Indian Philosophy

SR No.: 006972
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Nagin J Shah
Publisher: Sanskrit Sanskriti Granthmala
Publication Year: 1998
Total Pages: 162
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 14 MB

Page 24

NATURE.OF TIME
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substance is a controlling principle. Without it temporal order could not be accounted for. Were it not an independent substance, all serial effects would take place simultaneously and thus there would ensue chaos instead of order." (5) Without Time substance, how can we have particular divisions of Time ? Divisions imply something of which they are the divisions." (6) Simple uncompounded word 'time' presupposes an independent entity, namely, Time.72 (7) Activities like cooking etc. are conventionally referred to as 'cooking time' etc. But in this conventional usage of 'cooking time and so on, the name of 'time' is superimposed on activity. The term 'time' really signifies the existence of real time which is the basis of this conventional time.73 (8) Those who maintain that time is nothing but movement of the sun and other luminaries are not right. Mere movement of the sun and stars could not account for the changes in substances. Even in regard to movement we say it is past', 'it is present, 'it is future'. Movements require the assistance of Time. Without it they are impossible. Minute changes constituting movements could not be explained if Time were not posited as an independent real substance.74 (9) It is untenable to maintain that Space (ākāśa) can very well perform the function assigned to Time. In other words, to reject Time as an independent sabstance we cannot legitimately maintain that Space serves as an auxiliary cause of the minute changes (vartanā) in the five substances. Space merely contains or gives room to the substances. It cannot be a causal condition of the minute changes in other substances. For instance, a pot can at the most support or contain the rice but it cannot cook the rice; for that we need fire.75 (10) Some might even argue that 'Existence' (Sattā) itself can perform the function of time; and hence there is no need of positing an independent substance called Time. But this view is not sound. Minute imperceptible changes themselves constitute the nature of 'Existence'. So, how could it be viewed as an auxiliary cause of minute changes. 76 (11) A theory is propounded by some that time is nothing but activity (kriyā). Akalanka explains it as follows. Movement of an atom from one spacepoint to the next spacepoint is called an 'instant’. There is nothing like a minute Time over and above this movement to measure the span of this instant. The collection of these instantaneous activities is called avalikā, the collection of these āvalikās is called ucchvāsa and so on. There is no entity called Time. In our every day usage we say 'he sits as long as the cows are milked.' Here the usage of time