Cyclical time in Indian philosophy: A revolution in the offing?

[Guest guest]

A fantastic discovery has been reported.

 

August 15, 2001

 

Cosmic Laws Like Speed of Light Might Be Changing, a Study Finds

By JAMES GLANZ and DENNIS OVERBYE

 

....But a few physicists, like Dr. Jacob D. Bekenstein of Hebrew

University in Israel, noted that some theories have long been

predicting a change in some of nature's apparent constants. Dr.

Bekenstein called the findings "potentially revolutionary" and said

he was inclined to believe them.

 

"After much thinking about this issue," Dr. Bekenstein said, "I think

the quasar observations may have found the real variation."

 

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/15/science/15PHYS.html?

searchpv=nytToday

 

Time no longer seems to be linear, an arrow shooting straight

irreversibly. The concept of time in the philosophical tradition of

Bha_rata is cyclical, ka_la cakra. Are the discoveries by physicists

and modern science moving towards this philosophical insight? There

are r.ca-s in the R.gveda which describe the concepts using superb

metaphors related to the wheel of time. R.ca-s which are used,

pathetically, to support the views of some indologists about the

invention of the wheel with spokes -- it has to be outside of India!

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, "S.Kalyanaraman" <kalyan97> wrote:

> Time no longer seems to be linear, an arrow shooting straight

> irreversibly. The concept of time in the philosophical tradition of

> Bha_rata is cyclical, ka_la cakra. Are the discoveries by physicists

> and modern science moving towards this philosophical insight? There

> are r.ca-s in the R.gveda which describe the concepts using superb

> metaphors related to the wheel of time. R.ca-s which are used,

> pathetically, to support the views of some indologists about the

> invention of the wheel with spokes -- it has to be outside of

> India!

 

Aren't these two are unrelated concepts?

 

While Newtonian mechanics holds good for all common

day to day events (For most of engineers' work,

Newton is sufficient), relativity, bending of light, black holes,

white dwarfs etc., come into play only at the limiting cases of speed,

gravity.

 

Indian specialists talk of the thought universe based on

cyclical time found in India in every facet of life,

where as the west considers time as linear: renaissance,

enlightenment, progress has to move linearly. Eliade

has written about Indian cyclical time.

 

Regards,

N. Ganesan

[Guest guest]

> are r.ca-s in the R.gveda which describe the concepts using superb

> metaphors related to the wheel of time. R.ca-s which are used,

> pathetically, to support the views of some indologists about the

> invention of the wheel with spokes -- it has to be outside of

> India!

 

Does anyone have references to the Rig Veda verses referred to? And

the "Wheel" in general? (I was a fool to leave Delhi without my Vedic

Index.)

 

Michael Donne, PhD

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, naga_ganesan@h... wrote:

> Indian specialists talk of the thought universe based on

> cyclical time found in India in every facet of life,

> where as the west considers time as linear: renaissance,

> enlightenment, progress has to move linearly. Eliade

> has written about Indian cyclical time.

 

 

Indeed, Eliade devotes a large portion of his "The Myth of Eternal

Return" to the concept of cyclical time among archaic cultures.

 

QUOTE

"... it is here that two distinct orientations first define

themselves: the one traditional, adumbrated (withoput ever having

been clearly formulated) in all primitive cultures, that of cyclical

time, periodically regenerating itself ad infinitum; the other modern

that of finite time, a fragment (though itself also cyclical) between

two atemporal eternities.

 

Almost all these theories of the "Great Time" are found in

conjunction with the myth of successive ages, the "age of gold"

always occurring at the beginning of the cycle, close to the

paradigmatic illud tempus. In the two doctrines- that of cyclical

time, and that of limited cyclical time- this age of gold is

recoverable; in other words, it is repeatable, an infinite number of

times in the former doctrine, once only in the latter.

END QUOTE

 

(The Myth of Eternal Return, Bollingen Series, Princeton Univ Press,

1991, p. 112)

 

He discusses the Indian Tradition at length as "it is here that the

myth of the eternal return has received its boldest formulation". He

then comments that 'Indian speculataion on cyclical time reveal a

sufficiently marked "refusal of history"."'

 

The evolution of this concept of cyclical time into that of karmic

cycles, accepted by all schools of Indian thought, is also noted by

the author.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Lakshmi Srinivas.

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, naga_ganesan@h... wrote:> Aren't these two are

unrelated concepts?> ...Eliade> has written about Indian cyclical

time.

 

Why are the two concepts unrelated? The concepts of cyclical time

originating in Bha_rata are applied to every phenomenon -- ranging

from the philosophical to physical entities. Hence, the extension

into the concept of re-birth (a variant in Christianism is the belief

in the re-appearance of Jesus).

 

The fundamental thoughts are in physics are closely related to the

philosophical insights resulting from the early views on cosmology,

see for e.g. the su_kta RV 1.164 in the R.gveda which uses the

complex metaphors of the cosmic wheel.

 

What has Eliade said about Indian cyclical time?

 

Thanks.

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, michael_donne wrote:

> Does anyone have references to the Rig Veda verses referred to? And

> the "Wheel" in general?

 

The following references may be of some help.

 

http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/ratha2.htm

This URL provides the R.gveda su_kta RV 1.164 and its translation

based on Sa_yana.

 

http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/vedicchronology.htm

http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/ratha10.htm

 

These URLs provide some perspectives on the interpretation of the

metaphors contained in the R.gveda references to the wheel...

[Guest guest]

hi,

in reference to rigveda sukta 1.164/of syana's translation,i am not

fully aggreed to it,i also request you to read the

rigvedadibhasyabumika of swami dayananda saraswati.chapte of rath

and "viman" in vedas,where he strongly advocated that the same

mantras also reveals the theory of viman"aeroplane"construction

also,recently an indological book published by oriental

institure"bharadwaja vimana shashtra"where he revealed the

constrction,mantainence of various catagories of vimans and their

component parts and safety equipments etc..,.it revealed that in

ancient age also there were vimanas manufacture and used by indian

emporors and princes.of course it was a craft only and disappeared

due to many reasons:-

spsharma

 

 

 

 

 

INDOLOGY, "S.Kalyanaraman" <kalyan97> wrote:

> INDOLOGY, michael_donne wrote:

> > Does anyone have references to the Rig Veda verses referred to?

And

> > the "Wheel" in general?

>

> The following references may be of some help.

>

> http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/ratha2.htm

> This URL provides the R.gveda su_kta RV 1.164 and its translation

> based on Sa_yana.

>

> http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/vedicchronology.htm

> http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/ratha10.htm

>

> These URLs provide some perspectives on the interpretation of the

> metaphors contained in the R.gveda references to the wheel...