Guru Granth Sahib on the Universe

The Sikh scriptures have said great many things about the Universe. However, although Gurbani has been in existence since about 1499 and the Guru Granth Sahib has been the Guru of the Sikh since 1708, the world has not been listening. It is clear that there is very little that the world has learnt from the important points mentioned in the Sikh holy text regarding the cosmos. 
 (1934–1996) was an American astronomer, astrochemist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences. He was the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He was a consultant and adviser to since the 1950s and briefed the Apollo astronauts before their flights to the Moon.
This is what , wrote in his book the :
"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.' A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths."
Well! The holy Granth of the Sikhs has said all these amazing things about the cosmos but no one is listening! The purpose of this article is not to criticise Carl Sagan but to bring home the point that most people pay little interest in studying our religious text with any real seriousness and that the many fascinating ideas within our religious texts are unknown to most of the world. Despite the wonderful things mentioned in the holy Granth, we continue to remain deaf to these ideas and hence continue to deny our spirits the wisdom that is contained therein.
==What Gurbani says==
Guru Granth Sahib states that, “There are planets, solar systems and galaxies. If one speaks of them, there is no limit, no end. There are worlds upon worlds of His Creation. As He commands, so they exist. He watches over all, and contemplating the creation, He rejoices. Nanak says, to describe this is as hard as steel!” . 
Despite this fact being clearly stated in the Guru Granth Sahib some 500 years ago, most of humanity is not aware of these sayings. Guru Nanak was an exceptional visionary and was responsible of bring some amazing ideas to the world. 
The scriptures say that the universe consists of many different bodies including planets, solar systems galaxies, stars, suns, skies, etc. and that the scale and extent of these bodies is unknown and that there is no end to their number. It is clear from this that probable size of the universe is beyond an exact evaluation or calculation by the human mind. 
The holy text continues to state: "The limits of the created universe cannot be perceived. Its limits here and beyond cannot be perceived. Many struggle to know His limits, but His limits cannot be found. No one can know these limits. The more you say about them, the more there still remains to be said." . 
So it appears that as we get a better estimate of the size of the universe, in other words, the more we find, then the realisation will dawns that there remain even more outside our knowledge. Gurbani tells us that this is how we will progress when we try and calculate the size of the Universe. On a spiritual angle, the Guru tells us that the Lord is in his creation and the Creation is in the Lord; "All are in the One, and the One is in all." . So the Universe is a manifestation of the Lord; He is found within the Universe. So from this we can see the extent of God as portrait by Sikhism. 
Furthermore, it is stated that God created the whole universe including the earth: “You Yourself created the earth, and the two lamps of the sun and the moon” ; "He creates planets, solar systems and galaxies;" . And, “Many millions are the moons, suns and stars” . 
==How was the world created?==
According to Sikhism, God existed all alone in His abstract form - Nirgun - before He created the Universe. This may be called the state of precreation. God was in the state of sunn samadhi or primal void = state of pre-creation, state of contemplation of the void.
According to Guru Nanak, there was darkness and chaos for millions of years. There were mists and clouds. None existed except God. Guru Nanak says:
"There was darkness for countless years. 
There was neither earth nor sky; there was only His Will. 
There was neither day nor night, neither sun nor moon. 
He (God) was in deep meditation. 
There was nothing except Himself." (A.G., pg 1035)
Then God willed the creation of the universe. He became manifest: Sargun. He diffused Himself in nature. Guru Nanak says:
"Thou created all Thy Universe to please Thyself, to enjoy the spectacle, the reality, which is the light of Thy own Reality-self."
When was the world created? This is a mystery. Was this process of creation a sudden and impulsive one or was it one of evolution and growth? Only God who created it knows. Like a spider, God spun Himself into a web. A day will come when He will destroy that web once again to become His sole self again.
The Parkriti of three attributes (Rajas, Tamas, Satav) was created by God. Maya, attachment and illusion are also His creation: Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Master writes:
"He created the Shakti (power) of three Gunas (attributes) 
The great Maya (world illusion) is His shadow."
The Universe is not an illusion. It is reality, not final and permanent but a reality on account of the presence of God in it.
This world is the abode of the Almighty and yet He transcends it. 
==More Gurbani quotations==
===Key features===
* 
* 
* 
* 
===Beginning of the Universe:===
*
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
=====
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
===And this is how it will end===
* 
* 
==External links==
* Section II: God and His Universe