Gradually this was increased and now the opinion is that it took place 15 billion years ago. Such changes in scientists'opinions will keep on coming because the study of the Universe is similar to the story of the elephant and the five blind men. The Universe is too big for the human being to understand. An idea about the vastness of the Universe can be obtained from the following. The nearest star to our Sun is Alpha Centauri which is the brightest star in the constellation of Centaurus. This star is 4 light years away. If we go to this star in a space ship, it will take about 50,000 years to reach the star. There are millions of such stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. The nearest galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy which can been with binoculars. It is 200,000 light years away. Our space ship will reach it after 250 million years. The Universe contains thousands of galaxies like the Milky Way and Andromeda. The human mind can not even imagine how vast it is. We are just sitting on a small planet and looking into this unimaginable vastness with telescopes and trying to understand how the Universe was created and how it evolved in billions of years. We can only wonder about the Supreme Consciousness which caused the Universe to be created.

Nevertheless, the achievements of Science can not be ignored. When we go through the Vedas, we come across questions like 'Where does the Sun go at night?' 'What does the Sun do at night?' etc. None of these ancient people or the billions of people who lived and died through the centuries could make a guess that the earth may be round and that the Sun may be on the other side of the earth at night. It is Science which found this out and that, instead of the three worlds or seven worlds or fourteen worlds which the Hindu Scriptures speak about, there are millions of worlds in the Universe.

HOW MANY GODS ARE THERE?

People of other faiths have to deal with only one God. But we Hindus have several Gods. The Vishnu Puranam says that Vishnu is the Supreme God and all other Gods are subservient to Him. The Siva Puranam says that Siva is the Supreme God and all other Gods are subservient to Him. Other Puranas also say similar things. Which Puranam should we follow? Who is the real God?

To get an answer to this question, we have to take a look at the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In the Yajnavalkya Kanda of this Upanishad, a Brahmin by name Sakalya asks Sage Yajnavalkya 'How many Gods are there, Yajnavalkya?' The Sage thinks for a moment and says 'Three Thousand and Three'. Sakalya again asks 'How many Gods exactly are there, Yajnavalkya?' The Sage replies ' Three Hundred and Three'. Sakalya keeps on repeating this question and Yajnavalkya reduces the number from three hundred and three to thirty three, then to six, to three, to two, to one and a half and finally to one. Sakalya asks 'Who is the one God?' Yajnavalkya replies 'The one God is Brahmam. All other Gods are manifestations of this one God'.And this is what all Hindus should remember. The Puranas describe several Gods with various forms. But the true God is a Super Consciousness who fills the entire Universe including all human beings. To achieve communion between oneself and this Supreme Consciousness is the secret of a spiritual life. God should be respected by this communion and not by mere observance of rituals.