In the Eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad
Gita, Shree Krishna makes some very revealing comments on the nature of time. In
the 33rd text, He tells us: " Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds."
It is very significant that Shree Krishna refers to time in the first person; He
says " Time ' I ' am." In
the ninth chapter He makes reference to the material nature in the possessive
case saying " This material nature, which is one of my energies, is working
under my direction ...." But with reference to Time, Shree Krishna speaks
in the first person.
Thus Time enjoys a very special place in the scheme of things within the
creation; Time is the will of God as manifested as a chronolgy. It is
experienced and perceived in various ways, typically invoking fear and sadness.
Time's role as a beginning and end is generally well understood, but there are
other, less understood aspects of Time which have been pointed out in the 11th
chapter of Gita (Texts 33 and 34): " Conquer your enemies and enjoy a
flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, Oh
Savyasachi, and you can be but an instrument in the fight. Drona, Bhishma,
Jayadratha, Karna and the other great warriors have already been destroyed by
me."
A deeper understanding of the involvement of thinking, feeling and willing on
the occurrence of any action helps us to understand the nature of time and
chronology. Any action must be first initiated on the mental platform, which is
an ethereal, platform; sometimes the word " astral " is used to
indicate this platform. For example, in the 33rd text of the 26th chapter of the
third canto of the Bhagavat Purana, His Divine Grace A C. Bhaktivedanta Swami,
Prabhupada, confirms this: " Subtle forms are generated from the ethereal
element, ... mental activities are also on the platform of ethereal existence."
It is only after an action occurs on the subtle, etheral platform that it
actually takes place in the gross material sphere. Thus Shree Krishna's words
" They are already put to death by my arrangement. " A certain chain
reaction occurs culminating with the final manifestation of an action on the
gross material platform. The successive, trickle-down manifestations of an
action in the various realms, subtle then finally gross, is actually an
exhibition of the chronology of Time, comprehended now in a more complete way.
For this reason it is useless to resist ones destiny as destiny has already
occurred on subtler planes; it is just a matter of time before the played-out
fate manifests on the material plane. Astrological symbols indicate these days
of the future already passed on the subtler, ethereal planes.
The reader will readily recognise that we don't experience an act first, to
later have it manifest in the ethereal realm in relation to our free will. No-
an act always manifests on the subtle platform first. Joseph H. Cater, in his
book The Ultimate Reality, gives examples from real life of encounters
experienced in subtle, ethereal realms such that the person experiencing seemed
to travel through time:
" One can in the same manner have a realistic experience of some future
event by tuning into what has been planned for the future.
This type of experience does not account for all cases of a seeming displacement
in time. Since particles of matter in higher realms are far more active than
those in lower realms, it follows that events in realms of higher frequency
matter take place more rapidly. This means that smaller units of time must be
employed in the higher realms. The consciousness automatically adjusts to these
changes, so that the inhabitants in these worlds are not aware of any
differences. Accounts received from entities residing in an astral realm who
have recently lost their physical bodies confirm this. A notable case which the
author encountered involves a person who seemingly had spent many months in an
astral realm since his demise. At this time, he was informed to his amazement
that some guides were going to take him down to the physical realm so he could
view his own funeral. This funeral took place only three days alter his
departure, yet he thought several months had passed. Occult lore is steeped with
cases of this type, yet the obvious reason for the time anomalies always escaped
those who researched the subject. It is to be expected that the wrong
interpretations concerning the properties of time are always placed on such
incidents. One of the most popular explanations is the erroneous conclusion that
time doesn't exist in the astral realms!
Many events which happen in the intermediate realms between the physical and
first astral realm are patterned after those which will occur later in the
physical realm, according to plan. This is similar to a rehearsal prior to the
real production and follows the 2nd Hermetic Axiom again. An idea or plan
generally needs to be tested for soundness and changes need to be made, before
it is applied on a grand scale. Many of the regions in these intermediate realms
have their counterparts in the physical. Those entities above the mainstream of
humanity who have important roles to play in the drama have embodiments in the
intermediate realms, as well as in the physical. Therefore, some events which
are destined to take place in the physical have already occurred in a higher
realm. This and certain cosmic computers are responsible for the accurate
visions of future events, which prophets have received throughout history. Some
individuals may have been temporarily transported to these realms to obtain
glimpses of' certain conditions on the Earth, as they are supposed to be
sometime in the future. These experiences have supposedly included conversations
with some of the inhabitants at times. The person in each case thought he was a
time traveler or passed through a " time warp " into future time.
...
All paradoxes concerning time and space are well within the scope of concepts
introduced thus far. [ In Mr. Cater's book ] The creation of an activity in a
form involves the flow of energy, and consequently the flow of time.
Time is inseparable from all of this, and is therefore an integral part of it,
including creation- It follows that anything which is independent of time is not
a creation. Space comes under this category! It is Formless void of infinite
extension in three, and only three, dimensions. This is all that it is. One
becomes aware of its existence only through creation or the flow of energy,
which can only take place in three dimensions.
The absurdity of that supposedly profound phrase, " beyond time and space,"
often used by metaphysical teachers and writers, should be more than apparent by
now. An entity is dependent upon both time and space for its existence. It would
be some achievement to get beyond time and space."
( Pages 433 437)
The understanding of time as a act which chronologically unfolds in various
realms paves the way for us to understand astrological determinism. Sometimes it
is incompletely understood that astrology is a study of karma. In actuality, it
is principally a study of time- karma manifests in due course of time, within
the chronology provided by time. The theme of astrological determinism has been
in existence for as long as astrology itself. They go hand in hand, for although
one may be bound by karmic reactions, one still has some free will upon which to
call. And God's will must be factored into the equation, too. So naturally, a
question arises; up to what degree are we bound and at which point does free
will or divine intervention come into play? Unfortunately, the answers to these
questions are not always understood properly and the science of astrology ends
up being misunderstood. The Vedantra Sutra clears up any misunderstandings by
telling us: " Upon obtaining Vidya there takes place the non-clinging of
works done in the present life, and the destruction of karma stored up which was
done in the past life. This is so because it is declared in the Upanishads."
Initially, this text seems to support the idea that one can become free of karma
through purificatory processes such as meditation, chanting and through rituals.
But the 15th verse of the same chapter seems to put everything in perspective.
There it is stated that " But only the immature karmas of former lives,
namely, those karmas whose effects have not begun, are destroyed by knowledge."
This verse seems to suggest that the currently manifesting karmas, the prarabdha
karmas, remain even if one were to obtain Vidya.
Karma which has not yet begun to manifest, not even on the ethereal platform,
may fall of for one who becomes purified or released of the reaction in some way.
But the karmas indicated in the horoscope must come to pass because those karmas
have already been initiated in a subtler realm, and are just waiting to trickle
down.
Hence astrologers have to be very careful about ascribing karmic amelioration to
gems, mantras and worship of planetary deities. It is true that Parashara Rishi
does prescribe worship of the planetary deities, prayer and charity to brahmins
(priests) as remedial measures. He explains that the creator (Brahma) instructed
the presiding planetary deities to " do good unto those that worship you
" (84th chapter of The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra). However, Parashara
did not prescribe gems, only mantras and the worship of planetary deities. Gems
have only been written about in the light of karmic amelioration within the last
few centuries by tantrik brahmins in India. Any type of karmic amelioration can
only function within the parameters of action which has already aquired momentum
in subtler realms.
By Dean De Lucia/Dharmapada Dasa
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