Blurb: A question from social media is posed to Sadhguru at College of Engineering, Guindy,
Anna University in Chennai about time travel.
Sadhguru talks about the dimensions of time and space and one’s relative experience
of time.
SG/TW: Your sense of time right now is only because of your physical identity.
If you can sit here without any sense of body, then you don’t know time.
Questioner: From yogis of ancient times to popular movies like “Interstellar”, there
have been stories and some seemingly real instances about time travel.
Is time travel really possible?
If yes, how can I make myself capable of time travel (Laughter)?
Sadhguru: See, these things have been misunderstood very badly because science and mysticism is
coming to you from Hollywood movies unfortunately.
In this culture, we’ve had people whom we referred to as Trikalagnanis.
There are three dimensions of experience in your life.
There is something called as past, which is a bank of memory within you.
There is something called as present, which is a living experience right now.
There is something called as future, which is the power of our imagination.
So your life experience is happening between memory, present experience and imagination.
The problem with most people is, these three things are not clearly distinguished in most
human beings.
This is why, something that happened ten years ago, you can still suffer, isn’t it?
Hmm?
Participants: Yes.
Sadhguru: Something that may happen day after tomorrow, you already suffer (Few laugh).
What happened ten years ago or even ten days ago, does it exist right now?
Does it exist right now?
Participants: No.
Sadhguru: What may happen day after tomorrow, does it exist right now?
Participants: No.
Sadhguru: No.
So if you suffer something that does not exist, should we call you sane or insane (Applause)?
I’m ask…
Hey, it’s a question, don’t clap (Laughter)!
It’s a disgrace (Laughs).
If...
If you are suffering something that does not exist, is it sanity or insanity?
Participants: Insanity.
Sadhguru: How many people that you know including yourself are insane like this, they suffer
things which don’t exist.
Nearly 99.99, isn’t it?
Happening all the time?
So, these are all idiots who are doing time travel (Laughter/Applause).
Time in the yogic sciences... modern physics always grapples with these two dimensions
– time and space.
Or space and time, that’s how they refer to it.
In yoga, we see... we call this “kala”.
The word “kala”, even in Tamil, means time.
But kala also means emptiness.
Kala means darkness.
Darkness means nothing is there – no light, no nothing.
That is empty space.
Kala means time.
So we are using the same word for time and space.
We just have a distinction called kala and mahakala.
There is time which is caused by revolutions of physical dimensions of life.
When I say revolutions of physical dimensions, everything that’s physical is in a circular
movement whether it’s an atom or it’s a whole cosmos, everything is in circular
movement – the planets, the universes, everything.
Everything that’s physical essentially is in circular movement.
So this is kala – the time that you know because of rotation of physical objects.
If the planet spins once, we call it a day.
If the moon goes around, we call it a month.
If the planet goes around the sun, we call it a year.
This is the only way you know time.
So time that you know, is only by cycles.
There is a time which is beyond physical nature, which is not because of circular motion of
physical objects.
This we call as mahakala.
Mahakala includes the space also.
Generally in modern physics, the general understanding is, because there is space, because there
is distance – there is time.
You want to travel from point A to point B, you need time.
But in the yogic sciences from our experience we see it like this, because there is time,
there is a possibility of space.
It’s very beautifully put by Adiyogi fifteen… over 15,000 years ago, when these seven sages,
his first disciples asked him, “What is the nature of this cosmos?
Where does it begin?
Where does it end?
How big is it?”
He laughed and he said, “Your cosmos, I can pack it into a mustard seed.”
Very efficient packing, isn’t it?
He said, “This entire cosmos, I can pack it into a mustard seed because it is only
a consequence of time.”
The space and the distance is only a consequence of time, so we call people Trikalagnanis and
we also call people as Akalagnanis, that means timeless people, people who are timeless.
Timeless means what?
You are sitting here right now, if I make you sit here for another six hours – no
it doesn’t take that much for you – if I make you sit here for another two hours,
“Sadhguru (Few laugh), at least... at least water (Laughter)!”
“Okay, drink water.”
Drink water means, “Sadhguru (Gestures need to go to toilet) (Laughter).”
That calls, “Okay, go and come.”
Another two hours, “Sadhguru (Gestures) (Few laugh)!”
Okay, we’ll give you that.
After that, you don’t ask permission (Laughter).
Your body is cycles of time, isn’t it?
You don’t have to look at the watch.
If you observe your bladder, you know how much time (Few laugh).
Yes or no (Laughs)?
It’s keeping time.
So, your sense of time right now is only because of your physical identity.
If you can sit here without any sense of body, then you don’t know time.
You’ve heard of people who sat for hours on end, days on end.
I…
This happened to me.
At a certain point when I was a little older than you, I was twenty-five, I just sat in
one place and suddenly I did not realize time.
I thought it’s ten-twenty minutes, about four-and-a-half hours had passed and I was
like blowing with ecstasy.
Then this started happening more often.
If I wa… just sat in one place and I think it’s two minutes, hours, seven, eight hours
have just passed away.
One day I sat down and I thought it’s maybe twenty-five, thirty minutes, I was sitting
in a rural space around Mysore and when I opened my eyes, the big crowd.
India being what it is, there are garlands around me, people are trying to molest my
feet (Few laugh).
Then I say, “Where the hell did you come from?”
Then they say, “You’ve been sitting here for thirteen days!”
I thought it's only twenty-five, thirty minutes.
Only when I tried to open my legs, I found my knees were locked up.
It took (a?) lot of effort to straighten them.
But in my experience I thought it’s only twenty-five, thirty minutes.
But…
When I say this, this may be (a?) little difficult to grasp, but have you noticed on a particular
day you were very joyful, twenty-four hours, poof (Fingers snap) went off like ten minutes,
is that so?
Participants: Yes.
Sadhguru: Another day, you’re a little depressed (Laughter), twenty-four hours feels like a
lifetime, yes or no?
Participants: Yes.
Sadhguru: Time is a very relative experience.
People say, “How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you are
(Laughter).”
You go there and knock and they say, “Hey, just one minute, wait!
(Laughter)” One minute!
Title: Is Time Travel Possible?
Blurb: A question from social media is posed to Sadhguru at College of Engineering, Guindy,
Anna University in Chennai about time travel.
Sadhguru talks about the dimensions of time and space and one’s relative experience
of time.
Questioner: From yogis of ancient times to popular movies like “Interstellar”, there
have been stories and some seemingly real instances about time travel.
Is time travel really possible?
If yes, how can I make myself capable of time travel (Laughter)?
Sadhguru: There are three dimensions of experience in your life.
There is something called as past, which is a bank of memory within you.
There is something called as present, which is a living experience right now.
There is something called as future, which is the power of our imagination.
So your life experience is happening between memory, present experience, and imagination.
The problem with most people is, these three things are not clearly distinguished in most
human beings.
This is why, something that happened ten years ago, you can still suffer, isn’t it?
Hmm?
Participants: Yes.
Sadhguru: Something that may happen day after tomorrow, you already suffer (Few laugh).
What happened ten years ago or even ten days ago, does it exist right now?
Does it exist right now?
Participants: No.
Sadhguru: What may happen day after tomorrow, does it exist right now?
Participants: No.
Sadhguru: If you are suffering something that does not exist, is it sanity or insanity?
Participants: Insanity.
Sadhguru: How many people that you know including yourself are insane like this, they suffer
things which don’t exist.
Nearly 99.99, isn’t it?
Happening all the time?
So, these are all idiots who are doing time travel (Laughter/Applause).
Time in the yogic sciences... modern physics always grapples with these two dimensions
– time and space.
Or space and time, that’s how they refer to it.
In yoga, we see... we call this kala.
The word “kala”, even in Tamil, means time.
But kala also means emptiness.
Kala means darkness.
So we are using the same word for time and space.
We just have a distinction called kala and mahakala.
So this is kala – the time that you know because of rotation of physical objects.
If the planet spins once, we call it a day.
If the moon goes around, we call it a month.
If the planet goes around the sun, we call it a year.
There is a time which is beyond physical nature, which is not because of circular motion of
physical objects.
This we call as mahakala.
Mahakala includes the space also.
Generally in modern physics, the general understanding is, because there is space, because there
is distance – there is time.
You want to travel from point A to point B, you need time.
But, in the yogic sciences from our experience we see it like this, because there is time,
there is a possibility of space.
The space and the distance is only a consequence of time, so we call people Trikalagnanis and
we also call people as Akalagnanis, that means timeless people, people who are timeless.
Timeless means what?
You are sitting here right now, if I make you sit here for another six hours, you don’t
have to look at the watch.
If you observe your bladder, you know how much time (Few laugh).
Yes or no (Laughs)?
It’s keeping time.
So, your sense of time right now is only because of your physical identity.
If you can sit here without any sense of body, then you don’t know time.
This happened to me.
One day I sat down and I thought it’s maybe twenty-five, thirty minutes, I was sitting
in a rural space around Mysore and when I opened my eyes, the big crowd.
India being what it is, there are garlands around me, people are trying to molest my
feet (Few laugh).
Then I say, “Where the hell did you come from?”
Then they say, “You’ve been sitting here for thirteen days!”
When I say this, this may be (a?) little difficult to grasp, but have you noticed on a particular
day you were very joyful, twenty-four hours, poof (Fingers snap) went off like ten minutes,
is that so?
Participants: Yes.
Sadhguru: Another day, you’re a little depressed (Laughter), twenty-four hours feels like a
lifetime, yes or no?
Participants: Yes.
Sadhguru: Time is a very relative experience.
Title: Is Time Travel Possible?
Blurb: A question from social media is posed to Sadhguru at College of Engineering, Guindy,
Anna University in Chennai about time travel.
Sadhguru talks about the dimensions of time and space and one’s relative experience
of time.
Watch the full video here: [link]
Sadhguru: Time in the yogic sciences... modern physics always grapples with these two dimensions
– time and space.
Generally in modern physics, the general understanding is, because there is space, because there
is distance – there is time.
You want to travel from point A to point B, you need time.
But in the yogic sciences from our experience we see it like this, because there is time,
there is a possibility of space.
The space and the distance is only a consequence of time, so we call people Trikalagnanis and
we also call people as Akalagnanis, that means timeless people, people who are timeless.
So, your sense of time right now is only because of your physical identity.
If you can sit here without any sense of body, then you don’t know time.