The Power of Time

Cheeniya · Aug 29, 2015

Dear PS
Your FB is a shining example of sound practical wisdom. You may ask me, if this is practical wisdom, is there something called theoretical wisdom. Yes, there is! Theoretical wisdom cannot be practised. It is what you think you ought to be but never are!

The very fact that different people have a different perception of Time indicates its Godly nature. It is absolutely neutral to everyone and never gets swayed by the stature of the people. When Gandhari, the mother of Duryodana, looking at the dead body of her son in the battlefield and recollecting the opulence he enjoyed as the crown Prince, weeps and laments to Krishna: 'See how Time turns!'

It is a pity that while most of us cherish everything that life has to offer, we hardly think of Time as the most important factor in human life.
Sri

shyamala1234 · Aug 29, 2015

Dear Cheeniya sir,
Amazing thread! I am coming across even more amazing perspectives of time from you and others which I never imagined also!!! You started and it is spreading like petals of flowers giving fragrance!!!! Really enjoying it.
Syamala

kaniths · Aug 29, 2015

How can anyone prove that Time is not stationary but moving?
Click to expand...

Time either moves at uniform speed or never moves at all. But our own experience with Time, it seems to be of variable speed!
Click to expand...

Time seems stationary when am at my in-laws house or when they are visiting us... :roll:

Time is moving really really fast when am at my mother's or when my parents are visiting me... :-D

#beingPhiLOLophical!!

Srama · Aug 29, 2015

Now now hold on is what I want to say! I am not asking anyone but I am telling that to time. huh! Like time is ever going to listen to me!! I saw this snippet, pressed for time I decided to respond later and now it feels like so much time has passed and I wonder if I should even respond. That is time telling me to give up. But then I do want to say something and wonder as to what is left to say after reading this extraordinary writing and the feed backs. But will that stop me?

Sir, indeed time is so fascinating - always making us think of those days that have gone by and having us look forward to those days that are yet to come. But what I love the most is the ability of time to give us those memories and bring them back to us, sometimes when we need them and other times after many life times makings us wonder "what janma's karma is this that I am reaping the fruit (both good and bad) now!" How all pervading this time is, seeping into life times! I often meet people who are always exclaiming how fast time is flying by and how quick kids are growing up. Perhaps I will feel that way when I am older and reminisce about 'those' days. And just when I think of something like, my heart comes and asks me to slow down and reminds me that if I continue to enjoy/acknowledge the phase I am in at any point in time, it may not feel like that at all. Perhaps time will tell :biggrin2: but today and for now, I am reminded of the song, 'Yesterday once more' and these lines in particular

Those old melodies Still sound so good to me As they melt the years away

The time (years) can indeed melt away if we have those melodies that sound good to us to hang on to in spite of what ever else is happening.

I may be very incoherent here sir but for me more than the time, the people, the events of birth and passing on fascinate me to no end and grab my attention in that circle of time. Just a couple of months ago, sitting in a parking lot looking at the beautiful sky and passing by cars, the reality of my FIL passing away hit me like crazy and the only thought that came to mind was "Where the heck did he disappear like that!" What a mystery that is. It is not the age (time) factor, I think it is the 'presence' factor, presence of a person in one's life that determines such thoughts and for me at that moment time had no meaning. It was just the person. And that moment is 'still' in my in mind. It is very humbling sir, very humbling. I believe when we are able to perceive the beauty of the people and the world around us, time will have only so much say. As much as I love being with nature I have never felt as to how quickly time has gone by when I am surrounded by that nature. Neither have I felt the moment drag on but have always experienced the blissful feeling of just being there. Looking at a watch at such moments has never startled me. Would I be wrong if I said that the effect of time is only felt when my emotions/mind are involved?

But this time does make us wonder as always. Thank you for bringing is such a lovely discussion here.

Cheeniya · Aug 29, 2015

Thank you Syamala for your appreciation! I am happy to know that you are enjoying the discussions going on. To tell you the truth, I am enjoying it equally. Time is one of the most fascinating subjects that man has encountered. Despite all the scientific enquiry, Time continues to be an enigma.
Sri

Cheeniya · Aug 29, 2015

kaniths
You are indeed another Einstein in the making! He has also analysed Time in the context of what we are doing and how it affects its speed. The speed of light is reported to be about 300,000 kms per second. There may be marginal difference in this speed depending on the medium through which it travels. But light does not slow down when our parents in law are visiting us or doubles its speed when our parents are with us. But Time is more sensitive to such issues!
Sri

Cheeniya · Aug 29, 2015

My dear Srama
I am happy you are here at last to offer your picturesque comments. Time gone by and Time yet to come squeeze in between them all our life's happenings. When I reflect on it, I am reminded of Tennyson's 'The Brook'. The two lines, 'Men may come and men may go but I go on forever' apply equally to time. But Time has a far smoother run as compared to the Brook.

I remember a song in particular that goes like this:
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing I'd like to do
Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you.

Unfortunately Time ran out for the singer Jim Croce and he died in a plane crash just three months before his song reached the top spot in Billboard Chart in the '70s. That is the most awesome aspect of time. It just has no emotions. It just carries on.

All events are produced by Time.Sage Vysa puts it very succinctly when he says: "A person acquires all that is ordained for him through time, by means of the Ordainer through its turning" In other words, sorrows caused by the ravages of time are a universal experience and not an isolated personal one. Time's action is inevitable and the understanding of it is wisdom.
Sri

Kamla · Sep 1, 2015

A new write up from you and the feed backs have been flooding and the thread growing by leaps and bounds and me not aware till a well meaning friend makes me aware of it!

Now what is behind all this ? Time and TIME and the power of time........What else!

Who says time does not fly and it is Only our perception? That is not true as I know time flies. Time at my end simply flew by before I could even read all the nominated posts! Time suddenly showed me the winning posts. I was like being caught unawares by time.

Time is so elusive and travels at such speed that it would be next to impossible to hold it still to measure it either by linear or cyclical scales And so I thought.

Then I saw the feed backs. Aria alone has given umpteen of them and the length and the breadth of them (note I did not even mention the depth) did make me pause and wonder (even as my time kept flying by). If I was unable to note my favorite writer's rare contribution, how come she, as well as he, have the amount of time to compose such detailed letters?!? I kept thinking, wondering and feeling more and more perplexed even as an answer to my query formed around the horizons of my clouded brain. It was quite clear though I may not be willing to decipher it! It was obvious that they had it, the time, in their grip! Don't know if they burn mid-night oils to produce all that they do, but they have a hold on it! I could too perhaps. But hey, my linear age tells me that I need to put my head on bed and not burn any candles. See, my time is up!

I did go through half of this very enchanting thread, thanks to the OP and the participating members who added to its charm. But the rest needs to be read in peace...When I have more Time!

Aaah, this Power of Time..........

L, Kamla

Cheeniya · Sep 1, 2015

My dear buddy Kamla
You say that Time flies at such speed that it would be impossible to hold it still. In the '70s, I was auditing a branch of the Bank at Manali in Kulu Valley. Every morning I would wake up early to see the darkness giving way to pale light and the light getting brighter and brighter. Suddenly the distant snow peaks would show themselves up clothed in variegated colours. The dazzling panoramic brilliance would appear to have swallowed the entire landscape. Morning clouds would gather and hover over the peaks like butterflies hovering over flowers. The peaks unmindful of all the attention and admiring glances they were getting would rise up majestically manifesting their indomitable spirit and inviting us to ascend to heaven, using them as ladders.Everything there was Timeless.Time governs nature, but there, nature knew no time, its past, present or future. It had no use for Time, since it had become one with the cosmos. How futile it used to be to try to gather the essence of Time in the Timeless cosmos!

People who think Time is flying should visit this place. I am sure you have read James Hilton's novel The Lost Horizon. The scene of all actions in that novel is a place called Shangri-La where the people all enjoy incredible longevity. We come across a seemingly young Manchu woman by name Lo-Tsen in the novel with whom the hero falls in love. The story ends on a cryptic note telling us that Lo-Tsen who leaves Shangri-La loses her youth all of a sudden and dies incredibly old! People are kept young and virtually deathless in the Timeless ambiance of the place.

Let us not allow Time rush at break-neck speed and make us age much ahead of our Time! Let us create a Shangri-La like atmosphere where we can live a long and youthful life!
Sri

Viswamitra · Sep 2, 2015

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

I went into a trance when I read your careful responses about Time. It happened to me again first time being when I was watching a TV serial in which Ravana was trying to stop Kala Devan to find out the details of birth of Sri Hanuman. In that serial, Kala Devan was moving at a very aggressive speed when Ravana orders Kala Devan to stop. He replies, "I can't defy the rule that I should be moving always". Finally, Ravana gets defeated and thrown forcefully to the earth after attempting to stop Kala Devan.

Moving time can only be realized in our children growing up to be adults, our hair becoming white from black or our dense hair in the head becoming like six lane highway, in a sleepless night when one is watching the clock ticking, in watching the night stars and the full moon when they move their position and the Sunrise soon becoming Sunset. In my view, feeling time not moving fast enough when we are doing something that is not fulfilling to us and moving fast when we are doing something we truly enjoy are aberrations of the mind.

We will notice the time differently in each occasion. When we start late everyday, we are constantly working against time. When we think too much, we are fighting time at a breakneck speed and when we face a day that is not fulfilling, we consider the time as dead on arrival. When we live in the present moment, the past and future becomes irrelevant and we don't notice the fight against time. Past is history, Future is mystery and only the present is real gift and that is why it is called "Present".

Viswa