How many
dimensions are there in the universe? As dilettantes we are aware of four: 3 in
space and the 4th one being ‘time’. We cannot see instances
on the ‘time’ axis, i.e. we can't see future & past occurrences?
There are three
facets of dimension: a) awareness of that dimension; b) ability to see in that
dimension; c) ability to traverse that dimension.
Let’s assume we humans were 2-dimensional. We would have been flat pieces on the ground unable to see or comprehend the 3rd dimension – the height axis. So any object floating in air wouldn’t exist from our view point.
Let’s assume we humans were 2-dimensional. We would have been flat pieces on the ground unable to see or comprehend the 3rd dimension – the height axis. So any object floating in air wouldn’t exist from our view point.
Till couple of
hundred centuries ago, we knew about a) & b) of 3rd dimension,
but not c) – we couldn’t traverse the 3rd dimension, i.e. we couldn’t
fly. At the beginning of life, organisms could see things flying in air, but
could never reach it. As birds evolved they were able to fly to that floating object,
but we humans could not. But today technology enables us to traverse the 3rd
dimension.
But what about
the 4th dimension – time? We know about a), but not b) & c).
Let’s assume a
man is born who can perceive the 4th dimension. What it means is that
he can see incidents in future & past. Imagine how unnerving it would be!
That’s why scientists say that the world will become paranormal if we can sense
higher dimensions. This is just the 4th dimension; what about a
person who can see the 5th or even higher dimensions? The world will
be stupendously amazing or maddeningly scary! Maybe the seers who could see
future in our scriptures had the ability to perceive the 4th
dimension. Maybe someday technology will help us traverse the 4th dimension
just like it helped us with the 3rd dimension.
As an aside, does
it mean the scriptures explained incidents from the past in the form of simple
illustrations because the writers knew the uninitiated human minds cannot
comprehend the complex science behind it? Fables spoke of seers who could close
their eyes and see the past and the future. This sounds absurd to the critical minds.
Several decades ago the ‘time’ dimension would not have much sense to common
people, but now it does. Similarly there could be nuances of physics that
current intellect cannot fathom, but future minds may. And then a generation
will reach a point where each and every ‘magic’ from our scriptures would make
sense scientifically. In the interim, we can keep an open and dispassionate mind
about the magic in our scriptures and just focus on the essence.
This dimensionality opens up intriguing
questions such as are Hell, Heaven and Netherland real places which can be
reached only through certain dimensions? Is there a dimension(s) that can be
seen only by soul (or the energy source within the body) that leads them to one
of the aforementioned astral regions at the end of time? Maybe that’s how the
sages from the scriptures travelled to & fro between Earth & Celestial
places because of their ability to discern multiple dimensions that are not
visible to the untrained mind.
At very high dimensions, it is said that the
distances between points are not that skewed as compared to low dimensions. This
means that there is always a route from one point to the other and the distance
between points do not vary drastically. So, a person with access to many
dimensions can reach Jupiter via one dimension and reach Heaven through other
without much fuss. Could the seers of the yore have had this access? Who knows?
For the science
aficionados this possibility of multiple dimensions and the mystery it entails
is super fascinating. As for the spiritually inclined, well, it’s really intriguing to
know whether there is a 'God' dimension of the highest order that gives you b) &
c) – that is, the ability to see God, & travel to his eternal abode! After all, the term 'faith' that every religion preaches could be this axis/dimension.
hmmm...Interesting...
ReplyDeleteTime being a 4th dimension or Time travel would mean there should be multiple alternate realities of me. I would have to imagine my life as multiple versions of the same movie playing at the same time each one with a fixed gap from the other (For e.g. One day gap would mean if the current time is 6:00 PM, there would be another me existing @ 6:00 PM yesterday, day before etc...). I never was able to think of any other possibility.
Wonder if there are other ways?
Super..
ReplyDeleteMatthew McConaughey in the movie Interstellar communicates with his daughter using 5th dimension(not sure i understand it fully).Christopher Nolan,the director,bends your mind like he does with 'Inception'.