*** About the mystical dimensions of the draconic and serpentine powers. ***
Certain profound aspects of life can only be expressed symbolically.
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What if four dimensions are not sufficient
to describe the vastness of experiences and entanglements of this cosmos?
The mysteries of space-time
The topology (shape) of the "plane" of space-time, the "physically observable" universe, is not fully understood in modern physics. Einstein's field equations of special relativity provide certain constraints to how the geometry (local shape) or topology (global shape) may look like. Yet, it is known that there exist mathematical solutions, i.e., structures that would allow causal relation (yet, not clear which laws they really underly) between the past, the future, and the present. Some may think of this relation as a way of time travel. To me, this raises the question of whether concepts such as Karma, reincarnation of some sort (i.e., some kind of memory from past lives being passed on), or a cyclic order of the temporal evolution of the universe should be considered a possibility and may not be unlikely to be consistent with modern science. Yet, these are just abstract mathematical possibilities and philosophical speculations, and the exact way how this could work is way beyond our current scientific understanding. But, they are not beyond our perception.
Goedel found a solution to Einstein's fields equations that would allow for the existence of so-called closed time-like loops, meaning paths in the universe through which information could travel into the future (what we usually seem to perceive as the linear direction of time) and return to the same point in time and space from which it started. Goedel's universe is an elegant, hypothetical model that incorporates the idea of a rotation of the universe. It is unclear however against what the universe should rotate, because we don't know what is "outside" the universe. The word "universe" literally means "the one verse". If it contains everything, then what is outside? Nothingness? Or a multiverse?
Wormholes, whose entrances look like black holes, represent another mathematical solution that could potentially allow for causal relations between the past, the present, and the future. Although black holes have been discovered the existence of wormholes has not been confirmed. Hence again, this is an abstract mathematical possibility and we don't know (scientifically, rationally) if it actually manifests.
The mysteries of topology
Topology is the field of mathematics that describes the shape of spaces of arbitrary dimension and complexity.
There are certain intrinsic characteristics of a space that can be observed from the inside of that space while other extrinsic characteristics can only be observed as a relative fact of the particular embedding of that space into higher dimensions.
Example: the trefoil and the unknot
On the left you see the trefoil knot, on the right is a circle (aka unknot). They only differ from each other by the way they are embedded into 3-dimensional space.
Unless the ant can see beyond her 1-dimensional world it won't be able to tell the difference between the trefoil and the circle!
Intrinsic characteristics may not be observable locally but manifest only globally.
Example: the möbius strip
An ant living in the 2-dimensional world. Only if it walks far enough (once around the strip) will it observe that it returns mirror-reversed (think of the ant being 2-dimensional itself). In fact, because of the twist, the strip has only one side (i.e., no difference between inside and outside). Unless the ant can see beyond her 2-dimensionality it will not understand why it returns mirror-reversed.
What is a "real dimension"?
In mathematics, often to solve a problem we introduce new dimensions. Many times these dimensions are quite abstract and imaginary, yet we are able to draw important information from them or even do some computations that lead us to conclusions about our physical 4D time-space.
Example: the imaginary numbers.
There is no real number solution to the square root of real numbers. Therefore "imaginary numbers" were introduced in the 17th century:
Calculating with these imaginary numbers has turned out to be extremely useful in real-life applications as without them most of our modern science and technology would not exist.
They are nowadays an absolutely well-defined and extremely useful arithmetic system.
But numbers are abstract concepts anyway.
The topology in data - more dimensions
The application of topology to data is known as the field of topological data analysis. Data is often high-dimensional. Notably, many results show, that the topology of data, even very abstract data, has a meaningful and useful application to the physical plane.
Let's look at the example of how we can decode useful information about the subjective experience from the topology (shape) of the high-dimensional, abstract space of voxels in a series of fMRI brain images (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-55726-x). Does this abstract space exist? What does it even mean for this abstract space to exist? If we can draw important information from describing the topology of this space, does it mean the space is "real enough" to be taken seriously?
So by randomly (because it depends on the resolution of the fMRI, the exact anatomy of the brain, etc ) chopping up that piece of matter (the brain) we can create an abstract, high-dimensional space which contains useful information about a phenomenon of perception.
Is this space real? Since topological data analysis has some technical constraints, we may say that it is an approximation of something "real"? At least it's a space that contains "real" information. Where does this information live? Which dimensions can it access? Is it stored in our bodies or brains?
This raises the question of whether information stored in matter is better described by higher dimensional spaces. It might even be more accurate to say that this information lives in a higher dimensional space and on the physical plane we only perceive a certain projection.
What is information? What is energy?
Information is energy? Or is it matter? At least information is stored as matter in some cases. Maybe not always...?
Certainly, genes are matter containing information. But how about thoughts, beliefs, and potentially past life memories or skills...? Are they stored in matter, in our bodies and brains? Yet, this might be only one perspective, from our 4-dimensional space-time, of a bigger, more complex interwoven web of consciousness.
We know that energy is matter in our 4-dimensional space-time plane. Let's contemplate the idea of more subtle, abstract energy. Like life force energy, Kundalini energy, Prana, creative energy, mental energy, etc...? Certainly, the conceptualization of these abstract energies is fuzzy, yet they can be experienced and they do manifest in the physical form as electromagnetic energies, radiation, gravity, heat in the body, chemical and electric energies in the brain, etc... You may think that this is just imagination or phenomena generated by the brain or body... If you like you can also call it imaginary energy. However, they can give valuable insight into how the cosmos, and particularly consciousness, is organized. And if they can, then are they real or not? Measuring the electric signals, magnetic field, chemistry, etc is just the perspective from the physical dimension of the real experience. Could it be helpful to think of these abstract energies as being organized in more complex ways including distinct qualities, higher dimensions, and interconnected structures? (E.g., like in Ayurveda, Feng Shui, or astrology, see below.)
If we live in a 4-dimensional plane, we may not perceive higher dimensions in an obvious way. We may perceive only their projections (i.e. physical manifestations), or experience them in a more abstract way. In other words, on the 4-dimensional plane, there may be certain seemingly unrelated phenomena that are two parts of the same structure from higher dimensions.
There might also be some weird connections, mirror-reversions, or similar things that happen in higher dimensions. This is visualized by a self-intersecting arc. This self-intersection is symbolically and in higher dimensions it is possible that mirror reversion happens without self-intersection. (Similar to the example of the Möbius strip. )
Relative truth and the wisdom of ancient wisdom traditions
Just as in mathematics, also in physics, we observe that to solve certain problems we need to step out of the system and introduce a new dimension or theory. (See also my post on Gödel's incompleteness and how this may inspire us to step out of our minds.) This doesn't mean that the previous theory is wrong. For example, Newtown's mechanic is not wrong, it is relatively true. General relativity is a generalization of Newtown's mechanics in the sense that for low velocities it is working very accurately.
Indeed, we are no longer discussing physical theories when we try to get a deeper insight into "abstract energies" or consciousness. Now we are moving into metaphysics, i.e., that which is beyond physics. At the core of this quest lies a "strange loop" (see also my upcoming post on Vishnu's strange loop and paradoxical origin of creation), which is the basis for the paradoxes and confusions that arise when consciousness is referring to itself, by trying to explain or understand itself. Even more so, it might be time to step out of the system once more...
This being said...
Let us think of the universe as being organized as space and holes in space
The holes may be thought of as channels through which energy and information (and thus in a way also matter) can flow. They are numerous: inside our body, the atmosphere, and the cosmos, ranging from subatomic to cosmic sizes, from obvious or scientifically well-understood to more subtle or mysterious. Some evident ones are the respiratory, digestive, or circulatory systems in our body, the neural pathways in our brain, weather phenomena, thunder and lightning, wormholes (if they exist), complex networks of information technology, social media, and also pathways created by gravity, electromagnetic fields etc. Others are harder to understand and more subtle like the Kundalini snake coiled at the base of a human's spine, the interconnection between the Chakras, Ida, Pingala, and the nadis through which life force flows, ...
Symbolically, in Vedantic teachings, these channels of energy are represented by serpentine Devas, known as the Nagas. Interestingly, "mystical dimensions" of serpentine and draconic powers were symbolized in ancient cultures all over the world and artifacts are found as old as 20'000 years: from Russia, and China, to Africa, Egypt, Greece, South America and North America, and of course in India. They represent the dimensions and powers that cannot be understood by the rational mind, nor can they be perceived through our five senses. These are powerful and transformative energies that may give great insight and higher perception, yet when not used in inappropriate ways, without awareness or control, they could act like poison or venom.
The Vedic teachings have been describing symbolic maps and representations of how this cosmic web of serpents is organized, how to navigate through, and eventually how to open consciousness to "higher dimensions". This can be done by working with subtle energies, through Yogic techniques, astrology, Vastu Shastra (the study of the flow of energy in an environment, similar to Feng Shui), Ayurveda, or many other techniques. Notably, these approaches rely substantially on intuition and other ways of knowing, which are beyond the usual five senses and rational reasoning. When we do so our consciousness opens up to what one may call "higher dimensions" or at least more complex topological interconnectedness of the body, mind, universe, and cosmos.
The mystical dimensions of the Nagas
A well-known example of serpent energy is the Kundalini shakti (shakti being a synonym for energy), the flow of life force and creative energy through the main axis of our body connecting the root chakra with our crown. This energy is more specifically organized by the seven main (and more) Chakras in our body and in fact is a channel between the earth, the sky, and even the whole cosmos. Interestingly, the Kundalini axis and the Chakras are encoded in the natal astrological birth chart of an individual, where the signs, the placements of the planets, and their complex interaction within the birth chart and the constellations in the Zodiac at any time give insight into how this energy manifests in our lives and bodies. The main indication for the Kundalini energy in the birth chart is the axis of Rahu and Ketu, the two shadowy planets that are responsible for the eclipses. (See my post on the snake of time. ) This axis can also give us a clue about our past lives, Karma, and how our life underlies certain structures of causality and time inside the vast fabric of the (high-dimensional) cosmos. This exemplifies how interwoven these channels and energies are with the whole fabric of the cosmos.
We can either see these snakes as a complex network of interwoven channels of energy, or we can choose a different perspective by introducing higher dimensions (similar to the example with the high-dimensional space of fMRI brain images). Like complex networks can be described by high-dimensional matrices and vectors. Basically, these are two representations of the same thing, both have their advantages and disadvantages. The point is that we have a complex interconnected system of the Zodiac, the body, individuals and society, the flow of energy through an environment, etc.
Maybe some of you will agree with me that certainly it may be helpful (at least in some cases) to introduce abstract dimensions for the seven (and more) chakras of the body. We may think of chakras as being representations of different qualities of energies and hence different abstract dimensions of life force energy. Or maybe we can think of the movement of the planets representing dimensions that give a deeper understanding of the nature of time and its natural cycles.
Vishnu's snake Shesha is one of the most mysterious dimensions of the Nagas. This coiled snake represents the "remainder" when creation ceases to exist. Likewise, it's countermovement is the uncoiling as Adishesha (literally "the first remainder"), which initialized the origin and flow of time and creation. Indeed, when we look closely at the symbolisms we see the many similarities between different traditions and modern science and mathematics. (See my upcoming post on Vishnu's strange loop and the paradoxical origin of creation.)
The king of the Nagas, Vasuki, preferably likes to coil around the neck of Shiva, the supreme consciousness of inner peace and pureness in the spiritual heart. This metaphor represents how our true nature of pure consciousness is untouchable by the transformative serpentine powers moving around us.
Yet, let's not take it as a dogma or simply a belief, but rather as an invitation to do the research in our own consciousness or perception.
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Certain profound aspects of life can only be expressed symbolically.
Because of the inherently abstract beauty and paradoxical nature of our universe...
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