Is the Universe actually a human being? || Acharya Prashant (2016)
Questioner: The whole universe is a human and each of our part in the body is different places in the Universe, is it right or wrong ?
Acharya Prashant: Both, right and wrong. What you are referring to is the classical Upanishadic description of the first human being, or the first physical form, the first person. It is symbolic.
*In the language of the world, everything is material and direct; in the language of Spirituality, everything is symbolic; it must not be taken on face value.*
When it is said that the *u*niverse is human , what is meant is, that the universe and the human co-exist and hence are one. You are seeing the universe as it appears only because you are what you are . If you were any different, the universe too would be different.
Please understand, this table is something, only because I can touch it, this is something only because my eyes can have a look at it. And this whole form is appearing in the processes of the brain. The brain is a human being, is it not? So, this table and the observer are together. If the observer were any different, the table would be different. If the configuration of the brain changes, the universe would automatically change. And we cannot even guess, what it would become. Say, it’s like a code, a software, you write it and the code is such that it can be compiled by different compilers. But different compilers correspond to different languages. If you compile it differently, the output would be totally different. Or those of you who have studied mathematics, who know that the value of a number depends totally on the base of counting. For ex. If the base is binary, then 11 has a different value, and if the base is 10, then 11 has another value. So, the value of the object being observed depends totally on the brain. There are several hints available, for example, if something happens to the brain, the object changes. If you take some drugs, you may find that this table has become curvaceous, or if somebody slaps you hard here (pointing at *cheeks )*, you may find that the hand has become one with seven fingers.
So, the brain changes , and the world changes.
And that is only a small change, we cannot even imagine what would happen if the total configuration of the brain changes.
We perceive visual wavelength only between 4000 and 8000 angstrom. We receive aural wavelengths only between 20 and 20,000 hertz. That is our World. What if your mind starts receiving wavelengths outside of these limits? You think the Universe will remain the same? You perceive only a three-dimensional universe, you know, that is such a fundamental configuration of the brain. What if the Universe becomes five-dimensional?
What do you think, time is outside? They are all resultant and co-existent with the configuration of the brain.
So, the human and the universe are always together. That is why the universe of the insect is not the same as the universe of the human being. For the insect, even time moves very differently. Ten hours may be a lifetime for an insect; equivalent to ten-thousand-years.
So, when it is said that the universe is a human, it must be understood what it is saying. It does not mean that it is actually some human being. Great things are always expressed in subtle ways. Subtle matters have to be expressed subtly. Do not have crude interpretations of subtle things; otherwise, you will miss, totally miss.
