The River of Time Flows – By Dr Gamini Kariyawasam
The concept of time permeates our entire existence. Standing on a slightly elevated ground across the river, I gazed at the sky, overwhelmed by a mysterious feeling. The river flows forward, changing moment by moment, almost imperceptibly. This extraordinary sight revealed a profound truth: time, which we cannot grasp or measure, ages us and flows from distant origins, ever onward.
The lyrics of a poignant song came to mind, deepening the melancholy of the tranquil surroundings:
“කොළොම්තොට නැත මහලු වී
අවන්හල නැත පැරැණි වී
එදා හඳමයි අදත් යෞවනයේ
එහෙත් අප දෙන්නා
බලන් කැඩපත සොඳුරියේ – පාට වත්සුණු දෙකොපුලෙන් පිසදා
පෙරුම් පුරමින් හමුවෙලා – උනුන් රහසින් බැන්ද ආදර පෙම්
බලන් කැඩපත සොඳුරියේ – කුමන අරුමද
නර කෙසක් නැගිලා…”
(You can listen to this song by clicking the excerpt below.)
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This song, sung by the legendary Amaradeva with lyrics by Lucian Bulathsinhala, beautifully captures the sorrow of time’s relentless march. Amaradeva’s voice, rich with emotion, resonates deeply within the heart, creating a subtle vibration that words cannot describe. It feels as if we, too, are contemporaries of the old lover who sings these words. How powerful is time in our lives, yet how unnoticed its effects can be.
As we approach middle age, who among us hasn’t shed a tear or sighed while looking into a mirror? The silvering of our hair, the fine wrinkles beginning to trace our faces—these are all signs of time’s loan. The lively spirit that once filled our hearts has dimmed. How cruel time can be, we think, as we face the inevitability of aging.
This refrain repeatedly reminds us of how time dominates our lives more than any physical object. It led me to reflect deeply on the beauty and mystery of time, which this song so poignantly encapsulates.
Time is a continuous process, unfolding gradually. It encompasses the past, present, and future, affecting everything in the ecosystem—trees, leaves, streams, mountains, and all living and non-living things. We constantly refer to time in our daily lives, but how often do we consider its impact on us? The Indaka Sutta of the Sanyuktha Nikāya explains how a human being, reunited with the mother’s womb, changes and evolves over time until death. Buddhism divides human life into ten decades, each with distinct characteristics:
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- Manda Dasaka (1-10 years): Childhood.
- Kreeda Decade (11-20 years): Inclination towards sports.
- Vanna Dasaka (21-30 years): Concern with physical appearance.
- Bala Dasaka (31-40 years): Physical strength.
- Prgngha Dasaka (41-50 years): Acting with wisdom.
- Hayana(51-60 years): Onset of physical decline.
- Pabhara Dasaka (61-70 years): Body begins to bend forward.
- Pawanka Dasaka (71-80 years): Body becomes curved.
- Momuha Decade (81-90 years): Decline in mindfulness.
- Sayana Dasaka (91-100 years): Spending most of the time in bed.
These classifications illustrate time’s relentless operation, changing our lives in ways we cannot fully comprehend. Those we called brother or sister in our youth become uncles and aunts in middle age, and eventually grandparents in the wisdom decade of life. It is a melancholy reminder of time’s activism as it brings us closer to the end.
Defining time is challenging
Defining time is challenging. Different fields—religion, philosophy, science, and the arts—offer varied interpretations. Philosophers often view time as an unending chain of irreversible events, flowing from past to present to future. In ancient times, time was often personified as a divine force. In India, for example, the goddess Kali was revered as the presiding deity of time. The Greeks worshipped the goddess Ione, while the Romans had a similar role.venerated Janus. In Egypt, Kohatsu was seen as the ruler of time, and was honored in a In Egypt, Kohatsu was seen as the ruler of time,
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From a scientific perspective, time is a measure of the progress of events. Physicists define time as the continuous progression from past to present. Though intangible, time can be measured, and its effects observed. The concept of the “arrow of time” suggests that time only moves in one direction—from the past toward the future. But why is time irreversible? This remains one of the most significant unsolved questions in science.
In 1905, Albert Einstein introduced the theory of relativity, revealing that time and space are intertwined. Time cannot exist without space, and space cannot exist without time. According to Einstein’s concept of spacetime, space has four dimensions: length, width, height, and time. While humans can move through the first three dimensions, we cannot travel through the fourth—time. Einstein demonstrated that time moves more slowly at speeds faster than light than on Earth. For example, if a 25-year-old man embarked on a journey to the moon in a spaceship traveling faster than light and returned to Earth five years later by his wristwatch, he would be 30 years old, but someone his age when he left might be very old or even deceased. Although this remains theoretical, Einstein himself acknowledged that a flesh-and-blood human cannot exceed the speed of light.
Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
Interestingly, ancient texts like the Buddhist scriptures describe similar ideas. According to the Dhananjani Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya, the divine worlds have different time scales. For instance, a day in the divine realm can equate to many years in the human world. This notion aligns with Einstein’s theory of time dilation.
Time has been measured in various ways throughout history. The Babylonians, credited with introducing the system of hours, days, weeks, and months, named days after celestial bodies—Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and so on. They prioritized the moon, creating a year of 360 days divided into twelve 30-day lunar months. Over millennia, time has been tracked using sundials, water clocks, candle clocks, and hourglasses.
A deep study of time reveals that the past and future are merely mental constructs, not realities in the present moment. The present, fleeting as it is, soon becomes the past, while the future arrives, labeled as the present. The past is gone, and the future has yet to arrive; they exist only in our memories and expectations. Therefore, it is crucial to manage our time wisely, focusing on the present, for it will quickly slip away into the past.
The Buddha’s final exhortation to his disciples, as he lay on his deathbed, underscores this truth: since everything in the world is perishable, we must complete our tasks without delay. Time is of immense social and economic value, as the saying “time is money” suggests. Yet, as we pursue life’s goals, we inevitably inherit sadness, tears, and sighs. It seems fitting to end this reflection on time with a reminder of past, as subtly expressed in the timeless beauty of the song by Amarasiri Peiris.
You can listen to this song by clicking the excerpt below
“දිවි හිමියෙන් කඳුළැලි පුරවාගෙන
රැකගත් ආලය උදුරාගෙන ගිය
කාලය කොතරම්…
නපුරුද සොඳුරිය…
පෙරුම් පුරා දුක සේ ගළපාගත්
කවිය ඔබම වී නැළවුණු යුගයක
හද රැඳි ඒ රුව සිහිනෙකවත් නැත
ඒ රුව කොතරම්…
මිහිරි ද සොඳුරිය…”
This song resonates with the idea that even the most cherished memories, held in the heart despite physical separation, are eventually taken away by the unstoppable force of time.
Dr. Gamini Kariyawasam
