Prajapatis Creation Through Tapas

Dadi**: Guddu beta, how do you think the universe was created?

Guddu**: With a big bang? Or did God just make it appear?

Dadi**: Different scriptures tell it differently. Tonight, I'll tell you the ancient Vedic version - how Prajapati created everything through tapas, which means intense spiritual heat.

Guddu**: Heat created the world?

Dadi**: Not regular heat, beta - concentrated spiritual energy. The ancient sages described creation as a cascading process, each thing giving birth to the next through focused power.

Guddu**: How did it start?

Dadi**: "In the beginning, Prajapati alone was here." That's what the scriptures say. Just One - no earth, no sky, no anything else.

Guddu**: Lonely!

Dadi**: Prajapati desired: "May I exist, may I multiply." So he focused his mind intensely, generating spiritual heat. This tapas was so powerful that from it emerged the three worlds - earth, atmosphere, and heaven.

Guddu**: Three worlds from concentration?

Dadi**: Then he heated those three worlds with more tapas, and three lights emerged: Agni (fire) from earth, Vayu (wind) from the atmosphere, and Surya (sun) from heaven.

Guddu**: Fire, wind, and sun - those are real things!

Dadi**: Then he heated those three lights, and from them came the three Vedas - the Rig Veda from fire, the Yajur Veda from wind, the Sama Veda from sun.

Guddu**: So the scriptures came from lights?

Dadi**: In this beautiful vision, yes! Then he heated the three Vedas, and from them emerged three sacred sounds: "Bhuh" (earth), "Bhuvah" (atmosphere), and "Svah" (heaven).

Guddu**: Those are the words we say in prayers!

Dadi**: Finally, he heated those three utterances, and from "Bhuh" came the sound "A," from "Bhuvah" came "U," and from "Svah" came "M." These three sounds combined to form...

Guddu**: AUM! The holy Om!

Dadi**: Exactly! So according to this story, Om is the essence of everything - all three worlds, all three lights, all three Vedas, concentrated into one sacred syllable.

Guddu**: That's why Om is so important!

Dadi**: When you chant Om, you're chanting the entire creation in miniature. The sound that contains all other sounds.

Guddu**: But Dadi, how did concentration create things?

Dadi**: The sages understood that mind comes before matter. Pure consciousness, focused intensely enough, manifests as physical reality. This is what tapas means - transforming thought into thing.

Guddu**: Can we do that?

Dadi**: In small ways, yes! When you concentrate hard on learning something, it becomes part of you. When you focus on a goal, you bring it into reality. That's tapas in daily life.

Guddu**: So concentration is like a superpower?

Dadi**: The greatest superpower! Everything humans have built - cities, technology, art - started as focused thought in someone's mind. Creation happens through tapas every day.

Guddu**: I'll practice concentrating more!

Dadi**: Do that! But remember, the story also teaches humility. Prajapati was alone and wanted to exist, to multiply, to become many. The One became many out of... loneliness? Love? Desire to share existence? The scriptures leave it mysterious.

Guddu**: Why did he want to create?

Dadi**: That's the deepest question, beta. Why is there something rather than nothing? Perhaps some mysteries are meant to stay mysterious.

Guddu**: I like thinking about these things, Dadi.

Dadi**: And that thinking, that wondering - that's also tapas! You're heating your mind, preparing it to understand bigger truths. Goodnight, my little philosopher!

Guddu**: Goodnight, Dadi!