Spanda and Superluminal Travel

Spanda is a Sanskrit word defined as Divine Creative Pulsation. Jaideva Singh in his famous classic Spanda Karika tells us that it is the simultaneous expansion and contraction of Shiva - the supreme consciousness.

A NASA scientist now proposes that Superluminal travel is possible using the expansion and contraction of spacetime simultaneously to propel the spacecraft, something that can be achieved using Alcubierre Drive.

Are there more gems in our ancient texts?

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Permalink Reply by Capt. Anand Kumar on July 22, 2013 at 11:02pm

And here is an interesting video:

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Permalink Reply by Paige on August 29, 2013 at 10:17pm

Yes, this video was interesting here. I am awfully still like skepitcal about time and space travel, but I think that one day something such as this could actually work out. Right now, it is really great science fiction though...I had just liked the spin the video chose to go about it and everything though. Sometimes I just wonder where "space" comes from..other than having to learn about atoms, protons, neutrons, etc. 'The passport to the Universe' approach seems cool too...very very interesting here. The speed of light is so fast too, I do not think anyone would want to try and slow it down because if they did that could end up messing up things in the universe.

Spanda and superluminal travel are nothing I had known about until now. So, thank you for sharing.

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Permalink Reply by Capt. Anand Kumar on August 29, 2013 at 10:33pm

Thanks Paige. It is quite true that several of the ideas within the realm of science fiction may become reality tomorrow. I was just stuck by the similarities of the concepts.

However, it is important to make a distinction between the versions of "space" here. The space of Spanda Karika is what has been called "Aether" in various mystical literature around the world through the ages. It is believed to be eternal. One of the Buddhist texts states," Tathagat (Buddha) comes and goes but Dhatu (Space) stays". It has no beginning, so where it comes from is irrelevant. It is also considered to be "The Fifth Element".

The space of Alcubierre Drive is the outer space as we see it or know it through the astrophysical investigations. It is the product of Big Bang as per the current understanding. As the universe expands, more and more space appears.

If one needs to relate the two, The space that we see around us is the product of Space of Spanda Karika and not the source.

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Permalink Reply by Truth Collins on July 23, 2013 at 4:35pm

I'm pleasantly surprised that you're not censuring yourself from posting this. The video too, theoretical engineering is not necessarily a product of fantasy either. Apparently, references to both science fiction and old scriptures are still allowed. Good for you!