प्रश्न / Question 18

Question 18 : 

प्रश्न 18 :

Could we once more talk about the nature of Time and continuity?

सातत्य और क्रमनाश

Ending of Continuity 

Time is वृत्ति / vritti

Time could neither be generated nor destroyed. Time however 'manifests' and "un-manifests" subsequently :

अक्षरातसञ्जायते कालः कालाद्व्यापको उच्यते।। 

The Manifest Time exists in two ways :

1. As the Absolute, where the past and the future dissolve in the present. There is no questions of continuity for this kind of Time.

2. As the Relative, where this continuity is seen as and in appearance only. Then, On this kind of Time is imposed an idea of continuity. This gives rise to relative Time that is measurable too. Measuring is again based on comparison.

The interval or the span of Time that is assumed to be there and take place is imagined objectively only. These two consecutive moments define this Time. The happening occurs between these two supposedly mutually independent movements (say seconds). A moment too could be again defined either as in terms of "lenth" or in terms of "point".

Thus an "interval" is defined in terms of "length", while a "point" in Time as the meeting point of such two consecutive intervals. Both are essentially "thought" and as such a वृत्ति / vritti only.

A वृत्ति / vritti is again but an attribute of the phenomenal expression of what is not a वृत्ति / vritti. 

A वृत्ति / vritti is therefore like the "flux" and the "field", like is dealt with in Physics.

This is subject to cause and effect. Cause (कारण) and Effect (परिणाम) too are phenomenal aspects of Time ; Not of the Absolute but only of the Relative.

Patanjali in Yoga Darshana defines :

क्षणप्रतियोगी परिणामापरान्त निर्ग्राह्यः क्रमः।।

In other words :

A क्रम / sequence is only according to the acceptance of the notion of beginning and end.

This is called the गुण / attribute of  प्रकृति / Prakriti. The same is again categorized as सत् (Light), रज (activity), and तम (the inertia). This is how it could be related to these notions in Physics of matter / energy and while the same apply to consciousness / mind as well.

The consciousness is the बुद्धि / Light / wisdom,

रज / The activity is the Thought,

while the material-world is :

The तम / The Darkness.

The last three योग-सूत्र / Aphorisms in the last अध्याय ४, कैवल्यपाद, Chapter 4 of Kaivalyapada are as follows :

ततः कृतार्थानां परिणामक्रमसमाप्तिर्गुणानाम्।।३१।।

क्षणप्रतियोगी परिणामापरान्तनिर्ग्राह्यः क्रम।।३२।।

And text concludes with the Aphorism :

पुरुषार्थशून्यानां गुणानां प्रतिप्रसवः कैवल्यं स्वरूपप्रतिष्ठा वा चितिशक्तेरिति।।३३।।

The dissolution of the attributes of the चितिशक्तिः / प्रकृति / Prakriti, - back to their source is  कैवल्यम् स्वरूपप्रतिष्ठा वा  or the Realization and abiding in the Self. 

This is verily : The Ending Of Time.

What David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti might have been talking about!

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