SCIENCE MEETS MYTH IN GAIA

By Sushant Mohan Bhaskar

Our scriptures considered the Earth a living entity. Now, science is

discovering that ancient mythology is actually rooted in fact

On January 26, 2001, the Earth trembled and shattered Gujarat, in India. All that the
hapless people could do was raise their hands and pray. No expert had foreseen this
terrible earthquake.

In the Indian tradition, the Earth is worshipped as the compassionate Mother

Goddess. This belief may have had a scientific basis, now lost to us. Compelling new
scientific evidence points out that the Earth is a living being. An increasingly popular
scientific hypothesis—Gaia—says that the Earth manifests characteristics common to
all living systems—in fact, processes that occur within the human body take place
within the Earth as well.

In the West, when the early Greek philosophers declared that they could no longer
interpret their ancient writings and symbols, their myths became dead knowledge.
They searched outwards, researching the phenomena within the ambit of the senses,
which only was accepted as real. Mythology was rejected as illogical. Luckily, in India,
we have a living mythological tradition.

The story of Kunti from the Mahabharata illustrates the rich meaning behind our
myths. Kunti, mother of the Pandavas, may be considered as a personification of the
Earth.

As a young girl, Kunti was granted a boon by an ascetic that she could invoke any
deity by chanting a mantra. When still unmarried, Kunti was fascinated by the rising
sun. She was gifted with celestial sight and in the aura of the sun, saw a handsome
man adorned with divine armor and earrings. Instantly, Kunti gained puberty. She
chanted the mantra and the Sun God appeared. Frightened, she begged him to go
away. Despite her protests, the Sun God touched her navel and by the power of
anima, entered her body. She gave birth to a son called Karna. The child also wore
golden armor (kavacha) and earrings (kundala).

Kunti personified the Earth and her son, Karna, vegetation. In Sanskrit, 'kum-ti'
means the Earth. Kunti's other name is 'Pritha', meaning prithvi or the Earth. Life
originated on this planet through the rays of the Sun, that is, vegetation, was born.
Karna, literally, means grain with chaff. Thus, he represents seed, the essence of the
plant kingdom. But a seed cannot sprout without water. So, to hide her illegitimate
child, Kunti placed him in a basket in the waters of the river Aswa. Karna later
became known as Angraj, meaning ruler of the body, because it is food that sustains
the body. The significance of Karna's golden protective armor and earrings can be
comprehended from the Sanskrit words, kavacha and kundala. The entire plant
kingdom has a protective skin or peel, hide or shell, husk or crust. 'Kavacha' in
Sanskrit means protective covering and also rind or bark. Fruits on trees look just
like earrings or kundalas. This proves that our myths have a scientific basis.
Nobody believed that the Earth could be a living entity until Dr James Lovelock
detailed the physical, chemical and biological evidence to prove that the Earth 'lives'.
Lovelock called his concept the Gaia Hypothesis in honor of the Greek Earth mother
goddess. Those who rejected the idea of living mythology must rethink. The ancient
goddess lived in ceaseless time, which science is only beginning to understand now.

Scientist Peter Russell sees in Gaia's new avatar, the awakening of the Earth. He says
Gaia will take on a new life form once she achieves her own equivalent of self-
reflective consciousness, with humanity as her brain. She will then become a
conscious, thinking, perceiving being, and begin to establish contact with other
planetary beings in space, something, which might be happening even now.

Ancient wisdom was considered merely a myth. But now, modern physics and
eastern metaphysics are fast converging. This alliance of East and West heralds a
New Age of Consciousness.

The transition from the Age of Information to the Age of Consciousness will require
society to revisit ancient beliefs and traditions. They must be integrated in our
conscious thoughts to enable the required shift in consciousness.

This movement is now being led by science, which is breathing into its understanding
of the brain and consciousness, the knowledge and techniques of mystics.

Finally, we are coming full circle—from the scriptures through science back to our
myths.