THE LOKA-ALOKA BARRIER
In the Vedic Puranas, this cosmic red veil was also described as the loka-aloka barrier. The Sanskrit word loka, meaning “world,” corresponds to the English term local. Its opposite is denoted by the word aloka, “nonworld,” which corresponds to the English term nonlocal.
In this sense, the red veil may be understood as the cosmic barrier that separates the local reality of the visible universe from the nonlocal reality of the larger, invisible universe.The local reality of the visible universe upheld by local cause-effect relations is mediated by real waves that travel at the speed of light. The nonlocal reality of the invisible universe cannot be experienced empirically; it transcends all means of direct empirical observation, and represents the portion of the universe that lies above and beyond the cosmic red veil—that is, beyond the boundary of the visible universe.
In the Vedic texts, the loka-aloka barrier was often compared to a mountain range separating two distinct regions. Although this boundary cannot be seen by any mortal eye, the ancient texts state that it can be perceived by the enlightened eye, the eye of pure consciousness. More specifically, they state that it is experienced as a cosmic field of reddish light, which serves to obscure the visible universe and everything in it. As long as the enlightened soul remains within the highest heaven, represented by the twenty-eighth layer above, the visible form of the universe can be seen. Yet as soon as the soul rises above the highest heaven and enters into the world of Varuna, represented by the twenty-ninth layer, the visible form of the universe is dissolved into an all-pervading field of reddish light. This represents the loka-aloka barrier, which separates the local reality of the visible universe from the nonlocal reality of the invisible universe.