The devastating effects of time (Sankhya #19)
Eternal time is the divine energy of the Lord that makes everyone involved in material activities and eventually brings everything material to an end.
« SANKHYA, The Philosophy of Lord Kapila
The devastating effects of time
At the beginning of chapter 29, Devahuti asked her son three questions:
a) Explain more about the path of devotional service.
b) Describe the influence of eternal time.
c) Describe in detail the process of birth and death in this material world.
Lord Kapila already answered the first question, explaining in the previous verses the path of devotional service, the ultimate yoga system. Now He will answer the second part of her questions, explaining more about the influence of eternal time, the divine energy of the Lord that makes everyone involved in material activities and eventually brings everything material to an end. This explanation continues in the first verses of the next chapter.
The practical result of understanding the effects of time is detachment, which is very favorable for our spiritual practice. By fulfilling our duties, executing our material activities as an offering to the Lord, and at the same time developing knowledge about both the Lord and the workings of the material world we can develop a mature and long-lasting attitude of detachment, which can help us to finally become free of the material influence. One of the purposes of the philosophy enunciated by Lord Kapila is precisely to develop such an attitude.
"The time factor, who causes the transformation of the various material manifestations, is another feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anyone who does not know that time is the same Supreme Personality is afraid of the time factor.
Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices, is the time factor and the master of all masters. He enters everyone’s heart, He is the support of everyone, and He causes every being to be annihilated by another.
No one is dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor is anyone His enemy or friend. But He gives inspiration to those who have not forgotten Him and destroys those who have.
Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the wind blows, out of fear of Him the sun shines, out of fear of Him the rain pours forth showers, and out of fear of Him the host of heavenly bodies shed their luster.
Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the trees, creepers, herbs and seasonal plants and flowers blossom and fructify, each in its own season.
Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the rivers flow, and the ocean never overflows. Out of fear of Him only does fire burn and does the earth, with its mountains, not sink in the water of the universe.
Subject to the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sky allows outer space to accommodate all the various planets, which hold innumerable living entities. The total universal body expands with its seven coverings under His supreme control.
Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the directing demigods in charge of the modes of material nature carry out the functions of creation, maintenance and destruction; everything animate and inanimate within this material world is under their control.
The eternal time factor has no beginning and no end. It is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the maker of the criminal world. It brings about the end of the phenomenal world, it carries on the work of creation by bringing one individual into existence from another, and likewise it dissolves the universe by destroying even the lord of death, Yamarāja." (SB 3.29.37-45)
The description given by Lord Kapila in these nine verses can be divided into five points:
a) Terrible time as a manifestation of the Lord (verse 37)
b) A devotee has nothing to fear (verse 38)
c) Krsna protects His devotees (verse 39)
d) Everything is under the control of the Lord (verses 40 to 44)
e) The nature of time (verse 45)
Time as a manifestation of the Lord
In the Mahabharata it is described that "sa cāpi keśau harir uccakarta, ekam śuklam aparam cāpi kṛṣṇam, tau cāpi keśāv āviśatām yadūnām, kule striyau rohiṇīm devakīm ca". This verse is often incorrectly interpreted as “Viṣṇu took two hairs, one white and black. These two hairs entered the wombs of Rohiṇī and Devakī in the Yadu family. The white hair became Balarāma and the black hair became Kṛṣṇa.” However, Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana emphasizes that the correct translation is “The black and white rays of Kṣīrodakaśāyī entered Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma situated in Devakī and Rohiṇī.”
All the incarnations of the Lord who appear in this universe spring from Lord Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, but when Krsna comes, the opposite occurs, and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, together with all the other expansions merge into the body of the Lord. All the forms of Vishnu are amśas or plenary partial expansions of Krsna, and they merge into His body when He comes to display His pastimes. When Svayam Bhagavān appears, all of his amśa forms enter into Him as well.
When Krsna comes, all of His expansions, including all the forms of Vishnu and all His different potencies enter into His body, and these expansions manifest to perform different pastimes. Krsna does nothing apart from enjoying with His associates in Vrindavana. When a demon appears, Vāsudeva manifests to fight him. Similarly, when Krsna embarks on the chariot of Akrura to go to Mathura, he goes only to the outskirts of Vrindavana. At that point, Vāsudeva manifests and goes to Mathura to perform His pastimes there, while the original Krsna remains invisible in Vrindavana. The fact that the body of Krsna includes all the different potencies and expansions leads to many mysterious pastimes.
In the Bhagavad-gita, sometimes Krsna speaks as Vāsudeva, in other verses as Paramatma, and so on. When He says kālo ’smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho, lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ, "Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people" (11.32), He speaks as Kala, eternal time. In this passage, Lord Kapila describes this potency of the Lord that causes fear to all conditioned souls, by changing and destroying everything that exists.
Because this world is just a perverted reflection of the spiritual reality, no position here can be permanent. Just like a reflection in turbulent waters appears to be constantly moving, although the original object being reflected is not, everything here is constantly changing. Everything is created at a certain point, passes through certain transformations, and eventually faces destruction. Because no position in the material world is our eternal position, we can't stay permanently anywhere here. All of this happens due to the influence of time. Time creates a dream world where we can exert our material aspirations under the influence of false ego, but nothing is permanent. After each term of illusory activities, we have to move on. The influence of the illusory energy allows conditioned souls to forget this impending doom and continue with their worldly activities, believing that somehow they will find a way to avoid death, but when death and loss finally manifest, they become terrified.
In his description of the material world to the Haryaśvas (narrated in SB 6.5), Narada Muni describes time as kṣaura-pavyam svayam bhrami, an automatically revolving object made of sharp razors and thunderbolts. This indicates the nature of time as indestructible and unstoppable. As Lord Kapila mentions, time destroys even the lord of death himself, Yamarāja, what to say about others. Demigods have very long lives compared to us, but eventually, they also have to face death. No one can live in this material world eternally.
A devotee has nothing to fear
Time gradually changes and destroys everything, under the indirect control of the Lord. As soon as a baby is born, his body starts to change, from a baby to a toddler, and then to a boy, a teenager, an adult, and an old man. The final change is death, which forces the soul to abandon all his possessions and start again in a new body. For someone attached to this material world, time is a terrifying force that each day brings him closer to death, but a devotee is not afraid of it, understanding that time is just a feature of the Supreme Lord.
A devotee understands that the influence of time is ultimately positive since it pushes us in the direction of frustration with the material manifestation and ultimate liberation. If it was not for the influence of material time, agitating the material elements, and creating the temporary material manifestation, we would never have the opportunity to practice devotional service and revive our eternal relationship with the Lord. The change of a devotee from one material body to another is also coordinated by the Lord and his promotion to the spiritual world is also arranged, therefore a devotee has nothing to fear. Prabhupada gives the example that a female cat carries both rats and her kittens in her mouth. The situation appears to be the same, but the rat feels terrified, seeing the cat as personified death, while the kitten feels very comfortable, understanding that his mother is just transporting him to another place.
Time is not different from the Supreme Lord. The same Lord who acts as time also appears as Paramatma to act as the support of everything. The Lord is thus responsible for both the maintenance and the destruction of all living beings, and without exception, everyone who takes birth in this material world has to face death at a certain point, as Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gita: jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur, "One who has taken his birth is sure to die." Sometimes death comes by natural causes and sometimes it comes from the hands of another living being. By the influence of Paramatma, one living being is engaged in killing another, according to their karma and desires. One who in the past killed is later killed in similar circumstances by some other living being with a similar desire, and so on.
However, this process is not random. Everything is under the control of the Supreme Lord, and understanding this a devotee feels perfectly safe, even in the midst of great calamities. Rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke, māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke: If Krsna wants to protect someone, who can kill him? If Krsna wants to kill someone, who can protect him? Since everything is under the control of the Lord, we can just surrender to His will and feel safe under His protection. Once we do that, we can understand that everything that happens is for our ultimate good. Just like the Pandavas faced many difficulties, but achieved ultimate perfection at the end, the success of each devotee is already guaranteed, and Krsna has already chalked the path that leads to this ultimate success, we just need to allow Him to conduct us by the hand.
Krsna protects His devotees
In the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna mentions "I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him." This may sound like a contradiction, but it is not. It is just natural.
Although a rich man may be very charitable and take care of many orphans, being equally affectionate to all of them, still he will always have a special affection for his own children. This is not partiality, it is just natural. As Prabhupada explains: "Any man in this material world may be very charitably disposed, yet he has a special interest in his own children. The Lord claims that every living entity – in whatever form – is His son, and so He provides everyone with a generous supply of the necessities of life. He is just like a cloud that pours rain all over, regardless of whether it falls on rock, land, or water. But for His devotees, He gives specific attention." Even the most charitable man will not be able to avoid having special affection for his own children due to the reciprocation of love present in the relationship. Similarly, Krsna is impartial to everyone in His activities of maintaining the material universes, as mentioned by Lord Kapila, but at the same time, He takes direct care of His devotees.
As Prabhupada mentions, "The Lord’s reciprocation should not be considered to be under the law of karma. It belongs to the transcendental situation in which the Lord and His devotees function. Devotional service to the Lord is not an activity of this material world; it is part of the spiritual world, where eternity, bliss and knowledge predominate."
The Lord destroys the atheists who are inimical to His service by appearing to them in the form of unsurmountable time and killing their material bodies. In this way, He annihilates the material identities they assume related to such bodies, allowing them to develop new material identities in their next lives. In this way, they have the opportunity to gradually change, and eventually come to a position of devotional service. To devotees, on the other hand, the Lord gives all facilities so they can quickly come to Him in the same lifetime. Lord Kapila emphasizes this fact when He mentions that "He gives inspiration to those who have not forgotten Him and destroys those who have."
Everything is under the control of the Lord
At this point, one could ask: What about the forces of nature? Are they also under the control of the Lord, or are natural disasters and other events random?
To this, Lord Kapila answers: "Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the wind blows, out of fear of Him the sun shines, out of fear of Him the rain pours forth showers, and out of fear of Him the host of heavenly bodies shed their luster."
The Lord is not only the controller of the process of birth and death, but the controller of everything, including the forces of nature. This statement reinforces the conclusion that a devotee has nothing to fear since these powerful forces are also under the complete control of the Lord. A materialist may fear floods and hurricanes, thinking that their appearance and effects are random, but a devotee understands that they can affect someone only to the extent the Lord allows it. The Lord also controls the growth of plants and the conditions necessary for it, He controls the flow of rivers and even the orbits of the planets. Everything we need to live is thus given by the Lord.
The nature of time
Finally, what is the nature of time? Is it eternal, or is it temporary? If time is eternal, how can the material world be temporary, since it exists under its influence?
To this, Lord Kapila answers: so ’nanto ’nta-karaḥ kālo ’nādir ādi-kṛd avyayaḥ. Time has no beginning or end. It is eternal and imperishable, and the creator of all material things.
Time is one of the eternal energies of the Lord, Kala. Even the material energy itself (the external potency) is spiritual and eternal, just like time is. However, although both time and material nature are eternal as potencies of the Lord, the cosmic manifestation, which appears from the interaction between them, is not. The eternal external potency thus combines with eternal time to create the material manifestation, which is repeatedly created and destroyed. The material manifestation is not the original position of the soul, and thus it can't be eternal, just like a dream has to start at a certain point and end at a certain point. Since no one is born inside of the dream, the dreaming condition has a beginning, and an end, being ephemeral in nature. Eventually one has to wake up and return to reality.
The material creation is sometimes described as eternal in the sense that the cycles of creation and destruction go on indefinitely, and similarly, the soul is sometimes described as eternally conditioned in the sense that we are so long participating in this material creation that it is impossible to calculate. However, since the soul is not part of the external potency, it means the soul is not originally part of this material world. The conditioning of the soul has thus a beginning, although it is not possible to trace it back.