We have been developing the idea that the three-dimensional continuum of our experience does not constitute the totality of spiritual or material reality. One feature of this idea is that there exist worlds, or realms of experience, that are located here on the earth but that cannot be perceived or visited by human beings
possessing ordinary sensory powers. Of course, the most striking example of this is Kåñëa’s transcendental dhäma of Våndävana. In CC AL 5.18p it is stated that although Kåñëa’s abode is unlimited and all-pervading, it is identical to the
Våndävana of this earth. This implies that within the tract of land called Våndävana in India, there exists a completely real domain of spiritual existence that is not accessible to the senses of ordinary conditioned beings. This is another example of h_gher-dimensional connections, and it implies that two (or more) worlds of experience can co-exist in parallel, in the same location.
The holy dhäma of Navadvépa is another example of this (and, of course,
Navadvépa dhäma is also identical to Våndävana). Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura says in the Navadvépa Mahätmyä, “The dhäma of Navadvépa, within Gaura Maëòala and served by the Gaìgä, is situated in eternal splendor.… The form of Gaura Maëòala, eternally transcendental to the material world, is like the sun. The
materialist’s eye is covered by the cloud of illusion, and because of this he sees only the secondary transformations of that spiritual energy, the dull, inert material world” (NM, p. 4).
The transcendental realms of Navadvépa and Våndävana are purely spiritual, but there are also material examples illustrating the idea of parallel worlds co-existing in one place. For example, the Bhägavatam states that Maru and Deväpi, two ancient royal princes belonging to the Sürya and Soma dynasties, are still living in the Himalayas in a place called Kaläpa-gräma. By the power of mystic yoga they will prolong their lives until the beginning of the next Satya-yuga and then revive the lost Sürya and Soma dynasties by begetting children (SB 9.12.6, 9.22.17–18, and 12.2.37–38).
If we go to the Himalayas, we will certainly not be able to perceive Maru and Deväpi using our ordinary senses, even though they are human beings possessing gross material bodies. It can also be argued that we will not be able to perceive the surroundings in which they live. A human being cannot live without interacting with his material surroundings. Even a yogé who is simply living on air requires an undisturbed sitting place. Could it be that the material accoutrements and sitting places of these two persons are directly visible and accessible to us, even though they themselves are invisible? We suggest that they are actually living in a setting that is entirely inaccessible to our senses, but that can be seen and entered by a person, such as an advanced yogé, whose senses can operate on an appropriate level.
Here the objection may be raised that a co-existing invisible world cannot be on the same level of reality as our world because it must be “subtle,” transparent, or ghostlike in nature, whereas our own world is opaque and substantial. Our reply is that such a co-existing world is invisible to us not because it is made of transparent substance distributed within our own three-dimensional continuum, but rather because it lies in a higher dimension and is entirely outside our continuum. It can be in the “same place” as we are by virtue of higher-dimensional interconnection. A person with higher sensory powers is able to perceive this world not because he can discern some nearly transparent substance lying within his own three-
dimensional space, but because his senses are not restricted to three dimensions and have access to broader realms of material or spiritual reality.
We should note that the basic elements—of earth, water, fire, air, and ether—are present in some form on all levels of reality, both spiritual and mundane. In SB
11.21.5 it is stated that these five elements constitute the bodies of all conditioned souls, from Lord Brahmä down to the nonmoving creatures. Also, CC AL 5.53 states that “the earth, water, fire, air, and ether of Vaikuëöha are all spiritual. Material elements are not found there.”
The five material elements (païca-bhüta) are described in the Bhagavad-gétä as separated energies of Kåñëa. Their counterparts in Vaikuëöha are evidently similar enough to them to warrant being called by the same names. However, the spiritual elements must belong to Kåñëa’s internal potency. It would therefore seem that the spiritual world and the material world are similar in the sense that both contain variegated forms composed of solid, liquid, and gaseous constituents. At the same time, they have distinct qualitative features, of which one of the most notable is the presence of the modes of passion and ignorance in the material world and their absence in the spiritual world. Material realms on various dimensional levels will also possess similar variegated forms, but the higher realms will be characterized by greater predominance of the mode of goodness over the modes of passion and ignorance.
As a final point, we note that the history of the Mädhva-Gauòéya-sampradäya sheds some light on the higher-dimensional nature of reality. In SB 1.4.15p Çréla
Prabhupäda points out that Vyäsadeva is residing in Çamyäpräsa in Badarikäçrama. Many people in India make a pilgrimage to Badarikäçrama every year, but it is not possible for an ordinary person to meet Vyäsadeva. However, it is said that
Madhväcärya met Vyäsadeva there and took initiation from him. It was through this higher-dimensional link that the Mädhva-Gauòéya-sampradäya was passed down from Çréla Vyäsadeva to the recent line of äcäryas.