Religious cosmologies are ways of explaining the history and evolution of the universe based, at least in part, on the acceptance of principles that cannot be justified by accepted scientific arguments (those are otherwise generally considered via physical cosmology). Most frequently, such theories begin by positing the existence of a god (or gods) who created and/or maintain(s) the universe (see creation (theology)). Some religious cosmologies have their basis in the teachings of particular religions or religious texts, whereas others are more general reactions to perceived difficulties in explaining the entire universe without the actions of a planning / coordinating intelligence. The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ... Cosmology, as a branch of astrophysics, is the study of the large-scale structure of the universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Creation (theology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Most religions have religious texts they view as sacred. ...

Christian Cosmology

The main Judeo-Christian religious text, the Bible, details the story of creation. The first chapter of the Old Testament book known as Genesis, describes the creation of light and darkness, the establishment of Heaven and Earth, and the creation of all creatures, including the first man and woman, by God. The Bible indicates that each act of creation occurred on 6 successive "days", and that on the 7th day God rested. Note that a "Genesis day" is most probably to signify a prolonged period of time -- up to millions of years -- provided that the Sun, Moon and the rest of the stars (and thus time itself) were not created until the 4th day (See Gen 1:14-19). For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah, the first book of the Tanakh and also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ...

This is extensively covered in the article Creation according to Genesis. Creation according to Genesis refers to the description of the creation of the heavens and the earth by God, as described in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. ...

See also

• Biblical cosmology
• Intelligent design
• Creationist cosmologies

It has been suggested that Biblical astronomy be merged into this article or section. ... Intelligent design (ID) is the concept that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. ... Creationist cosmologies are pseudoscientific arguments by various creationists that a significant portion of the observable universe is a few thousands of years old, and as such, run contrary to the Big Bang Theory, which states that all of the universe is billions of years old. ...

Islamic Cosmology

See also

• Sufi Cosmology

Although there is no consensus with regard to Sufi cosmology, one can disentangle various threads that led to the crystallization of more or less coherent cosmological doctrines. ...

Hindu Cosmology

Main article: Hindu cosmology

Hindu units of time on a logarithmic scale. Units are seconds.

The Rig Veda questions the origin of the cosmos in: The Rig Veda questions the origin of the cosmos in: Neither being (sat) nor non-being was as yet. ... Image File history File links HinduMeasurements. ... Image File history File links HinduMeasurements. ... It has been suggested that Time in Hindu mythology be merged into this article or section. ... A logarithmic scale is a scale of measurement that uses the logarithm of a physical quantity instead of the quantity itself. ... Look up second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद (Sanskrit ṛc praise + veda knowledge) is the earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas. ...

Neither being (sat) nor non-being was as yet. What was concealed? And where? And in whose protection?…Who really knows? Who can declare it? Whence was it born, and whence came this creation? The devas were born later than this world's creation, so who knows from where it came into existence? None can know from where creation has arisen, and whether he has or has not produced it. He who surveys it in the highest heavens, he alone knows-or perhaps does not know. (Rig Veda 10. 129) Deva (देव in Devanagari script, pronounced as dévÉ™) is the Sanskrit word for god, deity. It can be variously interpreted as a spirit, demi-god, celestial being, angel, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence. ...

But the Rig Veda's view of the cosmos also sees one true divine principle self-projecting as the divine word, Vaak, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know, from the monistic Hiranyagarbha or Golden Womb. The Hiranyagarbha is alternatively viewed as Brahma, the creator who was in turn created by God, or as God (Brahman) himself. Monism is the metaphysical position that all is of one essential essence, substance or energy. ... According to an account of the Hindu mythology, Hiranyagarbha, meaning the golden womb, is the source of the creation of the universe. ... Brahma (written Brahmā in IAST) (Devanagari ब्रह्मा, pronounced as ) is the Hindu God (deva) of creation, and one of the Hindu Trinity - Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

The later puranic view 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, named pralaya (Cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 trillion human years) that represents Brahma's lifespan. It must be noted that Brahma is the creator but not necessarily regarded as God in Hinduism. He is mostly regarded as a creation of God / Brahman. The Puranas are part of Hindu Smriti; these religious scriptures discuss devotion and mythology. ... Brahma (written Brahmā in IAST) (Devanagari ब्रह्मा, pronounced as ) is the Hindu God (deva) of creation, and one of the Hindu Trinity - Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. ... Kalevan Pallo is a professional Finnish ice hockey team. ... Pralaya , in Hindu theosophy , is a period of time of the cycle of existence of the planets where activity does not occur. ... Brahman (Devanagari: ब्रह्म ) in the Vedantic schools of Hindu philosophy, is the signifying name given to the concept of the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality of all things in this universe. ...

We are currently believed to be in the 51st year of the present Brahma and so about 155 trillion years have elapsed since He was born as Brahma. After Brahma's "death", it is necessary that another 100 Brahma years pass until he is reborn and the whole creation begins anew. This process is repeated again and again, forever.

Brahma's life is divided in one thousand cycles (Maha Yuga, or the Great Year). Maha Yuga, during which life, including the human race appears and then disappears, has 71 divisions, each made of 14 Manvantara (1000) years. Each Maha Yuga lasts for 4,320,000 years. Manvantara is Manu's cycle, the one who gives birth and governs the human race. yugas (Devnāgari: युग) In Hindu philosophy the cycle of evolution of life is divided into four yugs (epochs or eras): Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga Treta Yuga Dvapara Yuga Kali Yuga // The spiritual states of civilization in each yuga In Hindu tradition, the world goes through a continuous cycle of... In Hindu mythology, Manu is a title accorded the progenitor of humankind, first king to rule this earth, the Indian Noah who saves mankind from flood from the universal flood. ...

Each Maha Yuga consists of a series of four shorter yugas, or ages. The yugas get progressively worse from a moral point of view as one proceeds from one yuga to another. As a result each yuga is of shorter duration than the age that preceded it. The current Kali Yuga (Iron Age) began at midnight 17 February / 18 February in 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar.

External links

• Intellectuals, Scientists and Philosophers on Hindu Cosmology
• Cosmology in Vedanta
• 'Hindu cosmology's time-scale for the universe is in consonance with modern science'
• http://www.csuohio.edu/hindu/hindusimmeaning.htm
• http://www.hinduism-today.com/archives/1999/8/1999-8-07.shtml
• Hindu planetarium

Buddhist Cosmology

Main article: Buddhist cosmology

In Buddhism, the universe comes into existence dependent upon the actions (karma) of its inhabitants. Buddhists posit neither an ultimate beginning or final end to the universe, but see the universe as something in flux, passing in and out of existence, parallel to an infinite number of other universes doing the same thing. Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. ... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found in Sarnath, near Varanasi. ... Karma (Sanskrit karman) or Kamma (Pāli) means action or doing; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma. ...

The Buddhist universe consists of a large number of worlds which correspond to different mental states, including passive states of trance, passionless states of purity, and lower states of desire, anger, and fear. The beings in these worlds are all coming into existence or being born, and passing out of existence into other states, or dying. A world comes ito existence when the first being in it is born, and ceases to exist, as such, when the last being in it dies. The universe of these worlds also is born and dies, with the death of the last being preceding a universal conflagration that destroys the physical structure of the worlds; then, after an interval, beings begin to be born again and the universe is once again built up. Other universes, however, also exist, and there are higher planes of existence which are never destroyed, though beings that live in them also come into and pass out of existence.

As well as a model of universal origins and destruction, Buddhist cosmology also functions as a model of the mind, with its thoughts coming into existence based on preceding thoughts, and being transformed into other thoughts and other states.

Please expand this article. Further information might be found in a section of the talk page or at Requests for expansion.

Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ...

Jain Cosmology

Main article: Jain cosmology

According to Jain beliefs, the universe was never created, nor will it ever cease to exist. It is eternal but not unchangeable, because it passes through an endless series of cycles. Each of these upward or downward cycles is divided into six world ages (yugas). The present world age is the fifth age of one of these "cycles", which is in a downward movement. Each age is known as an "Aaro". There are no specific names assigned to each age. Instead they are referred to numerically as in "Pehelo Aaro" or First Age, "Beejo Aaro" or Second Age, "Treejo Aaro" or Third Age, "Chotho Aaro" or Fourth Age, "Paanchmo Aaro" or Fifth Age and "Chhatho Aaro" or Sixth Age. All these ages have fixed time durations of thousands of years. Universal History and Jain Cosmology According to Jain beliefs, the universe was never created, nor will it ever cease to exist. ... In Hindu philosophy, the existence of the world is divided into four Yugas (ages): Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga Treta Yuga Dwapara Yuga Kali Yuga According to the rishis of ancient India, the world goes through a continuous cycle of these ages. ...

When this reaches its lowest level, even Jainism itself will be lost in its entirety. Then, in the course of the next upswing, the Jain religion will be rediscovered and reintroduced by new leaders called Tirthankaras (literally "Crossing Makers" or "Ford Finders"), only to be lost again at the end of the next downswing, and so on.

In Jain thought, the shape of the inhabited universe has been described as that of the figure 8 or a man standing akimbo. The dimension from the top to bottom has been described as 14 Rajjus. At the top and at the middle point it is 1 Rajju wide but the width of the bulges varies from 5 to 8 Rajjus. Thus the distance between the two ends of the middle world is approximately 5.2 billion light years. One Rajju or Rajlok is the distance covered by a deva flying for six months at the rate of 2,057,152 Yojans every Samay. ... A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ...

Sinhalese Cosmology

The cosmology of traditional Sri Lankan beliefs is a complex mixture of native Vedic gods, spirits, and demons, overlaid with imported Hindu and Buddhist deities, beliefs, and practices. This pantheon is vast, filled with hierarchies and sub-hierarchies which the uninitiated finds nearly impossible to grasp. The synthesis is a spiritual landscape where Buddha reigns supreme, but where the day-to-day is fraught with danger from the yakku (devils) and other malignant forces (vas) which seem all too ready to afflict man with scourges of every description. In this word, life is a constant struggle against these forces.

Cosmologies of minor religious faiths

• Ayyavazhi cosmology
• Catholic cosmology
• Mormon cosmology
• Raelian cosmology
• Scientology cosmology
• Zoroastarian cosmology