Does Brahma dream the universe? If Creation exists only within the mind of Brahma, can it not dissolve like a dream? Is this similar to a collapsing quantum system? Let us review these two ideas.
The popular idea among scientists is that human intelligence is an accident. A certain biological evolution created the power of thinking in the human brain. Consequently, everything in nature and in the cosmos is like a machine. Machines work on one principle, namely, the cause-and-effect principle. However, Sir James Jeans, made a striking discovery. He says that the discoveries in Physics suggest the universe to be less of a machine and more of a great thought.
The core elements of mechanical philosophy began in the Cartesian era, in the late 16th century. The idea that “I exist because I think” is slowing waning. Consequently, the older idea of the mind being the creator and the governor of the realm of matter is reviving. Sanskrit literature celebrates this old idea. In fact, a criterion for a word to be classified a “Purana” is that such a work must include an exposition on the creation process.
Eight thousand meditating Rishis gained eighteen insights which became the original texts of the Purana category. Each of them reiterates the following creation view.
Creation according to the Purana literature
Brahma, the self-born, found himself in the cosmic void and started looking for the creator. After a futile search, he began meditating. Meditation increased his mental abilities. Subsequently, his mind created beings, but only as mental constructs. Indeed, we all enter a dreamscape which we conjure up daily in our dreams! However, the first beings in Brahma’s mental plane knew that Brahma dreamed the universe. This knowledge protected them from becoming entangled in this creation.
Subsequently, Brahma started creating other beings. He hid this secret knowledge from their mental view. Therefore, they had a stronger sense of individuality. Secondly, despite an occasional glimpse into their real nature, these beings latched on to obstinate ego-sense. Consequently, they and their progeny developed a stronger belief in physical matter than in their own mental powers. Subsequently, sex became the only means of taking the creation forward.
Purana texts term Brahma as grandsire. This is because we are separated from Brahma by a line of beings who chose to place more faith in material existence than in consciousness. Consequently, a human being can recognize this truth only on his/her own Volition. Yoga tradition takes this idea from the Puranas and facilitates a real experience towards this. A mind which aspires for an experience of unification with pure consciousness becomes more resolute on the path of Yoga!
An experiment on the Dream of Brahma
A peer reviewed paper published in Physics Essays, highlights how a resolute mind can even impact matter. The authors of this paper designed a smart statistical experiment. This experiment illustrates how anyone using the focus of the mind, can alter the behavior of electrons. Besides, the impact on electrons is far more consistent when the volunteer is a meditation practitioner. If our mind can control an electron, can Brahma have dreamed the universe? The following video clip provides a simple understanding of the references to the quantum field experiment in the paper.
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