Category:Eternal Time
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that eternal time, known in Sanskrit as kāla, is a formidable manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He describes it as the invincible force that controls all material activities, from the rotation of atoms to the life of Brahmā. Acting as the representative of the Lord, time dictates the creation, maintenance, and annihilation of the cosmic manifestation. For the conditioned soul, Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that time appears as a fearful serpent (kāla-sarpa) or a sharp razor, imperceptibly devouring the duration of life. However, he assures us that for the devotee who surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, time is not a source of fear. While the material world is ravaged by the three phases of time, the spiritual world is free from its deteriorating influence. Ultimately, Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that one must either surrender to time voluntarily through devotional service or be forced to surrender at death.
- The Nature of Time: Śrīla Prabhupāda describes it as eternal, sharp like a razor, and the supreme controller.
- The Representative of God: He explains that time is a form of Kṛṣṇa that controls everyone.
- The Effect on Matter: Time causes the transformation of elements and the cycle of birth and death.
- The Spiritual World: He notes that in the kingdom of God, time exists without its destructive feature.
- The Solution: Śrīla Prabhupāda advises surrendering to the Lord to be saved from the "serpent" of time.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Surrendering to Eternal Time.
Subcategories
This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total.
K
Pages in category "Eternal Time"
The following 96 pages are in this category, out of 96 total.
1
A
- A conditioned living being is under the full control of material nature, represented by eternal time and activities under the dictation of different modes of nature
- A conditioned soul is enwrapped in his fruitive activities by the force of eternal time. But the Supreme Lord, when He incarnates on the earth, is not influenced by kala, or the material conception of past, present and future
- A great Indian scientist, busy in the planmaking business, was suddenly called by invincible eternal time while going to attend a very important meeting of the planning commission, and he had to surrender his life, wife, children, house, land, wealth etc
- Above the modes of nature is eternal time, which is called kala because it changes the shape of everything in the material world
- Actually, you have not killed the Yaksas, nor have they killed your brother, for the ultimate cause of generation and annihilation is the eternal time feature of the Supreme Lord
- All learned men say that the five elements, eternal time, fruitive activity, the three modes of material nature, and the varieties produced by these modes are all creations of yogamaya
- All of these (the supreme controller, the controlled living entities, the cosmic manifestation, eternal time, and karma) taken completely form the complete whole, and the complete whole is called the Supreme Absolute Truth. BG 1972 Introduction
- All the planets are of different types, and each is controlled by a different kala-cakra, or schedule of eternal time. The time of the earth planet is not applicable to other, more elevated planets
- Although the serpent of eternal time, which is fearful in force, endlessly chases everyone, ready to swallow him, if one who fears this serpent seeks shelter of the Lord, the Lord gives him protection, for even death runs away in fear of the Lord
- As long as their tendency for foolish work remains powerful, all their plans in the struggle for existence will be cut to pieces. I therefore offer my obeisances unto Him who acts as eternal time
- As stated in the Brahma-samhita (BS 5.52): I (Brahma) worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under whose control even the sun, which is considered to be the eye of the Lord, rotates within the fixed orbit of eternal time
- At the end of the day, under the insignificant portion of the mode of darkness, the powerful manifestation of the universe merges in the darkness of night. By the influence of eternal time, the innumerable living entities remain merged in that dissolution
B
- Bali Maharaja replied: All those present on this battlefield are certainly under the influence of eternal time, and according to their prescribed activities, they are destined to receive fame, victory, defeat and death, one after another
- Bali Maharaja was very sensible. He knew that the fighting was arranged by eternal time and that under time's influence one must accept the results of one's own activities
- Beginning from the sun down to the atom, all bodies are under the influence of the kala-cakra, or the orbit of eternal time, and each of them has a scheduled orbital time of one samvatsara
- By the influence of eternal time, which is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the father begets a son, and the father dies by the influence of cruel death. But by time's influence, even the lord of cruel death is killed
E
- Eternal time enters anywhere and everywhere, but it cannot enter the kingdom of god. Nor can the Vedas understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is an indication of the Lord's being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient
- Eternal time is also without beginning, but it is the creator of all creatures. The example is given of touchstone, which creates many valuable stones and jewels but does not decrease in power
- Eternal time is certainly the controller of different dimensions, from that of the atom up to the superdivisions of the duration of Brahma's life; but, nevertheless, it is controlled by the Supreme
- Eternal time is never lost along with the life of Brahma. It continues, but it has no ability to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Lord is the controller of time
- Eternal time moves very sharply, as if made of razors and thunderbolts. Uninterrupted and fully independent, it drives the activities of the entire world
H
- He (Maharaja Yudhisthira) saw that the direction of eternal time had changed, and this was very fearful. There were disruptions in the seasonal regularities
- How shall I get them (material happiness)?" How? Kalena sarvatra gabhira-ramhasa: By the arrangement of eternal time, everything will come about in due course
- However ignorant one may be regarding the path of good fortune and the path down to the darkest region of ignorance, everyone is aware of the influence of eternal time, which devours all the effects of our material activities
I
- I (Lord Brahma) worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under whose control even the sun, which is considered to be the eye of the Lord, rotates within the fixed orbit of eternal time
- I also pity them because I see how their duration of life is spoiled by eternal time while they involve themselves in presentations of philosophical speculation, theoretical ultimate goals of life, and different modes of ritual
- If one does not try to study the eternal element of time, what benefit can he derive from performing temporary material activities?
- Influential stars, planets, luminaries and atoms all over the universe are rotating in their respective orbits under the direction of the Supreme, represented by eternal kala
- Insurmountable, eternal time imperceptibly overcomes those who are too much attached to family affairs and are always engrossed in their thought
- Isvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity),prakrti (nature), eternal time and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Out of these five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature and time are eternal. BG 1972 Introduction
- It (living in the Brahmaloka) may be millions of years; that is also limited, because within the time eternal, some millions of years, that is also temporary; some hundreds of years, that is also temporary. So everything here, temporary
- It is advised that one observe the eternal time factor, which is the cause of the material body's appearance and disappearance, and that one observe the living entity's entanglement in this time factor
L
- Lord Brahma prays in his Brahma-samhita (BS 5.38): I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead under whose control even the sun, which is considered to be the eye of the Lord, rotates within the fixed orbit of eternal time
- Lord Sri Krsna, appearing within and outside of all materially embodied living beings by His own potency in the forms of eternal time - that is, as Paramatma and as virat-rupa - gave liberation to everyone, either as cruel death or as life - SB 1.0.1.5-7
M
- Material energy is manifested into twenty-four divisions. The creation is effected by eternal time, and it is created and dissolved by external energy. This manifestation of the cosmic world repeatedly becomes visible and invisible. BG 1972 purports
- My dear mother, I have explained to you the process of devotional service and its identity in four different social divisions. I have explained to you as well how eternal time is chasing the living entities, although it is imperceptible to them
N
- Narada Muni had spoken of a physical object made of sharp blades and thunderbolts. The Haryasvas understood this allegory as follows. Eternal time moves very sharply, as if made of razors and thunderbolts
- Nature is inert matter displaying the interaction of three different modes, and eternal time and unlimited space are considered to be beyond the existence of the material nature
- Not knowing that eternal time is passing away imperceptibly and that their measured duration of life is diminishing every second, without any solution to the big problem, namely repetition of birth and death, disease and old age. This is called illusion
O
- O father of all planets, learned scholars know that fire is your mouth, the surface of the globe is your lotus feet, eternal time is your movement, all the directions are your ears, and Varuna, master of the waters, is your tongue
- O spiritually powerful one, you can understand the movements of eternal time, which is the controlling form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because you are a self-realized person, you can see everything by the power of mystic vision
- Old age is the notice of the arrival of death served by cruel time, and no one can refuse to accept either summon calls or the supreme judgment of eternal time
- One can elevate oneself simply by Your grace, so also by Your direction alone one may be lost to all benedictions under the influence of eternal time. Therefore I (Rukmini) have selected You as my husband, brushing aside personalities like Brahma & Indra
- One should not be disturbed by the tricks of eternal time. Even the great controller of the universe, Brahmaji, is also under the control of that time
- One should observe the activities of eternal time, which is the cause of birth and death
- One who becomes fully Krsna conscious can attain the Absolute Truth. Krsna is the Absolute Truth because, unlike relative truth, He is Truth in all the three phases of eternal time
- One who becomes fully Krsna conscious can attain the Absolute Truth. Krsna is the Absolute Truth. Relative truth is not truth in all the three phases of eternal time
P
- Please also describe eternal time, which is a representation of Your (Kapila's) form and by whose influence people in general engage in the performance of pious activities
- Prakrti itself is constituted by three qualities: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. Above these modes there is eternal time. BG 1972 Introduction
S
- Since I am (Hiranyakasipu) eternal and time is eternal, I shall endeavor for such austerity, mystic power and trance for many, many births, and thus I shall occupy the same post occupied by Lord Brahma
- Since the material body is sure to be vanquished and the duration of one's life is not fixed, neither death nor life is to be praised. Rather, one should observe the eternal time factor, in which the living entity manifests himself and disappears
- Someone may possess great power and yet be unable to check the power of eternal time. Someone else may have renounced attachment to the material world, yet he cannot compare to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is the full text of all descriptions of knowledge, including the theory of atomism. The atom is the minute subtle form of eternal time
T
- The changing effects of eternal time are conspicuously absent in the immortal kingdom of God, which should therefore be understood to have no influence of time and therefore no fear whatsoever
- The complete whole is comprised of the supreme controller, the controlled living entities, the cosmic manifestation, eternal time, and karma, or activities. BG 1972 Introduction
- The controlling deities of all the above-mentioned physical elements are empowered expansions of Lord Visnu. They are embodied by eternal time under the external energy, and they are His parts and parcels
- The creation is effected by eternal time, and it is created and dissolved by external energy. This manifestation of the cosmic world repeatedly becomes visible and invisible
- The devotees of the Lord do not misuse their freedom, and therefore they are the good sons of the Lord. Others, who misuse freedom, are put into miseries destined by the eternal kala. The kala offers the conditioned souls both happiness and miseries
- The dissolution of the three worlds is effected by the incarnation of darkness, Rudra, represented by the fire of eternal time which blazes over the three worlds
- 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
- The five elementary ingredients of creation, the interaction thereof set up by eternal time, and the intuition or nature of the individual living beings are all differentiated parts and parcels of the Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva
- The living entity who enjoys the interaction of the above gross and subtle ingredients, as set up by eternal time, is an offshoot of internal potency, with freedom to remain either in the material world or in the spiritual world
- The objects of material enjoyment (sound, form, taste, touch and smell), the activities of the senses, the controllers of sensory activities (the demigods), the body, eternal time and egotism are all creations of Your material energy
- The only thing possible to be done is to get rid of eternal time, kala, which is compared to kala-sarpa, or the cobra snake, whose bite is always lethal. No one can be saved from the bite of a cobra
- The sky is the cause of air. The sky has only one quality, namely sound, but by the interaction of the sky with the glance of the Lord, mixed with eternal time and external nature, the air is produced, which has two qualities - sound and touch
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His feature of eternal time, is present in the material world and is neutral towards everyone. No one is His ally, and no one is His enemy
- There are nine different kinds of creations besides the one which naturally occurs due to the interactions of the modes. There are three kinds of annihilations due to eternal time, the material elements and the quality of one's work
- Thereafter the water produced from electricity was glanced over by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and mixed with eternal time and external energy. Thus it was transformed into the earth, which is qualified primarily by smell
- Thereafter, influenced by the interactions of eternal time, the supreme sum total of matter called the mahat-tattva became manifested, and in this mahat-tattva the unalloyed goodness, the SL, sowed the seeds of universal manifestation out of His own body
- These (I am now happy; I have everything in order; my bank balance is quite enough) are some of the thoughts which engross the insanely attached householder who is blind to the passing of eternal time
- They are happy in those planets and are without any kind of misery and they live perpetually in full youthfulness, enjoying life in full bliss and knowledge without fear of birth, death, old age or disease, and without the influence of kala, eternal time
- This gross material body made of five elements is already under the control of eternal time (kala), action (karma) and the modes of material nature (guna). How, then, can it, being already in the jaws of the serpent, protect others?
- This verse (SB 6.5.19) explains the words ksaura-pavyam svayam bhrami, which especially refer to the orbit of eternal time. It is said that time and tide wait for no man
- Thus being advised by his demoniac ministers, Kamsa, who was from the very beginning the greatest rascal, decided to persecute the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, being entrapped by the shackles of all-devouring, eternal time
U
- Under the laws of karma a living entity wanders within the universe under the rule of eternal time, and sometimes he becomes a mosquito and sometimes Lord Brahma. To a sane man this business is not very fruitful
- Understanding the devastation of eternal time, and by constantly associating with devotees engaged in Krsna consciousness
W
- We are always in danger because at any moment death can take place. It is not that only Gajendra, the King of elephants, was afraid of death. Everyone should fear death because everyone is caught by the crocodile of eternal time & may die at any moment
- When electricity was surcharged in the air and was glanced over by the Supreme, at that time, by a mixture of eternal time and external energy, there occurred the creation of water and taste
- Wherever there is the influence of eternal time, there is this set of tribulations, namely birth, disease, old age and death, and all of them are invincible
- Whoever is under the influence of supreme kala (eternal time) must surrender his most dear life, and what to speak of other things, such as wealth, honor, children, land and home
- Within this material world we are not eternal on account of material contamination. But time is eternal. Time is eternal; God is eternal; you are also eternal, living entity. Simply our work is not eternal. That can be changed