The Conundrum of Creation

The Conundrum of Creation

Human beings have always wondered about the origins of the wonderful and awe-inspiring world we inhabit. Religions attribute creation to their own myths. The law of causation clearly points towards every physical phenomenon, big or small, occurring as a consequence of some preceding event. Nothing occurs without a cause. Extending the causation bit, it is quite natural to believe that creation was caused by something; maybe a supernatural force, energy or being. Then we have the theory of Intelligent Design (ID) claiming that features of organisms are so complex that they could not have evolved through normal processes and laws and therefore, insist on the existence of an intelligent designer or God.

Science has slowly and gradually peeled off many of the layers of mystery surrounding our universe. But even as it helped understand some of the happenings, it also brought to the fore observations which remain unexplained. The most popular theory on creation is the Big Bang. While many observations and data have validated it, some scientists still pick holes in the theory.  We may be able to theorize and scientifically determine what the universe was just a trillionth of a second after the big bang, but we cannot determine with any degree of certainty what existed before since time began with the big bang.  The answer to the question of what existed before and what caused the big bang will remain a conjecture even for the scientifically minded. One can only speculate about what caused the big bang.

It is in this context that one cannot but admire the Hymn of Creation postulated over 4000 years ago in the Rig Veda. It is called the Nāsadīya Sūkta; and is the 129th hymn of the 10th mandala of the Rigveda. It deals with the origin of the universe. A simplified or rustic version of the hymn goes as follows:

“Whence all creation had its origin?

The Creator, whether He fashioned it,

or whether He did not,

the Creator who surveys it all from heaven,

He knows.

Or maybe even He does not know.”

The hymn highlights that creation of the world appears unknowable. It mentions that maybe even gods do not know, since they came afterwards. It ends by stating that creation may well remain a mystery.

The contemplation and conclusions stated 4000 years ago remain relevant, and deserve recognition and admiration for the thinkers and sages of ancient Bharat.