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 Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental dhāma of Vṛndāvana. In CC Adi 5.18 purport it is stated that although Kṛṣṇa’s abode is unlimited and all-pervading, it is identical to the Vṛndāvana of this earth. This implies that within the tract of land called Vṛndāvana 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 higher-dimensional connections, and it implies that two (or more) worlds of experience can co-exist in parallel, in the same location.
The holy dhāma of Navadvīpa is another example of this (and, of course, Navadvīpa dhāma is also identical to Vṛndāvana). Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says in the Navadvīpa Mahātmyā, “The dhāma of Navadvīpa, within Gaura Maṇḍala and served by the Gaṅgā, is situated in eternal splendor…. The form of Gaura Maṇḍala, 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 Navadvīpa and Vṛndāvana are purely spiritual, but there are also material examples illustrating the idea of parallel worlds co-existing in one place. For example, the Bhāgavatam states that Maru and Devāpi, two ancient royal princes belonging to the Sūrya and Soma dynasties, are still living in the Himalayas in a place called Kalāpa-grāma. By the power of mystic yoga they will prolong their lives until the beginning of the next Satya-yuga and then revive the lost Sūrya 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 Devāpi 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 yogī 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 yogī, 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 Brahmā down to the nonmoving creatures. Also, CC Adi 5.53 states that “the earth, water, fire, air, and ether of Vaikuṇṭha are all spiritual. Material elements are not found there.”
The five material elements (pañca-bhūta) are described in the Bhagavad-gītā as separated energies of Kṛṣṇa. Their counterparts in Vaikuṇṭha are evidently similar enough to them to warrant being called by the same names. However, the spiritual elements must belong to Kṛṣṇa’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 Mādhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya sheds some light on the higher-dimensional nature of reality. In SB 1.4.15p Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that Vyāsadeva is residing in Śamyāprāsa in Badarikāśrama. Many people in India make a pilgrimage to Badarikāśrama every year, but it is not possible for an ordinary person to meet Vyāsadeva. However, it is said that Madhvācārya met Vyāsadeva there and took initiation from him. It was through this higher-dimensional link that the Mādhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya was passed down from Śrīla Vyāsadeva to the recent line of ācāryas.
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