Interesting Questions- Confusing Answers

Albert Einstein once remarked whether god had any choice in creating this universe. What do we know about this universe? Where did the universe come from? Did universe have a beginning? Mind boggling questions. Philosophers and scientists have tried to address this question in their own way. But their answers are equally mind boggling as the questions.

Hindu scriptures say that this universe did not come at any particular point of time but always has been there and always in a state of flux. Space and time being cyclic in nature, the universe is constantly changing and expanding. The continual creation and destruction of the universe is the outwards and inwards breathing of lord Vishnu.

Scientific community offered their own theory about the birth of the universe. Big bang theory is the scientists’ answer. According to this theory this universe had been created at a finite time in the past. Every second a faint glow of light which originated 14 billion years ago falls on earth from all the directions. Cosmic microwave background (CMB) is actually the heat of the creation, says science. This is the afterglow of the big bang. This radiation was the evidence for the big bang theory. CMB is the oldest light- the farthest back both in time and space.

Yet the question whether the universe is finite or infinite remains unanswered. This is a troublesome question. At this juncture Buddha enters for our aid. The monk Malunkyaputta approached Buddha for the answer. As an answer Buddha narrated a story to him. A man is struck by an arrow smeared with poison. When doctors rush to treat him, the man wanted to know who shot the arrow, the name of the fletcher who made the arrow which had no bearing on his survival.

Buddha said the man has to get his priorities straight. Buddha told the monk that his questions were not important as they are not relevant to the goal- cessation of dukkha. Even before Buddha many had stressed on meditation. Buddhist sadhanas and upanishiddhik methods have similar points. Hence man should attend to his problems instead of engaging his mind in irrelevant matters. This is a practical way of living according to Buddha.

Well we have three different approaches to our original question, “where did the universe come from?” Yet thinking mind keeps enquiring into the question-

“Is the universe finite or infinite”?