Hare Krsna,
I am amazed by the chain of questions and answers going between Maitreya Rsi and Vidura. Maitreya Rsi’s explanation of the various categories of information related to the universal creation is actually in response to Vidura’s two questions below:
SB 3.10.1: Śrī Vidura said: O great sage, please let me know how Brahmā, the grandfather of the planetary inhabitants, created the bodies of the living entities from his own body and mind after the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 3.10.10: Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O my lord, O greatly learned sage, kindly describe eternal time, which is another form of the Supreme Lord, the wonderful actor. What are the symptoms of that eternal time? Please describe them to us in detail.
From Maitreya’s explanation, it is fascinating to see how the process of creation begins from purely spiritual platform to subtle creation and then to gross creation. Maha Visnu’s glance is purely transcendental and spiritual. His glance agitates the sum total of material energy thus manifesting various elements such as earth, water, fire, air, and ether. These elements are gross in nature. There are also subtle elements of creation such a mind, intelligence, and false ego.
This chapter (3.10) talks about ten different kinds of creation. The first six creations are called Prakrta Sarga – Primary Creation. They are mainly:
- Mahat-tattva
- Ahankara – false ego
- Sense perceptions
- Working and Knowledge acquiring senses
- Demigods and mind
- Ignorance
The next four creations are called Visarga or Vaikrta Sarga – Secondary creations:
- Immovable entities such as plants
- Lower species of life such as animals
- Human Beings
- Demigods
Maitreya Rsi’s explanation of time is quite interesting. Finding the nature of subtle time difficult to describe, he starts with by describing the divisions of matter such as atom. The understanding of time needs a good understanding of atoms. This is because time is measured in terms of it’s covering a certain space of atoms by the movement of the sun (3.11.4 P)
“The time covered by the sun in passing over an atom is calculated as atomic time. The greatest time of all covers the entire existence of the nondual manifestation… The complete calculation of the time of creation, maintenance and dissolution, measured in terms of the circulation of the total planetary systems until the end of creation, is known as the supreme kāla.” (SB 3.11.4 P)
In the previous chapter (3.10.11-13), Maitreya Rsi described the various characteristics of time:
- Source of the interactions of the modes
- Lacks attributes and hence is imperceptible
- Limitless – without beginning or end
- As an instrumental cause, it separates the material energy from the Lord
- Divides the universe into various planetary systems
- Unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Lord
- Objective manifestation or representative of the Lord
- Causes the universe to appear alike in the present, as it was in the past and shall be in the future.
Just as the Supreme Lord is inconceivable, the time factor is inconceivable. It is all pervading. Time pervades and control every aspect of our daily life. It is also instrumental in the overall cosmic creation as it is the source of the interactions of the modes. Time is the potency of the almighty Personality of Godhead, Hari, who controls all physical movement although He is not visible in the physical world. (SB 3.11.3) 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 kāla. (SB 3.11.13)
“In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that the sun is the eye of the Supreme and it rotates in its particular orbit of time. Similarly, beginning from the sun down to the atom, all bodies are under the influence of the kāla-cakra, or the orbit of eternal time, and each of them has a scheduled orbital time of one saṁvatsara.” (SB 3.11.3 P)
It is therefore important that we acknowledge and respect the role of time in our lives as it is an impersonal feature of the Lord.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 