Time-This word governs your life. Everything, from birth to death, is dictated by time. Time is such an important part of the universe, that a very minute disturbance in time, can lead to the destruction of worlds.
What is Time? Physicists say it is one of the seven fundamental physical quantities; A philosopher will tell you that it is the stream of life and the universe; It is defined as the progress of events in succession, from past to the present and finally into the future. Funny enough, the words progress, events, succession, past, present and future, i.e. every key word in the definition, is in one way or the other a derivative of Time. So, what exactly is this mystery, which has to be defined using itself? It is a quantity, that measures itself ( If you think about it, the reference for a clock, is another clock. )
Time, in my opinion, is a basic rule, a fundamental condition, that dictates everything we know, see and understand. It is an aspect of this world, which controls the flow of the universe, maintains balance between creation and destruction, and most importantly, gives us the means to analyze and understand the universe. Time, is the name given to the natural flow of the universe, from creation to destruction.
In this present day and age, time has become a social construct, which can ultimately make or break a person’s life. Time dictates the success of a person. Should time really be given such importance? Should something, that cannot be defined without itsef, cannot be measured without itself, be allowed to dictate our lives? The answer to this question is one of the most paradoxical thoughts I have had. The answer to the question is yes and no. These answers arise from the different understandings/ definitions of time.
When Time is considered as the literal measurement of every single moment/event, time is very important in the current society. If this time is ignored, work and thereby development becomes stagnant. For the continued development of the Human race, time, i.e. the measurement of moments/events is of utmost importance.
At the same time (no pun intended), when you consider Time as a natural undisturbed flow of events, it is of least significance in the day to day life. It represents nothing more than the flow the world from creation to destruction, of anything and everything that is in the universe, and also of the universe itself. Even the mighty black holes, which can distort this flow and slow it down, will succumb to this flow and die. This concept of time, is used by many religious sects and leaders to instill a fear in the masses and does not serve an important or crucial role in the society.
A few months back, I had a friendly debate with a couple of my friends regarding this topic. That debate led to some interesting ideas and thoughts for me to play with. The life as we know it, has evolved from simple single celled, two dimensional organisms that cannot perceive the third dimension, to the current day, the human race, three dimensional beings, looking to venture beyond the third dimension. Time, is considered as the fourth dimension in Physics. If we accept this theory, is it possible for life to evolve beyond the third dimension and into the fourth? Is the future of life a being which is outside time? A God?
I have entertained this very idea, which has led me down increasingly ridiculous ideas regarding God. Let us briefly entertain my thought about us evolving beyond the third dimension. We know that lower dimensional beings, cannot perceive higher dimensional beings (they cannot comprehend the higher dimension). This means, if there are beings that have achieved this evolution to higher dimensions, we as three dimensional beings will not be able to perceive them. Are these beings what humans called as Gods?
Hindu mythology talks about sages doing penance, and seeing god, with multiple arms and multiple heads. What if, these sages, have just achieved a temporary faux evolution to the next dimension, and what they saw was nothing more than higher dimensional beings? What if, our human brains, unable to comprehend the higher dimensions, somehow distorted the vision and that is the reason for the multiple arms and heads?
Maybe Time is the tool to understanding the universe, and God. Maybe, time is nothing but the fabrication of human brain, to come to terms with mortality and the cycle of birth and death in the universe? We may never know. Food for thought!
