Multiverse in Indian Cosmology: How Consciousness Begins to Manifest - Part 2/9
Spanda — The First Movement of Consciousness
The insights we are discussing here were not arrived at through physical observation or measurement. Nor were they derived inductively in the way modern theories often are, where a gap is noticed, a likely assumption is made, and that assumption is later accepted if it can be supported mathematically. These findings were directly perceived through human consciousness by individuals who, through long and steady practice of specific techniques, developed the ability to perceive increasingly subtle levels of vibration.
To understand this, consider a simple fact. Human beings can hear only sounds that fall within a limited auditory range. Similarly, we can see only a narrow band of the light spectrum. To perceive anything beyond these ranges, we rely on specialized instruments. Yet even these instruments have limits. They extend perception, but only within defined boundaries.
Human consciousness, however, is not inherently limited in the same way. It originates from source consciousness itself. What prevents ordinary perception of this source is not a lack of reality, but the limitation of the five physical senses. What is often referred to as the sixth sense is latent and requires systematic training to function reliably.
The Rishi, or spiritual scientist, is one who has developed these faculties to a high degree. Through this refined capacity, such individuals are able to perceive realities beyond normal human limits. What we discuss here are records of what they directly perceived. These observations are coherent, detailed, and internally consistent. They are not constrained by time or space. Anyone, at any moment, who develops the same level of perceptual refinement can perceive the same reality. It does not vary from person to person.
Confusion and contradiction arise when those who have not directly perceived these realities read the descriptions and impose their own interpretations upon them. This is where divergence begins. Yet the records themselves are so detailed and precise that even readers who have not had direct perception often arrive at remarkably similar and coherent understandings by studying the Vedas and Puraṇas carefully.
With this understanding of how these insights were perceived, we can now turn to how creation itself is described in the Vedas and Puranas.
The Beginning
The source, in its original state, exists as pure potential, unmanifest and undifferentiated. In this condition, it is still and without vibration. Everything that exists does so because it possesses vibration, no matter how subtle. From this perspective, the source is often described as “nothing,” until the moment it becomes “something.”
This first “something” is called the First Spanda. Spanda is a Sanskrit term that refers to the first oscillation or movement. It can be loosely compared to the initial vibration felt when a gong is struck just once. The difference is that this vibration is so subtle that it lies far beyond the range of ordinary human perception. It is not sound as we know it, but a barely perceptible stirring or throb.
From this Spanda arises Nada, or subtle sound, which in turn gives rise to Bindu, a focused point of vibration. An analogy may help here. Imagine a perfectly still body of water. When a small stone is dropped into it, the first ripple appears, followed by many others. These ripples expand outward, overlap, and interact in a rhythmic movement. In a similar way, vibration unfolds from its most subtle origin into increasingly complex patterns.
This first sound is traditionally identified as the subtle seed sound AUM.
With this movement, creation gradually begins. The process can be compared to the development of an embryo. From Spanda, Nada, and Bindu, differentiation slowly takes place. These primary vibrations multiply and specialize into the fundamental tattvas, or principles of reality. These include cosmic intelligence, the principle of individualization, the subtle potentials of perception, and eventually the five elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth.
These elements first exist only as ideas or potentials. They then coalesce into forms composed of light, and finally into material forms. First comes singularity, then complexity, and eventually the multiplicity of forms and expressions.
One important point to note is that everything begins as an idea. The complete pattern exists first as a vibrational thought or blueprint. This thought vibration then projects itself as light vibration, and finally the light vibration condenses into solid matter vibration. The sequence always moves from the subtle to the gross.
If you are still with me at this point, then your curiosity is genuine. And there is much more still to be unpacked.
A Story
Let me leave you with a simple yet profound story. It is a well-known story in India, though many outside may not be familiar with it. Even if you already know it, I invite you to read till the end. You may still be surprised.
The story begins at a time when Brahma, the creator of the universe, and Vishnu, the maintainer of the universe, already exist. At the beginning of the creation of the universes, a vast pillar of light appears before them. Brahma and Vishnu find themselves standing in front of this luminous pillar, filled with awe and curiosity. They wish to understand its nature and origin.
Soon, a discussion arises between them about who is greater, Brahma or Vishnu. To settle this, they agree on a challenge. Whoever can find either the beginning or the end of the pillar of light first will be considered greater. Vishnu takes the form of a boar and dives downward in search of the base of the pillar. Brahma takes the form of a swan and flies upward in search of its top.
After traveling for eons, Vishnu returns and admits that he could not find the end of the pillar. Brahma, still traveling upward, encounters a Ketaki flower drifting downward from above. He asks the flower where it has come from. The flower replies that it has been falling from the top of the pillar for countless ages. Hearing this, Brahma forms an idea. He returns, holding the flower as evidence.
When Brahma meets Vishnu, he declares, “I have seen the beginning of the pillar. This Ketaki flower is my proof.” In doing so, Brahma relies on indirect knowledge. He assumes that since the flower has come from the top and has conveyed this information to him, he now possesses that knowledge himself.
At this moment, Shiva emerges from the pillar of light. He reprimands Brahma for speaking falsely and declares that since Vishnu spoke the truth, Vishnu will be worshiped in all worlds. Brahma, however, will not be worshiped. Shiva then cuts off one of Brahma’s four heads, symbolizing the destruction of ego.
This story is rich in symbolism, but it also points to a real structure described repeatedly in the Puranas.
It points to the existence of a subtle pillar of light that contains the condensed blueprint of the universe itself.
Shiva and the pillar of light symbolize the spine. Ego is what prevents us from perceiving truth clearly and leads us to deceive both ourselves and others. When ego is restrained and redirected toward cosmic truth by withdrawing energy into the spine, truth becomes visible. Only true knowledge has the power to dissolve ego.
Vishnu represents the manifested universe. As long as ego remains dominant, consciousness takes the manifested world as the ultimate truth and remains absorbed in it. Brahma represents the state of “almost knowing”. The Vedas point out that merely reading scriptures gives second-hand knowledge, not direct perception. This is similar to Brahma’s claim of knowing the top of the pillar through the Ketaki flower.
The Ketaki flower is beautiful, but it is not considered a true flower. In the same way, although it had drifted from the top of the pillar and could describe what it had seen, it lacked inner understanding of the source itself. This kind of knowledge, while it may appear impressive or convincing, remains indirect. It is information without realization, and therefore it cannot be called true knowledge.
The way to truly perceive the truth is not through indirect knowledge, but by merging with the pillar itself. In symbolic terms, this means withdrawing energy into the spine, where direct perception of reality becomes possible.
In Conclusion
This story does not describe a metaphor created for teaching alone. It points to a reality that the Puraṇas repeatedly affirm: the existence of a subtle, luminous axis that precedes and sustains creation itself. The pillar of light is not imagined, nor is it a poetic stand-in for an idea. It is described as an actual structure of existence, within which the blueprint of the universe remains present in a condensed form.
If creation begins with Spanda, the first movement of consciousness, then understanding the universe requires more than observation. It requires participation. It asks us to reconsider what knowledge truly is, where perception originates, and how consciousness moves from stillness into form. In the articles that follow, we will unpack more of this Multiverse Cosmology.
Amrita Ghosh
YogiEvolve
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