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GANN
By James Smithson
SUMMARY
W.D. Ganns outstanding skill was his ability to produce accurate annual forecasts of the stock
and commodity markets. Gann stated that his forecasts were based on his secret time factor.
However, careful analysis of his novel entitled The Tunnel Thru The Air reveals Ganns belief
in the overwhelming importance of astrology. Therefore astrology is the real basis of Ganns
annual forecasts. Indeed, astrological analysis is implicit at key points in his books and courses.
Consequently it is concluded that if we wish to emulate Ganns outstanding forecasting skills we
must follow in his footsteps by firstly learning astrology and then apply this knowledge to the
stock and commodity markets.
INTRODUCTION
William D. Gann (1878 to 1955) was an outstanding stock and commodities trader. He was also
a prolific teacher of how to make speculation a profitable profession, writing some seven books
and producing two courses on trading the stock and commodity markets. However, Ganns
superlative skill was his ability to produce annual forecasts of the stock and commodity markets
one year in advance. Although he also sent his clients supplements, which corrected his annual
forecasts when necessary, the overall accuracy of these annual forecasts is highly impressive.
For example, Ganns annual stockmarket forecast for 1929, which was published in November
1928, unequivocally forecast the Great Crash in the fall of 1929. However, Gann continued to
produce and publish annual forecasts of the stock and commodity markets until shortly before
his death in 1955.
distribution or for buying and selling to be completed (How To Make Profits In Commodities,
1951, page 56).
Therefore we learn from Gann that:
1) The time factor is the most important element in forecasting markets; and therefore he used
this time factor in producing his highly-accurate annual forecasts of the stock and commodity
markets.
2) The time factor is so fundamental that it precedes (and therefore causes) changes in prices
and changes in volume in the stock and commodity markets.
3) The time factor is a valuable secret, details of which he is unwilling to reveal. He is however
prepared to teach trading rules which, when properly applied, produce profits in the stock and
commodity markets.
THE FRONT COVER OF GANNS NOVEL ENTITLED THE TUNNEL THRU THE AIR
Ganns valuable secret that astrology really works is not confined to the content of The
Tunnel Thru The Air. Indeed, Gann subtly reveals his valuable secret on the cover of his
book.
The illustration on the front cover of The Tunnel Thru The Air has three elements:
1) In the background is an interlocking compass and setsquare, from which comes a tunnel.
2) In the foreground is a pair of scales, on one side of which is an hourglass and on the other
side is a price movement.
3) Stretching between the background and foreground is a series of interlocking squares.
The esoteric meaning behind this illustration on the front cover of the book is as follows:
The interlocking compass and setsquare is the symbol of the Freemasons (Gann himself was a
senior Freemason). More specifically, the compass (which is of course used for drawing circles)
symbolises the circle of the heavens, or the astrological zodiac. The setsquare (which is of
course used for drawing square angles of 90 degrees) symbolises the most important angle
between two planets in astrology, which is 90 degrees (or a square aspect). Therefore the
esoteric meaning behind the Freemasons symbol is that the great circle of the heavens and the
angles between the planets (i.e. the science of astrology) is of fundamental and eternal
importance.
Moreover, according to occultism, astrological forces are vibrations which are transmitted to
earth via an infinite number of longitudinal waves through the ether. Therefore the tunnel
through the air in Ganns illustration (and indeed in the books title) symbolises this transmission
of astrological forces from the heavens to the earth.
On one side of the scales is an hourglass, which symbolises the time factor. On the other side
of the scales is a price movement. Therefore this pair of scales symbolises the fact that, in his
forecasting of the stock and commodity markets, Gann weighed up or examined the time
factors (i.e. the astrological influences) and their past, present and future impact on prices.
The series of interlocking squares symbolises the fact that, as Gann observed, the price action
of a particular stock or commodity unfolds according to a series of interlocking squares. This is
the reason, according to Gann, that Every stock makes tops or bottoms on some exact
mathematical point in proportion to some previous move (Stockmarket Course) and Each top
or bottom in wheat, or other commodities, comes out in accordance with an exact mathematical
proportion to some other top or bottom (How To Make Profits In Commodities, page 32).
In summary therefore, the illustration on the front cover of The Tunnel Thru The Air highlights
the fact that astrological influences (i.e. the angles between the planets in the circle of the
zodiac) are transmitted to earth (via waves which resemble tunnels through the air) and, after
weighing up the historical influence of these astrological forces on a particular stock or
commodity, one can forecast the future price movements (and in particular the future price
squares).
THE BACK COVER OF GANNS NOVEL ENTITLED THE TUNNEL THRU THE AIR
Ganns valuable secret that astrology really works is not confined to the content and front
cover of his book The Tunnel Thru The Air. Indeed, this valuable secret is also subtly
revealed in the illustration on the back cover.
The illustration on the back cover of The Tunnel Thru The Air shows two sets of interlocking
squares stretching to the horizon. One set is shown in the sky and one set is shown on the
earth. Also shown on the earth is a pyramid inscribed with the name of W. D. Gann.
In this illustration, the squares in the sky symbolise astrological squares (i.e. when the planets
form an angle of 90 degrees with respect to each other). The squares on the earth symbolise
the unfolding of price action in the stock and commodity markets, in the form of interlocking
price squares. Here Gann is illustrating the age-old astrological saying As above, so below.
However, Ganns more specific symbolism is that the astrological squares in the heavens cause
the price squares in the stock and commodity markets on earth. Gann made this point
elsewhere when he stated, We use the square of odd and even numbers to get not only the
proof of market movements, but the cause (Stockmarket Course And Commodities Course).
The final point to note about this illustration is the position of the pyramid which bears Ganns
name. This is located between heaven and earth, and reflects Ganns view that he was a seer
destined to observe astrological squares in the heavens and to forecast their influence on price
squares in the stock and commodity markets on earth.
In summary therefore, the valuable secret, clothed in veiled language of Ganns book The
Tunnel Thru The Air is that, as the Bible clearly states, astrology really works.
We use three figures in geometry, the circle, the square and the triangle. We get the square
and triangle points of a circle to determine points of time, price and space resistance. We use
the circle of 360 degrees to measure time and price.
There are 360 degrees in a circle, no matter how large or small the circle may be. Certain
numbers of these degrees and angles are of vast importance and indicate when important tops
and bottoms occur on stocks and commodities, as well as denote important resistance levels.
Every movement in the market is the result of a natural law and of a cause which exists long
before the effect takes place and can be determined years in advance (Stockmarket Course
and Commodities Course).
The esoteric meaning behind this statement is as follows:
There are 360 degrees in any circle, the largest of which is the great circle of the heavens, or
the zodiac. Certain points on this zodiac (identified by a precise number of degrees) are very
important because they relate to specific stocks and to specific commodity markets.
Consequently the angles between a planet and these specific points on the zodiac and also the
angles between two planets are very important because they signify tops and bottoms in the
stock and commodity markets. Two important angles (or aspects, as they are called in
astrology) are the square (or 90 degrees) and the triune (or 120 degrees). Since the angles
between a planet and a particular point on the zodiac or between two planets can be calculated
years in advance, stock and commodity markets can in principle be forecast years in advance.
It is also important to note that the above quotation by Gann was in the introduction to his
chapter on forecasting by means of Gann angles; i.e. forecasting by using the 1 X 1, 2 X 1, 1
X 2, etc. trendlines from important tops and bottoms on price charts. Therefore the very
important implication here is that (as the chapter title suggests) the basis of Ganns forecasting
method was not merely the geometrical Gann angles drawn on a price chart, but (more
fundamentally) the geometrical angles between planets and the zodiac (which is of course
astrology). In summary therefore, Gann is suggesting that the angles between the planets and
the zodiac in the heavens (i.e. astrological influences) cause the particular angle of a trendline
on a price chart, and this is the real basis of his forecasting method.
2 Ganns Emphasis On Anniversary Dates And Seasonal Tendencies In The Stock And
Commodity Markets
Ganns consummate book on the stockmarket was 45 Years In Wall Street (written in 1949)
and his consummate book on the commodity markets was How To Make Profits In
Commodities (first written in 1941 and updated in 1951).
The common feature of both books is their emphasis on the importance of anniversary dates
and seasonal tendencies, as the following quotations illustrate:
My object in writing this book 45 Years In Wall Street is to give you some new and valuable
rules on time periods which will help to guide you in determining high and low prices in the
future. In my research work I have discovered that stocks make an important change in trend in
the months when they reach extreme high and low. These are what I call anniversary dates,
and these important dates should be watched each year for important changes in trend (45
Years In Wall Street, page 92).
It is very important to watch the date when an individual commodity makes extreme high or low.
The first important time period to watch from any anniversary date is third or fourth month, then
around the sixth or seventh month, where many important tops and bottoms are reached (How
To Make Profits In Commodities, page 58).
The esoteric meaning behind these statements is as follows:
Certain points on the zodiac (identified by a precise number of degrees) relate to specific stocks
and to specific commodity markets. The sun is unique amongst the planets in that it completes
one revolution of the zodiac every year. Moreover on any given day of the year the sun is in
exactly the same position (in the zodiac) as it was on that day one year earlier, ten years earlier
or a century earlier. Consequently the sun will aspect a particular point on the zodiac on the
same day every year. This is the cause of seasonal tendencies in the stock and commodity
markets (indeed, this is the cause of all seasonal tendencies on earth).
The important point to note here is that Gann emphasised the seasonal tendencies in the stock
and commodity markets to encourage his students to think about and to identify the cause. The
cause is the position of the planets, and in particular their angles to a specific point on the
zodiac (which is of course astrology).
3. Ganns Recommendation To Study Astrological Influences On The Commodity Markets
Amongst Ganns surviving papers are his two astrology letters. More specifically, in January
1954 Gann wrote to one of his students recommending that he study the astrological influences
on the soybean market (The longitude of the planets and the longitude of the average of the
planets determine the resistance levels as the price of soybeans moves around each cycle of
24 cents per bushel); and in March 1954 he again wrote to his student recommending that he
study the astrological influences on the coffee market (By studying all of the (astrological) data
outlined above and applying it to coffee, you will be able to learn more about what causes the
changes in trend).
Gann died in June 1955 and therefore these astrology letters are some of his last teachings.
However, it is notable that in these two short letters Gann does not reveal any clear and specific
method of astrological forecasting of the commodity markets. Instead, Gann encouraged his
student to observe, experiment and learn for himself how the angles between the planets and
their angles to specific points on the zodiac forecast the changes in price trends. Indeed, it
appears that Gann had for over fifty years kept secret his method of market forecasting and at
the age of 76 he was not simply going to reveal it to a student. Nevertheless Gann was
continuing his lifelong practice of helping his students to make speculation a profitable
profession by giving them guidance and letting them learn for themselves.
iii) The longitudinal position of the sun and especially its 90 degrees angle to particular points on
the zodiac (because this causes the seasonal tendency in a particular market).
When we have mastered how astrological influences affect the stock and commodity markets,
we will be in a position to produce accurate annual forecasts. Like Gann, we will then become
the foremost speculators and traders of our generation.
3. Although there are many individuals and companies around the world claiming to teach
Gann analysis through books, courses, videotapes and computer programs, they should
certainly be avoided. This is because, since none of these individuals or companies can
produce an accurate annual forecast of the stock or commodity markets, they do not in fact
teach Ganns real method.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
James Smithson (e-mail: smithsonjames@hotmail.com) is an investor and speculator based in
London, England and Dallas, Texas.
To experience radical time dilation and contraction one need not be a drug user. You need only
to lay down and sleep. It is common experience that in deep sleep, susupti, a long span of time,
say 45 minutes, is perceived as lasting only one or two moments. The opposite is true of
svapna, the dreaming state. A man may lay down and take a nap and have a dream in which it
seems as if many whole life times have gone by, but on waking he finds that less than five
minutes have passed.
It is unclear as to whether these time distortions related to drugs and sleep states are the
effects of the drugs and sleep states on our perception of time or whether these are qualities of
time which these other states of perception allow us to capture.
Then there is the phenomena of time being relative to the species of life that is experiencing it.
For example a solar year of 365 days is experienced differently by a dog, human or demigod. It
is commonly understood that one dog year is equivalent to seven human years whereas one
human year is equivalent to only one day of the demigods. Thus our existence in relation to the
demigods would be comparable to that of microbes in relationship to us. Several generations of
microbes will have come and gone in the course of one day for us.
Then there are the higher demigods such as Lord Brahma and his associates. Lord Brahma has
a life time of 100 years by his calculation which translate to be 311,040,000,000,000 human
years. Thus one second for Lord Brahma is equal to 100,000 years for us. According to
astronomical texts such as Surya-siddhanta and the Puranas, in cosmic time it is presently the
day after the 50th birthday of Lord Brahma. And it is about 11:40 AM for him on his planet. He
will be having lunch in about 20 of his minutes, which would take 120,000,000 years of our time.
Definitely mind boggling! There are several instances in the Puranas where it is recounted that
a person would be transported from the human worlds to that of a deva such as Brahma. And
even though they were only gone for what appeared to be a short length of time by their
experience, when they returned millions of years had come and gone.
The Experience of King Kakudmi
The following example from the Bhagavata Purana, illustrates time dilation on Brahmaloka, the
planet of Lord Brahma, the demiurge of this universe. This historical incident begins with the
mention of a submarine kingdom called Kusasthali. The residents of this kingdom were
descendants of the solar dynasty. And though they are considered human, they were endowed
with mystic powers, not found in ordinary humans today. The King of Kusasthali, Kakudmi, was
able to travel to the world of Brahma and experience Brahma's perception of time:
"O Maharaja Pariksit, subduer of enemies, Revata constructed a kingdom known as Kusasthali
in the depths of the ocean. There he lived and ruled such tracts of land as Anarta, etc. He had
one hundred very nice sons, of whom the eldest was Kakudmi. Taking his own daughter,
Revati, Kakudmi went to Lord Brahma in Brahmaloka, which is transcendental to the three
modes of material nature, and inquired about a husband for her. When Kakudmi arrived there,
Lord Brahma was engaged in hearing musical performances by the Gandharvas and had not a
moment to talk to him. Therefore Kakudmi waited, and at the end of the musical performances
he offered his obeisances to Lord Brahma and thus submitted his long standing desire. After
hearing his words, Lord Brahma, who is most powerful, laughed loudly and said to Kakudmi, 'O
King, all those whom you may have decided within the core of your heart to accept as your sonin-law have passed away in the course of time. Twenty-seven catur-yugas have already
passed. Those upon whom you may have already decided are now gone, and so are their sons,
grandsons and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names.' (SB 9.3.28-32)
According to Vedic calculations a catur-yuga is equal to 4,320,000 earth years. Thus twentyseven such cycles would be equal to 116,640,000. From our previous statement that one
second of Brahma was equal to 100,000 earth years we find that Kakudmi had only been
waiting for 19 minutes and 26 seconds while Lord Brahma finished listening to the musical
performance of the Gandharvas. (We shall discuss the Vedic divisions of time in a later section.)
Contemplating these strange effects of time plus the fact that day by day we get older and
eventually will die at the hands of time we begin to appreciate why time has engrossed the
minds of philosophers for so long.
As we shall soon see the calculation of time is ultimately based on the astronomical motion of
the Sun, Moon and other planets. Just think, it would be difficult to be even aware of the
passage of time if it were not for the successive rising and setting of the sun which demarks the
night and day of our experience. The daily solar cycle controls when we rise, go to sleep, eat,
work, mate, etc.
Studies have been done on subjects who have been isolated from the sun and other
atmospheric cycles by being placed deep underground in caves such as the Carlsbad Caverns.
These experimental subjects were given no clocks and put on no schedules. There was no
routine time of contact. All efforts were made to obliterate any sense of time and cycle caused
by the sun or anything else. The subjects contacted the surface with telephones and gave
information as to when they would get up, eat, go to sleep, etc. It was found that gradually the
sleep-wake cycle in that particular case would dramatically change to being on a 48 hour cycle
rather than a 24 hour cycle. This went on for months with major variations in the wake-sleep
cycle. This clearly shows how we are closely governed in our normal experience by the rising
and setting of the sun. The sun not only gives us our daily cycle but also our seasonal changes
leading to the yearly cycle.
Between the day and the year the cycle of the Moon is prominent. Indeed the etymological
origin of the words: mensuration (to measure), menstruation (women's period), and month; are
all derived from the Moon. The waxing and waning phases of the Moon give us each a two
week period. Which divided in two give us a week of seven days.
Krsna's energy
From examining the scriptures we can make few basic conclusions:
1) The identity of Krsna with time, or more properly that time is one of Krsna's energies.
2) Krsna as the time factor causes the material creation.
3) Time has very serious effects on the living beings.
4) The spiritual world is free of time's destructive influence.
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"The Supreme Living Being in His feature as the transcendental purusa incarnation, who is the
Lord's plenary expansion, impregnates the material nature of three modes, and thus by the
influence of eternal time the living entities appear." (SB 3.5.26)
"Thereafter, influenced by the interactions of eternal time, the supreme sum total of matter
called the mahat-tattva became manifested, and in this mahat-tattva the unalloyed goodness,
the Supreme Lord, sowed the seeds of universal manifestation out of His own body." (SB
3.5.27)
Time is described as Lord's glance (personified as Siva) on the material nature initiating the
creation process. (BG 14.3-4, SB 3.5.26-27, Brahma-samhita 5.10) Siva's paraphernalia
symbolize: moon - time measurement in months, three eyes - tri-kala-jna, snake around the
neck - time measurement in years, necklace of skulls with snakes - changing of ages and
begetting and annihilating of mankind.
"Maitreya said: Eternal time is the primeval source of the interactions of the three modes of
material nature. It is unchangeable and limitless, and it works as the instrument of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead for His pastimes in the material creation." (SB 3.10.11)
PURPORT
The impersonal time factor is the background of the material manifestation as the instrument of
the Supreme Lord. It is the ingredient of assistance offered to material nature. No one knows
where time began and where it ends, and it is time only which can keep a record of the creation,
maintenance and destruction of the material manifestation. This time factor is the material
cause of creation and is therefore a self expansion of the Personality of Godhead. Time is
considered the impersonal feature of the Lord. ...Metaphysically, time is distinguished as
absolute and real. Absolute time is continuous and is unaffected by the speed or slowness of
material things. Time is astronomically and mathematically calculated in relation to the speed,
change and life of a particular object. Factually, however, time has nothing to do with the
relativities of things; rather, everything is shaped and calculated in terms of the facility offered
by time. Time is the basic measurement of the activity of our senses, by which we calculate
past, present and future; but in factual calculation, time has no beginning and no end. Canakya
Pandita says that even a slight fraction of time cannot be purchased with millions of dollars, and
therefore even a moment of time lost without profit must be calculated as the greatest loss in
life. Time is not subject to any form of psychology, nor are the moments objective realities in
themselves, but they are dependent on particular experiences. Therefore, Srila Jiva Gosvami
concludes that the time factor is intermixed with the activities - actions and reactions - of the
external energy of the Lord. The external energy, or material nature, works under the
superintendence of the time factor as the Lord Himself, and that is why material nature appears
to have produced so many wonderful things in the cosmic manifestation. Bhagavad-gita (9.10)
confirms this conclusion as follows: 'This material nature, which is one of My energies, is
working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under
its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.'
"This cosmic manifestation is separated from the Supreme Lord as material energy by means of
kala, which is the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Lord. It is situated as the objective
manifestation of the Lord under the influence of the same material energy of Visnu." (SB
3.10.12)
Verses 11 and 12 give us a much deeper understanding of the influence of time on the material
creation. We see in verse 12 that it is time itself which is the factor that causes the material
energy to be 'material' by virtue of separating this energy from the Lord.
From the Lord's perspective it is all one energy, His spiritual energy, but from our perspective
His energy appears to differentiate into spiritual and material. For example the electricity can be
used to create heat in an oven or to make ice in the freezer. It depends on how it is used. It can
thus be understood from this verse that it is time, one of Krsna's energies, which actually
causes the transformation of the spiritual energy into material energy and separates it from
Krsna.
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It is by virtue of being separated from Krsna that distinguishes the material from the spiritual
energy. When the energy is separated from Krsna it becomes Maya. Maya, by definition, means
not Krsna. The Maya energy, i.e. the material energy is not Krsna because it is not related to
Krsna but separated from Him. The jiva, the living being, is not material but spiritual and is
superior to matter, and is always related to Krsna.
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego - all together these eight constitute
My separated material energies. "Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another,
superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of
this material, inferior nature." (BG 7.4-5)
"The eternal time factor has no beginning and no end. It is the representative of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the maker of the criminal world. It brings about the end of the
phenomenal world, it carries on the work of creation by bringing one individual into existence
from another, and likewise it dissolves the universe by destroying even the lord of death,
Yamaraja." (SB 3.29.45)
PURPORT
By the influence of eternal time, which is a representative of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, the father begets a son, and the father dies by the influence of cruel death. But by
time's influence, even the lord of cruel death is killed. In other words, all the demigods within the
material world are temporary, like ourselves. Our lives last for one hundred years at the most,
and similarly, although their lives may last for millions and billions of years, the demigods are
not eternal. No one can live within this material world eternally. The phenomenal world is
created, maintained and destroyed by the finger signal of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Therefore a devotee does not desire anything in this material world. A devotee desires only to
serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This servitude exists eternally; the Lord exists
eternally, His servitor exists eternally, and the service exists eternally.
The quality of stirring up the material elements and getting the material creation going is
explained in the following verses:
"All these are considered the qualified Brahman. The mixing element, which is known as time, is
counted as the twenty-fifth element." (SB 3.26.15)
"The influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is felt in the time factor, which causes
fear of death due to the false ego of the deluded soul who has contacted material nature." (SB
3.26.16)
"My dear mother, O daughter of Svayambhuva Manu, the time factor, as I have explained, is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whom the creation begins as a result of the agitation of
the neutral, unmanifested nature." (SB 3.26.17)
"By exhibiting His potencies, the Supreme Personality of Godhead adjusts all these different
elements, keeping Himself within as the Supersoul and without as time." (SB 3.26.18)
3) Time has very serious effects on the living beings.
It is time, the impersonal aspect of Sri Krsna, which activates the material elements and
captures the spiritual spark in a tangle of activities and karma. For we speak of karma as pastkarma, present-karma and future-karma. And it is the living being who is subject to karma and
thus to time. This doesn't mean that time and karma are synonymous. As stated in the
introduction of the Bhagavad Gita - time and karma are two of the five topics of the Gita, along
with God, the individual soul, and material energy. Of these five subjects four are eternal but
karma is not eternal. So there is distinction between karma and time. But they do interact.
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"Whoever is under the influence of supreme kala [eternal time] must surrender his most dear
life, and what to speak of other things, such as wealth, honor, children, land and home." (SB
1.13.20)
"This gross material body made of five elements is already under the control of eternal time
[kala], action [karma] and the modes of material nature [guna]. How, then, can it, being already
in the jaws of the serpent, protect others?" (SB 1.13.46)
"The Personality of Godhead said: As a mass of clouds does not know the powerful influence of
the wind, a person engaged in material consciousness does not know the powerful strength of
the time factor, by which he is being carried." (SB 3.30.1)
"Whatever is produced by the materialist with great pain and labor for so-called happiness, the
Supreme Personality, as the time factor, destroys, and for this reason the conditioned soul
laments." (SB 3.30.2)
PURPORT
The main function of the time factor, which is a representative of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is to destroy everything. The materialists, in material consciousness, are engaged in
producing so many things in the name of economic development. They think that by advancing
in satisfying the material needs of man they will be happy, but they forget that everything they
have produced will be destroyed in due course of time. From history we can see that there were
many powerful empires on the surface of the globe that were constructed with great pain and
great perseverance, but in due course of time they have all been destroyed. Still the foolish
materialists cannot understand that they are simply wasting time in producing material
necessities, which are destined to be vanquished in due course of time. This waste of energy is
due to the ignorance of the mass of people, who do not know that they are eternal and that they
have an eternal engagement also. They do not know that this span of life in a particular type of
body is but a flash in the eternal journey. Not knowing this fact, they take the small flash of life
to be everything, and they waste time in improving economic conditions.
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable supreme energy, time, causes the
interaction of the three modes of material nature, and thus varieties of energy become manifest.
It appears that He is acting, but He is not the actor. He is killing, but He is not the killer. Thus it
is understood that only by His inconceivable power is everything happening." (SB 4.11.18)
"My dear Dhruva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is ever existing, but in the form of time,
He is the killer of everything. He has no beginning, although He is the beginning of everything,
nor is He ever exhaustible, although everything is exhausted in due course of time. The living
entities are created through the agency of the father and killed through the agency of death, but
He is perpetually free of birth and death." (SB 4.11.19)
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His feature of eternal time, is present in the material
world and is neutral towards everyone. No one is His ally, and no one is His enemy. Within the
jurisdiction of the time element, everyone enjoys or suffers the result of his own karma, or
fruitive activities. As, when the wind blows, small particles of dust fly in the air, so, according to
one's particular karma, one suffers or enjoys material life." (SB 4.11.20)
"My dear Lord, Your absolute authority cannot be directly experienced, but one can guess by
seeing the activities of the world that everything is being destroyed in due course of time. The
force of time is very strong, and everything is being destroyed by something else - just as one
animal is being eaten by another animal. Time scatters everything, exactly as the wind scatters
clouds in the sky." (SB 4.24.65)
"Since the material body is sure to be vanquished and the duration of one's life is not fixed,
neither death nor life is to be praised. Rather, one should observe the eternal time factor, in
which the living entity manifests himself and disappears." (SB 7.13.6)
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"No one can surpass the time representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by
material power, by the counsel of ministers, by intelligence, by diplomacy, by fortresses, by
mystic mantras, by drugs, by herbs or by any other means." (SB 8.21.22)
4) The spiritual world is free of time's destructive influence.
"In that personal abode of the Lord, the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail,
nor is there any of their influence in goodness. There is no predominance of the influence of
time, so what to speak of the illusory, external energy; it cannot enter that region. Without
discrimination, both the demigods and the demons worship the Lord as devotees." (SB 2.9.10)
The affairs of the material world look unreal from the vantage point of the spiritual world: "All
that happens in time - past, present and future - is a dream. This is the secret understanding of
all Vedic literatures." (SB 4.29.2b)
Calculation of time (SB 3.11.1-12)
The atomic description of the Srimad Bhagavatam is almost the same as that of modern
science. This is further described in the Paramanu-vada of Kanada. Time is measured in terms
of its covering a certain space of atoms. Standard time is calculated in terms of the movement
of the sun. The time covered by the sun in passing over an atom is calculated as atomic time.
Two atoms
Three double atoms
Three hexatoms
One hundred trutis
Three vedas
Three lavas
Three nimesas
Five ksanas
Fifteen kasthas
Fifteen laghus
Two dandas
Six to seven dandas
Fifteen days and nights
Two fortnights - a double atom
- a hexatom (a particle visible in sunshine)
- a truti or 18 atomic particles, or one second
divided in 16,875 parts.
- one veda
- one lava
- one nimesa
- one ksana
- one kastha or 8 seconds
- one laghu or 2 minutes
- one (nadika-danda) or 30 minutes
- one muhurta or one hour
- one prahara or quarter of a day
- two weeks or a fortnight
- one month
During the period of one month the moon wanes and is called krsna-paksa, the dark moon or
amavasya. In the same month the moon waxes and is called gaura-paksa or sukla-paksa, the
full moon or purnima. Thus purnima to amavasya is called krsna-paksa (dark moon) and
amavasya to purnima is called sukla-paksa (bright moon). Two months equal one season.
During the first six months the sun travels from south to north (uttarayana). During the second
six months the sun travels from north to south (daksinayana). Two solar movements equal one
day and night of the demigods.
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Symptoms of Kali-yuga "O learned one in the age of Kali, men have but short lives. They are
quarrelsome, lazy, misguided unlucky and above all, always disturbed." (SB 1.1.10)
The four yugas are known as a divya-yuga, or maha-yuga. One divya-yuga is 12,000 years of
the demigods (4,320,000 human years). One thousand divya-yugas equals one day of Brahma
(4,320,000,000 human years).
In Brahma's one day there are fourteen Manus (patriarchs of mankind). Each Manu enjoys a life
of seventy-one divya-yugas or 852,000 years of the demigods (306,720,000 human years).
After the dissolution of every Manu a new Manu comes. With the change of Manu the universal
management also changes. Each manvantara is preceded and followed by the yuga-sandhya in
length of one Satya-yuga. The yuga-sandhyas are periods of partial devastation and creation.
Brahma's life consists of 36,000 days and nights (of the same length), or 311,040,000,000,000
human years.
We live in Kali-yuga of the 28th divya-yuga of the 7th Manu of the 12th kalpa (called SvetaVaraha) (SB 2.10.46p., Skanda P. 2.39-42), in the 51th year of Brahma. The beginning of this
kalpa was 2.3 billion years ago (453 mahayugas back).
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