The opening cantos of the sacred text Bhagavad Gita begins with a citation on time. Lord Krishna pronounces that he is the personified manifestation of time in which everyone and everything emanates. Equally so they culminate in the very same endless wake of time. To be precise TIME does not concede permanence for anyone, everyone, all entities, all orders eventually not sparing even the divine; as the creator Brahma too is obliged to change on completion of the mega, macro cycle of time covering all the eons.
AMMA reckoned that TIME IS GOD too. AMMA held that form (roopam), that is finite and force (shakthi), that is infinite find continual expression across the flow of time. The limited form, that is gross and force, the infinite that is subtle in its elemental form fuse and diffuse continually in various permutations and combinations in an endless variety as time moves on. AMMA viewed that time only makes us do everything and anything. Thus, viewed in any manner, time is the prime causative factor for one and all in all aspects.
In AMMA’S life story as contained in the ‘JEEVITHA MAHODADHI’ there is a reference to time in which it is felt that time is still, stalled or stretched till AMMA’S discourse, expatiation on the subjects being dealt with is complete. This occurs during AMMA’S sixth year, verily in HER childhood.
AMMA elaborates the concepts of form (roopam), power (Shakthi) and the positive end, to a small group comprising the old man nearing his exit, Ankadas and Masthan, the reformed police constable. On completion of the dialogue in the early hours of dawn, they note with a surprise the day break is put off till the discourse of AMMA is complete.
They express a feeler that time stalls deferring the dawn if AMMA wishes to continue HER elaboration, exposition. This is a unique instance, a precursor to what follows in respect of AMMA’S equation with time and time moving in tandem with AMMA. Even so, at this juncture it sounds just a mere plausible, conjecture on the part of the small group concerned.
Later, on the 3rd February in the year 1958 in the early morning at 4.00 A.M., AMMA initiated about 600 persons giving them Manthra on a moonlit night of the full moon day (Maagha Poornima) on the bund of River Omkara (Nallamada Drain) adjacent to Jillellamudi. The night as also the moon light continued till the initiation of the entire group of 600 persons was completed. In real terms, as per real time and space this entire process lasts 10 hours while it was completed within two and a half hours.
Such a process takes several hours stretching beyond the night and even the dawn, nay, even the early morning even if we allot a minute or even less in initiating and giving the manthra for everyone. Given the least, granting for a moment, the minimal time and presuming that AMMA did with enormous speed, this process of initiation runs into quite a few hours. Whichever way we reckon the time taken, the hours of that remarkable moonlit night cannot contain. Yet, the night endured, and the cool moonlight continued. This intrigues one and all till now. Remains an enigma that could not be understood through any logical explanation or known reasoning.
The obvious posers are, did the relentless time adjust or accommodate the process of AMMA’S initiation that unique, remarkable moonlit night? If so, such accommodation of the macro, mega wake of time is confined to the environs of Jillellamudi when AMMA performed this stupendous, incredible act of initiation on that river bund while the wake of time continued elsewhere as usual? Is such bifurcation of time flow at all possible? These are all imponderables difficult to answer. Nor could there be ready answers to be sought by the inquisitive minds then, as also now.
For a moment, to dig into the meaning of time and the essence of time, it unfolds the entire cosmic process and the given order at any point, even the moment. Truly, it is the metric of cosmic rhythm and rhyme, in which all the planets are whirling and moving at galactic speeds, setting the days and nights, causing the seasonal rotations across the entire universe.
In the true sense, time is hardly that we refer to the almanac or witness on the clock dial. This simple application and mini measure are only to conduct our mundane routines which are but a miniscule, insignificant part in the mega flow of the cosmic time that runs into centuries, eras and eons of time which can never be kept track of by the petty individual.
Granting such scale and scope, time yet is a backdrop for the expression of the vital cosmic force in which all the elements come into play, combining and commingling giving vent to the diverse creation in its multiple format. In the endless wake of time matter (padartham) and vital force (shakthi) interplay to express the given order and all its variety.
As a corollary if we proceed further, when a divine manifestation, which is but a symbolic manifestation of such cosmic force, summation of the absolute (sarvam) comes into being with a physical form, which is but a sheath for such all pervasive medium, force, vital force, not unlikely time follows its stride.
This is evident as on the first January night of the 1980 AMMA descended a few moments late to unveil the entry of the new year 1981 which is unusual. Most of us registered this slight procrastination by AMMA and were silent.
Yet to our surprise all the print media carried front lines the next day, that during that particular year, the entry of the new year was a little late by two minutes, necessitating the correction and adjustment for all the atomic clocks all over the world. At this moment, did AMMA and the wake of TIME move in tandem? Presumably, this is an analytical conjecture emanating out of this event.
Review or keen, incisive observance of such happenings during the days of AMMA’S physical form disclose close tenuous links of AMMA and TIME though deemed relentless, inevitable and unsurpassable.
Divinity is but a personified cosmic force which conducts this universe in absolute terms of which TIME is but another dimension and mode of tangible expression which moves in tandem with the cosmic force the one following the other, or each accommodating the other’s expression in real terms.
As the humble mortal, one is obliged to meekly surrender to such supreme, peerless force when it makes its advent in physical form which again is but an incredulous rarity for the extant mankind and the given order.