Hindu views and belief of evolution and the begining of the Universe

Hindu views and belief of evolution and the begining of the Universe

Hinduism includes a range of viewpoints about the origin of life, creationism and evolution. There is no single story of creation, due to dynamic diversity of Hinduism, and these are derived from various sources like Vedas, some from the Brahmanas, some from Puranas; some are philosophical, based on concepts, and others are narratives. The Rigveda mentions the Hiranyagarbha (“hiranya = golden or radiant” and “garbha = filled / womb”) as the source of the creation of the Universe, similar to the world egg motif found in the creation myths of many other civilizations. It also contains a myth of proto-Indo-European origin, in which the creation arises out of the dismemberment of a cosmic being (the Purusha) who is sacrificed by the gods.

As for the creation of the primordial gods themselves, the Nasadiya Sukta of Rigveda takes a near-agnostic stand, stating that the Gods came into being after the world’s creation, and nobody knows when the world first came into being. In the later Puranic texts, the creator god Brahma is described as performing the act of ‘creation’, or more specifically of ‘propagating life within the universe’. Some texts consider him equivalent to the Hiranyagarbha or the Purusha, while others state that he arose out of these. Brahma is a part of the trinity of gods that also includes Vishnu and Shiva, who are responsible for ‘preservation’ and ‘destruction’ (of the universe) respectively.

Many Hindu texts mention the cycle of creation and destruction. The Shatapatha Brahmana states that the current human generation descends from Manu, the only man who survived a great deluge after being warned by the God. This legend is comparable to the other flood legends, such as the story of the Noah’s Ark mentioned in the Bible and the Quran.

Hindus find support for, or foreshadowing of evolutionary ideas in scriptures.For example, the concept of Dashavatara can be seen as having some similarities to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.The first incarnation of Vishnu in the form of a fish resembles the evolutionary origin of fish in the Silurian Period.

In a survey of 909 people, 77% of its respondents in India agreed that enough scientific evidence exists to support Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, and 85% of God-believing people said they agree with evolution as well. According to the survey conducted by Pew Forum in the United States, 80% of Hindus agree that evolution is the best explanation for the origin of human life on earth.However, in India, there were minimal references to Darwinism in the 1800s. Elements of Victorian England opposed the idea of Darwinism. Hindus already had present notion of common ancestry between humans and animals. The Hindu dharma believes that the gods have animal features, showing a theory that humans can be reborn again as animals or with their features.

Hindu creationism

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According to Hindu creationism all species on earth including humans have “devolved” or come down from a high state of pure consciousness. Hindu creationists claim that species of plants and animals are material forms adopted by pure consciousness which live an endless cycle of births and rebirths.Ronald Numbers says that: “Hindu Creationists have insisted on the antiquity of humans, who they believe appeared fully formed as long, perhaps, as trillions of years ago.”Hindu creationism is a form of old earth creationism. According to Hindu creationists the universe may even be older than billions of years. These views are based on the Vedas which depict an extreme antiquity of the universe and history of the earth.

Creation myths

Hinduism is a conglomeration of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid common set of beliefs.As a result, the Hindu texts do not provide a single canonical account of the creation; they mention a range of theories of the creation of the world, some of which are contradictory.

Rigveda

The Purusha Sukta of the earliest Hindu text Rigveda mentions Purusha, primeval cosmic being.Purusha is described as all that has ever existed and will ever exist.This being’s body was the origin of four different kinds of people: the Brahmin, the Rajanya, the Vaishya, and the Shudra. Viraj, variously interpreted as the mundane egg (see Hiranyagarbha) or the twofold male-female energy, was born from Purusha, and the Purusha was born again from Viraj. The gods then performed a yajna with the Purusha, leading to the creation of the other things in the manifested world from his various body parts and his mind. These things included the animals, the Vedas, the Varnas, the celestial bodies, the air, the sky, the heavens, the earth, the directions, and the Gods Indra and Agni. It is likely that this myth has proto-Indo-European origins, as it is similar to other myths found in the Indo-European cultures, in which the creation arises out of the dismemberment of a divine being (cf. Ymir of the Norse mythology).

The concept of Purusha is similar to the concept of Brahman described in the later texts. As for the creation of the primordial beings (such as the gods who performed the sacrifice of the Purusha), the Nasadiya Sukta states.

Who really knows, and who can swear,
How creation came, when or where!
Even gods came after creation’s day,
Who really knows, who can truly say
When and how did creation start?
Did He do it? Or did He not?
Only He, up there, knows, maybe;
Or perhaps, not even He.

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— Rig Veda 10.129.1-7

Rigveda (10.121) also mentions the Hiranyagarbha (literally, golden embryo/womb/egg) that existed before the creation. This metaphor has been interpreted differently by the various later texts. The Samkhya texts state that Purusha and the Prakriti made the embryo, from which the world emerged. In another tradition, the creator god Brahma emerged from the egg and created the world, while in yet another tradition the Brahma himself is the Hiranyagarbha. The nature of the Purusha, the creation of the gods and other details of the embryo creation myth have been described variously by the later Hindu texts.

The early hymns of Rigveda also mention Tvastar as the first born creator of the human world.

Recounting the creation of gods, the Rig Veda does seem to affirm ‘’creatio ex nihilo’’. Rig Veda 10.72 states:

देवानां नु वयं जाना पर वोचाम विपन्यया |
उक्थेषुशस्यमानेषु यः पश्यादुत्तरे युगे ||
बरह्मणस पतिरेता सं कर्मार इवाधमत |
देवानाम्पूर्व्ये युगे.असतः सदजायत ||
देवानां युगे परथमे.असतः सदजायत |
तदाशा अन्वजायन्त तदुत्तानपदस परि ||

1. LET US with tuneful skill proclaim these generations of the Gods,
   That one may see them when these hymns are chanted in a future age.
   2 These Brahmaṇaspati produced with blast and smelting, like a Smith,
   Existence, in an earlier age of Gods, from Non-existence sprang.
   3 Existence, in the earliest age of Gods, from Non-existence sprang.
   Thereafter were the regions born. This sprang from the Productive Power.

Brahmanas

The progenitor of the existing human race, during the great deluge.
The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions a story of creation, in which the Prajapati performs tapas to reproduce himself. He releases the waters and enters them in the form of an egg that evolves into the cosmos.The Prajapati emerged from the golden egg, and created the earth, the middle regions and the sky. With further tapas, he created the devas. He also created the asuras, and the darkness came into the being. It also contains a story similar to the other great flood stories. After the great flood, Manu the only surviving human, offers a sacrifice from which Ida is born. From her, the existing human race comes into the being.

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Upanishads

The Aitareya Upanishad (3.4.1) mentions that only the “Atman” (the Self) existed in the beginning. The Self created the heaven (Ambhas), the sky (Marikis), the earth (Mara) and the underworld (Ap). He then formed the Purusha from the water. He also created the speech, the fire, the prana (breath of life), the air and the various senses, the directions, the trees, the mind, the moon and other things.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.4) mentions that in the beginning, only the Atman existed as the Purusha. Feeling lonely, the Purusha divided itself into two parts: male (“pati”) and female (“patni”). The men were born when the male embraced the female. The female thought “how can he embrace me, after having produced me from himself? I shall hide myself.” She then became a cow to hide herself, but the male became a bull and embraced her. Thus the cows were born. Similarly, everything that exists in pairs, was created. Next, the Purusha created the fire, the soma and the immortal gods (the devas) from his better part. He also created the various powers of the gods, the different classes, the dharma (law or duty) and so on.The Taittiriya Upanishad states that the being (sat) was created from the non-being. The Being later became the Atman (2.7.1), and then created the worlds (1.1.1).The Chhandogya states that the Brahma creates, sustains and destroys the world.

Later texts

Belief in evolution is among the Samkhya philosophy. In the Samkhya philosophy, evolution is symbolized by the Sanskrit term parinama. Many Hindu reformers compare this term and philosophy with Darwinism. The prominent Vivekananda, based most of his cosmological and biological ideas off of the Samkhya.The Samkhya texts state that there are two distinct fundamental eternal entities: the Purusha and the Prakriti. The Prakriti has three qualities: sattva (purity or preservation), rajas (creation) and tamas (darkness or destruction). When the equilibrium between these qualities is broken, the act of creation starts. Rajas quality leads to creation.

The later texts such as the Puranas identify the Purusha with the God. In many Puranic notes, Brahma is the creator god. However, some Puranas also identify Vishnu, Shiva or Devi as the creator.

In Garuda Purana, there was nothing in the universe except Brahman. The universe became an expanse of water, and in that Vishnu was born in the golden egg. He created Brahma with four faces. Brahma then created the devas, asuras, pitris and manushas. He also created the rakshasas, yakshas, and gandharvas. Other creatures came from the various parts of his body (e.g. snakes from his hair, sheep from his chest, goats from his mouth, cows from his stomach, others from his feet). His body hair became herbs. The four varnas came from his body parts and the four Vedas from his mouths. He created several sons from his mind: Daksha, Daksha’s wife, Manu Svaymbhuva, his wife Shatarupta and the rishi Kashypa. Kashypata married thirteen of Daksha’s daughters and all the devas and the creatures were born through them.Other Puranas and the Manu Smriti mention several variations of this theory.

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In Vishnu Purana, the Purusha is same as the creator deity Brahma, and is a part of Vishnu.The Shaivite texts mention the Hiranyagarbha as a creation of Shiva.According to the Devi-Bhagavata Purana Purusha and Prakriti emerged together and formed the Brahman, the supreme universal spirit that is the origin and support of the universe.

The Advaita Vedanta states that the creation arises from Brahman, but it is illusory and has no reality. (Vivarta)

Hindu cosmological view

Many Hindu philosophies mention that the creation is cyclic.According to the Upanishads, the universe and the Earth, along with humans and other creatures, undergo repeated cycles (pralaya) of creation and destruction. A variety of myths exist regarding the specifics of the process, but in general the Hindu view of the cosmos is as eternal and cyclic. The later puranic view also asserts that the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. In Hindu cosmology, a universe endures for about 4,320,000,000 years (one day of Brahma, the creator or kalpa) and is then destroyed by fire or water elements. At this point, Brahma rests for one night, just as long as the day. This process, called pralaya (cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 trillion, 40 billion human years) that represents Brahma’s lifespan.

Modern Interpretations of Scriptural archetypes

Most Hindus accept the theory of biological evolution. They either regard the scriptural creation theories as allegories and metaphors, or reconcile these legends with the modern theory of evolution.

Dashavatara

Evolutionary interpretation
The order of the Dashavatara (ten principal avatars of the god Vishnu) is interpreted to convey Darwin’s evolution.British geneticist and evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane opined that they are a true sequential depiction of the great unfolding of evolution. Like the evolutionary process itself, the first avatar of God is a fish – Matsya, then comes the aquatic reptile turtle, Kurma, then a mammal – the boar Varaha, then Narasimha, a man-lion being, Vamana, the dwarf then the rest four are humans; Kalki is not yet born. Various thinkers and authors like Helena Blavatsky, Monier Monier-Williams, Nabinchandra Sen, C. D. Deshmukh have associated the Dashavatara with evolution.

Vanara

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The Hindu epics mention an ape-like humanoid species called the vanaras.
The Sanskrit epics of the Hindus mention several exotic creatures including ape-like humanoids.Some Hindus see this as a proof of the historicity of their mythological characters and as support for the theory of evolution in their texts. The Ramayana speaks of the Vanaras, an ape-like species with human intelligence, that existed millions of years ago. According to the Ramayana alongside these ape-men existed modern humans. Thus, according to these ancient writings, the status of such creatures was a state of coexistence rather than evolution.

Hindu opposition to Christian creationism

While the Creation–evolution controversy has seen much debate in the US and other countries, it is an insignificant issue in India, because of its Hindu-majority population. Hindus are among many faiths that have expressed apprehension about efforts to teach Christian creationism in public schools in the US.One objection to the teaching of creationism based on the religious texts of a particular faith is that in a pluralistic society this can result in the imposition of one religion.

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https://vastutantraastro.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/hindu-views-and-belief-of-evolution-and-the-begining-of-the-universe/

진화와 우주의 시작에 대한 힌두교의 견해와 믿음

힌두교는 생명의 기원, 창조론, 진화론에 대한 다양한 관점을 포함한다. 힌두교의 역동적인 다양성 때문에 창조에 대한 단일한 이야기는 없으며, 이것들은 베다, 브라흐마나, 푸라나와 같은 다양한 출처에서 파생되었다; 어떤 것들은 철학적이고, 어떤 것들은 개념에 기반을 두고 있고, 다른 것들은 내러티브이다. 리그베다는 히란야가르바("hiranya = 황금빛 또는 빛나는"과 "가르바 = 충만한/태움")를 우주 창조의 근원으로 언급하고 있는데, 이는 다른 많은 문명의 창조 신화에서 발견되는 세계 달걀 모티브와 유사하다. 그것은 또한 신들에 의해 희생된 우주적 존재(푸루샤)의 절단으로부터 창조가 발생하는 원시 인도유럽 기원의 신화를 포함한다.

리그베다의 나사디야 수크타는 원시 신들의 창조 자체에 대해 거의 불가지론적 입장을 취하며, 신들은 세계의 창조 이후에 생겨났으며, 세상이 언제 처음 생겨났는지는 아무도 모른다. 후기의 푸란어 문헌에서 창조신 브라흐마는 창조의 행위, 더 구체적으로는 '우주 내의 생명을 전파하는 것'을 수행하는 것으로 묘사된다. 어떤 문헌들은 그가 히란야가르바 또는 푸루샤와 동등하다고 보는 반면, 다른 문헌들은 그가 이들로부터 태어났다고 말한다. 브라흐마는 비슈누와 시바를 포함하는 신들의 삼위일체의 일부로 각각 '보존'과 '파괴'를 담당한다.

많은 힌두교 문헌들은 창조와 파괴의 주기를 언급한다. 사타파타 브라흐마나는 현 인류 세대가 하나님의 경고를 받고 대홍수에서 살아남은 유일한 사람인 마누의 후손이라고 말한다. 이 전설은 성경에 언급된 노아의 방주와 코란과 같은 다른 홍수 전설들과 견줄 만하다.

힌두교도들은 성경에서 진화론적 사상의 지지 또는 전조를 찾는다.예를 들어, 다샤바타라의 개념은 찰스 다윈의 진화론과 약간의 유사성을 가지고 있다고 볼 수 있다.물고기의 형태를 한 비슈누의 첫 번째 화신은 실루리아 시대의 물고기의 진화적 기원과 유사하다.

909명을 대상으로 한 설문조사에서 인도 응답자의 77%가 찰스 다윈의 진화론을 뒷받침할 충분한 과학적 증거가 존재한다는 데 동의했고, 신을 믿는 사람의 85%가 진화론에도 동의한다고 답했다. 미국 퓨포럼이 실시한 설문조사에 따르면 힌두교도의 80%는 진화가 지구상 인간 생명의 기원에 대한 최고의 설명이라는 데 동의한다.그러나 인도에서는 1800년대에 다윈주의에 대한 언급이 거의 없었다. 빅토리아 시대의 영국인들은 다윈주의에 반대했다. 힌두교도들은 이미 인간과 동물 사이의 공통 조상에 대한 현재의 개념을 가지고 있었다. 힌두교의 달마는 신들이 동물적인 특징을 가지고 있다고 믿으며, 인간이 동물이나 그 특징을 가지고 다시 태어날 수 있다는 이론을 보여준다.

힌두교 창조론

광고

이 광고를 보고하다

힌두교 창조론에 따르면, 인간을 포함한 지구상의 모든 종들은 진화했거나 순수한 의식의 높은 상태에서 내려왔다고 한다. 힌두교의 창조론자들은 식물과 동물의 종들이 탄생과 재탄생의 끝없는 순환을 사는 순수한 의식에 의해 채택된 물질적 형태라고 주장한다.로널드 넘버는 다음과 같이 말한다: "힌두 창조론자들은 인간의 고대를 주장해왔는데, 그들은 그들이 오랫동안, 아마도 수조 년 전에 완전히 형성되었다고 믿는다."힌두교 창조론은 오래된 지구 창조론의 한 형태이다. 힌두교의 창조론자들에 따르면 우주는 심지어 수십억 년보다 더 오래되었을 수도 있다. 이러한 견해는 우주의 극단적인 고대와 지구의 역사를 묘사하는 베다에 기초한다.

창조 신화

힌두교는 엄격한 공통된 믿음의 집합이 아니라 뚜렷한 지적 또는 철학적 관점의 집합이다.결과적으로, 힌두교 문헌들은 창조물에 대한 하나의 표준적인 설명을 제공하지 않는다; 그들은 세계 창조에 대한 다양한 이론들을 언급하고 있으며, 그들 중 일부는 모순된다.

리그베다

초기 힌두 문헌인 리그베다의 푸루샤 수타는 원시 우주 존재인 푸루샤를 언급한다.푸루샤는 지금까지 존재했고 앞으로도 존재할 모든 것으로 묘사된다.이 존재의 몸은 브라만, 라자냐, 바이샤, 슈드라의 네 가지 다른 종류의 사람들의 기원이었다. 일반적인 알(히라니가르바 참조) 또는 남녀의 이중 에너지로 다양하게 해석되는 비라즈는 푸루샤에서 태어났고, 푸루샤는 비라즈에서 다시 태어났다. 그리고 나서 신들은 푸루샤와 함께 야냐를 수행했고, 그의 다양한 신체 부위와 정신으로부터 현현된 세계의 다른 것들을 창조하도록 이끌었다. 이러한 것들은 동물, 베다, 바르나, 천체, 공중, 하늘, 하늘, 땅, 방향, 그리고 인드라와 아그니 신들을 포함했다.

 

이 신화는 인도유럽어족 문화에서 발견되는 다른 신화들과 유사하기 때문에 인도유럽조어의 기원을 가지고 있을 가능성이 있다. 노르드 신화의 위미르).

푸루샤의 개념은 후기 문헌에서 묘사된 브라만의 개념과 유사하다. 나사디야 수크타는 원시적인 존재들(푸루샤의 희생을 수행한 신들과 같은)의 창조에 대해 말한다.

누가 진짜로 알고, 누가 맹세할 수 있겠는가,
언제, 어디서 어떻게 창조가 이루어졌는가!
신들도 창조의 날 이후에 찾아왔지,
누가 정말로 알고, 누가 진정으로 말할 수 있는가
언제 어떻게 창조가 시작되었는가?
그가 이것을 했나요? 아니면 그가 아닌가요?
저 위에 계신 분만 아실 거예요, 아마;
아니면 어쩌면, 심지어 그조차도.

광고

이 광고를 보고하다

— 리그 베다 10.129.1-7

리그베다(10.121)는 또한 창조 이전에 존재했던 히란야가르바(Hiranyagarbha, 문자 그대로 황금배아/웜/알)를 언급한다. 이 은유는 이후의 다양한 텍스트들에 의해 다르게 해석되어 왔다. 삼키야 문헌에는 푸루샤와 프라크리티가 배아를 만들었고, 세계가 생겨났다고 기록되어 있다. 또 다른 전통에서는 창조신 브라흐마가 알에서 나와 세계를 창조한 반면, 또 다른 전통에서는 브라흐마 자신이 히란야가르바이다. 푸루샤의 본질, 신들의 창조 그리고 배아 창조 신화의 다른 세부 사항들은 후기 힌두교 문헌들에 의해 다양하게 묘사되어 왔다.

리그베다의 초기 찬송가들은 또한 트바스타르를 인간 세상의 최초의 창조자로 언급한다.

신들의 창조에 대해 이야기하면서, 리그 베다는 '창조의 신'을 긍정하는 것처럼 보인다. 리그 베다 10.72는 다음과 같이 말한다:

देवानां नु वयं जाना पर वोचाम विपन्यया |
उक्थेषुशस्यमानेषु यः पश्यादुत्तरे युगे ||
बरह्मणस पतिरेता सं कर्मार इवाधमत |
देवानाम्पूर्व्ये युगे.असतः सदजायत ||
देवानां युगे परथमे.असतः सदजायत |
तदाशा अन्वजायन्त तदुत्तानपदस परि ||

우리가 이 세대의 신들을 찬란한 기술로 선포하게 하소서,
미래 시대에 이 찬송가들이 노래될 때 그것들을 볼 수도 있다.
2 이 브라흐마아스파티는 스미스처럼 폭발과 제련으로 생산되었습니다,
신들의 초기 시대에 존재는 존재하지 않는 것에서 비롯되었다.
3 신들의 초기 시대에 존재는 존재하지 않는 것에서 비롯되었다.
그 후에 태어난 지역들이 있었다. 이것은 생산력에서 비롯되었다.
브라흐마나스

대홍수 기간 동안, 현존하는 인류의 시조.
샤타파타 브라흐마나는 프라하파티가 자신을 재생산하기 위해 타파스를 수행하는 창조 이야기를 언급한다. 그는 물을 방출하고 우주로 진화하는 알의 형태로 들어간다.프라자파티는 황금알에서 나와 지구, 중간 지역, 하늘을 만들었다. 더 많은 타파스로, 그는 데바스를 만들었다. 그는 또한 아스라를 창조하셨고, 어둠이 그 존재에 들어왔다. 그것은 또한 다른 대홍수 이야기들과 비슷한 이야기를 담고 있다. 대홍수 이후 유일하게 살아남은 마누는 아이다가 태어난 곳에서 제물을 바친다. 그녀로부터 현존하는 인류가 그 존재 속으로 들어온다.


우파니샤드

아이타레야 우파니샤드(3.4.1)는 태초에 오직 아트만(자아)만이 존재했다고 언급한다. 자아는 천국(암바스), 하늘(마리키스), 땅(마라), 저승(압)을 창조했다. 그리고 나서 그는 물로부터 푸루샤를 형성했다. 그는 또한 연설, 불, 프라나(생명의 호흡), 공기와 다양한 감각, 방향, 나무, 마음, 달 그리고 다른 것들을 창조했다.

브리하다라냐카 우파니샤드(1.4)는 초기에는 아트만만이 푸루샤로 존재했다고 언급한다. 외로움을 느낀 푸루샤족은 남성("pati")과 여성("patni")의 두 부분으로 나뉘었다. 남자들은 수컷이 암컷을 품을 때 태어났다. 여자는 생각했다. "그가 어떻게 나를 자기 자신으로부터 생산한 후에, 나를 포용할 수 있을까? 나는 나 자신을 숨길 것이다." 그리고 그녀는 몸을 숨기기 위해 소가 되었지만, 수컷은 황소가 되어 그녀를 껴안았다. 이리하여 소들이 태어났다. 비슷하게, 쌍으로 존재하는 모든 것들이 만들어졌습니다. 다음으로, 푸루샤는 그의 더 나은 부분에서 불, 소마, 그리고 불멸의 신들(데바)을 창조했다. 그는 또한 신들의 다양한 힘, 다양한 계급, 다르마(법 또는 의무) 등을 창조했다.타이티리야 우파니샤드는 존재(삿)가 존재하지 않는 것으로부터 창조되었다고 말한다. 그 존재는 나중에 아트만(2.7.1)이 되었고, 그리고 나서 세계를 창조했다(1.1.1).찬독야는 브라흐마가 세상을 창조하고, 유지하고, 파괴한다고 말한다.

후기 텍스트

진화론에 대한 믿음은 삼키야 철학 중 하나이다. 삼키야 철학에서 진화는 산스크리트어 단어 파리나마로 상징된다. 많은 힌두교 개혁가들은 이 용어와 철학을 다윈주의와 비교한다. 저명한 비베카난다는 그의 우주론적, 생물학적 사상의 대부분을 삼키야에 기초했다.삼키아 문헌은 푸루샤와 프라크리티라는 두 개의 근본적인 영원한 실체가 있다고 말한다. 프라크리티는 세 가지 특성을 가지고 있다: 사트바(순수함 또는 보존), 라하스(창조), 타마(어둠 또는 파괴).

 

이러한 특성들 사이의 균형이 깨지면 창조의 행위가 시작된다. 라자의 품질은 창조로 이어진다.

푸라나와 같은 후기 문헌들은 푸루샤를 신과 동일시한다. 많은 푸라닉 노트에서 브라흐마는 창조신이다. 그러나 일부 푸라나들은 비슈누, 시바, 데비를 창조자로 지목하기도 한다.

가루다 푸라나에는 브라만 외에는 우주에 아무것도 없었다. 우주는 넓은 물이 되었고, 그 안에서 비슈누는 황금알에서 태어났다. 그는 네 개의 얼굴을 가진 브라흐마를 창조했다. 브라흐마는 데바, 아스라, 피트리스, 마누샤를 만들었다. 그는 또한 락샤사, 야크샤, 간다르바를 만들었습니다. 다른 생물들은 그의 몸의 다양한 부분에서 왔다. (예를 들어, 그의 머리카락에서 나온 뱀, 그의 가슴에서 나온 양, 그의 입에서 나온 염소, 그의 배에서 나온 소, 그리고 그의 발에서 나온 다른 것들). 그의 체모는 약초가 되었다. 네 개의 바르나는 그의 신체 부위에서 나왔고 네 개의 베다는 그의 입에서 나왔다. 그는 그의 마음에서 여러 아들들을 낳았다: 닥샤, 닥샤의 아내, 마누 스바임부바, 그의 아내 샤타루파, 그리고 리시 카시파. 카시파타는 닥샤의 딸들 중 열세 명과 결혼했고 모든 데바와 피조물들은 그들을 통해 태어났다.다른 푸라나와 마누 스미리티는 이 이론의 몇 가지 변형을 언급한다.



비슈누 푸라나에서 푸루샤는 창조신 브라흐마와 동일하며 비슈누의 일부이다.샤이브 문헌들은 히란야가르바를 시바의 창조물로 언급하고 있다.데비-바가바타 푸라나 푸루샤와 프라크리티는 함께 등장하여 우주의 기원이자 지지인 최고 보편 정신인 브라흐만을 형성하였다.

Advaita Vedanta는 창조물이 브라만으로부터 발생한다고 말하지만, 그것은 환상적이고 현실성이 없다. (비바르타)

힌두교의 우주론적 견해

많은 힌두교 철학자들은 창조물이 주기적이라고 언급한다.우파니샤드에 따르면, 우주와 지구는 인간과 다른 생명체들과 함께 창조와 파괴의 반복적인 주기를 겪는다. 과정의 구체적인 내용에 대해서는 다양한 신화가 존재하지만, 일반적으로 힌두교의 우주관은 영원하고 순환적이다. 후기의 푸란적 관점은 또한 우주가 영원히 반복되는 일련의 주기로 창조되고, 파괴되고, 다시 창조된다고 주장한다. 힌두교의 우주론에서 우주는 약 43억 2천만 년 동안 지속되며, 불이나 물의 원소에 의해 파괴된다. 이 시점에서, 브라흐마는 낮만큼 긴 하룻밤을 쉰다. 프라라야(대재앙)라고 불리는 이 과정은 브라흐마의 수명을 나타내는 브라흐마 100년(311조, 인간의 400억년) 동안 반복된다.

[연구보고] 경전원형의 현대적 해석

대부분의 힌두교도들은 생물학적 진화론을 받아들인다. 그들은 성경적 창조론을 우화와 은유로 간주하거나, 이러한 전설들을 현대 진화론과 조화시킨다.

다샤바타라

진화적 해석
다샤바타라(비슈누 신의 열 개의 주요 아바타)의 순서는 다윈의 진화를 전하는 것으로 해석된다.영국의 유전학자이자 진화생물학자인 J. B. S. 홀데인은 그것들이 진화의 위대한 전개를 진정한 순차적으로 묘사하는 것이라고 생각했다. 진화 과정 자체와 마찬가지로 신의 첫 아바타는 물고기(마티아, 수생 파충류 거북, 쿠르마, 포유류), 멧돼지 바라하, 인간 사자인 나라심하, 바마나, 나머지 네 마리는 인간이다; 칼키는 아직 태어나지 않았다. Helena Blavatsky, Monier Monier-Williams, Nabinchandra Sen, C.D.와 같은 다양한 사상가들과 작가들. 데쉬무크는 다샤바타라를 진화와 연관시켰다.

바나라


힌두교의 서사시들은 바나라라고 불리는 유인원과 유사한 휴머노이드 종을 언급한다.
힌두교의 산스크리트 서사시에는 유인원과 같은 유인원을 포함한 여러 이국적인 생물들이 언급되어 있다.일부 힌두교도들은 이것을 그들의 신화적 성격의 역사성의 증거로 보고 있으며, 그들의 문헌에서 진화론을 뒷받침하고 있다. 라마야나족은 수백만 년 전에 존재했던 인간의 지능을 가진 유인원 같은 종인 바나라스를 말한다. 라마야나족에 따르면 이 유인원들과 함께 현생 인류가 존재했다고 한다. 따라서 이러한 고대 문헌에 따르면, 그러한 생물의 지위는 진화라기보다는 공존의 상태였다.

기독교 창조론에 대한 힌두교의 반대

창조-진화 논쟁은 미국과 다른 나라들에서 많은 논쟁을 보았지만, 인도에서는 힌두교도가 다수이기 때문에 중요하지 않은 문제이다. 힌두교도들은 미국 공립학교에서 기독교 창조론을 가르치려는 노력에 대해 우려를 표명한 많은 신앙들 중 하나이다.특정 신앙의 종교적 본문에 근거한 창조론의 가르침에 대한 한 가지 반대는 다원적 사회에서 이것이 하나의 종교를 부과하는 결과를 초래할 수 있다는 것이다.