Critique 1: Different lifecycle for Lord Brahmā

by Hari dasa

Critique:

The book proposes a different lifecycle for Lord Brahmā than what is given by our ācāryas. Thus, it is a deviation from the teachings of the parampara. 

Response:

Our response to this critique is threefold.

1. We first present our findings regarding the sandhyā period between consecutive kalpas, based on authoritative Purāṇic sources.
2. We then explain the reasoning behind our use of a factor of two to reconcile Purāṇic time with modern scientific timelines.
3. Finally, we offer a synthesis of these points to clarify our position and affirm that there is no deviation from the teachings of the paramparā.

1. The Discovery of a Sandhyā Between Kalpas

In The Big Bang and The Sages, we draw attention to an overlooked, yet explicitly scriptural, element of Vedic cosmology: the presence of a sandhyā, or transitional period, between two consecutive kalpas.

This is not speculative. The Vāyu Purāṇa (Part 1, Chapter 7) and the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (Part 1, Chapter 6) clearly describe an intervening sandhyā between kalpas and even state that its duration is equivalent to one manvantara. This may appear unfamiliar, but it is entirely consistent with established Vedic time structures.

In Vedic cosmology, sandhyā periods are a consistent feature:

• Between each of the four yugas, we find yuga-sandhyās.
• Between manvantaras, there is also an intervening sandhyā.
• Even within a single day, Vedic time recognizes three sandhyās—at dawn, noon, and dusk.

Given this consistent presence of transitional phases across all scales of time, it is only natural—and scripturally justified—to expect a sandhyā between kalpas, which are themselves units of time.

So why was this sandhyā overlooked until recently?

There are two reasons:

• First, our Vaiṣṇava ācāryas have traditionally focused their energy and attention on suddha-bhakti, pure devotional service. Their works are spiritually oriented and often do not delve into cosmological measurements unless directly relevant to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Their audience was not composed of modern secular scientists, and hence there was no pressing need to engage in time-scale analysis or intertextual reconciliation.
• Second, Western Indologists and textual scholars, while prolific in translations and critical editions, often lack devotional insight and holistic comprehension of the Purāṇas. They tend to focus on isolated texts or segments, missing the broader cosmological framework that emerges when these texts are read with śraddhā and synthesis.

Therefore, the identification and emphasis of this kalpa-sandhyā is not a deviation from the tradition—it is a revival of scriptural detail, presented through careful, reverent analysis.

2. The Proposal of a Factor of Two

The second point in our presentation is the suggestion that, to align Puranic timelines with those of modern science, a factor of two may be applied to the durations when observed from the perspective of Earth.

Let us be absolutely clear: we are not disputing the original Puranic time spans. We fully accept that:

• One kalpa equals 4.32 billion years on Bhu-maṇḍala.
• Lord Brahmā lives for 100 years, each consisting of 360 days and 360 nights, with each day or night comprising a kalpa.

It is important to recognize that BBS does not aim to rewrite Puranic chronology. BBS shows that the dates obtained by modern science, and the dates recorded in the Puranas, are both correct. Since they differ by a factor of two, how can they both be correct? This is also explained in detail in BBS. Puranic dates pertain to Bhu-mandala, whereas modern scientific dates pertain to the Earth we perceive with our material senses, which is a three-dimensional section of the inherently higher-dimensional realm of Bhu-mandala. In other words, time runs twice as fast on the Earth we perceive with our material senses than it does on Bhu-mandala. 

The idea that time runs at different rates on different lokas is directly stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.3.32. It is also an important feature of Einstein’s theory of relativity. This is another example of the remarkable convergence of modern science with the Puranas.

This hypothesis is not presented as dogma, but as a working model to harmonize Puranic chronology with scientific observations.

Some may ask whether this sort of hypothesis oversteps the paramparā. The answer is no—and here is why:

In the purport to Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 21.84, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:

“Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, one of the greatest astrologers of his time, gives information from the Siddhānta-śiromaṇi that this universe measures 18,712,069,200,000,000 × 8 miles. This is the circumference of this universe. According to some, this is only half the circumference.”

This clearly shows that even among our ācāryas, differences in cosmological scale and interpretation do exist—and are not treated as deviations from the truth. Rather, they are seen as part of the complexity of Vedic cosmology, which can accommodate multi-layered perspectives without loss of śāstric fidelity.

Moreover, the predictive power of this factor-of-two model is striking. When we recognize that time travel differently on the Earth as compared to Bhu-mandala, a series of significant events from Puranic accounts align astonishingly well with modern scientific dates.

For example:

• The age of the universe as described in the Puranas (when multiplied with the factor of two) comes to 13.819 billion years. Modern science estimates the age of the universe to be 13.801 billion years.
• Similar stunning concordance is also observed in the case of the age of the Solar System, mass extinctions, lifecycle of the Sun etc.

The probability of such a tight alignment being a coincidence is extraordinarily low. To anyone with a basic understanding of statistical correlation, such concordance strongly suggests that we are uncovering a deep structural harmony between ancient revelation and modern observation.

3. Synthesis: Affirming Brahmā’s Lifecycle and Respecting Paramparā

To bring these points together. We do not challenge that Lord Brahmā lives for 100 celestial years, or that each kalpa equals 4.32 billion years on the Bhu-maṇḍala scale.

What we do suggest, based on both Purāṇic evidence and logical inference, are the following two points:

1. There exists a sandhyā period between kalpas, as explicitly stated in the Vāyu Purāṇa and Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa—a detail that helps explain gaps in historical reckoning and cosmological transition.
2. There is a factor-of-two temporal difference between Bhu-maṇḍala and our Earth, which offers a powerful model to correlate Purāṇic chronology with modern scientific observations.

These proposals are not speculative inventions. They are scripturally supported, philosophically sound, and aligned with the spirit of paramparā, which encourages realization, not mere repetition.

As Śrīla Prabhupāda taught:

“He must realize the subject matter so nicely that he can present the matter for the particular circumstances in a suitable manner… This is called realization.”
— SB 1.4.41, purport

We believe that such realization must include the creative engagement of trained minds—scientists, thinkers, and devotees—who seek to present Kṛṣṇa’s teachings in ways that speak to today’s world, while remaining loyal to the eternal principles of the Vedic tradition.