The Professor

A cool breeze drifts across the shore as the ocean slowly laps, massaging the soft sand of the quiet beach. Stars fill the horizon, as the three travelers begin their meditations to look into the Deep. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva stand in solitary silence, eyes closed, minds searching, peering into the tide of eternity. Gods, born of the divine and aspects of the Ultimate Reality Brahman, the three traveled to the Deep for answers. For millennia the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer have longed to understand their origins, to unlock the mystery of the unending truth and bliss that binds everything throughout the endless cosmos. But Brahman does not speak.

Their search for the truth led them here to the cosmic ocean. A myth buried within myth, the Deep remains hidden behind the cosmic veil. The gods inhale deeply, slowly filling their lungs with the sweet cleansing of divine breath. With a taste of salt on their lips and the crackle of energy flowing from the crystals of sand up through their feet and deep into their souls, the door begins to open. Their eyes open as the images swirl in the water and their longing for answers blooms. For even the gods want to know from whence they came...

Dr. Winston Bishop sat at his desk, poring over the papers. It was late on a Thursday and he was staring down the barrel of over one hundred pages worth of reading and grading to do. It was mid-terms and he had a stack of tests and essays to grade during the forthcoming break. It all wouldn't be so bad had he not had the brilliant idea of adding an extra credit essay as an option. He figured only a few students would have written the essay, which he assigned to be turned in the day of the exam. Unfortunately he was wrong. Pouring himself a class of whiskey to go along with his hot green tea, the senior research professor picked up the stack and set to grading.

The next morning Dr. Bishop decided to take a break from the multiple choice and math of the actual exams to dive into the extra credit essays. The assignment was to take a concept from physics and discuss how it affects everyday life. Thumbing through the stack, he stopped at one that looked intriguing and pulled it out saying to himself, "All right, Ms. Montgomery, let's see what you have to say."

Juliet Montgomery was a third-year student double majoring in philosophy and religious studies, with a minor in physics. Her essay entitled "Entanglements, Atomism, Vaisheshika, Ashʿari, and the Theory of Everything" immediately piqued his curiosity. Sipping his morning tea, he sat back and dove in to Montgomery's essay. The room was quiet and still, the only sound to be heard was the rustling of pages, the sipping of tea, and the breathing of a weathered old man learning something new.

The image in the water shimmered as the three gods are pulled out of the world they have observed.

"Why did Brahman show us this?" Shiva asks nearly incredulous. "What does this puny little man have to do with anything?"

His divine brother with smiles, an imposing sight coming from four heads.

"What are you smiling about?" the Destroyer demands.

"Did you think now that we are here, the answers would come easily or directly?" the Creator responds. "No. This is just our first look."

"What is Brahman trying to tell us?" the Preserver asks.

"Ah but Vishnu, this isn't just Brahman," Brahma responds looking to the stars. "We've only just begun..."

Author's Note: This is the first part of a recurring story that Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv will observe while in the Deep. Dr. Bishop is not the only character the gods will observe, but he is the first and in someways the linchpin of the entire narrative. The three gods are searching for answers to the nature of Brahman, that Wikipedia describes as

"the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists in the universe."

And even though the gods as aspects of Brahman, even they don't truly understand it.

The Deep is Brahman, but it is more than just that. Because Brahman is an impersonal ultimate reality, it is a concept that is shared across many faiths, philosophies, and sciences. That is what the Deep is showing to the gods. Through this scientist and other characters, they will discover the different ways to interpret and connect with Brahman. Ultimately they will learn that what they thought was everything is even more limitless than they originally imagined.