Akasha or Akash (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

' ) means

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

or æther in traditional Indian cosmology, depending on the religion. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century. In many modern

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily ...

and

Dravidian languages The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant ...

the corresponding word (often rendered ''Akash'') retains a generic meaning of "sky".

Religious background

The word in

is derived from a root meaning "to be". It appears as a masculine noun in

Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It was orally preser ...

with a generic meaning of "open space, vacuity". In Classical Sanskrit, the noun acquires the neuter gender and may express the concept of "sky; atmosphere" ('' Manusmrti'',

Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana ( sa, शतपथब्राह्मणम् , Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam, meaning 'Brāhmaṇa of one hundred paths', abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic ...

). In

Vedantic ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

philosophy, the word acquires its technical meaning of "an ethereal fluid imagined as pervading the cosmos".

Hinduism

In Vedantic Hinduism, ''akasha'' means the basis and essence of all things in the material world; the first element created. A Vedic mantra "''pṛthivyāpastejovāyurākāśāt''" indicates the sequence of initial appearance of the five basic gross elements. Thus, first appeared the space, from which appeared air, from that fire or energy, from which the water, and therefrom the earth. It is one of the ''Panchamahabhuta'', or "five gross elements"; its main characteristic is ''

Shabda ''Shabda'' ( sa, शब्द, ), is the Sanskrit word for "speech sound". In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic performance. History In classical Indian philosophy of language, the grammarian Katyaya ...

'' (sound). The direct translation of ''akasha'' is the word meaning "upper sky" or 'space' in Hinduism. The '' Nyaya'' and ''

Vaisheshika Vaisheshika or Vaiśeṣika ( sa, वैशेषिक) is one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) from ancient India. In its early stages, the Vaiśeṣika was an independent philosophy with its own metaphysics, epistemolog ...

'' schools of Hindu philosophy state that ''akasha'' or aether is the fifth physical substance, which is the substratum of the quality of sound. It is the one, eternal, and all-pervading physical substance, which is imperceptible. According to the '' Samkhya'' school, ''akasha'' is one of the five ''

Mahābhūta ''Mahābhūta'' is Sanskrit and Pāli for "great element". However, very few scholars define the four mahābhūtas in a broader sense as the four fundamental aspects of physical reality. Hinduism In Hinduism's sacred literature, the "great" ...

s'' (grand physical elements) having the specific property of sound. In the ''

Shiva Purana The ''Shiva Purana'' is one of eighteen major texts of the '' Purana'' genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part of the Shaivism literature corpus. It primarily revolves around the Hindu god Shiva and goddess Parvati, but references and rev ...

'', it identifies ''akasha'' as having "the only attribute of sound". In the ''

Linga Purana The ''Linga Purana'' (लिङ्गपुराण, IAST: ) is one of the eighteen '' Mahapuranas'', and a ''Shaivism'' text of Hinduism. The text's title ''Linga'' refers to the iconographical symbol for Shiva. The author(s) and date of the ...

'', ''akasha'' is translated as "firmament" and listed as one of the 1,008 names of

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. Adherents of the heterodox '' Cārvāka'' or ''Lokāyata'' philosophy held that this world is made of four elements only. They exclude the fifth, ''akasha'', because its existence cannot be perceived.

Jainism

Akasha is space in the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

conception of the cosmos. Akasha is one of the six ''dravyas'' (substances) and it accommodates the other five, namely sentient beings or souls ('' jīva''), non-sentient substance or matter (''

pudgala In Jainism, Pudgala (or ') is one of the six Dravyas, or aspects of reality that fabricate the world we live in. The six ''dravya''s include the jiva and the fivefold divisions of ajiva (non-living) category: ''dharma'' (motion), ''adharma'' ( ...

''), principle of motion ('' dharma''), the principle of rest (''

adharma Adharma is the Sanskrit antonym of dharma. It means "that which is not in accord with the dharma". Connotations include betrayal, discord, disharmony, unnaturalness, wrongness, evil, immorality, unrighteousness, wickedness, and vice..In Indi ...

''), and the principle of time (''

kāla Kala ( sa, काल, lit=Time, translit=Kālá/Kālam), ) is a Sanskrit term that means "time" or "death." As time personified, destroying all things, Kala is a god of death, and often used as one of the epithets of Yama. In Shaivism, Kala ...

''). It is all-pervading, infinite and made of infinite space-points. It falls into the '' Ajiva'' category, divided into two parts: ''Loakasa'' (the part occupied by the material world) and ''Aloakasa'' (the space beyond it which is absolutely void and empty). In ''Loakasa'' the universe forms only a part. Akasha is that which gives space and makes room for the existence of all extended substances. At the summit of the ''lokākāśa'' is the ''

Siddhashila Siddhashila is an area in Jain cosmology at the apex of the universe, which is where the Jains believe people who have become '' arihants'' and ''tirthankaras'' go after they die and attain ''moksha''. Such people are called ''siddhas'' after ...

'' (abode of the liberated souls).

Buddhism

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

, ''akasha'' is divided into limited space (ākāsa-dhātu) and endless space (ajatākasā). The Vaibhashika, an early school of Buddhist philosophy, hold the existence of ''akasha'' to be real. Ākāsa is identified as the first arūpa jhāna, but usually translates as "infinite space."

Modern reception

The Western mystic-religious philosophy called

Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

has popularized the word ''akasha'' as an adjective, through the use of the term "Akashic records" or "Akashic library", referring to an etheric compendium of all knowledge and history.

Scott Cunningham Scott Douglas Cunningham (June 27, 1956 – March 28, 1993) was an American writer. Cunningham is the author of several books on Wicca and various other alternative religious subjects. His work ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' ...

(1995) uses the term ''akasha'' to refer to "the spiritual force that Earth, Air, Fire, and Water descend from".

Ervin László Ervin László (; born 12 June 1932) is a Hungarian philosopher of science, systems theorist, integral theorist, originally a classical pianist. He is an advocate of the theory of quantum consciousness. Early life and education László wa ...

in ''Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything'' (2004), based on ideas by

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

, posits "a field of information" as the substance of the cosmos, which he calls "Akashic field" or "A-field".Gidley, J
The Evolution of Consciousness as a Planetary Imperative: An Integration of Integral Views
''Integral Review: A Transdisciplinary and Transcultural Journal for New Thought, Research and Praxis'', 2007, Issue 5, pp. 29–31.]

References

{{Indian Philosophy Classical elements Hindu philosophical concepts Hindu given names Indian masculine given names