Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: eternity
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
In this part of the yoga passage, the author lists the kinds of soul truths that can be perceived when the mind turns inward. One of those truths concerns the duration of life. The sentence says that we can perceive soul truths about whether life exists for five minutes or for ______. The missing noun contrasts a very short time with an infinitely long one, and it needs to be chosen from the given options.
Given Data / Assumptions:
The phrase for five minutes clearly represents extreme brevity.
The blank follows or for, so it must form a balanced contrast to five minutes.
The topic is philosophical reflection on life, death, and possibly immortality.
Options include trinity, aminity, dignity, eternity and brevity.
Concept / Approach:
In philosophical and religious discussions, the standard contrast to a brief moment is eternity, which means infinite or unending time. Trinity is a theological term unrelated to duration, aminity is not a standard English word, dignity refers to worth or honour, and brevity actually repeats the idea of shortness instead of contrasting it. Therefore the natural and idiomatic pair is five minutes or eternity.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that five minutes represents the shortest possible meaningful time span in ordinary speech.
Step 2: Understand that the author is contrasting temporary life with the idea of endless or eternal life, which is a common theme in spiritual writing.
Step 3: Test eternity in the blank: whether life exists for five minutes or for eternity. This produces a clear and powerful contrast between extremely brief and infinitely long durations.
Step 4: Test trinity, dignity and brevity and see that none of them expresses unending time.
Step 5: Conclude that eternity is the only appropriate and meaningful choice.
Verification / Alternative check:
The phrase five minutes or eternity is often used in literature and speech to create a vivid contrast between what is fleeting and what is everlasting. Reading the entire sentence with eternity included, and with the following phrase and whether there is a God, shows that the author is indeed raising ultimate questions about mortality and immortality. Any of the other options would break this pattern and obscure the philosophical intention of the sentence.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Trinity refers to the Christian doctrine of three persons in one God and has no connection to duration of life in this context. Aminity is not a standard word and would not make semantic sense. Dignity speaks of worth or noble bearing, again unrelated to length of life. Brevity means shortness and would only repeat the idea of five minutes instead of contrasting it with the concept of endless time.
Common Pitfalls:
This question is relatively straightforward, but weaker readers may be distracted by the resemblance between aminity and words like amenity or infinity, or may not recognise trinity as a specialised religious term. Remembering that eternity is the classic opposite of a brief moment makes the choice easy. It also shows how test setters often rely on familiar philosophical pairings to build vocabulary items in context.
Final Answer:
The noun that correctly completes the phrase is eternity, so option eternity is correct.
Discussion & Comments