Modern physics speaks of three dimensions of space with time as the fourth dimension. Vedic thought speaks of infinite space and eternal time as the true Self and the essence of existence.
Akasha or Space is the most subtle of the five Vedic elements, governing all levels of manifestation from immaterial to material, including mind and consciousness. Time ( Kala ) is related to Vayu or air/gas/energy/movement based elements.
Vayu is connected with life or Prana and Vidyut as electrical energy that manifests from outer space. Space relates to the mind and at a higher level to pure consciousness.
The moving space/ Akasha is called air/ Vayu , which means the moving space is time. We realize that time corresponds to the movement of objects or energy in space. Space itself without movement does not indicate time.
This means that space and time are the same reality in the state of rest and movement in the Vedic and yogic views. Eternal space creates time, like waves in the sea. Time creates temporal spaces of various kinds defined by objects moving in space, which are more finite than background infinity.
Views on Vedic Outer Space
The Sanskrit term for space or Akasha has a different connotation than the English term Space . Akasha implies the field of illumination or light as consciousness; it is related to the Self or Atman , and Ananda or happiness. Space as Atman is self-existence, independent and self-luminous. Space implies rest and duration, while time implies change and action.
There are many levels or types of spaces in Vedic thought . There is material space, which has different forms such as atmospheric space, solar system space, space between the stars, and various higher planes or realms of experience and subtle energies.
Within us there is a space of life or energy and a space of thought. All these tangible forms of space contain particles and waves or energy, including electro-magnetic forces, life and death, and thoughts and particles of life.
Space, Time and Shakti
The highest unmanifested space is Conscious Being, Sat-chit-ananda as Brahman is total reality. This supreme space has inherent power or Shakti which is the basis of manifestation, including time which is the main force of manifestation. Space is full of boundless intangible energy. Without time there is no manifestation, which implies a beginning and an end. The space of pure consciousness is eternal and unchanging, transcending the fluctuations of time, yet it is also its origin.
Shakti is the power of time or potential manifestation inherent in space. It arises from Consciousness and takes the form of the blissful background or Ananda . Space in Vedic thought has energy connected with vibration and sound, at a lower level the ear as a sense organ and speech as a motor organ, but at a higher level sound, speech and pure light are infinite and manifest themselves.
In the time of Vedic thought , vibration, prana , sound ( shabda ), and Vidyut arise together from the highest space, and develop the power of Vayu or air, i.e. space in motion. This Vayu is cosmic energy, not just wind as a material force. This means that time is moving space, or real space, condensing into other elements and forces. Space is the matrix or mother of all things through the creative power of time.
Space gives rise to not only time, but also forms of light such as the stars, which are manifestations of the infinitely clear light of space. Time is measured by the movement of light, such as day and night and the Sun and Moon. Space itself is pure light without fluctuations, clear and transparent.
Transcending all Dimensions
Time cannot be a separate dimension from space because we can only experience time and space together. If there are three dimensions of space then time must be a dimension of space. But there are also those without dimensions or dimensions that go beyond the space of pure consciousness. In reality, there is only one reality, Brahman . Dimensions are just facets of the same immersive experience.
Time as past, present and future, and space as distance or location are the coordinates of the mind that serve to measure the visible world. But they are limiting and can distort reality, if we are not aware of the higher space and eternity behind them.
The mind uses time and location to deal with the practical world, but the world is one entity and this division is shallow.
Beyond real space-time is a timeless space that is greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest as stated by the Upanishads , which means beyond all measurable dimensions and beyond thought.
Beyond the dimension of space is dimensionless space. This is the Vedic Self that stores the entire universe in a small space or dahara akasha in the heart, which contains all time and the entire universe. This pure space had no dimensions and nothing could compare to it. We can experience it as a point and as infinity at the same time.
Eternity beyond time is a form of space. Real time is real space as a form of all elements and energy. Infinite space has no size or shape. Unmanifested time is also unmanifested space. Manifestation implies location in space and time. In this case, manifestation is Maya or relativity, the appearance of something beyond all appearances.
The Evolving Universe or the Eternal Universe
In this context of intangible space, how can we speak of the universe as expanding, expanding from what and into what?
You can only expand to an existing space. You need space to grow. You can't just create space as you grow. The universe can expand as a type of real space but not in terms of intangible space. Manifest space can only develop in a larger plane than intangible space.
The universe cannot have a beginning or an end in time or space, because it is only possible in infinite time and space which is ultimately greater. Time as a beginning and an end is a particle, wave, or motion in timeless eternal space.
If time is a manifestation of space, then it is not only linear but like a moving wave. Periods of time are waves in the sea of eternal space. It means that the beginning and end of time or birth and death is the illusion of waves. Waves are not only time but also space as certain forms. The body, for example, is a wave of biological force rooted in deeper prana . The personality or thoughts created by the waves dissolve back into the ocean of thoughts and consciousness. In this case, the Vedas speak of space as water, apas , which literally means waves, and the Sun and Moon as flowers or lotuses, meaning the matrix in the waters of space.
We experience life not as a straight line or a river flowing from the past to the future that is always advancing, but as a wave of birth, growth, decline and death, a wave of time. Creation, sustenance and dissolution, which is the movement of waves is also a cycle, from and back to origin and end, which is ultimately the same.
Aren't unmanifest time and unmanifested space the same thing?
Intangible space is immortalized by time and eternity. Time is as intangible as space, without movement or events. Both are merely presence without change but hold all the possibilities and essence of all.
Space is essentially intangible. It manifests through other elements starting with air or Vayu . Time as a beginning and an end is real. Intangible time is ultimately timeless because it has neither a beginning nor an end. Space is transcendent, while time is the creative force that gives rise to the real world.
But we have time in space and space in time. The two eventually became one. Because time is connected with space, in the end there is no death. There is always room for more time, albeit in a different form.
By finding space in time, one can experience an eternal presence. Find time in space, can find unlimited creativity. Time is an expression or manifestation of space.
And that supreme boundless space and eternal time are one and form the infinite and eternal Self!
This is simply an introduction to cosmology of consciousness, which deals with non-dimensional space and time without beginning.
Space In The Heart
There is space within us, space in the heart. This is not a physical space but the space of consciousness itself, the presence of the Divine. We seldom dwell in this inner space, except in deep sleep, when we return to it unconsciously for rest and renewal.
If we look into our minds, we see emptiness. Most of us are afraid of this inner emptiness. We don't like being alone because we have to face an internal void that questions our entire being. We are used to seeing and relating externally. We find that being alone means being nobody, being unrelated, unmotivated and unimportant. We escape from that inner space and experience outer sensations and engagements. We fill ourselves with worldly things or occupy ourselves with the things of the mind. It makes our inner space seem scary. We are afraid, as if it were great suffering or darkness.
The little space in the heart is the most amazing of all things. The space in the heart contains everything. The whole universe is there, throughout time and space, and all creation.
The past, present and future are there. All the memories and all that we can be rests in perfect harmony in them. Fulfillment of all desires is there.
All worlds and all beings dwell in that inner space, woven into lotuses, from the infinitely small to the infinite. The key to fulfilling all desires is not to pursue them outwardly but to seek their essence within the space within.
This small inner space is called dahara akasha or Spiritual Heart or Hridaya , the essence of our eternal existence beyond body and mind, thoughts and emotions, consists of pure Happiness-Conscious Beings ( Sat-chit-ananda ).
The inner space was filled with light like a thousand sunrises. It contains the inner Sun of pure consciousness, of which the outer sun is merely a reflection.
It holds the unquenchable flame of our own existence, the consciousness of the soul that endures throughout all incarnations. In soul, we all dwell around that inner fire like children around their mother, the flame that provides food for all. There resides the original life force that gives vitality and hope to all beings.
Living dwells in the space in the heart, not only our personal lives, but all life pulsates and vibrates everywhere. Our true self resides in the inner space of the heart, always at peace, away from all worries of the mind and all strife of ego. The space in the heart is our true home, where we can let go of everything, including our body and identity, and be truly free.
Ocean of Hearts
This space of the heart is like a vast ocean, and all the universe is just a wave. A special music emerged from it, a primordial voice that created the world. It contains the highest level of speech, the highest silence which is the revelation of I-that-I-being. It is the origin and support of all mantras, where all mantras become one and universal.
There contact the voice of the teacher or the original teacher, who is the source of all true guidance and all true inspiration, the Divine Word and the vibrations of the cosmic voice. There we find our true ancestors and lineages, wise men and seers who have helped mankind since time immemorial. There we contact the supreme Beloved, the Divine Father and Mother, whose grace we all seek.
The space of the heart is a haven of all true devotion, transcending all forms, divisions and limitations
Those who don't know the space in their heart have missed the most important thing in life. We fall from the intangible soul into matter, what is formed is finite, finite and uncertain. We lose our inner space and become an outer object, body or person confined in the flesh. We let go of our light and become a shadow of what others think.
True meditation is returning to the space in the heart. It consists in attracting and immersing the mind in the inner heart space, where the mind strays and loses itself like a drop of water in the sea. It requires that we sink deep within ourselves, incorporating everything into the very core of our being. We must trace all our thoughts to their origin in the heart. Then we can dwell in mind-free consciousness which is peaceful and happy. That is the essence of Vedanta meditationand the ultimate method of Vedic counseling.
To move to the spiritual heart requires that we draw all of our attention away from the sensory field, directing all of our energy within. An extraordinary fire of spiritual practice is required to get there. To truly return completely to the spiritual heart requires the perfect energy of our entire life and consciousness. Yet every contact with the spiritual heart, however small, must sow seeds of realization.
To open the space within, we must let go of the knots of fear and desire that bind us to the outside world. We have to let go of all the stress and tension that we create around ourselves in an effort to maintain a private life or promote a personal identity. Space is our true nature. We have to open our hearts to the inner space of pure consciousness.
That is the ultimate goal of all life, the beginning and end of everything, of which all we know is a shadow.
