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Break for Glory: The Scale of the Universe

April 2, 2012

I came across a very cool website that indicates the relative scale of many things in the universe (thanks to atheist philosopher Dan Fincke for pointing me here although my conclusion is going to upset him!). This is a wonderful example of the vibhooti (glory) of graphic representation on the web.

In Bhagavad Geeta 8-9, there are a couple of adjectives used to describe the Self or Brahman, the Supreme Reality:
1. पुराणम् purANam.h Ancient
2. अणोरणीयंसमनुस्मरेद्यःaNoraNiiya.n-samanusmaredyaH Minuter than the Atom

These adjectives sping to mind as you navigate the website that ranges from the inanimate to living, from the molecular to the massive and from the nearest to the most distant. Thanks to this website, I came to know for instance that "The Sloan Great Wall" is the largest known object in the universe and that scientists think that the "the quantum foam" is foundation of the fabric of the universe although it is so small (can you image what 1x10-35 meters represents?) that it is impossible to observe it.

You start asking yourself what is the secret behind the creation of this universe? Geeta 8-9 says that the Supreme Reality is सर्वस्य धातारम् sarvasyadhAtAram.h The Nourisher of All. When you try to grapple with all that is revealed in this website, then yet another adjective in 8-9 becomes obvious. It is अचिन्त्यरूपम् achintyarUpam.h Minuter than the atom

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

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Comments

  1. Nice, profoundly brain indulgently informative, yet simplistic,have you ever just wondered regarding the amount of quantum foam in the Sloan great wall? Or how many units of planic length are in a gigaparsec? You're genius should be prominently more productant! And thank you for opening my eye regarding the fascinating cosmos.

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