On 10 April 2011, Mr. Thomas Burke, Retired Lecturer, Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University, explored in great detail how time was conceived and reckoned in the Hindu, Jaina and Buddhist literature of South Asia. The lecture was a part of a series on the theme “Indian Society through the Ages”, organized by the Outreach Committee of the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies,  Harvard University.  
 
Mr. Burke began his presentation by illustrating how time can be conceived as an Arrow (moving forward linearly and linked to causality), as a Wheel (with repetitive pattern of events), and as an Eternal Present (suspended, as conceived by mystics and meditators). He then explored the etymological meanings of the terms such as ‘kala’, ‘chakra’, and ‘yuga.’

The measurement of years has varied in different times, influenced by lunar, or solar traditions. In the Lunisolar systems (common in India) lunar years are corrected by adding or (rarely) dropping months so that each month comes in the same season every year. Different calendar eras are also followed in different parts of India

The speaker then went into the mainstream interpretations of how time is reckoned for the devas and for Brahma. The four yugas, namely, Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dwapara yuga and Kali yuga each have a different duration. Our present Kali yuga lasts 432,000 years and 5112 years have elapsed. Mr. Burke also explained the differences between a mahayuga (4.32 million solar years) and a manvantara (71 mahayugas). Each manvantara is ruled by a Manu. (He circulated a detailed handout on how the days and years are calculated.)  He also compared the Hindu yugas with the ages in the Greco-Roman tradition.

There is an ‘eternal law’ and a law for each age which varies with the times. Mr. Burke provided several examples of prohibitions in the present kali yuga. The concept of avataras, of Vishnu taking different forms to rid the world of evil, is associated with different yugas and allows one to speculate what were the conditions and challenges of each era.

The Buddhists have very divergent time cycles and their ‘regular’ kalpa lasts 16,798,000 years. Time, in Jainism, flows in successive cycles, and Jainas consider time as a cartwheel, without beginning or end. Jaina tradition explains the rise of Tirthankaras in each cycle.

Mr. Burke ended his captivating lecture quoting from Mahatma Gandhi to suggest how the notion of time and an ideal concept of an ‘era’ such as Ram Rajya can also be seen as a political ideal state that one can aspire for.

Mr. Burke’s exhaustive presentation was well received by the audience who responded by asking several questions in the lively discussion period. While there were some questions of clarification, other comments explained how time was conceived by other scholars and mystics such as Shri Aurobindo and Yukteswar Giri.   
 
This lecture was the tenth event in the series that began in November, 2009.  In his welcome, Prof. Bijoy Misra, Convener of the Outreach Committee, acknowledged the role and contribution of Thomas Burke, scholar and linguist, who has been a member of the Outreach Committee and has guided the lecture series from the beginning. The Outreach lectures over the years have covered several aspects of Indian Studies, in culture, arts, history, religion, architecture, philosophy, languages and literature.      

The next event in this series will be the Annual Poetry Reading on 15 May at 3 PM, in Hall A, Harvard University Science Center, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge.  Anyone who would like to read their own composition, or a published poem on the theme ‘Spirituality’ may please contact Chandrakant Shah at chandu420@gmail.com or Bijoy Misra at bmisra@fas.harvard.edu.

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