There is a naïve notion that to be enlightened is to go beyond the illusion of time and enter the timeless. This assumes that time is inherent only to impermanence and ignorance. But what is the real meaning of time, and does it exist in the inner plane? The truth is that to eliminate time would be to cease to exist; without time, nothing can exist and nothing can be experienced. There is no such a thing as consciousness without time, for time is the vehicle of recognition, and recognition is the very essence of consciousness. Consciousness devoid of recognition is equal to unconsciousness and death.

From a truly awakened perspective, time and absolute existence are inextricably linked. Zen master Dogen correctly intuited their relationship with his term ‘time-being’. Time-being reflects how the motionlessness of being and the flow of time are entirely inseparable. In the inner dimension, time is being and being is time. In Zen, the paradoxical coexistence of time and timelessness is expressed as ‘the river stands still; the bridge flows.’ It is the now that is actually flowing in time. The river of inner time itself does not move, because its essence is the perpetual recognition of the unchanging ground of existence. It is this recognition that represents the dynamic aspect of being through which the timeless becomes impregnated with the magic of time.

So, what exactly is time? Our interest here is to understand the meaning of real time, the time of the inner plane, the essence of which constitutes the flow of becoming in the dimension of pure subjectivity. How does time flow in meditation or samadhi? It is common for seekers to lose a sense of time in meditation, but this is usually because their intelligence loses orientation and spaces-out when they enter various altered states of consciousness. Regrettably, there are also many mystical schools that confuse a defused sense of identity and time for self-realization. But losing a sense of oneself and one’s environment, whether it be through repeating mantras, focusing on chakras, or getting intoxicated with false devotion, is not meditation. If a meditator were to have true respect for their divine me and the correct relationship with time, their meditation, and indeed their whole spiritual journey, would be radically different.

If time is being, does that mean we become one with time by ‘just being’? It is important to understand that passive, lethargic, and unintelligent ‘just-being’ is not the vivid reality of time-being. To experience real time, we must be in the state of profound surrender to the source and one with the clear force of recognition. As we have said, what generates time, living time, is recognition. Time in meditation is the constant recognition of pure subjectivity. It is not that once you have recognized pure subjectivity it is done: recognition is constantly arising from the now and constantly returning into that now. Who is recognizing? It is our me. Where is the power of recognition coming from? From the consciousness of our me. And how is consciousness generating this recognition? Through the spirit of its intelligence. So consciousness, intelligence, and me are the building blocks of recognition, and hence the building blocks of our experience of the internal time.

Is Time Absolute or Relative?

In order to contemplate the nature of time, it is interesting to begin with an exploration of how time operates in the physical universe. Physicists and cosmologists have long been interested in the subject of time, and while their discoveries have been limited to our physical, relative reality, they can still inspire our contemplation of time in the inner realm. The great physicist Isaac Newton posited that time is absolute, meaning it exists independently of who is perceiving or experiencing it. He said that it is due to our limitations as humans that we are only able to experience relative time. Newton also believed that space was absolute, always similar, and unmovable. Within this field of absolute space-time, all the physical events of the universe occur. So for him, the absolute time-space continuum was like the ultimate container of reality. This is not unlike Brahman in Hinduism or the Perfect Void in Buddhism, objective realities in which the elaborate dance of maya or samsara takes place.

Later on, Einstein developed his famous theory of relativity, which overturned Newton’s model. This caused scientists to begin to question many of their fundamental concepts around how the universe was constructed. According to the theory of relativity, space and time are not absolute but relative, and the laws of the universe consequently appear to be very paradoxical. In Einstein’s model, time and space are interdependent and both are affected by gravity. The time-space continuum can actually bend when pulled by the powerful gravitational forces generated by bodies with a high mass. Einstein refuted Newton’s idea of absolute time by demonstrating the impossibility of ‘absolute simultaneity’. He said that it was impossible for two or more events to be experienced simultaneously by different observers. Therefore, there can be no such thing as an absolute now in the physical universe (in other words, there can be no absolute simultaneity).

Einstein defined time as ‘that which a clock measures’. Through his observations, he understood that time can be experienced differently depending on the position of the perceiver, meaning it is not absolute and objective in nature – it depends on the subject. However, the real truth of time is not observable: it is inherent to our deepest consciousness. So we have to actually realize pure consciousness within ourselves in order to truly delve into the role of the subject in creating the flow of time. An observer, a scientist, or mathematician can study an event in time, or even time itself. But how does he know that he himself exists? Without our own existence, there is no experience of time at all. The level and speed of our internal self-recognition directly impacts our ability to register anything that is occurring outside of us.

Time in the manifested universe is constituted by many interconnected planes. For instance, our planet has an internal clock, according to which seasons pass, rivers flow, and various forms of life appear and disappear. Even if no one was there to observe it, this objective form of time would still flow. In other parts of the universe, it most likely flows differently, at different speeds according to different gravitational fields, and perhaps other unknown factors. So even the objective plane of time is relative; we could call it ‘relatively objective time’ due to its independence from the perceiver. This is the time of the unconscious and subconscious realms, which lies at the base of manifested existence.

Within this environment, another plane of existence evolves: me. Me evolves through the grace of time to become the actual experiencer of time; me can actually identify the flow of time. The experience of time is relative in nature. For instance, humans experience time very differently than other creatures. And even between humans, the experience of time slightly differs, because each me has a subjective angle of perception which affects their sense of time. However, one thing is certain – all mes flow into the future within the river of time, and all mes ultimately become conscious of time.

So time is not absolute, but not because two observers cannot experience it with the same degree of simultaneity. Time is not absolute because it is evolving, just as our own consciousness evolves. Unconscious time becomes subconscious through the birth of me, and then self-aware, and ultimately conscious. While in the physical universe time is initially only objective, subjective time gradually comes into existence through the evolution of me. The true purpose of time is the evolution and birth of consciousness; time itself is instinctively seeking self-recognition so that it can begin to flow into reality. As long as me is ignorant, time is experienced through our lower subjectivity alone (either subconscious me or the observer). However, as we awaken, we begin to experience it from our higher spiritual subjectivity (pure me). The closer we are to the pure nature of consciousness, the closer we come to the essence of time, which is the bare recognition of existence and the light of me. The light of me travels in time, within the space of universal existence, while being able, through that very time, to become conscious of its own subjectivity.

The Building Blocks of Relative Time: Light, Gravity, and Velocity

Light: Einstein’s theory of relativity was built from the concepts of time, light, and gravity. It had two aspects: special relativity and general relativity. Special relativity relates to the space-time continuum and the speed of light, while general relativity relates more to how gravity affects both time and space. According to the theory of relativity, an object can never travel at the speed of light, because if it did, its mass would become infinite (velocity or kinetic energy increases mass). Light can travel as fast as 300,000 kilometers per second, but only in a perfect vacuum. The moment it passes through any medium (such as air or water) it slows down or changes direction. Light possesses energy and momentum, but it appears to have no mass. Rather, it is composed of units (particle-waves) called photons that cannot be brought to rest. Mass itself can only be measured in isolation from movement; this is called ‘rest mass’. Rest is itself relative, of course. It is not the absence of movement, but the illusion of stillness created when the observer is travelling at the same speed as the observed mass. So light is said to have no mass because the observer cannot travel with the speed of light, so as to perceive it to be resting.

Gravity: In physics, time is called the fourth dimension, which coexists with the three spatial dimensions. As we have said, Einstein theorized that time is not absolute, and that its flow depends on many interdependent factors. Therefore, time can flow slower or faster depending on various conditions. For instance, time is directly influenced by gravity (we could call gravity the fifth dimension of the physical universe); the stronger the gravity, the slower time moves. The slowing down of time due to gravity is called ‘time dilation’. Even on the minute scale of Planet Earth, the flow of time is relative to gravity. So for every extra foot a person lives above sea level, they will age 90 billionths of a second faster. The further away from gravity we are, the faster is time is. These ideas have inspired some science fiction films where, for instance, an astronaut returns from a relatively short journey in space only to find that everyone he knows is long gone because they have aged much more quickly than he has. This could have been caused by him being exposed to some powerful gravitational forces on his way through the cosmos, or because he has been travelling at an extremely high speed.

Velocity: In addition to gravity, there is another element that dilates time – and that is velocity. The faster we move, the slower time flows. So when a person is travelling by airplane, he actually experiences time more slowly than someone who is stationary. While this difference may be imperceptible to us, it can be measured by atomic clocks. This dilation of time increases exponentially until we reach the speed of light, at which point our sense of time would stop altogether. When time stops moving, all experience stops, for experience is dependent on the movement of time. Therefore, if a normal person were to travel at the speed of light, it is rather impossible for them to actually recognize the event of time stopping, even though it is an objective possibility.

Time, Light, and Gravity in the Inner Dimension

The behavior of the time-space continuum in the physical universe does not find direct parallels in the inner universe of reality – the laws and principles which govern these planes are entirely different and only very indirectly related. However, this does not mean that we can’t use Einstein’s theories of light, time, and gravity in order to inspire a similar investigation into the nature of internal time. Within this, it must be clear that when we speak about light, time, or gravity in the inner dimension, a great deal of imagination must be used to intuit the meaning of these terms, not to mention a complete experiential grounding in the dimension of pure subjectivity.

In our teaching, we often refer to ‘the light of me’. And indeed, our me is a form of light, but one that is not physical and cannot be experienced visually. We call it light because it illuminates consciousness and existence with knowing. It is in fact true light, higher light, the light of all lights. Unlike physical light, the light of me has an actual identity and cannot be separated from its inherent faculty of self-recognition. The consciousness of me is composed of both light and intelligence, which is the mysterious spirit of understanding within the act of recognition. The unity of light and recognition is what we call consciousness. In order to exist, the light of me has to travel in time, which is the dynamic dimension of the now responsible for the integration of being with the principle of becoming. Time is not a thing, but a process of unfoldment of the potential of the present now into the now of the future. Even for us to recognize the present moment, time is needed. And time is also needed to recognize our sense of me: it flows from me’s immediate past into its immediate future through the fluid substance of the hypothetical present moment. The now is too fast, too instantaneous, to be recognized through our ordinary consciousness. Therefore, it is only through awakening to our pure subjectivity and reaching samadhi in the source that we can manifest the pure recognition of the now. However, even then that now is eternally moving. What constitutes the actual experience of time passing for the light of me? When we look deeper into the fabric of me, we realize that it is constantly arising within time into self-recognition. So to get in touch with the experience of time, we must get in touch with the mystery of our higher subjectivity. Only then can we understand the meaning of the flow of time.

In a similar way to physical light, the light of me has velocity. Physical light travels through the manifested space-time continuum; the light of me (depending on its level of evolution) travels either through the subjective dimension of presence (the relatively-objective space-time continuum) or through the dimension of absence (the absolutely-objective dimension of the real time-space continuum). Just like physical light, the light of me has a maximum speed in time that cannot be exceeded. Should me travel any faster than this, it wouldn’t be able to maintain its presence – it would dissolve. The speed of the light of me depends on whether it is experienced in the dimension of presence or the dimension of absence. The dimension of presence, in many ways, reflects the laws of the physical universe; it slows the light of me down due to various forms of resistance inherent to its structure. The dimension of absence, on the other hand, resembles the perfect vacuum in physics. So when me enters absence, it can as if accelerate towards its ultimate speed and intelligence. Initially, as a result of reaching such a high velocity, me completely loses its sense that time is passing. But does time really ‘stop’ in the dimension of absence? And if not, why does it feel to be so? This is what we will now explore.

The Law of Gravity and the Stillness of Samadhi

“When, in 1907, I was working on a comprehensive paper about special theory of relativity, there occurred to me the happiest thought of my life, that for an observer falling freely from the roof of a house, there exists – at least in his immediate surroundings – no gravitational field.”

— Albert Einstein

We all experience gravity, but when we experience absolute gravity, we actually stop experiencing it. This was one of Einstein’s revelations: that a person in free fall no longer feels the weight of his body. The reason why astronauts feel weightless in orbit is not because they have escaped the gravity of earth (at a vertical height of 400 kilometers, the force of gravity is still 90%) but because they are in free fall. As we fall, we accelerate. The stronger the force of gravity is, the faster we fall. So, how does it affect our entry into the unmanifested when we encounter the absolute gravity of the source? When we surrender vertically, we feel our existence being pulled by gravity. This is the experience of the weight of our body (the spiritual body of the soul and our identity). When this weight reaches its optimum, we have arrived at the point of entry to the source. Our weight is not a mass but a force. A unit of weight in physics is defined as the force of gravity on the object, and is calculated as the mass of the object multiplied by the acceleration of gravity. So for us to actually feel our weight, we must stop accelerating and settle down on the earth. In our inner evolution, then, how can we feel the weight of our spiritual self prior to crossing the threshold of the absolute and settling at the bottom of its gravity?

Our place of entry into the unmanifested is like the first doorway of gravity. It marks the place where we are close enough to the beyond to begin to experience the weight of our spiritual body (from here, we can gain the requisite force for our further surrender into pure verticality). However, we are not really resting yet; to truly rest, we must reach unity with absolute gravity. As our surrender continues and the gate to the beyond opens, we enter the second doorway of gravity, the doorway of the inner void. Only after crossing the second doorway of the absolute do we enter a free fall and become weightless, because it is here that the internal space between me and the very center of gravity of the beyond opens up – the new infinite space of absence.

As the soul reaches an eternal state of free fall, a perfect movement into the beyond, she experiences absolute weightlessness and stillness because there is no other point of reference to her fall. The light of me continues to travel through the real time and real space into the dimension of the source, but it travels in stillness. This is the first time that the soul experiences the true now of existence: the eternal now, the living timeless-time, or motionless time. In order to reach true rest, the soul must surrender so that she can become one with the gravitational force of the beyond. In this way, she accelerates to the point that she can match the velocity of the source with the speed of her light. So, how does the soul experience the perfect rest if, in her free fall, she must succumb to the law of acceleration, coming ever closer to the source of gravity? In other words, how can she arrive at the state of rest as she eternally falls towards the ground with increasing speed?

To understand this, we must gain insight into the fundamental principles that govern the gravity of the source, and how they differ from the laws of physical gravity. While the center of the earth’s gravity is at its physical core, the beyond does not have a center of gravity, or better put, that center is eternally moving away from us. This is the law of ‘receding gravity’. As me falls into the beyond, the beyond recedes with the same velocity, thus preventing the further acceleration of me. If the gravity of the beyond did not recede, it would cause the increasing acceleration of our fall and obstruct our realization of the motionlessness of the now. In our perfect free fall into the fathomless ground of absence, we must reach the same velocity as the receding speed of gravity of the source. This is where we arrive at true stillness and peace.

The Birth of Real Time

The unmanifested, or the absolute, is both the ultimate source of gravity and the perfect vacuum of absence which allows our me to reach its optimal speed in time. And yet as our me travels into the vacuum of the unmanifested, time reaches a complete stop due to the absolute gravity of the source. This stopping of time would have two reasons: the light of me has attained its optimum speed (me’s internal experience of time is suspended) and the absolute gravity of the source has fully reached me (objective time stops). When the absolute gravity has reached the light of me, which is itself at its optimal speed, this is what constitutes the state of true samadhi. However, as we have said, without time there is neither recognition nor experience. Therefore, how can me experience samadhi?

To gain insight into the nature of time within the state of samadhi, we must capture the most intricate principles of the dynamic polarity between the source of absence (which is the space in which me becomes absorbed) and the light of me that dwells in that absorption. What allows the intelligence of me to retain consciousness and hence recognition is the fact that, as we have said, the inner source of gravity is not static but infinitely receding into fathomless absence. Crucially, it is receding at the same speed as the light of me. We can imagine that we are free falling through the sky while the earth is constantly moving away from us. Because of the transcendental nature of receding absence, a certain profound duality is born between the speed of me and the speed of the source which enables intelligence to become conscious of samadhi as a constantly reoccurring event. So due to the fact that the gravity of absence is constantly receding, a new vehicle of time is activated which enables me to continue its never-ending descent into the source. This new time is what we call ‘real time’. Real time comes into existence when the speed of the light of me is perfectly counter-balanced by the receding gravity of the source.

In short, when we enter true samadhi, we meet the perfect vacuum of absence. In that event, the light of me reaches its ultimate speed and its internal clock stops (and due to gravity of the source, the time of presence has stopped). However, simultaneously, a new dimension of time is opened up which activates a new internal clock based on the recognition of universality. Of course, as long as we live in the dimension of presence we can reactivate our human clock, but it is now experienced as a relative and pale refection of real time.

So, within samadhi, several paradoxical dimensions and internal dynamic forces cross and intertwine to produce the realization of our unity with universal subjectivity. When the light of me moves with the optimal speed through time, time stops. It is not that time stops objectively, but that me’s subjective experience of time stops: me is no longer conscious of the passing of time, because the speed of me has become faster than our ability to register it (our intelligence cannot catch up with our me). On the other hand, the absolute gravity of the source stops objective time too. So time is stopped here from two sides: from the side of the source (objective) and from the side of me (subjective). Gravity is slowing objective time down to the point of halting it, and the speed of the light of me is halting the subjective experience of time.

The entry of me into absence is the point at which one dimension of time ends and another begins – the birth of real time. Real time is deeper, stronger, and faster, for it has to match the power of the source and survive its absolute gravity.

The Optimum Speed of Intelligence: Primal Recognition

Using Einstein’s theory of relativity, we have built a description of the nature of time in samadhi. There are several elements to bring into the equation here: the speed of the light of me, the absolute gravity of the source, and, finally, the power of recognition. For Einstein, who was investigating the principles of the physical universe, it is the observer who is recognizing and subject to the flow of time. So one of his revelations was that two observers who are subject to different conditions can have very different experiences of time, hence the theory that time is relative. However, in the inner realm, it is not the observer who is recognizing. The dimension of our intelligence (the power of recognition and understanding) which recognizes the inner reality of pure subjectivity is much faster and more evolved than the observer, which is slow, primitive, and alienated from reality. Inner recognition happens through the deeper faculties of our consciousness, which are linked to what we call pure attention, bare attention, and pure intelligence. Unless these faculties are activated, we cannot understand the principle of true recognition.

So in order for me to enter real time, the intelligence of me needs to ‘catch up’ with the optimal speed of me as it travels within the dimension of absence. There can only be recognition in samadhi if the speed of intelligence can keep up with the speed of me. If the speed of recognition is too slow, it cannot match the speed of the light of me. This results in our alienation from the experience of pure subjectivity. This can be caused by a lack of surrender of intelligence into pure subjectivity or by a broken chain of identity, where, for instance, conscious me is failing to link intelligence with pure consciousness. Another example would be the inability to establish the continuity of recognition of pure consciousness. Incidentally, in the case of various states of trance or suspension, which we call ‘negative samadhi’ or just ordinary experiences of being spaced-out, intelligence is neither too slow nor too fast, but just disintegrated and entirely disjoined from the experience.*

How fast should our intelligence be in order to properly illuminate the state of perfect samadhi with recognition? As fast as it can. Ultimately, it needs to reach the same velocity as the light of me itself: this reflects the complete integration of intelligence. True recognition, that is, recognition which is embedded in the light of me in its unison with the absolute, is what we call primal recognition. It is a perfect non-dual communion between me and the essence of its innermost intelligence of pure knowing. Here, recognition, the light of me, and the state of absence become one, creating the experience of real time.

The Higher Duality of Contemplative Recognition

We cannot grasp the mystery of intelligence without seeing that there are two fundamental levels of recognition. The recognition embedded in the light of me is primal recognition. Even though primal recognition can be experienced at lower levels of self-realization, for it to be fully born one has to be in the state of absence, because only in absence can the speed of the light of me and intelligence become one. However, for our intelligence to function in existence (both its outer and inner planes), a second level of recognition has to be activated. This level of recognition pertains to our ability to relate to reality through direct feeling and thinking: we can call it ‘contemplative recognition’. For instance, to stimulate our evolution and further surrender into universal and transcendental subjectivity, we must utilize contemplative recognition, for it is this that enables us to reflect upon our current condition and to intuit the next step.

Awakening of true contemplative recognition happens through the grace of another dimension of pure subjectivity – love. Love is the essence of our ultimate recognition. It is the power of love that enables us to slow down the speed of intelligence within the light of me and produce the necessary distance from our experience within which contemplative recognition can occur. From the view point of time, contemplative recognition matches the speed of the light of me but with a slight delay; contemplative intelligence travels in what we can call the ‘immediate past’ of me. This type of intelligence is only activated periodically; part of our intelligence splits off from the body of me to create the necessary distance for reflection.

So there is the original love of primal recognition, and there is contemplative recognition which allows us to experience the joy of love, the ecstasy of feeling, touching, honoring, and contemplating the heart of pure subjectivity, the mystery of the self. To recognize, we must be in relationship with what is being recognized. As such, even though the light of me and intelligence are one, they are in a dual relationship. Furthermore, our intelligence and our light are both in relationship with the absolute. At first, the unity of me and intelligence is realized on the level of bare attention, but it then has to be further developed and integrated into samadhi. So when me enters the state of absence, intelligence is simultaneously recognizing its pure subjectivity (me) and the beyond (I am). Here, intelligence recognizes me while constantly falling into absence, thus witnessing its never-ending dissolution and rebirth.

Speed of the Light of Me and Surrender

The light of me has two purposes: to awaken its pure nature and to surrender to universal subjectivity. When the light of me cannot flow into the inner universe, it over-crystallizes its presence and constantly fluctuates; its low speed causes instability and me cannot rest. Indeed, as we have said, me can only rest when its speed becomes equal to the speed of absence; here its presence comes to be balanced by the gravity of the source. For the light of me to cross over the dimension of absence, it has to surrender. Surrender is the letting go of the weight of our identity so that it can become available to the gravity of the absolute. As long as we live in the dimension of presence, there are various external and internal forces tied to our me which resist surrender. The very will of the vital force and of our separate consciousness resist surrender because of our inherent fear of ceasing to exist. Surrender is composed of three factors: the force of gravity, the mass of me, and letting go. After reaching samadhi, which is the perfect equilibrium between presence and absence, our me can finally realize the condition of natural, universal rest.

Surrender does not stop upon reaching the state of absence and entering the dimension of real time. Firstly, there continues to be the natural free fall of me into the receding gravity of absence. Secondly, based on its internal expansion and intention to explore, the light of me continues to move deeper and deeper into the nature of the inner universe. If our me was to linger passively in its free fall, this would result in our evolutionary stagnation.

What constitutes the further surrender of me once it has reached its maximum possible speed in relation to the receding speed of gravity? To understand this, we need to grasp the intricate layers of me itself. The aspect of me that attains the optimal speed of light is pure me. Pure me reaches absence through the three centers of I am. Once it has fully surrendered and embodied I am, pure me is transformed into universal me. At this point, a higher speed of the light of me is actualized, one that enables the further penetration of the beyond. This higher speed of me is immediately counter-balanced by a higher speed of the receding gravity of the source, which opens a deeper doorway of absence. This is what we call transcendental subjectivity.

While the role of pure me is to expand eternally into the mystery of the inner universe (the inner plane of creation), primordial me remains as the unchanging axel of that expansion. Primordial me has a stronger (heavier) identity of presence than pure me, and is therefore able to as if reach the gravity of the unmanifested and transcend the duality between its free fall and the receding source. In this sense, primordial me is not subject to the same principles as pure me. While the light of pure me can never meet the center of gravity and live to tell the tale, primordial me can actually fall upon the source of gravity, survive, and maintain its identity, because it’s presence is simply much stronger. Primordial me not only reaches unity but sameness with the force of gravity, and in this, becomes its own center of gravity, thus realizing the unmovable essence of existence.

So, what is the nature of time in the primordial state? If the primordial state were to be experienced alone (and other aspects of me were suspended) our experience of time would be transformed into ‘primordial time’. Primordial time is the meeting between real time and no-time. It behaves differently to real time due to the lack of duality between me and gravity. The experience of primordial time is activated through the internal play of three forces inside the body of me: the light of me, pure intelligence, and the weight of being absorbed in the source of gravity. Because it has ‘landed’ on the ground of the center of gravity, me now feels the full weight of its identity.

The difference between the stillness attained by pure me and primordial me is very profound. Pure me experiences stillness by matching the speed at which the source is receding. Primordial me, on the other hand, actually halts any movement entirely and thus transcends in its samadhi any duality in the relationship between the individual and universal planes of our existence. However, through pure primordial me, which represents its more dynamic aspect, primordial me also continues to evolve as an unconditional center of me, through its pure intelligence of love, into never-ending transcendence.

So as our deeper discoveries unfold, we see that, in fact, the initial speed of pure me in absence is not optimal or absolute, but relative. The optimal speed of the light of me is initially defined in relation to our transcendence of the dimension of presence and the physical universe. But as we go fully beyond the dimension of presence and begin to evolve in absence, this optimal speed is also transcended. To reach reality is to reach perfection, and yet the nature of perfection is the never-ending transcendence of its limits and boundaries.

Absolute Relativity: Evolution in Perfection

The reality of samadhi transcends the relativity of the physical universe, and the polarity between subjectivity and objectivity. It, in fact, represents a higher plane of relativity– ‘absolute relativity’ – which contains the complete diversity of existence, with its multitude of viewpoints, in the unchangeable ground of pure subjectivity. This reality is no longer dependent on our relative standpoint, but rather is a reflection of the absolute principles of existence. When the light of me enters absence, it takes us beyond the recognition of relative time and facilitates the birth and recognition of real time. The absolute gravity of the source, which is ever receding into transcendence through the unseen void of the beyond, causes the flow of objective time to stop and opens the door for a new, real time to flow into the dimension of the source. The observer, who stands outside the flow of time, becomes transmuted into the unconditional consciousness of me, the one who constitutes the very root of the experience of time and who is able to embody it. Based on the integration of its intelligence, me is able to maintain the power of recognition within the absolute speed and gravity of the source. The heart of this recognition is love; the love between the consciousness of individuality and the consciousness of totality. To realize that love is to begin a new era of our evolution in time – evolution in perfection.

Conclusion

We have explored the concepts of light and time. These two cannot be separated, for the light of me needs to travel in time to exist at all. When me is asleep, trapped in ignorance, not only do we have no real identity, but our relationship with time is completely unconscious. An ignorant person is entirely alienated from time: he is standing on the banks of the river of time, watching it go by. People do not live in time; time is happening to them, and they are passive puppets of the change it constantly brings. But to understand reality, we have to enter it and live in it.

When our me becomes one with itself, it becomes one with time. However, being one with time is not enough, for time has to be harnessed and mastered so that it serves the purpose of our existence. The time of the physical dimension has to be redirected towards the inner plane so that it begins to flow into reality. It is me that must change the trajectory of its travel through time and channel it towards the ultimate source of gravity. How does me changes this trajectory? Through precise, intelligent surrender into the source.

Upon entering the original void and becoming one with the gravity of the source, the light of me accelerates to its optimum speed, and yet within this, it feels like all time and movement have fully stopped. Is this a real paradox, or an inner theory of relativity? It is neither. Even after me has become one with the gravitational force of the absolute, its final gravity is constantly receding and can never be reached, hence real time continues as the journey into the unseen reality of the supreme being. As real time travels, so does the light of me: the vehicle of time and its host become one moving consciousness of reality.

While our explorations here have focused on me’s existence within samadhi, it is important to see that any me that has actualized its pure nature lives simultaneously in the dimensions of presence and absence. So, ultimately, me exists both in the time of presence and in the real time of absence. The human aspect of the soul flows with the time of the physical universe. If this was not the case, a person dwelling in the state of eternal samadhi would not age on the human level, because from the perspective of the absolute, earthly time has stopped. This is one of the meanings of being multidimensional and living on several planes of reality at once. However, even though me is still subject to the linear time of presence, this sense of time is radically transformed when it is experienced from the real time of absolute reality. Earthly time becomes contained in real time, and within the change and flux of all things, we are rooted in the unchangeable.

The truth of higher subjectivity and higher objectivity transcends the principles of physics and the physical universe. As we have seen, certain concepts in physics can still be applied to the inner realm (there is inner time, light, and space) but their definitions and behavior radically change. There is no longer an observer who stands outside of light, time, and space: consciousness, identity, and recognition become embedded into our experience of reality, which is the ultimate marriage between subjectivity and objectivity. In order to create a deeper and more complete understanding of reality, a whole new science has to be developed which can grasp and explain the laws that govern the inner universe – the true science of spirituality based on our ever-expanding intelligence and love for truth.

Blessings, Aadi

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