Passage 4

Five characteristics of the Universe

There is another way of understanding and interpreting this process. In the Upanishaths and the Vedantha (Vedhic philosophy), five characteristics of the Universe are mentioned - Asthi (Being), bhathi (awareness), priyam (bliss), nama (name) and ruupa (form). Of these, the last two are temporary, and therefore, trivial. The first three are the three facets of the everlasting truth, the Atman. The categories of Sath-Chith-Anandha are also co-related in Vedantha with bhootha akasha, chiththa akasha and chith akasha respectively. Akasha is the name for sphere of consciousness. Bhootha akasha is outer Cosmic consciousness; chiththa akasha is the inner consciousness of the chiththa (seat of intellect), the centre of discrimination in living beings, while chith akasha is the pure, unalloyed consciousness that flows from the Atman. The bhootha akasha is the vast limitless space in which the Sun and planets are but tiny knots of energy. It is so extensive that the light from some of its stars, millions of light years away, has not yet reached the earth. Light travels, they say, at 1,86,000 miles per second (in fact the speed is 1,88,000 miles per second). So you can imagine the enormous size of the bhootha akasha which includes all these stars and much more. The chiththa akasha subsumes such an immeasurable bhootha akasha, for the consciousness illumines and becomes aware of all that exists. The chiththa akasha is prompted into activity by the chith akasha, the chith of Sath-Chith-Anandha (different from the inner instrument of discrimination named chiththa). An infinitesimal fraction of the Atman is enough to activate the chiththa so that it can draw into Itself the cosmos, the entire objective Universe.