August 8, 2019
One of the names for spider in Sanskrit is - Oornanabhi, ऊर्णनाभि:. The inspiration for this post comes from this beautiful little spider that I found in my apartment balcony one morning. My daily morning routine is to go out on the balcony and offer some water to the sun god who provides us the light to keep seeing clearly. As usual I went out on the balcony and as I was about to go around the big planter so I could turn eastward, I noticed this little creature and his creation all the way from the balcony railing to the plant - approximately 4 feet. It reminded me of many things and for some reason brought a smile on my face. I decided to not disturb it or remove the web. The first day I tried to take a picture, it ran away as I removed the other planter and then the next day managed to go close and capture.
So how does a spider build the web? Spiders are known to be born with the intelligence of building their webs. Spiders have glands in their abdomen that produce silk protein. It can produce different types of these silk proteins that then solidify to become silk strands. Some strands are sticky which are used to form the bridge that form the strong foundation for the web. Sticky strands also help trap the insects as food. The threads are known to be stronger than steel threads. The spider uses other non-sticky strands in the web to move around without getting stuck in its own web while it weaves. It also uses the web to protect its eggs as well as for transporting itself from one point to another like a zipline. Spider can feel the vibrations when an insect lands on the web. Spiders also consume their own web to save the cost of regenerating the silk proteins again as they renovate or replace the web frequently.
A verse from Mundaka Upanishad illustrates the similarity between the spider web creation and the samsara creation:
(As the spider creates and absorbs back the web, as the medicinal plants grow on earth, as the hair grow out of humans, so does the universe comes from the Imperishable.)
There is so much more to talk about the above but that is for another time. To create anything, one needs some intelligence and then some material. For example, this post was created using some intelligence and some material in the form of words. This is how Ishwara’s (ईश्वर) creation - the macrocosm, is understood. ईश्वर used intelligence as well as material to create the world. The creation is described similar to the spider web creation where the intelligence and the material are from a single source. It has the power to absorb the creation as well. Interestingly the same dance of creation happens within us - the microcosm. Our body cells die every day and new cells are born. Our thoughts and perceptions change every single day. Our dreams are another such example. They take birth using our own intelligence and the material is also some combination of our own memories or events we experienced in our waking state. We too have the power to come out of our dreams by simply waking up. We remain the same and everything else outside of that changes. Essentially the microcosm and the macrocosm are one. Should one be seeing themselves in a better light than they already do? Just like one sees ईश्वर?
So how does a spider build the web? Spiders are known to be born with the intelligence of building their webs. Spiders have glands in their abdomen that produce silk protein. It can produce different types of these silk proteins that then solidify to become silk strands. Some strands are sticky which are used to form the bridge that form the strong foundation for the web. Sticky strands also help trap the insects as food. The threads are known to be stronger than steel threads. The spider uses other non-sticky strands in the web to move around without getting stuck in its own web while it weaves. It also uses the web to protect its eggs as well as for transporting itself from one point to another like a zipline. Spider can feel the vibrations when an insect lands on the web. Spiders also consume their own web to save the cost of regenerating the silk proteins again as they renovate or replace the web frequently.
A verse from Mundaka Upanishad illustrates the similarity between the spider web creation and the samsara creation:
यथोर्णनाभिः सृजते गृह्णते च यथा पृथिव्यामोषधयः संभवन्ति ।
यथा सतः पुरुषात्केशलोमानि तथाऽक्षरात्संभवतीह विश्वम् ॥
(As the spider creates and absorbs back the web, as the medicinal plants grow on earth, as the hair grow out of humans, so does the universe comes from the Imperishable.)
There is so much more to talk about the above but that is for another time. To create anything, one needs some intelligence and then some material. For example, this post was created using some intelligence and some material in the form of words. This is how Ishwara’s (ईश्वर) creation - the macrocosm, is understood. ईश्वर used intelligence as well as material to create the world. The creation is described similar to the spider web creation where the intelligence and the material are from a single source. It has the power to absorb the creation as well. Interestingly the same dance of creation happens within us - the microcosm. Our body cells die every day and new cells are born. Our thoughts and perceptions change every single day. Our dreams are another such example. They take birth using our own intelligence and the material is also some combination of our own memories or events we experienced in our waking state. We too have the power to come out of our dreams by simply waking up. We remain the same and everything else outside of that changes. Essentially the microcosm and the macrocosm are one. Should one be seeing themselves in a better light than they already do? Just like one sees ईश्वर?
