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## First Understanding: Nature and Types [15 7-8-6]
**Akasa (Space)** is a universally accepted formless substance. According to its literal meaning, Akasa is that in which all other substances are illuminated and manifested without losing their own nature, or that which pervades all substances and is illuminated. Providing space (avagaha) is the characteristic of Akasa. Just as milk provides space for sugar, and a wall provides space for a peg, Akasa is the foundation of all substances. All other substances are dependent on it.
Although all substances are self-established (svapratiṣṭhita) in their own nature from the perspective of **niścayana (absolute truth)**, from the perspective of **vyavaharanaya (practical truth)**, Akasa is the foundation of all substances.
One might ask, if Akasa is the foundation of all substances, what is the foundation of Akasa? The answer is that Akasa is self-established. It is not dependent on any other substance. There is no substance greater than or similar to Akasa. Akasa is infinite. It is all-pervasive, encompassing both the world (loka) and the non-world (aloka).
**From a gross perspective, there are two types of Akasa:**
* **Loka Akasa:** The portion of Akasa where the five categories of substance (pancastīkāya) - dharma, adharma, akasa, pudgala, and jīva - exist. Loka Akasa has countless regions.
* **A-loka Akasa:** Where only Akasa exists and nothing else. It is infinite in its regions, boundless and endless. Loka Akasa is merely a point in the vast ocean of A-loka Akasa.
The entire Akasa is the **skandha (mass)** of the Akasa category. Its intellectually conceived portion is the **deśa (region)** of the Akasa category. The indivisible, non-fractional parts of the Akasa substance are the **pradeśa (sub-regions)** of the Akasa category.
**Time (Kāla)**
**Adha-samaya-pradha** means time. It is called adha-samaya because it is in the form of time. Alternatively, the smallest indivisible part of time is adha-samaya. Only the present moment is truly real (sat). The past has perished, and the future has not yet come into existence. Therefore, the past and future are unreal (asat), only the present moment is real.
Since time is a single entity, it does not form a group, and therefore, the concept of deśa and pradeśa does not apply to it. Time is the divider of the time-field (samayakṣetra) and the non-time-field (asamayakṣetra).
The cycle of light (jyoti chakra) is active up to two and a half islands (aḍhai dvip), and due to this, time is experienced in this region. Therefore, this region is called the time-field. Beyond this, there is no division of time, and hence it is called the non-time-field. This statement should be understood from the perspective of vyavaharanaya.
**The functions of the Kāla substance are:**
* **Vartana (existence)**
* **Pariṇāma (transformation)**
* **Kriyā (action)**
* **Paratva-aparattva (being the cause and effect)**
**References:**
1. **Ā-samantāt sarvāṇyapi dravyāṇi kāśante-dīpyante'tra vyavasthitānītyākāśam** - All substances are illuminated and manifested in it. This is Akasa.
2. **Ākāśasyāvagāhaḥ** - The characteristic of Akasa is providing space.
3. **Prati kālasyākhyā, praddhā cāso samaya pradhāsamayaḥ, athavā pradāyā samyo nivībhago bhāgo'ddhāsamayaḥ** - The name of time is pradha, and the time of pradha is adha-samaya. Alternatively, the smallest indivisible part of time is adha-samaya.
4. **Vartanāpariṇāmakriyāparatvāparatve ca kālasya** - The functions of Kāla are existence, transformation, action, and being the cause and effect.