THE CREATED AND UNCREATED ASPECTS OF THE COSMIC EGG

In the Vedic literature, the cosmic egg was a vast superuniversal world called satya loka, the world of truth.

Truth is cognized on the level of mind, and not on the level of matter or force.

This duality can be compared to the two aspects of an egg. On one hand, an egg possesses a golden yolk, and on the other, it possesses a surrounding white. In this analogy, the central golden yolk represents the created aspect of the universe, and the surrounding white represents its uncreated aspect. The Vedic seers believed that these two aspects of the cosmic egg are upheld by the thirty-second and thirty-third layers above and below the half measure, respectively. The truth cognized on the scale of the thirty-third layer is that the cosmic egg is both created and uncreated at the same time; it consists of both the golden yolk and its surrounding white. The golden yolk was likened to the super-mundane world called tapo loka (the world of heating), and the white was likened to the supermundane world called satya loka (the world of truth). The idea was that when the uncreated egg white is heated, it assumes the created form of the golden yolk—otherwise known as hiranyagarbha (the golden womb).

This presents a more detailed picture of the cosmic egg, which is related to the scales of the thirty-second and thirty-third layers. In the alphabetical model, these two layers were represented by the thirty-second and thirty-third consonants of the Sanskrit alphabet: the phonemes sa and ha, respectively. According to the Vedic rules of phonetic conjunction (sandhi), when these two phonemes are joined, they produce the word om (sa + ha), which was viewed as the cosmic hum that leads to the dissolution of the created universe in the divine mind.

This presents two complementary wisdoms regarding the relation between the thirty-second and thirty-third layers: When the enlightened soul ascends from the thirty-second to the thirty-third layer, it experiences the cosmic hum (om), which serves to reduce the created form of the universe to its uncreated constituents. When the soul descends from the thirty-third to the thirty-second layer, it experiences the cosmic swan (hamsa), which serves to create the universe from its uncreated constituents. The cosmic swan represents the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg. In the Egyptian tradition, it was known as the “great cackler.”

In the Vedic tradition, the uncreated constituents from which the universe is created were viewed not as elements of force and matter, but as elements of mind stuff (chitta). These elements predominated with the quality of sattva, which is responsible for all phenomenal manifestations of mind. As we have seen, in the Vedic system of Samkhya, all states of matter were viewed as evolutes of tamas, all states of force were viewed as evolutes of rajas, and all states of mind were viewed as evolutes of sattva. These three qualities were associated traditionally with the colors black, red, and white, respectively. The implication is that the white that surrounds the golden womb is the superuniversal field of sattva, composed of uncreated mind stuff.

Unlike created particles of force (rajas) and matter (tamas) from which is fashioned the empirical universe, the uncreated particles of mind (sattva) are self-conscious and are therefore capable of responding to the slightest intention of the Creator. By means of pure intention, the Creator creates the universe—he creates from the uncreated by imposing his will upon the superuniversal field of sattva—which represents the cosmic embodiment of his own mind.

Although the Para scale, the scale of the thirty-third layer above the half measure, represents the largest scale of space and time that has any empirical relevance, it actually transcends the largest form of created existence. The same can be said with respect to the Planck scale, the scale of the thirty-third layer below the half measure: it transcends the scale of the smallest created particles in existence. This understanding is reflected in modern unification theories. For example, in superstring theory, the elementary particles are modeled as very small quantum strings, similar to vibrating rubber bands, which, on ordinary scales of observation, appear as point particles.

According to superstring theory, the Planck scale (10^-33 centimeters) represents the scale of superunification, but does not represent the scale of the smallest quantum strings (or elementary particles). The theory suggests that the smallest quantum strings have a characteristic size of roughly 10^-32 centimeters as opposed to 10^-33 centimeters. In other words, the smallest created parts of the universe are characterized by the scale of the thirty-second and not the thirty-third layer below the half measure. In accordance with the principle “as above, so below,” the same can be said about the largest form of creation, the golden yolk: It is characterized by the scale of the thirty-second and not the thirty-third layer above the half measure. The thirty-third layers above and below therefore transcend the largest and smallest forms of creation. They determine the scales of the superuniversal field of sattva and its elementary constituents, which may be viewed as uncreated particles of mind, rather than created particles of force or matter.

Although the ancient theory is consistent with the principles of superstring theory, it presents a completely different picture of the universe from the one drawn by modern science—a picture rooted in a subjective, rather than an objective paradigm.