“Mind, why are you not worshiping Shri Rama, whose bow is like time, with weapons of arrows representing the different units of time, such as paramanu, lava, nimesha, barasa, yuga, and kalpa?” (Dohavali, 130)

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लव निमेष परमानु जुग बरस कलप सर चंड
भजसि न मम तेहि राम कहँ कालु जासु कोदंड

lava nimeṣa paramānu juga barasa kalapa sara caṃḍa
bhajasi na mama tehi rāma kaha~ kālu jāsu kodaṃḍa

It is a simple question. It is a way to get the conversation started. The speaker wants to direct the efforts towards a particular subject matter. They enter the arena of ideas, so to speak, with an intent. Since this is a discussion and not meant to be a one-way conversation, resembling a lecture, the audience gets a chance to participate.

The question posed is, “What would you consider a long time to be?” In other words, what amount of time seems too formidable to you? How much time has to pass before you are bothered, before you become antsy? How much time translates to an overwhelming force, which is difficult to overcome?

1. One minute

“I swear to you, that was the longest minute of my life. The seconds could not pass soon enough. The game was going on, but my eyes were glued to the digits. Due to the advancements in technology, with enhancements to the presentation, viewers can now see the clock on the screen while play is going on.

“My favorite team had not won the championship in years. There were hardly any people still alive who had witnessed the previous triumph. This was a long time coming. The team had the lead, but by the slimmest of margins. They needed to hold on for one minute longer. Somehow it happened, but I could literally feel my heart pounding in my chest as the seconds ticked down.”

2. Ten minutes

“That is it. No more, I tell you. I have had it. I will no longer tolerate this blatant disrespect. I told her what time we had to leave. Everyone else was ready. Do other husbands have to deal with the same issue? It makes no sense to me.

“Okay, women take longer to prepare themselves for leaving the home. I am not denying the differences that exist between the genders. The thing is, if you know you will need more time, why not prepare in advance? Just start sooner. From now on, if she is not ready within five minutes, I am leaving without her. Stop laughing. I mean it. This is a great idea. It will teach her a lesson. Seriously, this is not funny.”

3. One hour

“Wow, that class was so boring! The teacher went on and on for an entire hour. I cannot believe they were able to stay awake. None of us students were. I prayed for relief. I had a feeling they were guarding the doors, to make sure no one was let out. Talk about torture. I will never get that hour back. It is gone forever, along with my will to live.”

4. Twelve hours

“Hold on a second. You spent how much money? You travelled exactly how far? All of this was to listen to a single speaker? There were thousands of people in attendance? And you all remained engaged, for twelve hours in total? There is no way. I simply cannot believe it. That seems like torture to me. It is like those long-haul flights across the globe. I would need a cot to take a nap in. I would need some visual entertainment, like an assortment of movies and television shows. Stop with that ‘it changed my life’ nonsense. No one is buying it, especially with that price tag. See what I did there?”

5. One year

“You know how some people say that one year just flies by. They cannot remember what happened. Everything is a blur. Well, to me this past year felt like ten years. It was the longest struggle I have ever endured. I never want to go through that again.”

…

We see that there is variety in the responses. A long time to me might be a walk in the park for you. What you consider to be a long time might not make a dent in my attention, in my peaceful condition, in my enthusiasm for life.

We have the historical example described in Bhagavata Purana about Lord Brahma stealing cowherd boys and calves. Brahma, who is the creator, was playing a trick on Shri Krishna, who was a child at the time. Krishna was the jewel of Gokula-Vrindavana, and so the children of the cows were naturally attracted to Him and the sweet sound produced by His flute.

Brahma took the children and calves away in secret. He kept them hidden for an entire year. Yet, by the amazing potency of Shri Krishna it was as if nothing had happened. The people of the community were able to endure. They survived the entire year without feeling loss. This is because of Krishna and His influence. He was able to expand Himself to give the vision of the missing people and animals. The intent of Brahma’s plan was thwarted.

The same Krishna, in His teachings to Arjuna, uses the same Brahma as a sort of benchmark for understanding time. As Brahma is the creator, the units for his time are almost impossible to conceive. Simply one day in the life of Brahma equates to billions of our years. Brahma lives for one hundred years corresponding to that measurement of a day.

सहस्र-युग-पर्यन्तम्
अहर् यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः
रात्रिं युग-सहस्रान्तां
ते ऽहो-रात्र-विदो जनाः

sahasra-yuga-paryantam
ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ
rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ
te ‘ho-rātra-vido janāḥ

“By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.17)

Krishna explains that someone who thinks of time in this way is a true knower of time (vidah janah). This means that the instruction we receive from childhood, about reading an analog clock, of adding seconds, minutes, hours, and days, is actually incomplete. The full picture is through knowledge of the entire cosmic manifestation, and how it flows through cycles of creation and destruction.

Goswami Tulsidas reminds himself to worship the controller of that time. While we gain a genuine understanding through tracking the life of Lord Brahma, there is actually someone overseeing everything. It is His material nature, after all. He glances over the unmanifest substance, pradhana, and kickstarts the process of creation. This results in the variegatedness evident through the different universes and their component planets.

Tulsidas accurately views time as a giant weapon, which is always inflicting harm. That weapon is like the bow held in the illustrious hand of Shri Rama, who is the same Krishna. The different units of time are like arrows released from that bow. The person who considers time as such has the complete understanding, from both the material and spiritual perspectives.

In Closing:

An hour overwhelming to me,
To others just from minute to be.

From Brahma’s day concept complete,
As greatest force to defeat.

Like bow held in hand,
Arrows the different units to land.

Controlled by Shri Rama to know,
Auspicious reminder from Tulsi so.

Categories: dohavali 121-160, the bow of time, the five

Tags: god, hare krishna, history, patience, poem, poems, poetry, time