THEORY OF PANSPERMIA & HINDU BELIEFS
As a child born into a middle class orthodox family with unassailable faith in God, I was brought up with all the stories from the puranas and epics of HIndu pantheon I was also raised to believe all the customs of the family without any questions asked. Even while preparing to go to the school for writing an examination, it was mandatory to pray in front of the pictures of the God in the small cupboard and look for some auspicious omen before stepping out of the house. Such was the rigorous training of the household that no one questioned the beliefs or the practices. Having been born in a family of voracious readers, I had developed a passion for reading from a very young age. Even as a child of primary school, I was well versed in various stories from puranas and the Indian epics. Thus was laid the foundation for my development as an adult. The independent thinking and questioning of many practices that were etched into our daily chores started once I entered the college and started reading extensively various authors both spiritual and scientific.
It was while in college, I read about the theory of Panspermia. It immediately interested me as there were many parallels to the what I believed in since childhood. Writings on the theory of Panspermia, though can be dated to Greek philosophers, gained currency during the mid 20th century. While the possibility of the life from outer-space entering the earth piggy backing on a meteorite was being disputed by many, there had been some evidence to suggest that it was possible.
It was while in college, I read about the theory of Panspermia. It immediately interested me as there were many parallels to the what I believed in since childhood. Writings on the theory of Panspermia, though can be dated to Greek philosophers, gained currency during the mid 20th century. While the possibility of the life from outer-space entering the earth piggy backing on a meteorite was being disputed by many, there had been some evidence to suggest that it was possible.
The earth was a great ball of fire which gave rise to the formation of rain clouds due to oxidation of the hydrogen atoms and the resultant water vapour escaping into the atmosphere as clouds. These clouds started condensing and started pouring water on the earth there by cooling the earth and also filling the earth with water. The gravity of the earth and its rotation held the water from escaping into the space. The land mass was yet to surface as there had been water every where. The panspermia theory suggests that a meteorite fell into the ocean of water on the earth; for the life forms of bacteria and algae in the meteorite, the water gave them the required nourishment to make them spring to life in water and mutation of single cell organisms gave rise to multi cellular organisms of various life forms. The theory based on this hypothesis got a boost when in the meteorite named ALH-84001 that fell into the Antartica it was found to contain some bacteria and fossils of life forms. This discovery of extra terrestrial life forms entering earth on the back of meteorites gave rise to another theory that most of the diseases also came from outer space.
Be that as it may, how well this panspermia theory holds good vis-a-vis the beliefs of the people of India is what is quite interesting. The first avatar of Vishnu is deemed to be the form of fish which is a water borne life form.There are enough mantras from Rig Veda and Yajur Veda espousing the greatness of the water as a life supporting and nourishing agent for the life forms to spring up. The mantra pushpam hails water as the life of everything including the moon, sun, stars etc. Therefore, the life form of fish as the first avatar of Vishnu holds good and corroborates the theory of panspermia. From the form of fish, Vishnu had taken yet other forms like a tortoise which is an amphibian, a hog which is a land animal, a half lion half man denoting the arrival of man on the earth and so on and so forth.
The panspermia theory had given broad perspective to look at the stories that were repeatedly told. Many stories that were told had some scientific basis which were either not known to the raconteur or the elders in the family. The stories were handed down from generation to generation without any one questioning the rationale behind any of the actions of the heroes of the stories. It was accepted as such without any question. As they are there for eons they have to be true is the maxim for most of the stories that are told. There are similarities in some of the stories told from the Hindu Puranas and some found in the writings of western scholars. It is not the purport of this writing or the author to conclude that the western scholars were influenced by the stories from India. It is just to draw the attention to the parallel in many of the stories like Noah's arc in Bible and the story of boat built by the Pandya King to take him from deep South of the Indian sub continent to the shores of river Saraswati by the fish, found in Vishnu Purana.
The theory of panspermia may not have many takers and some of the postulates might be discounted in the subsequent years since the theory came into existence. But the parallel found in the epics of the Hindus and India is something that is baffling the reader. Can there be life forms in the outer space or in any other planet or constellation? The Milky way of Galaxy is referred to in Indian epics as Ocean of Milk and in the center of the same Vishnu is lying on a bed of serpent which is supporting the entire universe. There is a belief that the Seshnag the largest of the snakes is supporting the earth on its head. From deep water excavations in the deepest of the places in the ocean, it is found that there are rock forms deep down under, which resemble snakes' hoods. Could there be any connection between these? Many such stories from the Indian epics may have some basis for the postulates and hypotheses floated in those stories which over a period of time might have become forgotten except the stories themselves. There might have been some serious scientific study of many things including the panspermia theory in the olden days but many natural calamities might have resulted in the loss of those valuable information to the later generations except the stories that were spread by word of mouth. Even in the Vedas, not many branches are available to us now. Therefore, what we have been hearing as stories from our epics may have had some scientific basis when they were postulated and hypotheses formed.
Be that as it may, how well this panspermia theory holds good vis-a-vis the beliefs of the people of India is what is quite interesting. The first avatar of Vishnu is deemed to be the form of fish which is a water borne life form.There are enough mantras from Rig Veda and Yajur Veda espousing the greatness of the water as a life supporting and nourishing agent for the life forms to spring up. The mantra pushpam hails water as the life of everything including the moon, sun, stars etc. Therefore, the life form of fish as the first avatar of Vishnu holds good and corroborates the theory of panspermia. From the form of fish, Vishnu had taken yet other forms like a tortoise which is an amphibian, a hog which is a land animal, a half lion half man denoting the arrival of man on the earth and so on and so forth.
The panspermia theory had given broad perspective to look at the stories that were repeatedly told. Many stories that were told had some scientific basis which were either not known to the raconteur or the elders in the family. The stories were handed down from generation to generation without any one questioning the rationale behind any of the actions of the heroes of the stories. It was accepted as such without any question. As they are there for eons they have to be true is the maxim for most of the stories that are told. There are similarities in some of the stories told from the Hindu Puranas and some found in the writings of western scholars. It is not the purport of this writing or the author to conclude that the western scholars were influenced by the stories from India. It is just to draw the attention to the parallel in many of the stories like Noah's arc in Bible and the story of boat built by the Pandya King to take him from deep South of the Indian sub continent to the shores of river Saraswati by the fish, found in Vishnu Purana.
The theory of panspermia may not have many takers and some of the postulates might be discounted in the subsequent years since the theory came into existence. But the parallel found in the epics of the Hindus and India is something that is baffling the reader. Can there be life forms in the outer space or in any other planet or constellation? The Milky way of Galaxy is referred to in Indian epics as Ocean of Milk and in the center of the same Vishnu is lying on a bed of serpent which is supporting the entire universe. There is a belief that the Seshnag the largest of the snakes is supporting the earth on its head. From deep water excavations in the deepest of the places in the ocean, it is found that there are rock forms deep down under, which resemble snakes' hoods. Could there be any connection between these? Many such stories from the Indian epics may have some basis for the postulates and hypotheses floated in those stories which over a period of time might have become forgotten except the stories themselves. There might have been some serious scientific study of many things including the panspermia theory in the olden days but many natural calamities might have resulted in the loss of those valuable information to the later generations except the stories that were spread by word of mouth. Even in the Vedas, not many branches are available to us now. Therefore, what we have been hearing as stories from our epics may have had some scientific basis when they were postulated and hypotheses formed.
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