Vedic Cosmology: Our Brahmanda

If one becomes advanced in devotional service, they can advance to one of the higher Muni-lokas but if they become attached to material enjoyment, they will degrade into a lower position of a semi-divine being of even a human again.

Bhuvar-loka.

This planetary system roughly corresponds to our solar system and contains five major planets plus the Sun-god.

However, there are two planets outside the solar system included in this, they are Dhruva-loka or Pole star, and the realm of the Sapta-rishis or the big dipper.

These lokas are the abodes of semi-divine beings (demigods) who are a higher form of life than the human species on this planet.

They assist other demigods in various ways and sometimes interact with the human species.

By advancement in their service. they can become a demigod or by indulging in enjoyment, be born as a Human on the Earthly realms.

Dhruv-loka.

It is the planetary complex revolving around the Polestar that is said to be 10,000,000 yojanas (80 million miles) below the Mahar-loka. It is described as the center of a bright ring of stars identified with our galaxy, Milky Way.

There is 8 miles to one yojana.

Although this is speculation because the 5th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam states our single material universe is only 4 billion miles in diameter, therefore it is impossible to see outside our material universe because of the surrounding Brahmanda material universe's 7 material barriers that are collectively nearly 45 quadrillion miles in diameter, that our material universe is deep inside of.

In every material universe, there is also one Vaikunth planet with an ocean of milk where Visnu resides on an island called Shvetadvipa.

In our material universe, this spiritual planet is situated in the eastern side of Dhruvaloka and is the abode of Lord Kshirodakshayi Visnu!

Srimad Bhagavatam describes three different forms, or aspects, of Visnu as Maha-Visnu also known as Karnodakshayi Visnu, the form from whose breath the multiverse (unlimited Brahmanda universes) is born and from whose inhalation, all the Brahmandas are drawn in and engulfed.

Garbhodakśayī-Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Visnu (each material universe has Garbhodakśayī-Viṣṇu as its base and Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu in every matter particles as a copied version)

Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu resides in the heart of every living creature as a four hand expansion similar to that of Mahā-Viṣṇu. He is also referred to as the Paramātmā, or super soul. His abode is Vaikunṭha. His personal abode is the Kshira Sagara (Ocean of Condensed Milk) and he is realised as the Aniruddha expansion of Narayana.

Brahma and the demigods meditate on Lord Visnu at the Shvet-dvipa in Dhruv-loka.

This transcendental island is 200,000 square miles and covered with desire trees for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord who resides here with Goddess Lakshmi and other pure, transcendental entities.

As it is a spiritual planet, it is eternal and therefore remains when all other planets within the material universes are destroyed.

It is believed to be the pivot for all material stars and planets with even the Sun, revolving at the speed of 16,000 miles per second around the Dhruvaloka.

This Loka is maybe located at the center of our 4 billion mile in diameter material universe.

Sapta-rishi loka.

The abode of the Seven Great Seers or the Sapta-rishis located 100,000 yojans (800 thousand miles) below the Dhruva-loka.

The seven rishis are the most advanced spiritual guides for Humanity and have been present at all major time periods of our History. Astronomically, their abode is recognized in the form of the Big Dipper or Ursa Major constellation and it always revolves around the Dhruv-loka or Pole Star.

Sapta-rishi loka revolves around the Pole Star.

Rishi Vasishth was the preceptor of the Solar Dynasty or Suryavansh while Vishwamitra was the guru of Lord Rama. There are numerous stories and legends in the ancient scriptures which relate the immense services these rishis have provided to different rulers on our planet since the beginning of time.

Nakshtara-loka.

Nakshatra Mandala is the stellar neighborhood of the Solar System perceived as the starry night sky. It is generally equated with the Zodiac Map around the Earth and represents the different constellations visible to us from our global Earth.

Nakshatra-Mandal.

Planets in our Solar System.

The known planets in Vedic times of our Solar system are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn which are the abodes of the divine-beings called Budh, Shukra, Mangal, Brihaspati and Shanaichar respectively.

Surya-loka.

Surya-loka refers to the sphere of the Sun-god. It is located at a height of 100,000 yojans (800 thousand miles above the Earth which needs futher investigation or decoding for the correct undestanding.

The most important thing about Surya-loka (the Sun planet) is that it is situated in the middle of the our 14 planetary systems in our material universe.

Bhuloka and Bhuvarloka, rotating through the time circle of the zodiac represents the center this small 4 billion mile diameter universe we are in that is deep inside a surrounding Brahmanda universe.

Surya-loka (the Sun planet and Sun-God) represents the center of our small material universe.

It is not so easy to determine the real space structure of the material universe because there's no independent measure of distance in the universe.

Hence, the astronomers have to look at a map of redshifts and directions in the sky from where the light has come. Then to get the distance to the source galaxy they have to assume the Hubble law.

Such observations have confirmed that numerical values of galaxy redshifts are ‘quantized’, tending to fall into distinct groups.

According to Hubble’s Law, redshifts are proportional to how far a Galaxy is from us and an analysis of these shifts shows that galaxies tend to be grouped into (conceptual) spherical shells concentric around our home galaxy, the Milky Way.

However, we should remember that Prabhupada says in Srimad Bhagavatam, that we cannot see outside our 4 billion mile diameter material universe therefore, everything we see with our telescopes, the Hubble telescope and the James Webb telescope, are all within that 4 billion miles diameter according to Srimad Bhagavatam.

Chandra-loka.

Chandra/Soma is the Sanskrit name of the Moon-god and hence, this Loka is the Moon planet but its heavenly realm is unseen by human eyes as proven by the 9 maned Apollo missions to the Moon between 1968 and 1972, and up to the present day by unmanned visits to the Moon by Russia, China, India, Japan, Israel, European Union, Brazil.

There are deities who have been given the responsibility of these heavenly bodies.

Chandraloka, abode of the Moon-god.

Moon influences the tidal processions and growth of vegetation therefore it is considered the life-giver for all living beings on earth. Here the celestial, intoxicating beverage called Soma is also available which is consumed by Indra and other Devas especially when they are getting ready for a battle.

Rahu.

Rahu is the North node of the Moon's orbit while its counterpart Ketu is the southern one. It is said to be situated 80,000 miles above the three previous Lokas and is said to be responsible for causing the Solar and Lunar eclipses.

Astronomically, Rahu and Ketu are identified with the Ascending and Descending Nodes of the Moon which are the points where the orbits of Sun and Moon intersect and if the alignment is correct, either a Solar or Lunar eclipse may occur.

Rahu and Ketu as Nodes of the Lunar orbit.

Many scholars including Prabhupada say these are not imaginary entities which periodically swallow the Sun and the Moon to cause an eclipse but actual persons contributing to the eclipses, other scholars say they are just stories.

Siddhaloka, Charanaloka, & Vidyadharaloka.

These planets are spread from above the Antariksh to the orbit of the Moon. Their residents are born with all the mystic siddhis naturally, including the ability to travel to other planets without using mechanical contraptions.

Vidyadhars/Angels visit Earth as messengers.

The Vidyadhars are winged creatures corresponding to the western concept of Angels and Siddhas are advanced beings who do not need wings to fly on account of their mystic yogic powers.

The Layers of atmosphere includes the solar winds between Sun and Earth.

Antariksh.

The sky called Antariksh is the lowest of the higher Lokas and exists immediately above the Earth realm where the residences of yakshas, rakshashas, pisachas, ghosts, and other etheral beings live.

In the middle planetary system where the Earth global sphere exists, these worlds are known as th Mrityu-loka or Bhu-loka.

Madhya-loka or the middle planets.

The Bhu-mandala is a name for our material universe's 14 planetary systems and is not the name of our small Earth global sphere.

The description of Bhu-Mandala in the 5th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam describes it to be 500,000,000 yoganas which is 4 billion miles in diameter, enough room to fit our entire 14 planetary systems in.

Material planets in the higher dimensions in our 14 planetary systems are-

Jambu-dvipa,

Plaksha-dvipa,

Salmali-dvipa,

Kusha-dvipa,

Krauncha-dvipa,

Shaka-dvipa,

Pushkar-dvipa

We have already identified Jambudvip as our planet as the Global spherical Island (Island also means globa planets in outer space). The other six planets are arranged invisiblely in another dimension) in a concentric fashion around the Earth globe.

Dvipas (Islands or global planets in outer space) in their orbits with Earth.

Adho-loka or the lower subtle material planets.

About 70,000 yojanas (560 thousand miles) below the earth begin the seven lower planetary systems, but unseen to humans due to being in another dimension of subtle matter. These lower planets are more opulent than even the higher planets, hence they are known as the Bila-Swarga!

These geographically lower worlds are-

Atal

Vital

Sutal

Talatal

Mahataal

Rasaatal

Pataal

The residents here enjoy a standard of material comfort unmatched by even the higher planets because the denizens of these worlds are concerned only with material enjoyment and have very loittle spiritual inclination.

These lower worlds are dark planets, devoid of any Sunshine and are hence artificially-lit by means of huge reflecting surfaces in the form of crystals and gems!

Since time is not divided into days and nights due to no sunshine reaching these planets, they have no fear produced by time.

These planets are the residence of Daityas, Danavas, Panis, Nivat-kavachs, Rakshasas, Kalkeyas, Nagas, Uragas who are all engaged in illusory material enjoyment with no thought of spiritual liberation.

All residents bathe in elixirs which free them from any anxiety or physical disease, as well as any signs of physical aging.

Rakshas denizens enjoy all Material opulences.

The visual beauty of these artificial heavens surpasses even that of the higher planets and hence they are known as Bila-Swarga. There are incredible feats of architecture in their cities bedecked with valuable jewels.

This sensual atmosphere completely captures the mind, allowing no thoughts but those directed toward fulfillment of pleasure. Demon live in these lower planetary systems with their wives and children, always engaged in sense gratification and not fearing their next births.

There are some details which are worth mentioning here-

The planet Sutal is the abode of Bali Maharaj, the most benevolent and just king of the Asura race, who was blessed by Lord Vishnu to become the Indra for the next Manvantar.

In the Lower planets of Mahataal and Patala, reside the Nagas or the semi-human serpent people. The Nagaloka is a splendid place with unimaginable riches.

All darkness is banished here because of the brilliantly glowing jewels on the hoods of the huge serpents. The King of the Nagas, Vasuki resides here in his capital Bhogavati.

Naga city of Bhogavati.

Buddhist texts mention eight major kings of the Nagas - Vasuki, Takshak, Nanda, Upananda, Sagar, Balvan, Anavatapta and Utpal. The same are also referred to as the 'Eight Dragon Kings' in Chinese and Japanese legends.

Below the lowest planet of Pataal, is the planet of the Manes or ancestors who are known as the Pitras.

Texts like the Maha-bharata repeatedly give incidents of Nagas emerging from under the ground (inspired probably by their tendency to live in burrows) and Naga princesses abducting handsome men deep down under water so the legends go.

Till now, we have encountered planets with advanced beings having multiple limbs who can transport themselves from one place to another at the speed on mind (Vaikunthloka).

There are planets where people travel on airplanes and space-crafts rather than ground-cars (Swarga-Loka) and also read about planets that do not need the Sun for survival (Bila-Swarga).

Beneath all these, and slightly above the Garbhodak ocean, are the Naraklokas, or the hellish planets.

Narak-loka or the hellish planets.

Narak is the Vedic counterpart of Christian Hell and Islamic Dozakh however, there is no eternal damnation there because karma good or bad is temporary, no one can eternally stay in a material heaven or hell, eventually even after trillions of years, they again take birth on earth.

Remember, for the individual jiva-souls there is neither birth or death, they are just as old as Krsna, but only He remembers everything.

Unlike the eternal hell of western religions, this place is temporary and once the individual jiva-soul has burn off their karma, then again take birth on Earth among 8 million 400 thousand species of material bodies.

Lowest of all are the planets of hell.

There are 28 different hells described in the Vedic literature and these planets are-

Raurav,

Sukar,

Rodha,

Tal,

Vishsan,

Mahajwal,

Taptakumbh,

Lavan,

Vilohit,

Rudhiramabh,

Vaitarni,

Krimish,

Krimibhojan,

Asipatravana,

Krishna,

Lalabhaksha,

Darun,

Puyuvah,

Pap,

Vahnijwal,

Adhahshira,

Sandansh,

Kalsutra,

Tamas,

Avichi,

Swabhojan,

Apratishthit,

Aprachi.

The different hells-

The ancient sages have made provisions of expiation for those sinners who feel guilty in their conscience after committing their sins. Only those sinners who do not expiate for their sins fall into these hells.

Although life here seems to go on for an eternity, in actual fact the duration of one's Karmic sentence here may be only seconds or moments.

All these Hells are under the domain of Surya-putra Yamaraj where he delivers judgement according to the record kept by his assistant Chitra-gupta.

Many sins are paid off in hell only when one has achieved the human form, the individual jiva-soul is qualified to transferred to a new material body as soon as it leaves the previous one.

Below these planets is the Garbhodak Ocean which forms the bottom of the universal egg or the Brahmanda universe.

Foundation of our material universe.

At the base of our universe lies the immense Garbhodak Ocean on which reclines the second form of Lord Visnu - Sri Garbhodakshayi Visnu, resting on the eternal serpent, Ananta-Sesha.

Final arrangement of the lokas.

Anant-Sesh has thousands of hoods and each of the hoods carries a bright gemstone that illuminates the azimuths.

At the end of every day/time period, Brahma goes to sleep and rests during his the night, there are no Maha-yugas during Brahma's night (sunset to sunrise).

From the Sankarshan form of the Lord, from His eyebrows, appears the three-eyed Rudra (Siva) who destroys the three worlds and dances the dance of destruction known as the Tandav.

Lord Sankarshan destroys the creation at the end of each day (during the night) of Brahma's day.

From all that we have read about the different Lokas, Bhu-Loka or the Earth globe is from where the conditioned jiva-souls can reach other material worlds based on Karma, or, under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master) even the spiritual world (going back home, back to God head).

There is always numerous instances where a divine human being in the heavenly planets was cursed to be born as a mundane Human or an animal because of his bad Karma.

The only certain way to get out of this Samsara or the never-ending cycle of birth and death is to keep Lord Krsna in your heart in every action that you do, in every thought that comes to your mind, and in every breath that you take.

CC, Adi-lila 7, Adi 7 text 76.

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada - "For progress in spiritual life, the śāstras recommend meditation in Satya-yuga, sacrifice for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu in Tretā-yuga and gorgeous worship of the Lord in the temple in Dvāpara-yuga, but in the Age of Kali one can achieve spiritual progress only by chanting the holy name of the Lord.

This is confirmed in various scriptures. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are many references to this fact. In the Twelfth Canto (12.3.51) it is said,

kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet:

In the Age of Kali there are many faults, for people are subjected to many miserable conditions, yet in this age there is one great benediction-simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one can be freed from all material contamination and thus be elevated to the spiritual world.

The Nārada-pañcarātra also praises the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as follows:

trayo vedāḥ ṣaḍ-aṅgāni

chandāṁsi vividhāḥ surāḥ

sarvam aṣṭākṣarāntaḥsthaṁ

yac cānyad api vāṅ-mayam

sarva-vedānta-sārārthaḥ

saṁsārārṇava-tāraṇaḥ

"The essence of all Vedic knowledge-comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity [karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa], the chandas, or Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods-is included in the eight syllables Hare Kīṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa.