What is subtle? One of the dictionary meanings of subtle is “difficult to perceive or understand.” If you go by this definition, then understanding and knowing the Subtle Universe will not be easy. This may be true. But the fact is that there is a fully functioning Subtle Universe. In fact, that is the only real universe. Everything happens first in the Subtle Universe and later in the Gross Universe. This may be strange and counterintuitive to most people. We are used to the Gross Universe. We live in the Gross Universe and interact and deal with all the gross objects “out there.” That is the only universe we know. Few know or are even aware of the Subtle Universe. The focus of this essay is to understand the Subtle Universe.

Vedanta teaches us that there are three universes. The Seed Universe is the innermost universe, and then is the Subtle Universe. The Gross Universe which we see “out there” is the outermost universe. This may be new to many people, so let us briefly discuss the Seed and Gross Universes and then focus on the Subtle Universe.

1. Seed Universe
2. Subtle Universe
3. Gross Universe

Seed Universe

Yes, there is a Seed Universe. The Seed Universe is made up of individual Seed Bodies. Every living being must have a Seed Body. A Seed Body is a prerequisite for any living being. Nothing can exist without a Seed Body. We all know that a plant or a tree comes from a seed. A seed is a must for plants or trees. A rose plant from a rose seed, a mango tree with all its fruit from a mango seed. In the same way, every living and non-living being has a Seed Body. Everything germinates from a Seed Body. Even this universe has a Seed Body, which includes all the individual Seed Bodies.

Gross Universe

The Gross Universe is where we live. We know the Gross Universe is full of all living beings and objects. We interact with these gross objects daily. We think we know the Gross Universe well, but we make so many obvious errors in understanding it. One of the biggest errors is that we think the universe is made up of “live” or “now” objects—but the Gross Universe is made up of only dated or “memory” objects. They are recorded objects. You will never find a “live” or “now” object in the Gross Universe. We have discussed this topic in so many different essays in my book, Science Meets Vedanta.

If you examine all the objects in the physical universe, you will reach the conclusion that only memory objects exist in the Gross Universe. How do you understand this? The sun you see is not a “live” sun; it is a “now minus eight minutes” version of the sun. Why? We know light takes eight minutes to reach us from the sun, so the sun we see in the sky is a “now minus eight minutes” sun. It is not a “now” version of the sun. It is a dated version of the sun.

The sun we see is not a “live” or “now” sun; it is basically a memory object which is a “now minus eight minutes” version. In the same way, the moon we see at night is a “now minus three seconds” version of the moon, because light takes three seconds to reach us from the moon. This logic applies to every object in the physical world. It is just impossible for anyone to know or interact with a “live” or “now” object in this physical world. We interact only with memory objects. This applies not just to objects but also to people, animals, and all living beings. For every object in the world, light takes a finite amount of time (however small it maybe)  to reach us , and therefore they are only memory objects; they can never be “live” or “now” objects. Therefore, anything and everything in this physical universe is made up of only memory objects. This does indicate that all the action we see in the Gross Universe is dated and has already happened earlier. The “live” action has happened elsewhere, and we see a recorded version in the Gross Universe.

What an amazing conclusion; it is so logical, so simple and straightforward to understand. So, if all objects are memory or dated objects that exist in the Gross Universe, the question is that where then do the “live” or “now” objects exist? This is where the Subtle Universe comes into play.

Subtle Universe

We have just seen that the Gross Universe is made up of recorded or memory objects alone. So the question is, where can we find the “live” or “now” objects? It is definitely not in the Gross Universe; then where? This is a good question to ponder over. The only possible answer is: our mind. Is this even possible? Simple logic and reasoning support this fact. We have just seen that the sun we see is a “now minus eight minutes” version of the sun. This is because light takes eight minutes to reach us, and thus we see a dated version of the sun. The question is, where is the “now minus zero seconds” version of the sun? The location of the “now’ version of the sun will be where light will take zero seconds to reach us. Think about it—the only place where light will take zero seconds to reach us is the observer within each one of us. This means the “now” version of the sun is within the observer. Quite obviously, the observer is within us and is part of the mind. Therefore, the “now” version of the sun is within us while the “now minus eight minutes” version is “out there.” This simple logic and reasoning will apply to all objects, near and far away. This does show that all the “now” version of objects are only within the mind. There is a full universe of “now” objects within each one of us. This universe of “now’ objects is the Subtle Universe. This Subtle Universe functions in the mind alone. Isn’t this an amazing conclusion!

Makeup of “Now” Objects: We have just concluded that the Subtle Universe of the “now” version of objects functions in the mind. Let us now go a step deeper to understand the makeup of “now” objects in the Subtle Universe. If you are a student of Vedanta, you will learn that all the subtle objects which operate within the mind are made up of vrittis or waveforms. The mind is full of vrittis or waveforms representing all the different objects.

Surprisingly, quantum physics supports this idea of waveforms of objects. If you understand the basics of quantum physics, you will know about the wave/particle duality of objects. Quantum physics teaches that all objects (small or big) have a wave property and a particle property. This is a proven fact. See the similarity between the wave/particle duality of quantum physics and gross objects and subtle objects (made up of waves) as taught by Vedanta. In my book, Science Meets Vedanta, I have discussed this topic extensively and shown that quantum waves and vrittis or waveforms in the mind are the same. It is amazing that both quantum physics and Vedanta support this idea that every object has a wave property and a particle property. However, what quantum physics can learn is that quantum waves do not function in the Gross Universe; they operate within the mind and they represent the “now” version of all objects. These waveforms are the building blocks of the Subtle Universe.

Every object in the universe has its own waveform. These object waveforms combine to create one big waveform for the universe. We can call this the cosmic waveform. This cosmic waveform includes everything which is contained in the universe. Nothing is left out, right from the smallest atom to the largest galaxies. The size and complexity of this massive cosmic waveform is simply breathtaking.

Structure of the Subtle Universe: The Subtle Universe has two components—Cosmic Mind and Individual Mind. The cosmic mind is the mothership, and all the individual minds are connected to the cosmic mind.

1. The cosmic waveform represents all the objects in the universe and is contained in the cosmic mind. A lot is happening in the cosmic mind. The cosmic waveform is not static; it is continuously updated. As time passes, each object’s waveform changes, and this change updates the cosmic waveform. With so many different objects in the universe, what a gigantic task is undertaken by the cosmic mind! As time passes, each object changes and this means that the cosmic waveform is continuously updated.

2. The cosmic mind is a busy place, and it maintains the most updated database of all the happenings in the universe. Then, we have individual minds. Each living being has a mind and it is connected to the cosmic mind. Each individual mind is also full of activity. Talking, walking, eating, playing, traveling, moving objects from here to there, and many similar activities are done by the individual mind. When any activity is done, the individual mind must send all the changes to the cosmic mind. In this way, the cosmic waveform is kept up-to-date. These updates are done instantaneously. This means that the information in the cosmic mind is always current and latest. Every living being is doing actions, and each mind is updating the database in the cosmic mind. It is just unimaginable how the cosmic mind processes and handles all these changes and updates. It is simply mind-boggling. One can only imagine the processing power which is inherent in the cosmic mind. It must be infinite.

3. The cosmic mind has the latest and most updated information about all the “now” objects. For the individual minds to perceive the universe through the five senses, it downloads a subset of the cosmic waveform. The subset contains information about its surroundings—just like Google Maps, where you open the map and see information about your location alone. The individual mind functions in a similar manner; it downloads information surrounding its location.

If you are within your house, the subset waveform will have information on all the happenings in the house. If you are playing golf, the subset waveform will contain all the information surrounding the golf course. If you are flying in a plane and looking out of the window, that subset information is downloaded to the mind. If you are swimming underwater, all the information for that view is sent to the individual mind. This happens to every individual mind. There is a continuous download of information from the cosmic mind to the individual minds.

Each individual mind has all the information about its location, including visual, sound, touch, taste, and smell. The information in the mind is made up of waveforms. The problem is that we are not designed to perceive the waveforms in the mind. We are only aware of what happens in the gross world. To perceive the universe, the mind projects the subset content as the gross objects “out there.” Just like a projector in a cinema hall projects the movie on a screen, in the same way, the mind projector projects the gross universe “out there.” That is the only way to perceive the universe. That is the only way we are aware of the universe. This may seem strange and counterintuitive to most people. Science does not teach that we project the universe, but Vedanta does. Projection of the universe by the mind is the only truth. For more details on this subject, I would request you to read Chapter 18 of my book, Science Meets Vedanta. In this chapter, called “Projection—The Only Truth,” I have given a detailed analysis of why projection is the only truth and a step-by-step process of how the projection takes place. It is worth a read to be fully convinced on this subject.

4. We have just seen that all actions that we undertake are uploaded to the cosmic mind. Also, we have seen that to perceive the universe, we download the content from the cosmic mind. Let me give you a couple of examples to explain the upload and download process.

—Let us say you are having a conversation with your friend. This activity looks so routine and straightforward. Actually, it is not; it is much more complicated. Let us see how it works. Your friend is talking. His talking originates in his mind. We know the mind is made up of waveforms. The talking waveform from the mind is uploaded to the cosmic mind. The cosmic waveform is updated to include this talk. For you to listen to this conversation, your mind will download these sound waveforms along with all the other object waveforms about your location. Once you download these waveforms, the mind projects the content. This way you become aware of what your friend is saying. As a reply in the conversation, your mind will prepare an answer. The sound waveform of this answer is uploaded to the cosmic mind, and the cosmic waveform is updated. You and your friend will download this subset of your answer. Your friend’s mind will project this, so that he is aware of what you have said. Your mind will also project this information, so that you can also hear what you have said. Wow, this process is complicated. Yes, it is complicated, and this is the only way all the action and perception happens in the Subtle Universe.

—Let us take another example. You and your friend are walking, and your friend plucks a flower. The plucking of the flower happens first in the Subtle Universe. As mentioned earlier, the Gross Universe contains only dated information, actions which have already happened. Therefore, the plucking of the flower happens first in the Subtle Universe. Your friend’s mind undertakes this action by updating the waveform. One can only guess that waveforms are updated by change in coding. The waveform without the flower is uploaded to the cosmic mind. The cosmic waveform is then without that flower. Your mind then downloads the updated subset of the cosmic waveform without the flower. Your mind projects this information, and you perceive the action of the flower being removed from the plant. That is how the action and perception of activity takes place.

Everything happens in the Subtle Universe first, and then the actions which have already happened in the Subtle Universe are projected “out there” as the Gross Universe. The Subtle Universe is the universe of “now” objects where all the action happens first; the Gross Universe is a display of dated, memory objects. The Gross Universe shows all the action which has already happened in the Subtle Universe. This is the Only Truth.