Myth of science

By Mukul Sharma

According to the Bhagavat Puranathe mythical King Raivata who ruled Kusasthali, akingdom under the sea, had a daughter so beautiful that when she reached a marriageable age he took her to Brahma to seek his advice about a suitable husband. But Brahma was listening to a musical performance and they had to wait until it was over.

When the Creator finally heard what the King had come for he laughed and explained that time ran differently in Brahma-loka. That while they were waiting 108 yugas, or Ages of Man, had passed. “Those upon whom you may have already decided are now gone, as are their sons, grandsons and other descendants. Your ministers, wives, kinsmen and armies have since been swept away by the hand of time,” he said.

According to Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity time slows down for any object travelling at close to the speed of light. He wrote: “If we placed a living organism in a box .. . one could arrange that after any arbitrary lengthy flight, it could be returned to its original spot in a scarcely altered condition, while corresponding organisms which had remained in their original positions had already long since given way to new generations.”

Meaning, for the moving organism, the time of the journey was a mere instant if the motion took place with approximately the speed of light.

Substitute “living organism” with “human being” and you have the same situation that King Raivata found himself in. So is this a case of modern science validating an ancient myth or an ancient myth predating modern science?