with the idea that Brahman is the infinite, undivided, unchanging reality behind everything that we experience. Shankara says that we have mis-perceived Brahman as this world, like mistaking a rope for a snake. His opponents sometimes object that to mistake a rope for a snake implies previous experience of snakes. But this objection can be overcome when we realize that if you mistake the infinite, your only choice is to see it as finite. If you mistake the undivided, your only choice is to see it as divided. Similarly the unchanging is seen as changing.
The Three Gunas and Maya
Shankara points out that maya is made of three gunas - the veiling power of tamas, the projecting power of rajas, and the revealing power of Sattwa. (Sankhya philosophy that is found in the Yoga Aphorisms and most Gita translations define the gunas differently than Shankara). For example, if you mistake a rope for a snake, first you have to fail to see the rope - the veiling power of tamas. Then you project some other idea, the snake. But some aspects of the rope show through in your idea of the snake (revealing aspect of Sattwa) The length and diameter of the rope, the general shape of ropes and snakes are similar. You did not mistake the rope for a loaf of bread or a car or a house. So what aspect of the infinite which we mis-perceive as finite shows through? How do the qualities of undividedness and unchanging show through? How do the infinite, undivided, and unchanging show through in our physics?
The sattwa guna reveals the infinite, undivided, and unchanging in our physics
The electron represents the infinite seen as small. The proton represents the undividedness seen as divided. Inertia represents the unchanging seen as changing. I will explain each one.
The Electron as the infinite showing through
Remember that two like charges (negative charge and negative charge) repel each other. So two electrons repel each other. The electron's negative charge doesn't even like itself. The electron is nothing but an electrical charge seen as small. If (using calculus) you calculate the energy it would take to squeeze one charge of electricity from an infinite volume to the volume we perceive as an electron, that energy in the equation E = mc2 gives you the mass of the electron. The mass of the electron is due to it being a negative charge seen small. If you mistake the infinite to be the finite, you get an electron that "wants" to be infinite, but because you see it as small, it is endowed with a mass equal to the energy required to make appear small.
Electrons are spooky if you think of them as physical things. They are nothing but the infinite seen as finite. For example. If you take two coins and flip them, statistically you would get 25% heads, 50% one of each, and 25% both tails. When you take two electrons at random and determine if they are both spin up, both spin down, or if one is spin up and the other spin down, you do NOT get the same results. You get 1/3, 1/3, and 1/3. There is no "this one and that one". IT is an illusion.
The Proton as the undivided showing through
The proton is 18.36 times heavier than the electron and its mass cannot be due simply to seeing a positive charge as small. Where does the rest of the mass of a proton come from? It comes from it being separated in the gravitational field from all the other protons in the observable universe. If you separate two objects with mass from each other, while the gravitational attraction goes down, the gravitational potential energy GOES UP. It takes energy to separate two objects that have mass and are gravitationally attracted. When you separate them, the energy of the system comes up, as you can get that energy out by letting them fall back together, giving kinetic energy. Therefore, the more spread out all the protons in the universe are from each other, the more gravitational energy they are storing, and hence their mass is greater. Their mass is greater because E = mc2. The bigger E is, the bigger M is. So the rest mass of a proton depends on it being separated from all the other protons in the observable universe. Why "observable" universe? Because if light messages can't get from one proton to another, neither can gravitational energy, so the proton is not affected by anything that is moving away from it so fast that light messages can no longer get to it.
If suddenly half the protons in the universe were to disappear, the protons would all have lower rest mass, because they would be separated from fewer other protons. Talk about oneness and inter-connectedness. Every proton "knows" about every other proton in the universe in the sense that its mass depends on how far it is separated from all these protons.
The new physics requires an observer
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Einstein's theory of relativity both depend on observers. That makes sense if this is an 'apparitional' universe. Apparitions depend on an observer. Notice that the electron is a singular problem. Its mass/energy is dependent only on its smallness in the electrical field. The proton is a plurality problem. Its mass/energy is dependent on its separation from all the other protons in the observable universe. To me this represents the subject/object split of the universe which is fundamental in getting from the Oneness of Brahman to the multiplicity of Maya. The perceiver is always experienced in the singular, but the perceiver observes a pluraity in the perceived. Schoedinger has stated that there is no objective evidence in our physics for the plurality of the observer. In fact Quantum theory seems to require ONE observer or you run into paradoxes as to who is collapsing the wave function. We think we are many, but we are really one.
Inertia as the changeless showing through
It is much more obvious that the unchanging shows through as inertia. An object tends to stay at rest or in uniform motion unless something acts upon it. It 'likes" to be unchanging.
Equation of Separation
Einstein was troubled by the fact that his theory of relatively said that different observers measured different times and space separations between two events. He searched for some combination of space and time separations that would be objective, i.e. the same, for all observers. He came up with this combination of distance d separation and time t separations. S = √ (d2 – t2 )
Einstein's theory of relativity puts the "objective" separation between the observer and the observed as the square root of the space separation squared minus the time separation squared. S = √(d2 – t2 ). The d and t must be measured in commensurate units - like light years and years. So the event of light leaving alpha centari and the event of that light arriving in your eye are about 4 light years away in space and about 4 years separated in time. If you put d = 4 and s = 4 in the equation for the objective separation S, you get zero. So the objective separation between you and everything you see is zero. That is because this has all sprung from the one Brahman and it is an illusion that there are many different objects separated from each other. We see a universe "out there" by the trick of seeing things out in space and backward in time, making the objective space-time separation zero. The reality is that you are one with the entire universe. So you can see why the Hindu spiritual traditions say that it is our out-going sense organs and ego sense that block us from knowing our true nature as one with Brahman. In light of this physics, this makes sense.
The 3 degree back-ground radiation is frequently sited as the crowning proof of the big bang model. However there is an alternative explanation which comes from this apparitional model. The expansion of the universe means that we see everything going away from us in space and the further away it appears, the faster it appears to be going. When particles are going away from an observer, their energy is red-shifted down and the faster it is going away, the more the energy is red shifted toward zero. Since E = mc2 the mass is also red-shifted down toward zero as the apparent speed increases toward the speed of light. So the borders of our observable universe are populated with low-rest-mass particles. When radiation passes through a field of low rest-mass particles, it is picked up and re-radiated and thermalized to 3 degrees kelvin.
recycling universe
Also note that if the mass of a particle is approaching zero, our uncertainty about its mass goes to zero, since you can't make a big mistake about something known to be very small. (You could easily be off by a few kg if you were trying to guess my weight, but you could not possible be off by even a nanogram in guessing the weight of a particle approaching zero mass). By the uncertainty principle, since our uncertainty about its mass is approaching zero, our uncertainty about its location has to approach infinity. Hence the particles can re-appear in our observable universe anywhere. This explains the excess free hydrogen gas which has been observed by the Hubble telescope. The big bang model has a hard time explaining why any free hydrogen should be hanging around after 13 billion years. This gives us a recycling universe which appears to be ever changing and headed for a "heat death", but in actuality is recycling to give an eternally existing universe. When the Hindu scriptures refer to the involution and evolution of the universe, this could be referring to individual galaxies. I think it is possible to equate Brahma with a galaxy and Indra with solar stars and their planetary families. Galaxies come and go, stars come and go, but the universe is eternal.
Five Elements
The scriptures talk about the universe being made of five elements. Since the discovery of the nature of the atoms and the chemical elements of the periodic table, this five element theory has been seen as an archaic fiction. However it can be seen as profoundly true in light of our current knowledge of physics. These five elements are most likely meant as metaphors for five energies. The clue to this connection is that each element is connected with a sense organ, and each sense organ specializes in perceiving a particular energy.
Akasha - space - gravity - perceived by the ear (sense of balance)
Vaya - wind (moving air) - kinetic energy (temperature) - perceived by the skin
Tejas - That which shines - radiation - perceived by the eye
Ap - water - electric dipole molecule - perceived by the tongue (Protons = hydrogen ions = acids taste sour)
Prithivi - earth - magnetism (the earth is a giant magnet) - perceived by the nose (magnetic dipole bonds determining molecular structures)
Since E = mc2, the universe can be understood as being "made" of these five energies, since an objects mass is its energy.
The human side
It is interesting to note that since our true nature is one with Brahman, it is infinite, undivided, and unchanging as well. Just as these three aspects can be seen in our physics as electricity, gravity, and inertia, we can see our true nature "showing through" as our yearning for freedom (infinite), love (undivided) and peace and security (unchanging). When we realize our true nature we will get all three as one. When we pursue these in the world of maya we find that pursuing one of these tends to require a sacrifice of at least one of the other two.. For example, absolute dictators bring peace at the price of freedom. Marriage brings love at the price of freedom. Freedom is often obtained by sacrificing peace or love.