Time and desire

Tantric yogis have described two principals or tattvas of reality which are pivotal in the direction and formation of life as we experience it. The first being desire, also known as Kaama, and the second being Time, or Kaala. Understanding these two principals is absolutely essential for an effective yoga practice or Sadhana. Lets check them out.

Kali, the goddess of desire. KRIM

Firstly, It is described in all religious and spiritual traditions that at first there was only the one being. God, the eternal Purusa (Person), existing in singularity. He DESIRED to create or to manifest plurality in order experience bliss, to experience himself from infinite perspectives, and he thus engaged in the sacrifice of his own SELF to achieve this. This story of the sacrifice of the original purusa is what is described in the Rg Veda prayer called  Purusa sukta, a common daily prayer recited by millions of Vaishnavas all over  the world. It describes how all the various realms, planets, insentient objects, and living entities were manifested from the various parts of Gods being. In the Narayana upanishad that purusa is identified as Narayana and gives the understanding that all of reality was manifested by Narayana due to his desire, that all reality is pervaded by Narayana, and that all of reality will eventually be dissolved into Narayana when he so desires. This story is describing a fact which takes place both in the macro as this epic mythological, archetypal, godly narrative and in the micro as the story of you. You are living life due to the spontaneous desire to be alive, despite all the potential reasons to choose death and nothingness, a commonly accepted solution to suffering and malevolence, you choose and desire to live. The choices you make, the narrative you live, and even the undesirable  circumstances of life all come about based on your desire to live. After all, just like Narayana, you desire to be amongst the many, in the world of the living, in the realm of relationships, and thus you sacrifice yourself, your time, your skills, your labour, to be alive.  Desire is the foundation and primary causative principle of life on both the macro level as well as the individual or micro level.

Mahakala, the personification of time and death.
Souh!

Secondly, the space within which desire is fulfilled and the cycles of said fulfilment are manifested as Time. Time is actually manifested as the universe itself. The sphere of space is divided up by the movements of the planets within the fixed or slow moving ring of the zodiac, around the axis of the pole star or sun according to modern astronomers. Thus days, weeks, months, years, yugas, mahayugas, kalpas, mahakalpas, the day of Brahma, the year of Brahma, and the lifetime of Brahma(Literally the lifetime of a single universe) comes into being, giving rise to all history, past present, and future. All the desires of all entities are thus fulfilled in due course of time.

It is said in the tantra's that time is the masculine stable base for desire, the feminine force to move within and achieve fruition and fulfilment. Time is the wheel and desire the cause of its rotation.

This subject matter is important, as it gives us some clues as to how to practically fulfil our desires by focusing desire on the desired object long enough, giving it the power of our attention for the cycle time to deliver the object to us. This is a concept employed in tantra called Viniyoga or intention and is always performed before any sadhana in the form of the sankalpa mantra, which tells the current time, place, and desired outcome of the sadhana. Without the Sankalpa, all of the energy generated is allowed to simply manifest the non-intention, in other words, nothing but nothing.

The union of Time and desire as Kamakala Kamakali

Whether your practice is simply asanas for flexibility. Or, meditations for direct experiences of enlightenment, it is crucial to clearly define your desire and then put the time in to generating that energy of desire through daily practice and intentional awareness. There are many mysteries to timing your practice for optimal results but those details will find you when you are truly on the path. The tradition of the Dalai lama holds the kalachakra or wheel of time as its primary deity and initiates all into the mysteries of the Kala-Purusa embraced by the Kama-shakti. The Kalachakra-tantra is the primary textual reference for understanding time, along with the science of Jyotish(vedic astrology and astronomy)

May you desire higher states of being for yourself and all sentient beings, soaring higher and higher till the end of time. May you thus attain the perfection of both time and desire in the form of Sri Krsna!

#Jainitai