In philosophy, it is generally said, “Time makes you realize the colours of life”. Life, in its essence, is the passage of time of any particular identity until it loses its conscience or primary attributes of its’ ‘The Self’ or both. This raises different questions on the nature of time; whether it is universal or relative, physical or abstract, eternal or emergent! Is ‘time’ the fabric of the universe? We don’t know! To propel our understanding about time, we can follow the popular proverb said by Carl Sagan, an American astronomer, that “Books break the shackles of time” and rely on the research, experiments, and compilations of the smartest minds in this regard.

Brief historical perceptions on 'TIME':

“In you, my mind, I measure time” – writes St. Augustine, in the 4th century, about how it feels to inhabit time. Before him, the Greek philosophers (Plato, Zeno, Aristotle et al) often discussed about the Physics of Time. From antiquity to into the 17th century, antitheses on time and space as ‘abstract entities’ maintained that the world is essentially a material plenum. In the 17th century, Newton [in his manuscript De Gravitatione] founded classical mechanics on the view that time passes uniformly without regard to whatever happens in the world. At the same time, German philosopher Kant, in his Critique of Pure Reason, considers time as part of inner sense on which all phenomenon are based on. From the discovery of Black Holes to the Planck’s Time, a string of theories on time has developed by scientists around the globe that can satiate one’s obsession with time, like A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, the Physics of Time by Richard Mueller, Why Time Flies? A Mostly Scientific Investigation by Alan Burdick and others.

In the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, neo-scientists like Bohr and Heisenberg gave experimental explanations of time-irreversibility and the Arrow Of Time and Einstein termed time as the fourth dimension of the universe. While in the 20th century, scientists have built a wider descriptive analogy of Plato’s ‘Dual World’ theory through Quantum Entanglement, the ancient and wise scriptures Vedas and the Vedantas have unequivocally emphasized on the co-existence of multiverses sustaining on the ‘Wheel of Time’ [Kaal-chakra and/or Samay-Chakra].

Origin of the word ‘Time’:

The word ‘time’ is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *di-mon, which means to ‘to divide’. This evolved into the proto-Germanic word *timon – which meant ‘proper time’. In the Old Norse language, time was called *timi, and the Old English spelt *tima- that referred to time. In Greek, time is referred by two words – Chronos and Kairos. Chronos means time recorded in a sequence while Kairos means the right, critical or opportune moment for something to happen.

In one of the oldest languages – Sanskrit, time is referred to both as ‘Kaal’ and ‘Samay’. The founder of Sanskrit – Panini wrote a treatise called ‘Astadhyayi’ that provides the structure and usage of letters, words and phrases in Sanskrit. His composition ‘Maheshwara Sutra’ is the source of phonetics in Sanskrit.

If we look at the etymology and phonetics of the word –‘Kaal’, it is composed of the letters ‘क्’, ‘आ’ and ‘ल’. ‘क्’ means that which is unannounced and short-lived, आ’ means that which is nearing to stop and ‘ल’ means repetition.

Thus, ‘Kaal’ is an artistic interplay of actions, from forever to forever, that nurtures in its own set standard principles and then, changes or terminates. In Hinduism, Yama, the progeny of sun, is said to be not influenced by ‘Maya ’ and is concerned with eschatology, hence venerated as God of Death [Kaal-deva].

Similarly, ‘Samay’ can be analysed by looking at its phonetic construction i.e. ‘स’, ‘म’ and ‘य’. ‘स’ means all/with, ‘म’ means that what upholds and ‘य’ means basic principles/manners/rules in practice. Hence, the literal meaning is derived as one that inclusively sustains all the basic manners/rules/principles in practice. Difficult, right?

Yama defines Samay as all the mannerisms of reality existing in simultaneity with itself. Samay is a qualitative measure of existence and hence, is independent of physics and mathematics.

But, how does Samay encompass the past and future elements in the above definition?

Attributes of Samay:

Samay, the eternal flow, remains unchanged and unbroken in its essence, like a sage who meditates with steadfast devotion. To stand against the helical strength of Samay, ‘Kaal’ must have a resilient will and spirit so that it can take charge and monitor the actions in the world for a definitive period. How so ever, each emergent Kaal should heed to the wisdom of the ones that came before and use their lessons to guide its own course. Samay counts the Kaal(s) of the past as its most precious jewels. Until and unless every conscious being utilizes its memories and experiences in the respective fields, the future is abstract but certain. This provides us that the Kaal, who bears the accounts of the ‘Kaal(s) of the past’, is certain of its successor or progeny. Kaal has no single form or essence but is shaped by the perspective of each observer. Samay, the master of time, holds Kaal in its grasp, as it bends and stretches reality. These properties of Samay tells us that ‘time’ is the ultimate truth.

What is ‘Truth’?

The question emphasizes on the properties that are the bases to define words, ideas, beliefs, et al to be true. There are five most prevalent substantive theories of truth: Correspondence, Pragmatism, Coherence, Constructivism and Consensus. There are other definitions of truth too, given on the philosophies of minimalism and pluralism. In reality, the state of truth is similar to that of ‘Time’ i.e. debatable and non-conclusive.

Let us again refer to the ‘Sanskrit Vyakaran’ where Truth is Satya. The phonetic composition of the word ‘Satya’ is ‘स’+ ‘इत्’ + ‘य’ where ‘स’ is again all/with, ‘इत्’ means the end (iti) and ‘य’ means the related mannerism. We get the literal meaning of Satya as all that is/are the mannerism(s) or behavioural pattern(s) until/at its/theirs end. Satya, by default, can only be defined as the attributes of things and/or ideas that do not exist in today.

By the definition of ‘Samay’, time is eternal and incessant, however, allows us to trace down the truths and constants of universe(s).

Will TIME ever conclude?

The universes sustain on the energies of matter, light, force, time and krsna (records of the past). Modern-day scientists have calculated the age of this universe as 13.82 billion years and it shall live a life of 333 trillion years. Bhagawata Purana (3.12.3) and Vayu Purana (2.38.340) too mention the same lifespan of ‘Brahmanda’. The death of this universe shall be followed by re-birth or re-construction in the following ‘Prarardha’, a divine number (expl. 333 trillion years – 50 years of Brahma).

Beyond the studies of quantum mechanics, ‘Samay’ is the third dimension of the universe besides Karma and kalā; ‘karma’ means actions and ‘kalā’ means creativity. To be precise, even when the universe will squeeze and die, the death is merely a discontinuity of a pattern of existence for a newer continuum and hence, time shall persist. To concise, the greatest attribute of 'Samay' is 'kaal', itself. There’s nothing that can defy permanence of time. Therefore, time was, is and shall remain.

Time, the Piece de resistance

Time is a curve of grace, though it has no shape. Time is a journey of wonder, though it has no scale. Time is a witness of love, though it has no ties. Time is a partner of joy, though it has no age. Time is a masterpiece of beauty, though it has no hues.

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