In Part 1 of this paper we introduced the claim that ISKCON's current presentation of Vedic cosmology though seemingly presenting descriptions of the Vedic cosmos as it is revealed in Srimad Bhagavatam, in actual fact, uses the Western cosmological system as the basis for explaining how the universe actually works. In Part 1, we compared ISKCON's approach to a modern property 'developer' who gets around planning restrictions on historical buildings by leaving the façade of the building standing (Vedic cosmology), whilst destroying all of the inner structure, and replacing it with an entirely modern arrangement (Western cosmology). This is a strong accusation that we will now proceed to justify. The first part of this paper can be found here.
IS ISKCON PRESENTING A VEDIC ALTERNATIVE TO MODERN COSMOLOGY?
Since explanations for the eclipse made by Sadaputa dasa and Danavir Goswami are pretty much the standard 'ISKCON' view, we have referred in general terms to 'ISKCON' through-out this paper. I do not wish the tone to sound standoffish or in attacking mode to the society. This is simply an issue over points of Vedic cosmology, not a political issue with ISKCON. I otherwise consider it my great fortune to serve in Srila Prabhupada's movement.
Though ISKCON's current presentation of 'Vedic cosmology' appears veritable in that it appears to inform people about the Vedic Earth (Bhu-mandala), along with other fantastic features of the Vedic cosmos, a fundamental alteration to the original Vedic cosmology occurs during ISKCON's presentation of 'the Earth' in question. A transformation of what the Vedic rishismeant by 'the Earth', occurs due to members of ISKCON using the modern Western understanding of the 'Earth-globe' for all explanatory purposes in regards to how the universe actually works. The use of the Western Earth globe idea to help explain cosmic phenomena such as eclipses would not be a problem if such an idea was actually consistent with and complimentary to the description of the Earth found in Vedic cosmology; however, as we shall see, the Vedic understanding of the size and shape of the Earth, along with its relation to the size, location, and movement of the other planets, is completely different to how it is described in modern Western cosmology. The use of the Western idea of Earth, Sun, and Moon for all explanatory purposes effectively contradicts and nullifies the original Vedic understanding of the size, shape, nature, location, and distance of the Earth, Sun, and Moon as originally described by Vyasa to his disciples.
ISKCON's current manner of explaining cosmic phenomena such as day and night, seasons, eclipses, etc., with reference to an 'Earth-globe', effectively displaces the original Vedic understanding of how the rest of the universe would look and function in relation to a massive 'Earth-circle' as it is originally described in Srimad Bhagavatam. The net result is that the Earth globe conception is promoted as the factual situation of Earth's reality, whereas the original Vedic conception of a larger flat-Earth is largely treated as a taboo subject. The ordinary person, and even the very devotees of Sri-Krishna who may be inquiring via ISKCON authorities about Vedic cosmology, are left with no understanding that the Puranas factually promote the idea of a much greater Earth plane of which our own area is just a tiny part.
As we shall see, ISKCON is not only failing to apply the Vedic cosmological teachings in a way that exposes the errors, illusions, and deceptions of the modern 'scientific' ideas about the universe, it is inadvertently using the Western cosmological system in a manner that actually sabotages the original Vedic cosmological teachings regarding the size and nature of the Earth, and its relation to the other planets. Whilst presenting Vedic cosmology as an 'alternative' to Western cosmology, ISKCON is actually undermining everything that is alternative in Vedic cosmology—specifically the idea that we live on a great Earth circle, and not on a small Earth globe.
THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VEDIC AND WESTERN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLANETARY ARRANGEMENT
In order to understand where ISKCON is going wrong in its explanation of the eclipse and other cosmic phenomena, it is necessary to first understand the difference between the Vedic and Modern understanding of how the planets are arranged and move. In a letter to Svarupa Damodar dasa, Srila Prabhupada wrote:
"My dear Svarupa Damodara Das, Please accept my blessings. Now our Ph.D's must collaborate and study the 5th Canto to make a model for building the Vedic Planetarium…The planets which are full of living entities are one after another, one above the other. The relative positions of the planets is fixed up but the whole thing is turning. The sun is going north and south, it has its own orbit below the moon. So now you all Ph.D.'s must carefully study the details of the 5th Canto and make a working model of the universe. If we can explain the passing seasons, eclipses, phases of the moon, passing of day and night, etc. then it will be very powerful propaganda. I am sending this letter to you, and you can make photocopies of it and send to our other Ph.D.'s and begin serious research into the matter in detail". (Letter to Svarupa Damodara, Auckland, 27 April, 1976)
In the above letter written in 1976, Srila Prabhupada requested several of his disciples to carefully study the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam (which contains a description of the Vedic universe) and on the basis of this description to make a working model of the universe that would be exhibited at the Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) in Mayapur, India. After something of a slow start, the TOVP is finally due for completion in 2022. However, despite the near-completion of the temple complex, the model of the Vedic universe that is to be depicted within the temple is far from complete; to state the matter more accurately, the model will never reach 'completion' or 'perfection' due to its designers working from an initial mistake in understanding how the Vedic universe is arranged and functions. The errors in the presentation of Vedic cosmology arise from ISKCON's attempt to merge and harmonize two fundamentally opposite conceptions of the Earth—namely, the Vedic 'Earth-circle' (Bhu-mandala) and the Western 'Earth-globe'. The contradictions in this merger shall become abundantly clear in our unraveling of the society's present explanation for the eclipse.
In the above letter, Srila Prabhupada emphasizes that the model of the Vedic Universe must be able to explain eclipses as well as other cosmic phenomena. Note here that Srila Prabhupada points out how the planets are arranged 'one above the other', and that the Sun has its own orbit 'below the Moon'. The significance of these statements will become apparent in the course of the paper as they signify the basic and fundamental difference between the Vedic and Modern understanding of how the planets are arranged.
In the modern Western system of astronomy, the Sun is placed in the center of what is called the 'solar system', and the supposed Earth globe and other planets orbit around one another forming an orbital plane. The image below shows the planets forming a horizontal arrangement or 'orbital plane' as they encircle one another. The very use of the word 'plane' informs us that the planets are understood to be horizontally arranged.
The National Geographic defines an 'orbital plane' as follows:
"An orbital plane is the flat, disk-shaped space that connects the center of the object being orbited with the center of the orbiting objects. Because all planets in our solar system share a similar orbital plane, planets don't run in to each other".
According to this modern Western cosmological system, a small Earth globe orbits around a massive Sun, and an even smaller Moon orbits around the Earth. The arrangement is shown in the diagram below:
The modern Western understanding of the universe thus shows a massive Sun in the center of 'a solar system' with the other smaller planets (including the supposed Earth globe) orbiting around the Sun. As mentioned, in this system the planets form a horizontal arrangement as they orbit 'around' one another in a supposed 'orbital plane'.
By contrast, the Vedic description of the universe reveals a massive circular Earth in its center, with all the other smaller planets and stars rotating or circling 'above' the Earth plane in successive heights. The image below shows the Sun and Moon rotating 'above' the massive Earth-circle:
The above image of the Vedic cosmos is not to scale, nor does it include many details; for conceptual purposes it simply shows the Sun circling at 100,000 yojana (800,000 miles) above the plane of the Earth-circle, and the Moon circling at 100,000 yojana (800,000 miles) above the Sun. Immediately we can see that this idea of the Sun and Moon circling above a massive circular Earth plane is a very different conception to our modern idea of a small Earth globe orbiting around a massive Sun.
The Bhu-mandala as the Sanskrit name 'mandala' indicates, is a 'circular' landscape, and it is so large that it stretches across the entire center of the universe, stopping just short of the universal shell. Unlike the modern idea which conceives the universe to be endless dark space with no determined center or edge, the Vedic universe has a specific center (Mount Meru which is at the center of the Earth-circle), and a fixed edge (the universal shell).
The universe is completely round in shape, and is measured at 500 million yojana (4 billion miles) from top to bottom, and from side to side. The bottom half of the ball-shaped universe is filled with water which forms the unfathomably deep ocean called Garbhodaka. On the surface of this great ocean is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead called Ananta-sesha who takes the form of a thousand-headed serpent and who holds the Earth (bhu-gola/bhu-mandala on His hoods). Thus the Vedic Earth-circle is not described as floating in space like the other planets which rotate at different heights above its surface; instead the Earth-circle is described as being held from below by Ananta-sesha who resides on the Garbhodaka Ocean.
Our own area of the Earth (America, Europe, Asia, etc.) is located in an area called Bharata-varsha which is close to the center of the Earth-circle. In the Srimad Bhagavatam and other Puranas, Bharata-varsha is described as being surrounded by other lands and oceans belonging to the greater Earth area, and is not otherwise described in terms that resemble or correlate with the modern Earth globe idea. In the Vedic cosmological system described in chapters 16-26 of the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, there actually is no description of an Earth globe floating in space. To put it another way, there is only one Earth described in the Puranas, and it is not a globe. The Earth is otherwise described as a colossal circular plane (Bhu-mandala), and we in Bharata-varsha are just a small speck upon its vast surface. Thus, according to Srimad Bhagavatam and the Vaishnava acharyas, there is more Earth! Although the rest of the Earth plane is described as being all around us, we cannot access it due to being confined to our particular region by various karmic forces.
Neither in the original description of Bharata-varsha's location in Jambudvipa (the central area of the Earth), nor in the chapters dealing with the movements of the planets, is there ever any mention of Bharata-varsha manifesting as an 'Earth globe' floating in space. There are nine planets mentioned in Vedic cosmology and astrology, and an 'Earth planet' is not one of them. The Earth-circle is in its own unique category being the stationary 'ground' above which the other planets rotate in circles.
In their commentaries to the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam none of the acharyas such as Sridhara Swami, Jiva Goswami, and Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura ever mention that Bharata-varsha assumes the form of an Earth globe; nor do they explain phenomena such as day and night, seasons, eclipses, etc. with reference to an Earth globe model. Bharata-varsha is always treated as part of the larger Earth landscape. As we shall see, all attempts by members of ISKCON to explain Bharata-varsha as the supposed Earth globe floating in space, inevitably results in them having to deviate from the Vedic understanding of the Earth, Sun and Moon.
In the above set of images depicting the Western and Vedic understanding of Earth, Sun and Moon we see two entirely opposing conceptions of the universe. In the Vedic system, the Sun rotates above a gigantic Earth plane, not that a small Earth globe orbits around a gigantic Sun as the modern astronomers teach us to believe. In the Vedic system, the Moon rotates 'above' the gigantic Earth plane, not that it orbits 'around' a small Earth globe. In the Vedic system of cosmology, the planets are placed one above the other in a vertical arrangement. In the Western system of cosmology, the planets are placed orbiting around each other in a horizontal arrangement (the orbital plane).
The image below shows the vertical distance of the distance above the plane of Bhu-mandala:
Let's just repeat the difference between the horizontal and vertical arrangement of the planets once again for clarity: In the Vedic system, the Sun, Moon, and other planets such as Mercury, Venus, etc., rotate in circles above the massive Earth plane at their respective distances one above the other. Thus the Vedic system places the planets in a vertical arrangement one above the other. By contrast, the modern Western places the Sun in the center of the solar system, and the other planets are described as orbiting around the Sun forming an 'orbital plane' or horizontal arrangement.
The different manner in which planets are arranged and move is crucial in understanding the opposing ideas of how the eclipse works, and also crucial in understanding how ISKCON has unfortunately gone drastically wrong in its explanation of the eclipse and other cosmic phenomena. Amazingly, when it comes to explaining phenomena such as day and night, eclipses, etc, members of ISKCON brashly switch from the Vedic description of the Sun and Moon rotating above the Earth circle, to the Western description of the Sun and Moon are orbiting around an Earth globe. The constant switch back and forth from the Vedic system to the Western system, is made with such finesse and confidence, and so matter-of-factly, that it appears as if both world-views are expressing the same understanding of what is meant by Earth, Sun and Moon, when in fact, the Vedic and Western cosmological systems are expressing two completely different versions of reality.
In the attempt to juxtapose the Earth-globe idea onto the original Vedic teaching of an 'Earth-circle', members of ISKCON have merged the Vedic and modern Western ideas of the planetary arrangement in a way that is not only inconsistent, contradictory, illogical, and ridiculous, but in a way which fundamentally disagrees with the Srimad Bhagavatam's description of the Earth, Sun and Moon, and their relative position to one another. The astonishing thing is not simply the audacity in which such a non-Vedic idea is passed off as 'Vedic Cosmology', but also the fact that such a ridiculous presentation has gone on for so long without anyone noticing it. Whilst it is embarrassing and unfortunate that such a glaring mistake has been allowed to continue for so long, the real fear is the prospect of this universal error being propagated to the rest of the world via the TOVP.
We shall see also that ISKCON's current explanation for the eclipse completely ignores Srila Prabhupada's incessant preaching that the Moon is always above the Sun, and thus can never come between the Earth and the Sun as is believed to happen on the occasion of a solar eclipse. In Part 3 of this paper we shall present many of Srila Prabhupada's statements to this effect, but first let us clearly understand the Vedic description of the respective heights of the Sun and Moon above Bhu-mandala.
THE HEIGHT OF THE SUN AND MOON ABOVE THE EARTH
The Puranas present Bhu-mandala (the Earth plane) as the 'level' or 'ground' from which the distance to all other lokas (locations) in the universe is measured. Thus whilst some places such as Bharata-varsha are on the massive surface area of the Earth-circle, others such as bila-svarga (subterranean heavens) and naraka (hells) are within or 'below' (adhastat) the surface, whilst other places such as the Sun and Moon are 'above' (uparistat) the surface. The Sun has both a vertical distance above the Earth, as well as a horizontal distance from the center of the Earth (Mount Meru). For simplicity we shall look first at the vertical distance above the Earth. In the Vishnu Purana it is stated:
"The Sun's disc is situated one lakh [100,000] yojanas [800,000 miles] above the Earth, and 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] above it, is the Moon's disc." (Vishnu Purana 2.7.4)
Again, in the Kurma Purana it is stated:
"The sphere [disc] of the Sun is stationed at a distance of a hundred thousand yojanas (800,000 miles) from the Earth. The sphere [disc] of the Moon is stationed at a distance of a hundred thousand yojanas from the sphere of the sun. The entire stellar sphere shines at a distance of a hundred thousand yojanas above the Moon". (Kurma Purana 1.41.7-8)
NB the Puranas describe the Sun and Moon as mandala's (circles). The word had been wrongly translated as 'sphere' by J.L. Shastri in his translation to the above verse from the Kurma Purana.
The Matsya Purana states that the Sun is the lowest down of all the planets and that the Moon is higher in altitude than the Sun:
"The Sun moves lowest down of all the planets. Above Him the Moon travels. The stars travel above the Moon, above Moon, travels Mercury, above Mercury, travels Venus, above Venus, travels Mars, above Mars, travels Jupiter, above Jupiter, travels Saturn". (Matsya Purana 128.71-73)
The heights of all the planets and stars above the Earth plane are given in the 22nd chapter of the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam does not directly state the measurement of the distance of the Sun above the Earth, but nonetheless confirms that the Moon is 100,000 yojanas above the Sun:
"...Above the rays of the sunshine by a distance of 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] is the moon (SB 5.22.8)...There are many stars located 200,000 yojanas [1,600,000 miles] above the moon. (SB 5.22.11) Some 1,600,000 miles above this group of stars is the planet Venus." (SB 5.22.12)
Although the Srimad Bhagavatam does not directly state the height of the sun above the Earth, the acharyas in their commentaries confirm the measurement given in other Puranas already cited:
"This is what should be noted here. According to Parasara Smrti, the Sun is at a height of 100,000 yojana [800,000 miles] from the Earth and Dhruva is 3,800,000 yojanas [30,400,000 miles above the Sun". (Commentary by Sukadeva Acharya to SB 5.21.14)
Again:
"The position and function of the Moon and other planets are also stated hereafter. The Moon is situated 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] above the Sun and 200,000 yojana [1,600,000 miles] above the Earth". (Commentary by Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura to SB 5.22.8)
In Srimad Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Goswami specifically uses the word 'above' (upari) to describe the relation or position of the Moon to the Sun. This word is very significant when it comes to understanding the Vedic explanation for the eclipse, because if the Sun is always above the Earth and always below the Moon, then the Earth can't come between the Sun and Moon as on the occasion of a lunar eclipse; nor can the Moon come between the Sun and the Earth as on the occasion of a Solar eclipse. As we shall see in Part 3 of this paper, Srila Prabhupada consistently argued that since the Moon is always at a distance of hundreds of thousands of miles above the Sun, the modern explanation for the eclipse is incorrect, and this throws into question the whole modern conception of how the planets are arranged and move.
THE CAUSE OF THE ECLIPSE IS RAHU, NOT THE SHADOW OF THE EARTH ON THE MOON (LUNAR ECLIPSE) OR THE PASSING OF THE MOON BEFORE THE SUN (SOLAR ECLIPSE)
In the following question about the eclipse, Srila Prabhupada makes the crucial point that the Sun is below the height of the Moon:
Indian man: Beyond the sun. How would you explain about eclipse which we get?
Prabhupada: That you ask some astronomer. I am not astronomer. But I understand from Vedic scripture that Moon is beyond the Sun. (Morning Walk, October 25, 1975, Mauritius)
Although Srila Prabhupada humbly replies to the questioner that, "I am not an astronomer", and thus not an expert on the subject, on this particular question regarding the cause of the eclipse, Srila Prabhupada stuck adamantly to the Srimad Bhagavatam's description that it is a dark planet called Rahu which causes the eclipse, not that the eclipse is caused by a particular alignment of Earth, Sun, and Moon as modern astronomy explains: In the continuation of the above cited conversation Srila Prabhupada goes on to say:
Indian man: Cause we have seen that the Moon comes between...
Prabhupada: Yes, eclipse, it is Rahu. It is Rahu between the Sun and, Sun and Moon. Yes.
Indian man: Between the Earth and the Sun.
Prabhupada: No Earth. No, Rahu. Earth is...
Cyavana: What they see is Rahu, not Moon. No.
Indian man: [break]...friend, and I told him that you said these things. So he asked me the question about the eclipse. So I would like to know to explain to him about it.
Prabhupada: The eclipse is... When the Rahu comes between Sun and Moon, there is eclipse.
Indian man: It does not eclipse the moon. But why people say that it's the Moon that covers the sun? Because they don't know it's...
Prabhupada: They are misinformed.
Indian man: They suppose?
Prabhupada: It is not the fact.
Indian man: Astronomers too say that.
Prabhupada: It is up to the man to believe or not believe, but we have got authorities, different; they have got authorities, different. So if we follow our authorities, then we have to accept according to that.
Indian man: We get in a dilemma, we people who do not know more than they explain about.
Prabhupada: There is no dilemma, because our literature is there from millions and millions of years, and they have their knowledge within two, three hundred years. Now it is up to us whom to believe.
Indian man: You want to say that the astronomers are the mistaken. The astronomers have been mistaken to say all these things?
Prabhupada: Yes. Everyone commits mistake. Anyone who is conditioned, he must commit mistake. This is our position, that anyone who is not liberated, he must commit mistake. We take knowledge from liberated soul, not from the speculators. That is the difference.
Cyavana: They prove their inadequacy by changing their theories every twenty years.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Cyavana: They've proved that their brains are weak.
Prabhupada: No, they have no brain. If it is going to change, then what is their brain? [break] Still, there are so many big, big Vedic astronomers. They never change.
(Morning Walk, October 1975, Mauritius)
In the above conversation, Srila Prabhupada states that it is the dark planet Rahu passing before either the Sun or Moon which is the cause of the eclipse (Rahu is described in the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, chapter 24, verses 1-3). Srila Prabhupada also states that the modern explanation is 'misinformed'. We should note Srila Prabhupada's defiant and inflammatory remarks against the modern astronomers stating that, 'they have no brain'. There are indeed innumerable inconsistencies in the modern explanation of both the solar and lunar eclipse that can serve to prove Srila Prabhupada's statement, and we shall present examples of these anomalies later. Despite the otherwise almost total acceptance of the authority of modern so-called scientists in the present age, Srila Prabhupada dismissed them as 'conditioned', and subject to making mistakes.
Srila Prabhupada's argument is this: since Vedic cosmology places the Moon 100,000 yojana (800,000 miles) above the height of the Sun, the Moon cannot be said to be the cause of a solar eclipse, which occurs—according to modern astronomy—when the Moon supposedly comes between the Earth and the Sun. Nor, as we shall see, can the shadow of the Vedic Earth be the cause of the lunar eclipse which occurs according to modern astronomy when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon. Whatever faith the reader may have in the modern understanding of Earth, Sun, and Moon, may I emphasize that Srila Prabhupada is describing and defending the Vedic system, and whether one agrees with it or not, the task at hand for ISKCON is to present Vedic cosmology in the Temple of Vedic Planetarium as it is described in Srimad Bhagavatam, and not to adulterate the whole thing by adding one's own gloss or spin to it.
ISKCONS' USE OF CONTRADICTORY SYSTEMS OF COSMOLOGY
Despite the Srimad Bhagavatam's description of the Sun and Moon rotating 'above' the level of the Earth-circle, members of ISKCON do not work consistently with this idea of the Earth when explaining the eclipses, and other cosmic phenomena such as day and night, seasons, phases of the Moon, etc. Instead, as we shall see presently, prominent members of the society such as Sadaputa dasa and Danavir Goswami, simply work from the modern idea that the Earth is a globe, and that the Earth globe, Sun, and Moon orbit around each other as the Western astronomers teach.
The only difference regarding ISKCON's explanation for the movement of the planets is in regards to whether Earth or Sun is stationary. Instead of presenting the Sun as being stationary with the Earth orbiting around it, members of ISKCON present the contrary idea that the Earth is stationary and the Sun orbits around the Earth. This is presumably what makes it 'Vedic' as opposed to 'Western'. However, from the perspective of the original description of Bhu-mandala in Srimad Bhagavatam, presenting either idea of an Earth-globe orbiting around the Sun, or the Sun orbiting around the Earth globe, is ridiculous for the following simple and obvious reason: yes, the Vedic Earth-circle is indeed stationary as it held by Ananta-sesha and thus doesn't move in space like the other planets such as the Sun and Moon, however, the Earth-circle is 500 million yojana in diameter and stretches across the entire center of the universe, stopping just short of the walls of the universal shell. Therefore, the Vedic Earth is so large that nothing can orbit around it, nor can the Earth orbit around anything else. Thus, there is no question that the Vedic Earth can ever be equated with the modern idea of a small globe floating in space with the Sun and Moon orbiting around it. The Sun and Moon always rotate above the huge Earth circle, not that it ever orbits around a small globe.
Below is a common illustration of how the solar and lunar eclipse work according to the modern Western system. Because of the West's understanding that the planets form a horizontal arrangement as they orbit around one another, they argue that the Earth, Sun and Moon can align in a certain way to cause an eclipse like this:
Now let us compare this model with some images produced by Danavir Goswami for his 'Vedic Cosmos' documentary. The images below purport to illustrate the Vedic explanation for the solar and lunar eclipse, but in actuality they just present the exact same understanding of how Earth, Sun, and Moon are arranged and move, despite the fact that the Puranas describe the size, positions, and movements of Earth, Sun and Moon in an entirely different way:
Apart from the addition of Rahu, the Earth, Sun and Moon are shown to align using the modern Western understanding. The introduction of Rahu here is completely superfluous as the eclipse would theoretically happen according to the Western model whether Rahu was present or not.
The above image shows Rahu between the Earth and the Moon with the Sun being further away than the Moon. However since Srimad Bhagavatam describes that the Moon is above the height of the Sun and thus further away, with what justification can Danavir Goswami place the Sun further away than the Moon? We are not at this point asking anyone to access the accuracy or correctness of the Srimad Bhagavatam's measurements according to the modern idea and calculation; we are merely interested at this point in an accurate presentation of what Srimad Bhagavatam actually teaches in regards to the relative position of Earth, Sun and Moon. Certainly the above idea that the Moon is closer to the Earth than the Sun, and can thus come between the Earth and the Sun to cause an eclipse is not to be found in Srimad Bhagavatam. It is an artificial imposition onto the Srimad Bhagavatam's original description of how the Sun, Moon, and other planets are arranged one above the other.
Again the same Western cosmological model is used by Danavir Goswami to explain the lunar eclipse:
In the above image we see 'the Earth' has come between the Sun and the Moon; however, the idea that the Earth can come between the Sun and the Moon is completely inconsistent and contradictory to the Srimad Bhagavatam's description that 'the Earth' (Bhu-mandala) is the ground level, that the Sun is above the level or plane of the Earth, and that the Moon is above the height of the Sun. Since the Moon is above both the level of the Earth and the Sun, how could the Earth possibly come between the Sun and Moon? The explanation by Danavir Goswami flies in the face of Srimad Bhagavatam's description of the planetary arrangement.
Danavir Goswami's explanation for the eclipse involving an alignment of Earth, globe, Sun, Moon, and Rahu requires an acceptance of the modern idea that a small Moon is orbiting around around a globular Earth, and not that the Moon is rotating above a circular Earth as Srimad Bhagavatam describes. It also requires accepting the modern measurements for the size of the Sun and Moon, and their distance from the Earth in a manner that opposes the original measurements given in Srimad Bhagaavatam. We shall all these contradictions in a later paper.
We should mention that before explaining the eclipse using the Western arrangement of the planets, in his video 'Vedic Cosmos', Danavir Goswami, first introduced the vertical arrangement of the planets as originally described in Srimad Bhagavatam:
Various members of ISKCON have produced many variations on the above image such as the one below by Pavaneshwar dasa showing the vertical arrangement of the planets as they circle above Bhu-mandala:
On behalf of the 'Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha Research Center', Pavaneshwar dasa has produced a book called 'Bhagavata Cosmology', along with some 40 videos on Youtube presenting various aspects of 'Vedic cosmology'. Unfortunately, all of Pavaneshwar dasa's explanations for cosmic phenomena again work from the Western 'Earth-globe' model rather than the Vedic 'Earth-circle' model. Thus, despite depicting the vertical arrangement of the planets in above manner, Pavaneshwar dasa falls into the same trap as Danavir Goswami and explains the eclipse using the Western understanding that a supposed Earth-globe, Sun, and Moon orbiting around each other (see the Bhagavata Cosmology channel Part 28, posted on Youtube, Oct 25, 2018).
So here we see a clear example of how the Vedic cosmology is presented in one instant, and contradicted in the next. In one instance Danavir Goswami, Pavansehwar dasa, Sadaputa dasa, and others are correctly presenting the Vedic version of the planets as being vertically arranged one above the other and circling above the Bhu-mandala, whilst in the next instance they contradict themselves and Srimad Bhagavatam by presenting the planets (with slight variations) according to the Western order, arrangement, and motion. In one set of images the Moon is correctly depicted as being further away from the Earth than the Sun, whilst another set of images below illustrating the solar eclipse, the Moon is shown closer to the Earth than the Sun. We can see clearly that the original Vedic description of the planetary arrangement thus serves more as a façade, since it is the Western cosmology system which is employed to explain how the 'Vedic universe' is actually supposed to work. This really is a joke!
"SUN IS FIRST, THEN MOON"
"According to our sastra, Sun is first, then Moon". (Letter to Svarupa Damodara, Mauritius, 24 October, 1975)
If Danavir Goswami and others truly accepted the Vedic version that the Moon is higher or further away than the Sun, why would they then present an illustration showing the Moon closer than the Sun? In the Srimad Bhagavatam's description, the Earth is literally at ground level, the Sun is above the Earth by 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles) and the Moon is above Sun by a further 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles). Thus in respective order above the Earth plane, the Sun is the first planet, and the Moon is the second planet.
Prabhupada: Now, where is the situation of the grahas in this planetary system? Whether sun is first or moon is first? Indian Astronomer: Sun is first. Definitely sun is first.
(Conversation with Vedic Astronomer, April 30th 1977, Bombay)
Now if we flip Danavir Goswami's image of the eclipse from the horizontal position to the vertical position (as they should appear according to Bhagavatam's horizontal arrangement), we can see clearly that his depiction of the order of the planets is completely out of sync with the Srimad Bhagavatam's order:
In the case of a solar eclipse, the Earth is placed correctly at ground level, and Rahu is also correctly positioned; but now the Moon is at the height where the Sun should be and the Sun is at the height where the Moon should be. The position of the Moon below the level of the Sun contradicts the Srimad Bhagavatam's description that the Moon is above the level of the Earth. Does anyone seriously think that an explanation of the solar eclipse showing "Moon first" would get past Srila Prabhupada's scrutiny?
In the case of the lunar eclipse, the Moon is now seen at ground level, and whilst Rahu is again in the correct position, the Earth has unfortunately left ground level and is now floating in space where the Sun should be, whilst the Sun itself has swapped places with the Moon, and is now seen above the height of the Moon when it should be below it by 100,000 yojana.
I appreciate that all this 'above' and 'below' is a little confusing so lets look at the next image from a TOVP presentation that may serve better to illustrate the point that Srila Prabhupada is trying to make with regards to the Moon being higher than the Sun and thus not the cause of a solar eclipse:
You can this more clearly on the video from TOVP (4 minutes long):
The scene at 2.24 minutes shows the TOVP's depiction of the chariots of the Sun and Moon rotating 'above' the Earth, and looking 'down upon' the seven islands and oceans of Bhu-mandala. The Moon as can be seen rotates above the Sun, and of course, above the Earth. The narrator, Antardvipa dasa states:
"Moving out we can see the broader Bhu-mandala with seven concentric islands and oceans surrounding them…Above Bhu-mandala is Bhuvarloka which is the residence of the Charanas, Siddhas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, and above there is Svargaloka beginning with the sun and extending up to the Polestar Druvaloka. This is the moving part of the display. Here we can see the Sun and the Moon moving in their chariots".
So here the narrator states that the Sun and Moon are rotating 'above' the Bhu-mandala. Thus, the Earth is the 'level' or 'ground' from which everything above or below is measured. If we look again at the TOVP image, we can just about see Jambudvipa with Mount Meru in the center [A vertical line can be seen coming from the top of Mount Meru, up to the Pole Star]. Since Bharata-varsha is part of Jambudvipa, it must be understood to be at 'ground level', and thus 1,600,000 below the Moon. Consider also that the Earth is stationary. How then can 'the Earth' (the Bhu-mandala) come between the Sun and Moon as in Danavir Goswami's image of the lunar eclipse? Such an event is impossible! Even accepting the ludicrous idea that the rest of Bhu-mandala disappears into another dimension, and Bharata-varsha is somehow the only part left visible (and somehow manifesting as a globe-shaped planet floating in space), the fact remains that the Sun would still be 100,000 yojana (800,000 miles) above the Earth, and the Moon would be 100,000 yojana (800,000 miles) above the Sun—thus they would still not align on an orbital plane as Danavir Goswami and others are presenting.
Consider some people standing on the surface of the Earth and looking up at the Sun:
According to the Vedic explanation, an eclipse is simply the passing of Rahu who blocks the sunlight or Moonlight to the observers on the Earth plane below. It has nothing to do with the movements of a so-called Earth-globe, Sun, and Moon moving around each other on a supposed orbital plane. The people in the picture are standing at ground level on the Bhu-mandala. According to Srimad Bhagavatam we stand on an Earth-circle (a stationary horizontal plane), not an Earth globe. People in Antarctica do not walk upside down, or fall off the bottom of the globe because of magical gravity; rather people in Antarctica stay as upright and vertical as those in the Arctic because both places are on the same level plane, (not that they are on opposite sides of a globe).
Since the great Earth circle is stationary, and the Sun rotates above the Earth at a height of 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles), and the Moon rotates above the Sun at a further height of 100,000 yojana (800,000 miles, or 1,600,000 miles above the Earth) it would be impossible for the Moon to come between the Earth and the Sun (as they say happens on a Solar Eclipse), or for the Earth to come between the Sun and Moon (as they say happens on a Lunar Eclipse). If the Moon was lower than the Sun, then yes it would be possible for it to come between the Earth and the Sun and cause an eclipse, but if the Moon is higher than the Sun and thus further away, it would be impossible to come between the Earth and the Sun. The question then is which planet is closer to the Earth—the Sun or the Moon?
At least, according to Srimad Bhagavatam, the Sun is closer to the Earth than the Moon. The error or more correctly, the 'deviation' that Danavir Goswami and others are making, is switching from the Srimad Bhagavatam's description of the planets rotating at their respective vertical heights above the level of the Earth plane (Bhu-mandala), and instead explaining the eclipse with reference to the Western system's horizontal arrangement of the planets which involves an alignment of Earth-globe, Sun and Moon. Rahu is thrown into the mix for good measure, as if the the name 'Rahu' alone justifies the genre to be called, 'Vedic cosmology.'
In their explanation for the eclipse and other cosmic phenomena such as day and night, seasons, phases of the Moon etc, members of the society are unjustifiably switching from the Srimad Bhagavatam's understanding that 'the Earth' refers to Bhu-mandala, to the modern Western idea that 'the Earth' refers to a globe floating in space (which is on the same 'orbital plane' as the other planets). In other words the eclipse, seasons, day and night, and phases of the Moon are not explained in a manner that is consistent with how this phenomena actually occurs on the Bhu-mandala. By simply assuming that 'the Earth' in question is a globe, basically an Earth globe has appeared in ISKCON's cosmology out of nowhere.
We have compared ISKCON's current presentation of Vedic cosmology to a façade due to the fact that the Vedic planetary arrangement is presented in one instance, but explained away in another. As we mentioned in Part 1 of this paper regarding a building technique called 'facade retention', property 'developers' will often leave the façade of historical buildings (for purposes of culture and prestige), and meanwhile demolish and replace the entire inner structure of the original building. Although the outside of many grand buildings may look original (at a superficial glance), few passersby ever realize or even care that the entire internal structure of such historic buildings have been replaced with an entirely modern arrangement. In a similar way, though ISKCON's façade of Vedic cosmology lends a sense of spirituality, culture, and authenticity to the Temple of Vedic Planetarium, sadly all explanations for how the Vedic universe actually works will be with reference to the Western cosmological system which has an Earth globe concept as the basis for its working model (and few will ever realize or perhaps care that such a move has been made).
For purposes of spirituality, culture, history, authenticity, etc., ISKCON is leaving the façade of Vedic cosmology by presenting Bhu-mandala in one instance, and meanwhile using the Western understanding of the Earth to explain all the internal workings of the Vedic cosmos. It's a slight of hand that is easy to spot to anyone familiar with how the Vedic universe actually looks and functions, but unfortunately the larger body of devotees are not given an explanation of cosmic phenomena which is consistent with the Srimad Bhagavatam's original description of the Earth. Therefore, everyone remains befuddled regarding Srimad Bhagavatam's otherwise simple and straightforward description of a larger Earth plane. ISKCON's switch from 'Earth-circle' to 'Earth globe' has drastic consequences to one's faith in shastra, and ultimately to one's faith in Sri-Krishna who has created the Earth in a particular way, and who wants us to understand it according to the revelation given in Srimad Bhagavatam. We shall discuss the negative spiritual effects of this inauspicious merger of Vedic and non-Vedic cosmology in later papers.
AND THE COW JUMPED OVER THE MOON
The question of whether the Sun or Moon is closer to the Earth is a question that Srila Prabhupada raised again and again in his discussions. It is a question that has radical implications regarding one's understanding of reality, and which version of reality one is going to accept. In Part 3 we shall look at many of Srila Prabhupada's discussions regarding the eclipse being caused by Rahu, as well as the implications this has to the Western secular world-view. The issue is especially dangerous in regard to international politics, because if the Moon is further than the Sun as Srimad Bhagavatam declares, then the Moon is not involved in the creation of a solar eclipse; nor is the Moon orbiting around an Earth-globe; and nor indeed was there any Moon landing (as Srila Prabhupada argued). Thus, on the basis of Srimad Bhagavatam, one can deduce that all the images of the Earth that have come from this mission impossible, as well as other subsequent space adventures that follow the same hoax, can all be considered part of the same great deception.
Prabhupada: This "Sunday, Monday," means first sun, then moon. Where they are going? They are going to hell, not in the moon. This Vedic description is right. Because first study, Sunday... That, we offer gayatri to the sun. So the moon is after the sun—this is the proof, first Sunday, then Monday. So if their calculation is 93,000,000 miles from here, and moon is (sic:) one million, six thousand still farther, then where they are going? If they simply follow strictly this moon expedition and they admit they have not gone, then the whole civilization will change. All wrong conclusion. But they will have to admit now. Now they are serious, and they will have to say that they've never gone to the moon. And they will have to continue this. Otherwise they will be farce before the world. They will have to continue it. Now they are in such a position. (Morning walk, May 16 1975, Perth)
Again:
Prabhupada: And simply, if we can expose that they never went to the moon planet, their life will be finished.
Devotees: Jaya, haribol!
Tamäla Krishna: How can we expose that, Prabhupäda?
Prabhupada: To expose.... They could not answer this simple question, why Sunday first and Monday second? (Morning Walk, June 4, 1976, Los Angeles)
If the Moon is further than the Sun, then what about India's so-called Moon-lander mission? How will it sit with the government of India when a representative of Vyasadeva tells them the Moon is 800,000 miles beyond the Sun, and according to that calculation, either Vyasa or the Indian space agency (ISRO) is lying. How will 'preachers' at the TOVP broach the issue?
Better perhaps that the Indian government fix the crater-like holes in the roads, than try to walk on the craters of the Moon. To be continued...
