Are we living in a different dimension than people from other eras? (The Intriguing Vedic Universe, ch.15)

A interesting consequence of the idea that two days on our planet equals one day in Jambudvipa is that it means we are not exactly living in Bhu-Mandala, but some kind of gross representation of it.

« Back to the index

'The Intriguing Vedic Universe' was my first book on Vedic cosmology, explaining the mysterious universe described in the Srimad Bhagavatam. It describes not just the physical aspects, in a level of detail that rivals modern science, but also the metaphysical aspects, the missing aspect that is missing in the modern perspective.

Chapter 15: Are we living in a different dimension than people from other eras?

The Universe described in the Puranas is clearly multi-dimensional. It's easy to understand that we don't live in the same dimension as the demigods for example. The moon is described as a paradisiacal place, where the inhabitants live extremely long lives in great opulence, but when we go there in our rockets we see only rocks and dust.

However, one interesting ramification of the idea that two days on our planet equals one day in Jambudvipa is that since time flows at a faster rate for us, it means we are not exactly living in Bhu-Mandala, but in a gross representation of it, that is lower in the cosmical hierarchy. In other words, we are currently living in a lower dimension than people from previous ages.

It's important to remember in this connection that time flows at a faster rate in the lower planetary systems and at a slower rate in the higher planetary systems. If time is flowing at a faster rate for us, it proves we are actually living in a lower position relative to Bhu-Mandala in the scale based on levels of consciousness described in the Puranas. This also helps to explain many other incongruences we can find between the world we can observe and the descriptions of the Vedas.

For example, based on the descriptions, we know for sure that people of previous ages lived in Jambudvipa. There are many descriptions of the geographical features of their land. The trouble is that these descriptions don't match our current geography. It's mentioned that India was 72,000 miles (9000 yojanas) from north to south, and the Himalayas were 80,000 miles high, for example.

People from Vedic times were not stupid, they were used to walking from north to south of India and many would climb the Himalayas. They would not take the current 3,214 km from one extreme to the other of India for 72,000 miles, nor the 8,848 meters of the Himalayas for 80,000 miles. The only explanation is that they indeed lived in a higher dimension where things are indeed bigger.

Something similar happens with the moon. The celestial moon is described as being much further away and much bigger. However, the four-dimensional projection of the moon we can see in the sky has a diameter of just 3,474 km.

Another point is that the population in previous eras was much bigger than nowadays. It's mentioned that King Citraketu had 10,000,000 wives, all of them princesses. If there were 10 million princesses at that time, the total population must have been in the trillions. It would not be possible for such a huge population to live on the same planet we live on, but if in their dimension the earth is so much bigger, as described, then it would be perfectly feasible.

It's also described that people in previous ages were much taller. Some references speak about people being six plus meters tall. If they were living in the same dimension as us, it would be difficult to miss all the bones and other artifacts left by such giants. It would be all over the place. However, that’s not what is found in archeological excavations. Many bones are found, but these are bones from animals and primates, not from human beings similar to us. Even in Kurukshetra, where millions of people died and so many weapons were fired, very little is found.

This idea of advanced human beings from previous ages living in a different dimension also matches other descriptions from the Puranas. It's mentioned, for example, that there are currently a number of sages from previous eras living in Badarikasrama, including Vyasadeva and potentially even Uddhava. However, no one was ever able to find such a place. It's usually concluded that this is so because these sages live in a subtle dimension, and only qualified persons can contact them (like in the case of Srila Madvacarya, who was able to personally meet Srila Vyasadeva).

If such sages from previous ages live in a subtle dimension, would it not make sense to believe that other people like the Pandavas also similarly lived in a subtle dimension? Arjuna went to Swargaloka after all, how could a human being with a gross material body do so? If the Pandavas had subtle bodies, and they were interacting with all kinds of people, it would imply that most people at their time lived in a similar subtle dimension.

By all these different details we can speculate that we currently live in a gross representation of Bharata Varsa, which is much smaller than the "real" Bharata Varsa where people lived in previous eras. Because we live in a gross dimension, we don't find bones and other artifacts when we dig the ground and time flows at a faster rate for us. We can't access (or even see) the other parts of Jambudvipa, and so on.

It's worth mentioning that there is little archeological evidence of advanced human civilizations in the distant past on our planet. If people from previous ages were living in a different dimension, it’s perfectly feasible that our gross planet was previously inhabited only by animals and primitive human beings who lived in the same gross dimension we do.

When we consider all these details, the explanations given in the Puranas make perfect sense, both in the light of our sense perception and modern studies. As mentioned, this is proof of the divine nature of Vedic knowledge.

« Back to the index