Visualizing Cosmic Consciousness at Universal Scale

 A friend of the blog sent me a link to visual artist Teun van der Zalm's videos visualizing deep space, and this beautiful excerpt from the book, "A Journey Within the Self" by Deepa Kodikal:

BECOMING THE COSMOS WITHOUT LEAVING HOME 

Throughout the night, I was in deep meditation. I was in meditation in spite of myself. Henceforth, my sleep would be my meditation, and my meditation my sleep. In deep meditation I was again told I was in “turyavastha” and I was being led to“Parabrahma (Supreme God).” And then I saw the “vishwarupa” as is described in the Gita. That is a visualization in anthropomorphological terms. What I saw was the universe as it is. In its entirety and in its universality. The “vishwarupa” (universal form) as it is. I saw the entire span of the sky as seen from the earth. I was shown countless luminous stars scattered across the sky. Some of these were twinkling, some were static. Each was an independent star, each spinning round its axis as also swirling in its orbit. Some were moving as constellations, in groups. There was enough room between the stars to steer comfortably without colliding with each other. Each star knew its path, took enjoyment in its movement, was aware of the grand spectacle, the cosmic picture, obeyed the laws of the giant and the tiny star-systems of the universe and accepted its being part of the whole. I saw that these myriad stars, seen and unseen, receding into the unknown, together formed a galaxy, girdling the heavens; and I saw this mighty galaxy receding to tiny star structure, then appearing as a single star among another group of a mightier galaxy, where each star was a galaxy itself. Each galaxy and each star within it was spinning around itself and in its own orbit, and, this super-galaxy itself, as a whole, was swirling around in an orbit of awesome dimensions. This mighty ocean of star-clusters, composed of galaxies within a galaxy, was now but a lone star amidst yet another giant star-system wheeling in the depths of space. The stars, the star-groups, the star-systems, maintained their own axial and orbital flights, tiny and mighty, resembling interwoven galactic wheels. It was a galactic tapestry, in motion. This went on, each galactic super-system eventually forming only a part of a bigger group. Revolving, gyrating, vista upon vista unfolded, unfurling giant star-systems, each composed of hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies wheeling in the depths of space. The span of the cosmodrama, the immense orbits, the stupendous speeds, the immensity of the universe, the stars compassing it, was awesome and beautiful. This went on endlessly into infinity. Suddenly, I found I was not on the earth watching this busy, hurling universe. I was at a point beyond the endless complex of galaxies, beyond the outer lonely galaxies girdling the fathomless depths of inter-galactic spaces. I was at a point where I found this entire endlessness and infinity as a single star, and, this endlessness and infinity, now compressed and comprehended as a tiny star, was but a single star in a sky full of such stars in countless numbers… ! Each star-universe was in itself an endlessness, infinity, and was composed of stars and galaxies of a different kind. The space beyond the galaxies was composed of such star-universes of various sizes and colors, some barely moving, some oscillating, some vibrating, some hurtling across the sky, some huge, some like decorative lanterns, some like discus. Stars mighty and small, all in motion and twinkling like diamonds, of various hues. Each star was endlessness and infinity. Slowly, I perceived this sky acquiring depth. Deeper and deeper, further and further it went, and, I saw this deep space studded with deep-sunk staruniverses, all endlessness in themselves, of various colors, of various shapes and hues, and of various movements. As I beheld this magnificence, I found the grand vista was not only to my front but also behind me, and, in fact, all around me. I was now the center of a circle whose frontiers were simply not there. All this time, I was huge enough compared to the stars to have a span of vision encompassing the entire field of the firmament. My proportion to the stars was as is man's in relation to a gnat. Huge! The stars too were distant. But as I observed the star-studded sky, the distance between me and the sky suddenly dwindled and the star-universes were all around me, encircling me, floating by me. I found myself becoming smaller and smaller till finally I became nonexistent. I was snuffed out. Now I was everywhere! I was everywhere at the same time! All-pervading. Any point and every point was a center. There was now nobody excepting these heavenly bodies floating gently by and me—all-pervading and all-seeing. Every point was the center of this vastness, and, the frontiers from any point were fathomless. Each point was in itself an endlessness and all around was endlessness. The sky was chock-a-block full of stars but with adequate room for them to move with no panic of collision. And I was everywhere. The star-universe systems in their movements were passing through other star-universe systems, effortlessly, as one slips through compartment after crowded compartment in a moving train. What's more, these star trains were moving not only horizontally, but also vertically, radially, in all possible directions much the same way as would a sky full of divine bursting fireworks. Each star-universe system was slipping through many star-universe systems at a time, and, in turn allowing many other such systems to pass through in larger groups, yet managed to retain its own size, identity, movement and rhythm. That is, each system was moving from and through system to system yet was in its allotted place in relation to other systems, moving or oscillating within its own span of movement. Now, the entire process was reversed as if a powerful lens had been inserted, and, I saw that these star-universe systems, each an endlessness in size, was not like a tiny star but was a construct of super-galaxies; each part of this construct in turn splitting into the galaxies of which it was composed. And this entire complex inter-mingled with other complexes, yet retained its size, shape, identity and form. Each super-galaxy again broke up into a system of galaxies, each one passing through the others; and so on and on. It was endless. Thus each star or star-cluster appeared to be merging in or forming a part of other clusters flung in different directions, all at the same time, yet retaining its place in its own cluster. Each star, each galaxy, each super-galaxy, moved around its axis and around its orbit, yet managed the above merging. Thus each star, each system, whizzing through the other, formed a part of a bigger whole, inseparable from the other groups and the even bigger grand pattern, yet retaining its own identity. As each star or star-system spun on, retaining its place, its relative distance, its perfect placement in relation to the bigger groups, it appeared to be hardly moving. The firmament appeared to be in an equipoise, and, each of its components in perfect equilibrium. And yet I knew the firmament moved. The lens was now removed: The stars regained their forms, concealing their complexities of galaxies, floating gently in endless emptiness and endless time…. This was only one aspect of the universe. There were universes within universes, invisible universes, visible ones, universes lying side by side, in one place, “existing” through each other simultaneously in “different” dimensions of time, in different spatial dimensions; it went on endlessly…. These were the manifest universes. Then there were the un-manifest ones. Only in their potential…. This was a glimpse of the universe! I began by seeing the universe as one sees the sky from earth. Slowly, my individual identity was broken down, and, when my limiting individuality was totally demolished, I assumed the universal form. I was everywhere at one time, seeing everything, the micro, the macro, from the closest quarters, from the furthest range. I was everywhere, all-pervading, formless, omnipresent, allknowing and all-enjoying. I was omnipresent, all-knowing and all-enjoying. But I was not the universe. I was totally free of it, independent of it and uninvolved in it. I spread everywhere, but formlessly and unencumbered by attachments, an eternal witness not bound by the universe. I was pure and intelligent consciousness, seeing all and knowing all but not depending upon the universe for sustenance. I felt light, free and unmoving, yet I was at all points, all at the same time. Witness to everything. Uninvolved, free of emotions, free of thought, pure, and vast, I remained poised in eternity and in infinity, in quiet enjoyment; still, composed, calm, and in repose!

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In the Simple Explanation, the zero point at the center of the universal toroid is the source point where the pure undifferentiated consciousness of the metaverse is concentrated to singular manifestation. This is the crossover location between the undifferentiated unity and material creation. Some call it the Womb of Creation. From this zero-point, all organizing principles and laws enter our Universe and replicate their patterns upwardly through creation, from the very smallest sub-atomic particles to the largest galaxies, and then beyond, to the Very Large.
These replicating patterns and their hierarchical structure is explained more fully in the two articles, "My Self, the Governor of Whoville" and "Nested Hierarchies."   In personal terms, my Self UC is a fractal division of the Universal UC, and so is every UC associated with everything in my body. The fractal calculations occur at every hierarchical jump of organizational complexity.

The spiritual implication of this fractal model is this: the Universal UC ("God," "The Creator," "The Mother of 10,000 Things") may be visualized as both immanent and transcendent. Immanent within every one of my body's UCs, at the tiniest fractal crossover point at the center of each UC. Transcendent at the outer edge of the Very Large, where our Universal UC fractally nests against the infinite, undifferentiated Metaversal UC ("God the Father," "Sat," "Pure Consciousness," the "Undifferentiated Unity"). We humans are suspended thusly, a particular fractal emanation of, and located within, creation, yet patterned directly from pure consciousness.