The central metaphysical concept of Sanātana Dharma is its vision of ultimate reality. It is understood as an infinite, eternal field of consciousness that permeates and sustains all existence. This purely spiritual singular field is called Brahman. Creation emerges from and dissolves back into this field.

In this worldview, Ṛta, the cosmic order, is the foundation upon which the universe rests. Yet, this order is not static; it coexists with Anṛta, or disorder, just as creation coexists with dissolution. Thus, order and chaos are not opposing forces in absolute terms, but complementary dimensions of Brahman’s self-expression.

The creative cycle vibrates rhythmically:

• Chaos emerges from stillness
• Order emerges from apparent chaos
• Order disintegrates back into chaos
• Chaos dissolves back into stillness

A verse from the Bhagavad Gītā captures this rhythm of order and chaos succinctly:

“At the end of a Kalpa, all creatures return into My original material energy. When a new cycle of creation begins, O son of Kunti, I bring them forth once more. Resorting to My material energy, I repeatedly bring these countless forms into being, each according to the power of its own nature.” (Bhagavad Gītā 9.7-9.8)

Thus, the Gītā and the wider corpus of Sanātana Dharma describe a cosmos in perpetual movement between structuring and un-structuring forces.

The Nature Of Ṛta

The Saṃskṛta word ‘Ṛta’ comes from the root Ṛ, meaning ‘to move, to go, to fit’. It signifies the dynamic harmony and order that govern the universe — the motion of the stars, the rhythm of the seasons, the cycles of genesis and expiration, and so on.

Rooted in the spiritual law that binds cause to consequence, Ṛta is a self-arising pattern within the totality of existence. To understand its working, one must explore its three essential components: Gati, Saṅghaṭanā, and Niyati.

1. Gati: Movement In Space

The term Gati literally means ‘movement’. In metaphysical terms, it denotes the inherent dynamism of Prakṛti (material nature). Nothing in the cosmos is inert or isolated; every atom, thought, and celestial body is in motion.

The Bhagavad Gītā declares:

“There is no one who can remain without action even for a moment. Indeed, all beings are compelled to act by their qualities born of material nature” (Bhagavad Gītā 3.5).

This universal movement is not chaotic randomness, but the manifestation of Śakti, the creative energy of the consciousness field, Brahman.

Gati presupposes Ākāśa (space), the medium that allows for movement. Space is not considered an empty void but a conscious continuum that sustains Spanda (vibration). Ākāśa arises first in the sequence of creation. The universe unfolds as a gradation of movement within space, and order begins when these movements follow intelligible rhythms.

In the human context, Gati corresponds to the movement of life, thought, and desire. To live is to move. This movement is both physical and moral, reflecting the direction of individual tendencies to intention and life trajectory. The Gītā presents this dynamic as the journey of the individual soul through Saṃsāra (the continual cycle of birth and death).

2. Saṅghaṭanā: Interactions And Causality

If Gati is motion, Saṅghaṭanā is interaction — the meeting and mutual influence of moving entities. It implies structure, relationship, and organisation.

Through Saṅghaṭanā, the universe exhibits interdependence. In the physical realm, Saṅghaṭanā corresponds to the aggregation of particles into atoms, atoms into molecules, and so forth. In the social and moral realm, it denotes the interconnectedness of actions. When Saṅghaṭanā is aligned in a cooperative pattern, it maintains harmony between the individual and the cosmos. When it is disrupted, chaos follows.

Human cooperation is often disrupted by greed, ignorance, or ego, leading to disorder. Therefore, human responsibility lies in ensuring that our interactions sustain rather than disturb the cosmic rhythm.

Nothing exists in isolation; each action influences another, naturally leading to the law of cause and consequence — Karma (action) and Karmaphala (fruit of action).

The Gītā explains the moral form of this causal order with precision:

“The nature of action, wrong action, and inaction must be understood; profound indeed is the path of action.” (Bhagavad Gītā 4.17).

The intricate web of Saṃsāra is woven by the movement of causality through the network of relationships.

3. Niyati: Causal Sequence

Niyati is the rational progression of Gati and Saṅghaṭanā together — the unfolding of events due to motion and mutual interaction of entities in space.

Every effect, or consequence, arises from a corresponding cause, both in the material and moral dimensions. Consequences trigger actions that result in further consequences. This coherent sequence of consequences is called Niyati.

From the human perspective, Niyati is understood as destiny. A verse in the Upaniṣad states:

 “As water falling on a mountain flows according to the slope, so one’s actions lead him according to his nature.”

While Niyati is the inevitability that movement and interaction unfold according to the intrinsic law of cause and effect, it does not imply mechanical determinism. Rather, it is the field of order in which the conscious principle within us can exercise free will.  Every moment, we have the option of choosing our actions to align with Satya (truth) and Dharma (the moral Ṛta), and to direct our destiny.

Thus, Niyati is both law and opportunity: it binds the ignorant, but guides the wise.

The Nature Of Anṛta

Anṛta is not a mere negation of Ṛta but an essential counterpart. The Vedic seers spoke of chaos as the precondition of creation.

A verse from the Ṛgvedaḥ  says:

“Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning.”

This describes the silent, undifferentiated void preceding creation — the state of Brahman beyond both order and disorder. Disorder emerges with Brahman’s first stirring of the desire to manifest, giving rise to primal chaos. This chaos is the womb of becoming, from which order is ultimately born.

1. Creative Chaos

Prakṛti is Brahmans power of manifestation. It rests in the stillness of Brahman as Avyākṛta — the latent energy awaiting activation. Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas are three fundamental Guṇa (qualities) of this energy.

• Sattva: Spiritual energy, the source of illumination
• Rajas: Dynamic energy, the source of action
• Tamas: Potential energy, the source of inertia

Before creation, all Guṇa are in equilibrium; neither Sattva, Rajas, nor Tamas predominates. When the Guṇa equilibrium is disturbed, manifestation and differentiation proceed.

A helpful way to visualise this is to compare Prakṛti with white light.

• White light contains all colours of the spectrum (red, blue, green, etc.). But when the colours are in perfect balance, you do not see separate colours; you see only white. The colours are present, but not yet expressed or separated.
• This is like Avyākṛta, in which Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas are all present. They are in equilibrium, so no single quality is expressed. The universe is in a state of pure potential, just as white light is full of all colours but shows none distinctly.

Now consider chaos in this balanced state:

• If white light is passed through a prism, the balance is disturbed due to refraction and the individual colours appear.
• Likewise, when Brahman — the Supreme Puruṣa — stirs Prakṛti, the balance of the Guṇa is disturbed, beginning the process of manifestation and differentiation.

So, the colour white provides a perfect analogy for unmanifested Prakṛti:

• Equilibrium = akinesis and unity
• Disturbance = kinesis, manifestation, and diversity

Thus, chaos is the necessary indeterminacy that allows evolution and from which order is born.

In the human experience, inner chaos can also provoke awakening. When the comfortable structures of belief collapse, a person may be thrust into confusion or emotional turmoil; yet this very disruption can become transformative. For example, someone who has always followed inherited traditions without question might experience a personal crisis that shakes those assumptions: a loss, a failure, or a moment of moral conflict.

In the midst of that inner upheaval, the person begins to see that their old understanding cannot fully explain their experience. This recognition, though painful, drives them to look more deeply, to question, and ultimately to seek a clearer, more authentic truth. Thus, inner chaos becomes a doorway to awakening.

2. Disruptive Chaos

Ṛta is set in motion for the harmonious perpetuation of created entities. Anṛta is the violation of this order.

At the cosmic scale, Anṛta appears as Pralaya, the dissolution of worlds. At the end of the creative cycle, a chaotic process of dissolution unfolds, gradually drawing the universe back into the stillness of the unmanifested state.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa proclaims:

“I am Time, the mighty destroyer of worlds.” (Bhagavad Gītā 11.32)

Chaos here is not destruction for its own sake but the cleansing phase of an eternal rhythm. Without dissolution, new creation could not arise. In Sanātana Dharma, the chaos of Pralaya is divine, for it leads to restoration of equilibrium and opens the field for renewed order.

Dharma is the ethical code of living for human beings. Recognising interdependence as the key factor in ordered living, Dharma ensures an individual’s cooperation with the environment and society.

In the environmental sphere, Anṛta becomes evident whenever human actions destabilise the intricate balance that sustains life. Excessive fishing that collapses marine populations, reckless hunting that pushes species toward extinction, pollution of air and water, deforestation, and climate disruption all arise from ignoring the principles of interdependence woven into Ṛta.

When greed, overconsumption, and shortsighted exploitation override natural limits, the harmony that upholds ecosystems begins to unravel. Environmental degradation is thus not merely an ecological crisis but an ethical deviation from the order that nurtures all beings.

Even in social interactions, when people driven by selfish desires ignore their mutual interdependence, they disrupt the societal balance.

The Gītā describes this as the power of passion:

“It is desire, born of contact with the mode of passion, which is later transformed into anger. Know this as the all-devouring enemy in the world.” (Bhagavad Gītā 3.37)

Anṛta is therefore not an external chaos imposed upon us, but the inner disorder of the psyche that loses alignment with Dharma. The greater the dissonance the more chaotic one’s life and society become.

Living With Order And Chaos

The challenge for human beings lies not in eliminating chaos but in harmonising it with order. Everyone is perpetually poised between structure and flux, law and freedom. The Bhagavad Gītā offers several principles for managing this dynamic tension.

1. Dharma

Dharma is the moral compass that aligns thought, action, and purpose to channel chaos into order. Restoring environmental and social balance — protecting species, conserving habitats, respecting natural cycles, and acting ethically — is therefore an act of returning to Ṛta.

Psychologically, the Gītā urges steadfastness in Svadharma, one’s own nature-aligned duty:

“Better to perform one’s own duty, though imperfectly, than another’s perfectly” (Bhagavad Gītā 3.35).

Remembering this protects us from comparison and restores inner order when we feel misfit.

2. Yoga

Yoga, meaning ‘union’, integrates order and chaos.

Karma Yoga advocates acting in alignment with Satya and Dharma without attachment to results. This inner surrender frees the mind from resisting Niyati and allows one to act in harmony with the total flow of existence.

In Jñāna Yoga, one sees both order and chaos as expressions of Brahman.

As the Gītā declares:

“The act of offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, offered by Brahman in the sacrificial fire of Brahman.” (Bhagavad Gītā 4.24)

When all distinctions are seen as forms of the One, even chaos becomes as sacred as order.

3. Samatva

Samatva, or equanimity, is the inner state that allows one to move through life’s fluctuations without losing balance.

The Gītā offers the ultimate synthesis in the vision of the Sthitaprajña, the person of steady wisdom, who stands unmoved amid change:

“O noblest of men, the one whom these opposites do not disturb, who is steady in pain and pleasure, becomes eligible for liberation.” (Bhagavad Gītā 2.15)

The wise neither cling to stability nor fear disruption; they see both as necessary phases of the cosmic dance. In this awareness, chaos loses its terror, for it is known as the Līlā (play) of the Divine.

By cultivating Samatva, the individual mirrors the universe’s harmonious complexity.

Conclusion

From the perspective of Sanātana Dharma, Ṛta and Anṛta are not adversaries but partners in the unfolding of existence.

• Ṛta, through Gati, Saṅghaṭanā, and Niyati, expresses the harmony of the cosmos.
• Anṛta is the fertile ground from which order emerges and to which it returns.

The unfolding of cosmic order and chaos is a mystery. Together they reveal the infinite creativity of Brahman, in whose being both find their ultimate resolution.

In the Sanātana Dharma vision, to live rightly is to participate consciously in this rhythm. It entails:

• Acting with awareness
• Interacting in harmony
• Decoding causality in one’s life and amending one’s path
• Accepting chaos as Divine Līlā

The dance between order and chaos is eternal, and only through wisdom can one discern their unity.

---

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Sujata Khanna’s book, ‘The Eternal Law’, explores Sanātana Philosophy in its elemental form. Available on Amazon worldwide: India, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherland, Poland, Sweden, Japan

#Order #Chaos #Ṛta #Anṛta #SanātanaDharma #AncientWisdom #TheEternalLaw #MustReadBook