All of us have an intuitive notion of space or extension. The eminent philosopher, Kant holds the view that there is only one 'space' and it is a pure intuition. In particular it is experienced as three dimensional, having length, breadth and height. Mathematicians speak of n-dimensional space, as there is nothing, which could prevent us from conceiving such a thing. Matter as commonly encountered seems to occupy three- dimensional space. Space can be conceived as a container of things in it or as a support. All events occur in space and an event is characterized by changes in position or form or configuration of a sentient or insentient object over a given time interval. All science and especially, physics is concerned with describing such changes in the position or constitution of inanimate matter over time and predict their future position or configuration from data of their initial state, though these ideas can be extended to the case of sentient beings as well. There are various types of space familiar to the mathematicians and physicists, such as flat or Euclidean space wherein the parallel postulate of Euclid holds. This is the common sense space with which we are all familiar and use in the description and numerical characterization of events in space. There is the curved space as encountered by a two- dimensional being moving, say on the surface of a sphere. On a flat space we can not return to the same point if we keep going in the same direction where as we return to the same point after a time on a spherical surface even if we keep moving in the same direction. There is the space, which can be described to have positive or convex and negative or concave curvature as exemplified by the sphere and the saddle respectively. Every notion of space is characterized by a metric, which governs the measure of distances spanning the space.

According to Newton, space is absolute and time is independent of it and also absolute flowing uniformly. They look the same to all observers. Einstein brought in the concept of relativity according to which there is no privileged observer who is at absolute rest and in whose eyes time and space are endowed with the absolute character. He brought in the concept of inertial observers, i.e. those who are in uniform motion with respect to each other. The postulate that velocity of light is the same in all systems and the requirement that the laws of physics should have the same mathematical form in all systems formed the basis of his special theory of relativity. The mathematical consequences of this theory linked space and time so that we can never again separate them while describing events in another reference system moving relative to the system of the observer. Now there is space -time instead of space and time. The consequences of the special theory, namely, the increase in the inertial mass as it moves with high speeds, the contraction of length and dilation of time have been verified in the case of elementary particles moving with speeds very close to the speed of light in particle accelerators. The more famous result, i.e. the equivalence of mass and energy as expressed in the equation E= mc2 has been established to the horror of all through the calamitous explosion of the atom bomb in the second world war. In his general theory, Einstein introduced the revolutionary idea that space is curved by the presence of matter and energy, which can be expressed as equivalent mass. The ubiquitous presence of gravitational force pervading the universe distorts space as if it were and makes the massive bodies follow the course of a geodesic or the shortest path allowed by the geometry of that space. These appear as curved trajectories or orbits in the popular Newtonian version of the effects of gravitation. All modern physical cosmology is based upon the general theory of relativity, by which alone the consequences of the presence of the massive star clusters and galaxies as revealed in observed astronomical phenomena can be understood and described. The theory of general relativity has been verified in the observation of bending of light rays by the sun and the shift in the perihelion of mercury.

We arrive at a truly paradoxical position when we try to visualize the nature of space at the beginning of creation of matter as given in the big bang version of physical cosmology. At this point of time all matter was condensed into an infinitely dense point of zero extension. According to the theory of general relativity this should contract and curve space into itself. What then should be outside of this point and what is its nature? What is the nature of this 'space', a non-space so to speak, which is required for supporting the real space, which has vanished as if it were? This only illustrates the difficulty in having a proper grasp of the idea of space, its real nature. It looks so intuitively obvious to every one, it pervades every thing, it is the contained and it is the container yet unfathomable. It is beyond the senses because by definition there is no way energy or matter can interact with it, and the resultant effect convey something about its nature. All our knowledge of things external to us is based upon the interaction of stimuli originating from the external environment with the various sense organs such as, the eye sensing the light particles or wavicles scattered or reflected by the object, or the ear responding to the sound vibrations emanating from it, or molecules of chemical vapours conveyed by air reaching the nose for the smell and so on. Another wonderful feature of space is that no impression is cast by anything whatsoever may be in it. The moment the thing, which occupies a niche in space leaves that portion of space, it assumes its original character. It is as if nothing had existed in that part of space ever. If a sadhaka reaches the condition analogous to space as described above, he will be in the highest spiritual condition of supreme negation. According to the modern quantum field theory, space is pervaded by energy appearing in the form of matter and antimatter particles which arise spontaneously, live for the briefest of durations and annihilate themselves into radiation with the cycle repeating itself endlessly. Thus there is no true vacuum in the sense of total absence of anything, matter or energy. We have to conclude then space is truly beyond perception, it has no attributes, it is endless, and it is eternal and immutable. This is what the Divine Master says about space.

The Master concludes that God must be eternal as space is found to be so. God came into being after space, which has always existed and Time followed God. The need for creation of God came to be the cause of existence of space. Time is the negative state of space. Since space is the mother of God, why not worship space instead of God asks the Master and answers saying that there is a hint of this in the Rig-Veda. One has to create the state of Akasha in himself or in other words, the state of complete negation. That is the final state of realization. Akasha is the Absolute and it is perfectly pure and unalloyed. There is no action in it and it is not composed of particles. It is very difficult to comprehend its real nature.

Let us now look at Time. Philosophers have been debating over the centuries on the nature of Time. One such philosopher St. Augustine said,'' What is time? If no one asks of me, I know; if I wish to explain to him who asks, I know not". This sums up our predicament in understanding the true nature of time. There is subjective or psychological time and objective time or the standard time accepted as such in society for regulating and coordinating human activities. We feel intuitively that there is the present, the past and the future. What is past cannot come into being once again. The future is yet to be. Time seems to flow in an infinitely narrow channel, stretching from minus infinity to plus infinity, i.e. from the infinite past to the infinite future. The past seems to melt into the present seamlessly and so does the present into the future. In fact it is very difficult to locate ourselves in the present as by the time we are aware of it, it is already the past. The awareness of the past is possible only through the faculties of memory, thinking and imagination. The future or the notion of future is based on hope that the observer will be around to see it coming. The seed of the future is contained in the present even as the present is the child of the past. Again it is all in the mind. If one were to reflect a bit about it he will realize that there is only the present, the past is memory to the present and future is an expectation had again in the present. Naturally animals cannot be aware of the present, past or future, as they are not endowed with a mind like men possess. They go through their lives like a computer runs its programs. The plant and mineral kingdoms are entirely oblivious to the present, past and future though they undergo all changes through time.

We will not notice the passage of time if we do not become aware of the changes occurring in the environment or in ourselves. These changes are the events such as darkness giving place to light, the aging of the body, appearance and disappearance of the stars, the rising and setting of the sun, the changes in the season or changes occurring on a microscopic scale within the atoms seen with appropriate instruments and the changes perceived within as the heart beats, inhalation and exhalation and the mood swings. All these seem to be enacted as a play on the stage of space with time providing the cue for the starting and ending of the event sequences. It appears as if the events are strung as beads on the string of time even as the strains of music are stretched out on the length of a music tape. The time as read on a chronometer represents the scale the individual graduations of which represent the basic count of the duration or period of an oscillation or vibration occurring in nature such as that of a pendulum or the quartz crystal. The reckoning of time is based on the almost unchanging period of an ideal pendulum or that interval between successive zero crossings of a sine wave representing the oscillation of an atomic oscillator. This is the objective time based upon the perfect regularity in repetitive natural phenomena and is governed by social conventions as to the labeling of the measures of time such as a second, minute, hour, day, month, year and so on. The basis of these measures is no doubt the agreement as to how many oscillations constitute a second, how many seconds to a minute and progressively so from the smallest to the largest measure of time. It is required to know the time of day for the organization of social interactions and also to know how long an event lasts for organizing several events in succession and scheduling of activities. Many times we also need to know the frequency of occurrence of events. By establishing the counts of a regularly repetitive phenomenon we are able to ascertain the length of a time interval, i.e. that between the beginning and end of a well-defined event. Time in its absolute aspect is not of so much interest as the knowledge of time interval is. Moreover, in all human planning, we schedule events according to the length of time each individual event occupies. We note here already the spatialization of time. A time interval is the 'distance' measured on the time axis between two imaginary points in time. The elapsed time between the intention and realization of the intention is the time interval.

Stephen Hawking, a world -renowned theoretical astrophysicist holds that time was created in the Big Bang and one can not say anything about whether it existed prior to the creation of the universe. Modern cosmology is undecided whether there have been multiple creation events followed by corresponding dissolution events.

We find a thought provoking review of the nature of Time in Rev. Dr. K.C.Varadachari's article entitled 'Time and Mysticism'. Time walks with diverse paces with diverse persons. When Time is linked with motion or changes it becomes relative. Social time is spatialized and is based on monotonous repetition and it is time trapped in matter characterized by tamas. The perceived speed of time depends on the mental state we are in at the moment. At the highest levels of consciousness succession gives way to simultaneity. The ingression of the eternal into the temporal gives rise to various measures of time or chandamsi. Time and space are transcended in the mystic consciousness, which is characterized by the dissolution of individual consciousness in the transcendent Self. The nature of Time before creation is indescribable. Whether a timeless and spaceless existence is a philosophical necessity or not, it could be conceived as the state where every thing is in quiescence of Peace and further is such that in some parts of its being, plunges into movement while retaining its own peace in some other parts. Then we will be in a position to understand the paradoxical double experience of Time and Timelessness and Space and Space-lessness, Being and Becoming and so on. The mystic consciousness transcends the barriers of space and time in the sense that unceasing devotion to the Ultimate Good is upheld under all conditions and stages of individual growth. The experience of space and time is integral to one's experience and the two categories are not abolished but pale into the background with the single pointed devotion or attention being directed to the Ultimate Godhead. Time according to Sri Aurobindo, is one of the factors of ascent in spiritual life, because the time of fulfillment or ripeness for the opening of the inner life are not governed by the individual consciousness at all but by the Divine grace.

Dr. K.C.Varadachari also refers to the view of time according to the Prasnopanishad, namely, of the triple form Diavika, Pitrs and manava as illustrated in Prana or soul, Surya (the two transcendent), Uttarayana, Suklapaksha and ahas (the three temporal) corresponding to the five days and Rayi or matter, Chandramas, Dakshinayana, Krishnapaksha and ratri corresponding to the five nights. The soul has to hold on to the Divine Prana during the five nights or darkness. The way to preserve the Prana in the Rayi, the soul in the body is through loving service to God with one-pointed mind or ekayana.

The Master, as His wont, looks at Time from an entirely different angle and reveals its most essential nature and says that Time is avakasha or duration; it is the creation of space and is widely different from it. The universe is the manifestation of Time whereas God is the manifestation of space. When there was no creation and only the Absolute was present, there was no Time. When the idea of creation got enlivened in the Base, it was perfectly free from everything and due to the action of motion got transformed into power with its tendency directed towards action. But it was in need for a base or field for the action. This was in the form of the intervening pause between the Original Thought and subsequent Being. This brief pause between cause and effect is called the 'Duration' or 'Time', which served as the field for the action. Time got merged in the power and became power itself for actions towards creation. It is observed in general that when thought becomes deep it creates a pause as if it were, which is pregnant with a great force. In the case of the Centre, there is no question of depth as there is perfect uniformity there and there is no velocity of force directed towards action, as there is no mind possessed by the Centre. Thus whatever existed between thought and action is the duration or Time and itself became the power, which brought about the intended creation. We too have a share of this power but according to our limited capacity. To utilize this power it is necessary to merge it in the greater power of the Centre. Yogis of calibre use their strong will-power to bring it down to the earth for utilizing in nature's works. Even a Megaton bomb is nothing in comparison to the power of Time or Kaal and modern science does not know how to use this power. The Yogi at the height of his ascent is always with it consciously or unconsciously. The Master says in conclusion that the science of physics is incomplete without the knowledge of this great power, which is the root of all powers.

In nature everything happens only when it is due and not before the time has come for it. The plant emerges from the seed, the fruit ripens, and the embryo matures into the child in its mother's womb all in accordance with some in-built, unseen but inexorable clock fashioned by nature. Death follows birth and growth as inevitably as day follows night. Those who have not been blessed by the great Masters and thereby liberated, are perforce subject to the dictates of tyrannical time, whereas the one who has merged his individuality in the Great Nothingness, has conquered time and is in a position to use the power of time for the welfare of his fellow beings.

The Master gives a very practical suggestion regarding the effective use of the power of Time in every activity whether it is mundane or spiritual. The hallmark of a true yogi of calibre is efficient and efficacious action. Whatever he wills cannot fail to come to pass as instanced by the special will of such realized souls as that of the great Master like Sri Ramchandraji Himself. Though it is very rare to find such great personalities, each one can use his will up to his capacity. This power grows with use as long as the intention is pure, sincere and directed towards selfless service to others. The Master advises us to think even before beginning an activity that it is already accomplished and further fix a time interval for its accomplishment. During the interval no opposing or negative thought should cross one's mind. As He puts it ' doubt is the poison of will'. He should be alert and vigilant mentally watching the progress of the task. This of course does not mean that he is mentally repeating to himself that the activity is going on. It amounts to a state of near vacuum, a near thoughtless mind emptied of all content except that of the task content, which in turn is not verbal. It is a pregnant pause full of energy directed from within, from the Source itself as if tit were. One should have unflinching faith in one's Master and confidence in himself. He should be devoted to the goal, that is, merging his consciousness totally in his Master's consciousness, the Master being Himself merged in the Ultimate.