Yoga Vasishta on Life on other planets/ Universes
In the Book 3: Chapter 30: Story of Lila Lord Rama & Sage Vasistha are discussing the nature of consciousness.
Sage Vasistha says there is no reality to space, it all exists within consciousness.
To which Lord Rama says: What do people mean by 'above', 'below' and so on, when only the infinite is truth?
Sage Vasistha: When ants crawl all over the a round rock, what is under its feet is always 'below' and what is behind their back is always 'above'; so people talk of these directions. Of those countless universes:
- Some are forever illumined
- Some are solid rocks
- Some are pervaded by dense darkness
- In some there is only an ocean
- In Some planets there are only planets
- Some are inhabited only by worms
- In some there are only animals and birds
- Some have Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva as the presiding deities.
- In some gods dwell.
- In some there are none at all
- Some seem to be heading towards dissolution
- Some seem to be falling in space towards destruction
Since consciousness exists everywhere for ever, creation of these universes and their dissolution also goes on everywhere for ever. All these are held togethe by a mysterious imnipresent power. Rama, everything exists in one infinite consciousness; everything arises from it; it alone is everything.