SPACE AND TIME

In the Upanishads, Akasha (space) and Kala (time) are not just manifest dimensions but perspicacious philosophical concerns entwined with the unmanifest one, Brahman, or Cosmic Self, or Absolute Existence. Space serves as the repository for all phenomenal dimensions and is the source of potential. The unmanifest is seen as eternal and infinite and the very fabric of consciousness, with time as movement within space, both ultimately transcended by the spaceless and timeless Atman (Self). Sage Yajnavalkya describes space as the void that surrounds all things. It is the emptiness that allows for movement and change. It is the source of all creation and the infinite potential from which all things arise. Time is the sequence of events that unfolds in the universe. It is the measure of change and movement. Time is the underlying reality that imparts order to the universe. The movement of time is cyclical and non-linear, as it constantly repeats itself in a unique cyclical process. But each cycle is unique. Time is illusory, as it is a perception of the mind, and so it remains relative to the perceiver. It is different in terms of speed, people, and situations. Time is a gift to be cherished and used appropriately. Sage Yajnavalkya explains space as the container of time and time as the unfolding sequence or movement within that space. He views space and time as interconnected aspects of Reality.  He suggests they are two aspects of One, indivisible, imperishable, and Ultimate Reality, beyond sense perception but knowable through Self-knowledge, or Self-realisation. Sage Yajnavalkya describes the cosmos through expanding concentric spheres, positing a non-static universe and detailed cosmic measurements, linking time to motion and the cycle of the Sun and Moon. He emphasises that all physical phenomena, including possessions and events, are transient within this framework, pointing towards Brahman, or Unchanging Reality, as the true support beyond space and time. Space is the relation of the coexistence of ideas, and time is the relation of the succession of ideas, establishes sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda. Since existence and succession are themselves ideas, delineates Swami Krishnnananda, the world has no existence independent of the mind. Though Yoga-Vasishtha's mental theory of the creation of the world may appear to land one in the doctrine of extreme subjectivism, this predicament is avoided by a simultaneous pronouncement that the individual mind is essentially inseparable from the Cosmic Mind. Ultimately, the relativity of the cosmos is the manifestation of the dreaming of the world of Maya, or illusion, of Cosmic Mind. The universe is regarded as a cosmic dream of Cosmic Mind, distinguishable from the individual dreams only by way of the length of their durations. But even this difference in length is just a relative concept, as can be observed in the long years through which one can live in a dream, though the dream lasts for only a few minutes from the standard of the waking consciousness. Swami Krishnananda asserts that as the dream world vanishes upon waking, the waking world also disappears in the experience of Brahman, or the Supreme Self (A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India-Chapter 6, Yoga-Vasistha, by Swami Krishnananda, Divine Life Society).

1. Outline 

Space is a psychological distance projected by the mind to separate objects, explains sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda. There is no set volume for space. Since space is a psychological distance that the mind projects to separate objects, an infinite universe could easily fit inside an atom or a single room. The word "universe" refers to the entirety of matter, space, and time. According to contemporary physical science, matter can be reduced to the ultimate constitution of the space-time manifold rather than having an independent existence. Typically, time is thought of as consciousness of a series of events in space, and space is thought of as extendedness with three dimensions. Swami Krishnananda says that we refer to this temporal succession in space as time, and we are forced to distinguish between the past, present, and future because of the peculiar way our minds respond to events that take place in space in what we call succession. There is no true demarcation in the succession because it is truly continuous. However, our minds create this threefold distinction over time through the interplay of sense perception, memory, and imagination. The present is actually just an idea. In contrast to the past and the future, the present does not have a tangible existence (The Foundations of Philosophy, Chapter 6: The Constitution of the Universe, Swami Krishnananda, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh). Space has no fixed volume. An infinite universe can easily reside within an atom or a single room, according to Yoga-Vasistha (Book 3, Utpatti Khanda), because space is a psychological distance projected by the mind to separate objects. It highlights a core philosophical principle, the multi-dimensional or holographic nature of space and time. Instead of universes being separated by physical distances across a vast cosmic outer space, they are separated by vibrational frequencies or levels of consciousness all occupying it. This specific passage highlights a core philosophical principle of the Yoga-Vasistha: the multi-dimensional or holographic nature of space and time. Instead of universes being separated by physical distances across a vast cosmic outer space, they are separated by vibrational frequencies or levels of consciousness—all occupying. Sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda defines time as the consciousness of the succession of events taking place within an extension of space, forming an inseparable space-time relationship. Space is the coexistence of ideas or objects, while time is the succession of those events; you cannot perceive one without the other. Swami Krishnananda suggests that the entire framework of space-time is a projection or perceptual error of consciousness, much like a dream where a brief moment feels like years, rather than an attribute of Brahman, or Pure Consciousness (The Philosophy of Life, Chapter 6, The Constitution of the Universe, by Swami Krishnananda, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh). Akasha, or space, is the most subtle of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space) of Prakriti, or nature. Prithivi, or earth, is everything that is solid; similarly, Jala, or water, is liquid, with attributes of fluidity, cohesion, and adaptation; Agni, or fire, is transformative, with attributes of form (Nama) and colour (Rupa); Vayu, or air, is the force that shifts things from one state to another, with attributes of movement, dynamics, and oscillation; and Akasha, or space, is the container that includes everything in its vacuity and the attributes of Sabda, or sound. Space is the infinite void and the container for all phenomena, linked to mind and pure consciousness. Kala, or Time, is often seen as movement or Vayu (energy) within Akasha (space), governing change, cycles, and the manifestation / dissolution of the universe. The interconnectedness of Akasha, or space, in motion is Kala, or time; they are inseparable aspects of existence, like waves on a sea. Both unmodified space and time exist beyond our perception and senses but can be experienced in Turiya. Turiya is the deep meditative state of the fourth state, representing a state of pure consciousness, non-duality, and experiencing of peace, bliss, and Supreme-self beyond the three ordinary states of Jagrata (Waking), Svapna (Dreaming), and Sushupti (Deep sleep). Both Akasha (Space) and Kala (Time), with all their complexities like ages, or Yugas, or cosmic cycles, are ultimately manifestations of Maya, or illusion, within the eternal, uncaused, changeless, imperishable, spaceless, timeless Brahman, or Supreme Self, or the Absolute Existence, or the Ultimate Reality.  Sage Yajnavalkya in Brihadaranyak Upanishad teaches that space is the void that surrounds all things. It is the emptiness that allows for movement and change. It is the source of all creation. It is the infinite potential from which all things arise. Here is a quote from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that describes Yajnavalkya's concept of space. Space is above, space is below, and space is between. Space is the past, space is the present, and space is the future. Space is all this. Swami Krishnananda, in his commentary on Brihadaranyak Upanishad, elucidates the cause of all causes, eternity, and ephemerality to elaborate on the relationship between Unchanging and transcendent Brahman and the changing phenomenal world of space and time.  His elaboration rests on Sage Yājñavalkya's answer to various queries at King Janaka's Yajnashala (a sacrificial hall or pavilion where Vedic fire rituals are performed) to the assembly of sages. Sage Yajnavalkya maintains that death can be overcome by those who are really subject to death, namely the performers of actions and the means of action, as well as the goal of action. All these are perishable in the world of space and time; anything that one does has an end, just as one oneself will have an end one day or the other. If everything is to be destroyed, is there a way of escape from this destructibility of things, or is everything doomed to failure in the end, and all will be wiped out of existence? What is the escape? What is the remedy? What is the means? Sage Yajnavalkya explains that the mortal becomes immortal the moment it returns to its cause. When the senses and the mind and the means of action and the performer himself—all get identified in their meditations with their deities from where they come and to which they actually belong and by which they are superintended; when the transcendent divinities, which are the realities behind the various functions and organs of the individual, are meditated upon as organically connected to oneself, then there is an internal relationship established between the individual and the universal. Then the mortal becomes immortal; otherwise every action is perishable, and everything that an action brings as a result also would be perishable. That was the point made out by Yajnavalkya in regard to the question of Aśvala (chief Hotṛ, or Hotra) priest at the court of King Janaka). to how the mortal can become immortal in spite of the fact that everything is subject to mortality in this world.

2. Scriptures

Kala, or Time, is often considered movement or Vayu (energy) within Akasha (space), governing change, cycles, and the manifestation/dissolution of the universe. Interconnectedness of Akasha, or space, in motion is Kala, or time; they are inseparable aspects of existence, like waves on a sea. Both unmodified space and time exist beyond our perception and senses but can be experienced in Turiya. Turiya is the deep meditative state of the fourth state, representing a state of pure consciousness, non-duality, and experiencing of peace, bliss, and the Supreme Self beyond the three ordinary states of Jagrata (waking), Svapna (dreaming), and Sushupti (deep sleep). Both Akasha (Space) and Kala (Time), with all their complexities like ages, or Yugas, or cosmic cycles, are ultimately manifestations of Maya, or illusion, within the eternal, uncaused, changeless, imperishable, spaceless, timeless Brahman, or Supreme Self, or the Absolute Existence, or the Ultimate Reality. Sage Yajnavalkya in Brihadaranyak Upanishad teaches that space is the void that surrounds all things. It is the emptiness that allows for movement and change. It is the source of all creation. It is the infinite potential from which all things arise. Here is a quote from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that describes Yajnavalkya's concept of space. Swami Krishnananda's elaboration rests on Sage Yajnavalkya's answer to various queries at King Janaka's Yajnasala to the assembly of sages. Sage Yajnavalkya maintains that death can be overcome by those who are really subject to death, namely, the performers of actions, the means of action, and the goal of action. All these are perishable in the world of space and time; anything that one does has an end, just as one oneself will have an end one day or another. If everything is to be destroyed, is there a way of escape from this destructibility of things, or is everything doomed to failure in the end, and all will be wiped out of existence? What is the escape? What is the remedy? What are the means? Sage Yajnavalkya explains that the mortal becomes immortal the moment it returns to its cause. When the senses and the mind and the means of action and the performer himself—all get identified in their meditations with their deities from where they come and to which they actually belong and by which they are superintended; when the transcendent divinities, which are the realities behind the various functions and organs of the individual, are meditated upon as organically connected to oneself, then there is an internal relationship established between the individual and the universal. Then the mortal becomes immortal; otherwise, every action is perishable, and everything that an action brings as a result would also be perishable. That was the point made by Yajnavalkya in regard to the question of Aśvala as to how the mortal can become immortal in spite of the fact that everything is subject to mortality in this world.

3. Remarks 

We belong to two realms of being, the phenomenal and the noumenal, as sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda teaches on space and time (Everything About Spiritual Life by Swami Krishnananda, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh). The phenomenality of life as a body-mind complex consists of limitations of space, time, and causation. Noumenality is the changeless and constant one, our very self, or Atman. He says that in every change there is one unchanging Brahman that remains as a witness to the change. That witness is Jivatma, or the Self at the individual level, and the Cosmic Self, Brahman, at the cosmic level. We think of everything in terms of length, breadth, and height.

Space and time constitute the limited adjuncts in the life journeying process to realise Atman, or Self. This phenomenal world, according to the Brihadaranyak Upanishad (1.6.1), consists of nothing except Nama (Name), Rupa (Form) and Karma (Action). The Upanishad says this universe does indeed consist of three things: name, form, and action. Of those names, speech (sound in general) is the Uktha (source), for all names spring from it. It is their Sāman (common feature), for it is common to all names. It is their Brahman (Supreme Self), for it sustains all names. The differentiated universe consisting of means and ends, which was introduced as the subject matter of ignorance, with its results culminating in identification with the vital force, as well as its state prior to manifestation, denoted by the word ‘undifferentiated’, like a tree and its seed—all this indeed consists of three things. Name, form and action are all non-self and not Self, which is Brahman, immediate and direct. Therefore, one should turn away from it. One whose mind is not averse to this non-Self has no inclination to meditate upon the Self, one’s own world, as ‘I am Brahman’, for the two tendencies—one going outwards and the other devoting itself to the inner Self—are contradictory. In a similar vein, Kaṭha Upaniṣad (4.1) says that ‘The self-born Lord injured the organs by making them outgoing in their tendencies. Therefore, they perceive only external things, but not the inner self. Once in a while some steady man, desiring immortality, turns his gaze inwards and sees the inner Self.’ Sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda, in his The Essence of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, states that name, form and action are what this world is. The world consists of nothing but names, forms, and activities. These, when externalised, particularised, or finitised, become sources of bondage. Again, the Upanishad uses the technique of universalising name, form, and activity. Then they become the names, forms, and actions of Hiranyagarbha-Prana (life-breath or cosmic energy of the golden womb/egg). This is a meditation which, we may say, is the basis for the Karma-Yoga doctrine, according to which every action is supposed to be divinity manifest and a means to the liberation of Atman, provided, of course, names, forms and actions get universalised in the meditation which is to be the background of one's activities in the world.

 -Asutosh Satpathy