Movement of Time on Earth

By simple observation of the movement of the sun, moon and stars; changes in the seasons, day in and day out and by observing the fall of night ending in dawn, the prehistoric man could guess the time they were passing through. Certain sights, sounds and smells mark the movement of time. The smell of certain flowers at certain times tells us the season and the time precisely. Our biological clock tells us the rhythmic time of our body machines.

Measuring Time using Manmade Devices

Improvement in measuring time came by stages. Sundial was used first in Egypt. Hourglass using sands of time and the Water Clock, used first in Greek, were the devices man invented.

By the 1300 C.E. appeared the mechanical clock using weights or springs in different ways. This was the time when clocks and watches were produced; the predecessors of what we see today in different varieties. Pendulum clock saw the light of day in 1656. John Harrison invented a small clock accurate enough to use for navigation at sea in 1761. Half a century later digital watches were introduced. In 1967 atomic clock used the oscillations of cesium (133 atoms) to tell time. This clock had an error ratio of 1 second for every 1.4 million years. In 1999 scientists developed the cesium fountain atomic clock, which is off by only one second every 20 million years. This clock appears to be the most accurate in the world. All these are dividing the time by our clock, devised to record the movement of ongoing time through the rotation of earth, moon, sun and such bodies, in their own way.

Jantar Mantar

Jantar Mantar is a unique construction with bricks, sand and cement made first in Rajasthan and then in New Delhi, India to record the movement of time. One of the five observatories was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in the year 1724. This observatory completed the purpose of compiling astronomical records along with the task of estimating time and tracking the movement of celestial bodies. It is a very intelligent geometrical measurement of time. But in spite of everything, every way of measuring time it moves without any halt.

Can we really Catch Hold of Time! Can you arrest time or stop the movement of time!

Time Whole or Broken!

Time is neither circled by the earth nor even by the universe. It is beyond. From the beginning of civilization the scientists and philosophers were bewildered by becoming aware of the presence of time and space though invisible unless broken in different ways. The big questioners and discoverers were mostly scientists though philosophers too tried to find the answers. What is time!

Stephen Hawking’s Scientific Speculation and Rational conclusions

Stephen Hawking, the great British scientist who has just parted from us, tried to probe the existence of time, space and other things in his A Brief History of Time. He says that “There are at least three different arrows of time. First, there is the thermodynamic arrow of time, direction of time in which disorder or entropy increases. Then there is the psychological arrow of time. This is the direction in which we feel time passes, the direction in which we remember the past but not the future. Finally there is the cosmological arrow of time. This is the direction of time in which the universe is expanding rather than contracting.” (Hawking 153)

“To summarise”, he writes, “the laws of science do not distinguish between the forward and backward directions of time.” (Hawking 160)

He says that the thermodynamic and psychological arrows are essentially the same and that intelligent beings can exist only in the expanding phase. “The no boundary proposal for the universe predicts the existence of a well defined thermodynamic arrow of time because the universe must start off in smooth and ordered state.” (Hawking 160-61)

The concluding chapter of the book, “Conclusion”, is interesting. He cannot arrive at any conclusion in the absence of any definite clue.

“When we combine quantum mechanics with general relativity, there seems to be a new possibility that did not arise before: that space and time together might form a finite, four dimensional space without singularities or boundaries, like the surface of the earth but with more dimensions . . . . But if the universe is completely self-contained, with the singularities or boundaries, and completely described by a unified theory, that has profound implications for the role of God as Creator.” (Hawking 184)

This conclusion is revolting to a scientist. So he concludes by putting a volley of questions, may be to God himself: “Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing? Is the unified theory so compelling that it brings about its own existence? Or does it need a creator, and, if so, does he have any other effect on the universe? And who created him?” (Hawking 184)

Unlike a believer in God Stephen is a bit frustrated. In keeping with his scientific pride he writes, “The people whose business is to ask why, the philosophers, have not been able to keep up with the advance of scientific theories . . . . Philosophers reduced the scope of their enquiries so much that Wittgenstein, the most famous philosopher of this century, said, ‘The sole remaining task for philosophy is the analysis of language.’ What a comedown from the great tradition of philosophy from Aristotle to Kant!” (Hawking 185)

Humorous and understanding, Hawking has a rational personality. He remembers that scientific theories are always susceptible to changes though many of the broad scientific discoveries and ideas are guiding us. He mentions in the book that Newton and Einstein committed mistakes and admits that he too committed mistakes. He admits at the beginning- “Any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis: you can never prove it. No matter how many times the results of experiments agree with some theory, you can never be sure that the next time the result will not contradict the theory.” (Hawking 11) Hawking’s quest for time seems very genuine and sincere but remains inconclusive.

Concept of Time in Ancient Tradition

Hawkins mentions only Western scientists and philosophers. But many great Oriental philosophers realized God and knew things by identity. They too wrote great philosophical treatises; not just religious books prescribing rituals. There were great astronomers and mathematicians in India. Vedic mathematics is a great subject being explored by some great scholars of the Western World.

According to ancient or ‘Sanatana’ Hindu scripture, the time is divided into equinoctial cycles of ascending and descending Arc, each divided into four Yugas; ‘Kali’, ‘Dwapara’, ‘Treta’ and ‘Satya’, corresponding to the Greek ideas of four ages; Iron, Bronze, Silver and Golden Ages, wrote Yogananda referring to a series of 13 articles written by Sri Yukteswar Giri titled, ‘Yuga theory’ that was published in the magazine titled “East-West” from September 1932 to September 1933.

Yukteswar calculated each cycle to be of 24000 years. The ancients calculated the life of the universe too which was in terms of many lakh solar years, corresponding to the present scientific speculation extending to many millions years. But ironically, none of us will remain to see the truth of such calculations extending to billions of years which has been described as few twinkles of an eye of ‘Brahma’, the supreme Indian Godhead of Creation, for our time and the divine time

beyond the spheres of the universe do not match. (Yogananda 174)

Time Beyond

He is not Slain in the Slaying of the Body (Na Hanyate Hanyamane Sharire)

When we come to the divine reality, as realized by the Rishis of the lore, it remains in essence inexpressible for it is beyond any earthly conception of time, it is beyond time, it is the Time. The God is essentially timeless and featureless.

“The wise One is not born, neither does he die: he came not from anywhere, neither is he any one: he is unborn, he is everlasting, he is ancient and sempiternal: he is not slain in the slaying of the body.” (Upanishad 248)

“He dwelleth above and beyond the past, the present and the future and Time hath no part in him. Worship ye the Adorable whose shape is the whole universe and who hath become in the Universe, worship ye the Lord, the Ancients of Days in your own hearts who sitteth.” (Upanishad 377)

And the realized words of the Chinese philosopher Lao Tse are-

“Tao is in us. Tao is in repose . . . . The true sages follow the Teaching without words, that which remains unexpressed. And who will ever express it? Those who know what Tao is, don’t speak of it, those who speak, don’t know it.” (Wei 7)

“Tao is neither good, nor bad: Tao is real. Tao alone is . . .” (Wei 9)

Time is Eternity of the Eternal

“He is the Timeless and Time; he is Space and all that is in space; he is Causality and the cause and the effect . . . . All realities and all aspects and all semblances are the Brahman; Brahman is the Absolute, the transcendent and incommunicable, the Supracosmic Existence that sustains the cosmos, the cosmic Self that upholds all beings, but it is too the self of each individual . . . . the Brahman alone is, and because of It all are, for all are the Brahman . . . . it is by his Shakti, his Conscious Power, that he manifests himself in Time and governs the universe.” (Divine 324-25)

Here time in a sense is explicitly defined:

“The cardinal fact is that any given Time or Space or any given Time-Space as a whole is a status of being in which there is a movement of the consciousness and force of the being, a movement that creates or manifests events and happenings; it is the relation of the consciousness

that sees and the force that formulates the happenings, a relation inherent in the status, which determines the sense of Time and creates our awareness of Time-movement, Time-relation, Time-measure. In its fundamental truth the original status of Time behind all its variations is nothing else than the eternity of the Eternal, just as the fundamental truth of Space, the original sense of its reality, is infinity of the Infinite.” (Divine 362)

Scientific Indecision

The path of time has not been defined. Scientists cannot catch it entirely. In the vortex of time even a scientist becomes a philosopher: “But the best of evidence we have that time travel is not possible, and never will be, is that we have not been invaded by the hordes of tourists from the future.” 1

Time with the mortals

Looking at time as eternity coming out of the eternal, as said from a different perspective in absolute term, we find that in spite of its eternity of the eternal time it is temporal with us, the commoners of the earth. We are not out of it but in it. Time walks with us holding one of our fingers. A yogi may be free from the clutches of time in his eternal consciousness. An idiot, a mad or a nincompoop does not understand the implications of time in his life. Together they walk but are not aware of it. Everyone else with some awareness, living a worldly life, realizes the effect of time on his or her body, the tangible call of time at different phases of his or her life; the definite mark of ageing finally leads him or her to death. Most individual persons does not catch the vibrations of time; the current of its passing through his body, touching his sense and mind, till a time when his hairs start graying and falling, teeth begin to lose hold of and legs shake. Many remain unaware of age like an uncouth country man unaware of the time past. But it is with him.

The modern man looks sharp. There is no denying that time is passing keeping us witness to it among Nature all around us, witness to conditions of our neighbours, witness to changing phases of market economy. We act and react. Sometimes we may be aware that during a passing phase of time consisting of few day-steps we get up at the same time, do routine works at the same time and go to bed at the same time in spite of our wishes to the contrary. We come to the same measured time unless we deliberately or violently break it.

More a modern man is sharp more he looks at himself, compares his position to the others; ambition pulls him further. Whatever one is one may further progress. A moneyed man may want more money, a man of reputation by birth, family connection and heritage work to gain more reputation. The more one knows more he runs after knowledge. In every field of life’s business; politics, sports, professional jobs, performing art, industry or agriculture, one may always go higher and higher. But one is bound to recognize his self-limitations, earlier or later, at least inwardly. Does Time hold him!

In a competitive world situation one has to run to gain his or her position to the maximum extent. And in such a run time runs with him. All of us run but if we fall back Time will go ahead leaving us on the road side. So the modern man has learnt the phrase- ‘Time Management’, to plan how to achieve the best in a limited time frame. But it is no guarantee that such a rat race will take us to the heights. “Keep time, look sharp, manage your time”- Okay but one needs to know that time is something extremely impersonal. It waits for none while it honors everyone. Wastage of time may be a barrier to all progress and the wise use of it may give us the joy of progress and freedom.

Time bewilders in conclusion

Here one has to pause; what is progress? What is defeat in life? Is it best to always run to gain something materialistic or is it better to wait and see, to look back sometimes? These are some of the very important and core points to ponder over. And they take us to the other areas away from time. All these are part of our literature, the literature we create in ourselves which mostly remain unexpressed. Time is in literature and beyond it. Time is in us and beyond us.

Notes and References

1. Stephen Hawking. “The Future of the Universe” in Black Holes and Baby Universes and other essays. Great Britain: Bantam Press (Bantam Books). 1993. 140. Paperback

Work Cited

1. Hawking Stephen. A Brief History of Time. Great Britain: Bantam Books. 1989. Paperback

2. Yogananda Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House. 1997. Reprint. Paperback

3. Sri Aurobindo. The Upanishads. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library; Sri Aurobindo Ashram. 1972. V. 12. Hardbound

4. Wu Wei. Translation: Shyamsundar. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo’s Acion. 1997. Paperback

5. Sri Aurobindo. The Life Divine. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library; Sri Aurobindo Ashram. 1970. V.18. Hardbound

© Aju Mukhopadhyay, 2020