like an invisible puppeteer, kaala keeps us busy every minute, says Asha Goswami
Kaalabodha or notion of time has been elaborated in the Indian scriptures right from the vedic age. For, while discerning the beginning of space in the philosophical context, the Vedic seers have extensively discussed the concept of time. They refer to it as a great eternal cosmic principle from which all the things have originated when it is stated that “by time alone the whole world is made and stirred to motion: Kalayati it kaalah”. Thus, the same be held the most ancient articulation of the awareness of time since it has been conceptualised as a principle which corresponds with the consciousness of breath and pulsation rhythm as well as the movements of the planetary bodies in the sky.
Here, it be maintained that the ancient Indians experienced time in the form of interrelationship between the biological breath and the movements of the planets, as well as a evolving principle for the formation of the galaxy of planets, hence, the ruler of everything, as no power can be superior to it. Besides, in the Vedas, time is also conceptualised as mahakaala or great time and is identified with the vedic deity Rudra who is also called mahakaala in his being representative of the horrible natural phenomena like thunder, fierce fire; and being very angry god who not only makes the wicked people cry, but sometimes like kaala kills them.
Besides having affinity with vedic god Rudra, kaala sounds similar to other vedic twin-gods Ashvins who are referred to as the lords of time and hence, the saviours of the mankind. The Vedic seers also refer to two kinds of time — eternal and unchanging which is considered parallel with the eternal godhead as both of them are absolute, and relative time is that which governs the universe in action and is affected by Vishnu, the force behind the sun, the moon, the soma and other gods. The same time is also called the linear time or the cyclic time which is divided into past, present and future, days, nights, months, seasons and the years.
Further, in the Upanishads, kaala held as one of the causes (nimittas) of the universe is also treated as highest cosmogonic principle in the form of causative force in the universe. Besides, some upanishadic thinkers treat time as originated from illusion or Maya of Brahman, which implies that kaala is held as an element which is devoid of reality. Hence, in this context, kaala signifies a realm of non-existence which is analogical with the primordial state that of abyss or shunyataa in the cosmos, and is accompanied by the continuous movements. The same be also termed as the articulate time or space time or dik-kaala; next, the later philosophical schools of thought in India such as vaisheshika have treated kaala as one of the supreme entities known as dik, which serves as the base for all the other entities’ origin in this world.
While the later vedantins view kaala as one of the quadruple form of the eternal Brahma which are enumerated as akshara, kaala, svabhaava, karuna, however, Ramanuja, the foremost Vedanta exponent, included kaala among 24 categories of prakriti, the creative element, and treats it as the main element in the origin of the universe. While according to Bhartrihari, who belongs to the grammar school of thought which treats kaala as denoting the prevailing order (krama) in the universe, kaala serves as one of the quadruple power of the almighty who appears in these forms to perform particular functions such as that of creation, sustenance and destruction. In this context, kaala in the form of instrumental cause is treated as the main agent in the cosmos. It is invisible, but at the same time functional as a unit of measurement of the activity as is said in kaalastu samkhyaa. Next, in the epic Mahabharata, the notion of kaala is discussed in the context of the kaalachakra or wheel of time when it is stated “that one who is conversant with fate or the kaalachakra is never deluded and reaches the highest goal of human life in the form of moksha.
This epic also treats kaala as the mainstay of righteousness and a state which lies in control of the ruling class. However, in Gita, kaala has been glorified as one of the mighty splendours or the emanations of the lord in which “he appears as having thousand heads, mouths and enveloping the universe as a perennial entity like the wild fire and a ferocious destroyer gulping all the beings in the universe”.
Here, mystery behind time’s conceptualisation as a great destroyer in Gita be thus solved “that kaala here denotes supreme lord’s destructive principle which overgrows when he has to destroy the world, and swallow everything at the end of the world circle then he attains the horrible state of kaala”.
According to Gita, kaala in its invisible form as an instinct of anger, constitutes a destructive feature of almighty in which he remains unnoticed to the men but prevailing amongst their minds makes them fight and kill each other. However, in the Puranas, due to its eternal flow, kaala is viewed as “the imperishable lord himself, who is also all pervasive but can also assume the subtlest form”. Kaala as measurement is also identified with the lord in the Puranas, as these refer to the day and night of Brahma which is calculated as 8.4 billion years. The four divisions of kaala such as Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, which are termed as yugas, are also referred to in the Puranas.
Due to the effect of kaala, people abiding by their distinct features inculcate different routines: they are spiritual and religious in Satya Yuga, religious and money minded in Treta, money minded and sensuous in Dvapara, and sensuous and quarrelsome in the Kali Yuga. Besides, the epics and Puranas also correlate kaala with the cycle of soul’s birth as is stated: “That the aspirant seeks liberation from the bond of time.” Hence, no wonder if in the consequent periods in India, kaala as eternal circle symbolises the ever revolving aspect of the cosmos, finds extensive depiction through art forms.
In the Indian tradition, the term kaala is also used in the sense of occasion, circumstance, destiny, fate and period. Summing up the kaalabodha of the Indians right from the Vedic age, it be maintained that in spite of being the most sought out issue of different schools of Indian thought, none has so far unravelled the secrets of time in total because the relativistic variation in its eeriness are beyond the direct experience. Yet like an invisible puppeteer, it keeps us busy every minute. Tamasya lokayantrasya sutradhaaram prachakshate.
The writer is a world renowned Indologist and authority on Krisnaite Studies