How Is Spatial Proportion Establishes a Relation between the Womb and the World and between the World and the Hereafter?
One of the fundamental steps in understanding something and understanding its relationship with other matters is knowing its place and position. Understanding where something is located allows us to determine what influences it and what it influences. For example, if a real estate counselor knows where we live, which amenities or hazards surround us, they can provide better advice. Therefore, it is worth taking a philosophical look at the definition of place.
According to the most widely accepted definition of place, confirmed by Al-Farabi and Avicenna and mentioned by Aristotle, place is the inner surface of a body that touches the outer surface of another body. With this definition and an understanding of the Law of Proportion, we can more easily understand the spatial proportion between the mother’s womb, the world, and the hereafter. We can then explore the need to understand the spatial proportion between the world and the hereafter and find answers to the questions that arise in this regard, such as: What is the spatial distance between the womb and the world? And ultimately, how does understanding the spatial proportion help us comprehend our distance from the hereafter?
If we were asked, “Where is the fetus located?” our answer would undoubtedly be “in the world.” In reality, although the fetus is situated inside the mother’s womb, growing and developing within the womb, it is temporarily situated in the womb. The fetus is located in a place that belongs to a larger realm known as the world. To better understand this concept, we can imagine a pearl inside a shell. While the pearl takes shape and has a life within the shell, it is located in a larger place, such as the sea or the ocean. It is situated in a place that is itself surrounded by another place. According to the Law of Proportion, this spatial proportion also exists between the womb of the world and the hereafter. It means that while we are situated in the world, we are in a place that encompasses our world and surrounds it. This place is nowhere but the hereafter.
The Spatial Distance between the Womb of the World and the Hereafter
If there is no world, the existence of the mother’ womb will be impossible; if there is no hereafter, no world will take shape within it. The world sends something from within itself into the mother’s womb, for it to go through its stages of growth and development and return to the world for living at a higher level. The point here is that the world surrounds the womb, and the fetus does not go any spatial distance to come into the world. The womb is within the world and is itself one of the products of the world. Therefore, the distance from the mother’s womb to the world is as far as the act of giving birth.
Due to the limitations of life in the world, we do not have a precise perception of the hereafter, but based on the Law of Proportion, we know that just as the fetus in the mother’s womb has no spatial distance from the world, we, during our life in the world, have no spatial distance from the hereafter either. Instead, just like the fetus within the mother’s womb, which is surrounded by the world, we are surrounded by the hereafter.
Based on what we have stated so far and in the lessons on seeking infinity, we know that the concepts of nothingness and non-existence do not make any sense in the world of existence. In reality, from the beginning, we have been in the realm of the hereafter, and the only thing that changes is the tool that changes in proportion to the living conditions of the womb or the place where the womb is located. So just as the mother’s womb is placed in the world and the world encompasses it, the world is also placed within the hereafter. Our distance from the womb of the world to the hereafter is like the distance from the mother’s womb to the world, and it is only as far as a birth, a birth that we refer to as death.
The Needs of the Fetus Are Defined in Proportion to Its Place and Position
As a fetus within the mother’s womb, we are nourished through the mother’s blood as long as we are in the womb. This blood first reaches first the placenta and then us through the umbilical cord. No one can claim that there is a better substitute than the mother’s blood for our growth in the womb. The mother’s blood is the nourishment that prepares us for making tools and entering a higher place, namely the world. But can the fetus continue to be nourished through blood after birth and entering the world?
Upon entering the world, the fetus, now referred to as an infant, experiences a change in conditions. He enters a place with different biological characteristics. Nourishment through blood is no longer compatible with his existential structure, and blood can no longer meet his needs in the environment of the world. The fetus has now transformed into a human. He is ready to live in this world and prepares himself for the next realm, which is known as the hereafter. Naturally, with this change of place, he needs a program that is adjusted to specific spatial proportions and characteristics of the new place. This program must meet his needs in this world and be consistent with his existential structure in the hereafter.
In general, no matter in which womb we are, we are actually preparing ourselves for the next stage and the world that surrounds that womb. In the mother’s womb, we prepare ourselves for the living conditions of the world; when we are born into the womb of the world, until death, we have the opportunity to prepare ourselves for the living conditions of the hereafter, which encompasses the world.
In this lesson, we focused on the spatial characteristics of the mother’s womb and understood that the spatial proportion between the mother’s womb and the world is very similar to the spatial proportion between the womb of the world and the hereafter. Just as the world encompasses the mother’s womb and has no spatial distance from it, the hereafter also surrounds and encompasses the world. Finally, we also pointed out that our needs are defined according to the spatial conditions in which we are placed.
At the end, we hope that this article has contributed to our better understanding of the various dimensions of the Law of Proportion. If you have any knowledge or experience in this regard, please share it with us to improve the content.