LAW OF CYCLES

The law of cycles is called pralaya in Vedanta.  Pralaya is properly translated as “projection” not “creation.”  The universe is projected forward by Brahman until it reaches a point where it can go no further, whereupon it subsides.

After a period of rest, the universe is again projected forward, and the same combinations, the same evolutions, the same manifestations appear and remain engaged for a certain time, only to break into pieces once more.

It then becomes active again, going as far as it can go, at which point it stops and rests, only to reemerge.  And so it goes, starting and stopping, backward and forward, with a wave-like motion throughout eternity.

Time, space, and causation are all within pralaya.  Saying that there was a beginning and is an end to it is false.  While the words “beginning” and “end” are used in Vedanta it is in reference to the beginning and the end of one particular cycle.