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Delete Time.exe: How to Log Out of Saṁsāra

Break free from Kāla—or at least stop checking your watch every five minutes.


Illusion of Time | Being Shiva Foundation
Time is a Scam (And You’ve Been Paying Emotional Interest)

You think you're running out of time? Hate to break it to you, but time is running out of you.


Yeah, yeah, clocks tick, calendars flip, and your phone keeps reminding you about time & deadlines you’ll probably ignore. But here’s the real mind-bender: what if time isn’t real the way you think it is? What if it’s just a cosmic trick, a saṁsāric scam designed to keep you trapped in the cycle of work, stress, aging, and reruns of your past mistakes?


Enter Mahākāla, Kāla, and Samaya—the Vedic trio that explains why time feels like a sprint when you're happy and a slow, torturous crawl when you're stuck in traffic. From the billion-year blink of Brahmā to the micro-second panic of “Wait, did I send that text to the wrong person?”—time is an illusion that scales up, down, and sideways depending on where (or who) you are.


This isn't just philosophy—it’s a jailbreak plan. Want to escape Kāla Bandhana (time’s invisible chokehold on your life)? Want to bend time, break cycles, and maybe even ghost saṁsāra entirely? Stick around. Let’s hack the cosmic clock. 🔥


Understanding the Three Levels of Time


A. Mahākāla – The Cosmic Cycle from Creation to Destruction

Mahākāla represents the grand cosmic scale of time, encompassing the full cycle of creation (sṛṣṭi), sustenance (sthiti), and destruction (pralaya). In Śaivism, Mahākāla is also an aspect of Lord Śiva, signifying time that devours everything. The Vedas and Purāṇas describe vast time cycles:

  • Brahmā’s lifespan: 100 Brahma years (a mahākalpa).

  • One kalpa: A day of Brahmā (4.32 billion human years).

  • Manvantara cycles: Each kalpa contains 14 manvantara, each ruled by a Manu.

  • Yuga Cycles: A cycle of four yugas (Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali), which together last a few thousand years.


Thus, Mahākāla is beyond human comprehension and functions at the scale of universal evolution.


Illusion of Time | Being Shiva Foundation
You’re not late, you’re just stuck in the illusion of linear time.

B. Kāla – Cosmic Time Governing Human Reality


Kāla operates at a level where it influences planetary, natural, and psychological cycles. This includes:

  • The movement of celestial bodies affecting seasons and planetary consciousness.

  • The influence of planetary positions (graha effects in Jyotiṣa).

  • The concept of time as measured in muhūrtas (48-minute periods), tithis (lunar days), and planetary transits.


Kāla determines karma, dharma, and evolution within the material universe. It binds human life to cyclic existence (saṁsāra).


C. Samaya (Samay) – The Personal Time Experience of Humans


While Mahākāla and Kāla function at cosmic scales, samaya is the subjective experience of time by individuals. It varies based on:

  • Mind and emotions – Time feels slow in suffering and fast in joy.

  • Age – Childhood, youth, and old age experience time differently.

  • Circumstances – A person in deep meditation (dhyāna) may feel timelessness, while one in distress feels prolonged suffering.


Thus, samaya is how we perceive and interact with time within our karmic existence.



Illusion of Time | Being Shiva Foundation
The Universe is a Netflix series on autoplay, and you’re binge-watching saṁsāra.

2. Perception of Time on Earth and Beyond


A. Time on Other Planets


According to Vedic cosmology, time is relative to different planetary realms:

  • Deva Loka (Higher realms): One day of Indra equals a year on Earth. Time moves slower for celestial beings.

  • Nāga Loka (Subterranean realms): Time moves differently, as described in the Purāṇas.

  • Other planets: If one were on a planet with a stronger gravitational field, time would move slower (as modern physics also supports through relativity).


B. Time Perception Among Animals and Birds


Different species perceive time uniquely due to their cognitive processes and biological rhythms:

  • Birds and insects: Process images much faster than humans, making movements seem slower to them.

  • Tortoises and elephants: May experience time as moving slower due to their biological processes.

  • Dogs and other mammals: Experience time based on sensory intensity (e.g., higher perception of smell creates a different timeline of events).


Thus, samaya is relative and shaped by biology.


C. Time Perception During Different Emotions


The mind alters time perception:

  • Happiness and excitement – Time moves faster.

  • Suffering and anxiety – Time feels prolonged.

  • Deep meditation – Time disappears (state of samādhi).


This is why yogic practices aim to transcend emotional fluctuations to reach a stable time awareness.
Illusion of Time | Being Shiva Foundation
Time flies? Nah, bro, Kāla drags you through Saṁsāra like a bad group project.

3. Kāla Bandhana (Bondage of Time) on Humans and Spiritual Seekers


A. The Bondage of Time in Human Life

Time traps humans in cycles of birth, karma, and death (saṁsāra). The perception of time creates:

  • Fear of death (mṛtyu-bhaya)

  • Attachment to past and future (rāga-dveṣa)

  • Karmic accumulation based on past regrets and future desires


This keeps the individual bound to māyā and illusion.


B. Recognizing Kāla Bandhana


A seeker should observe:

  1. Mental agitation – If time creates stress or longing, one is in bondage.

  2. Attachment to future goals – Desiring future liberation without living in the present.

  3. Fear of impermanence – Clinging to identities, relationships, and material possessions.


4. Breaking Kāla Bandhana


A. Yogic and Spiritual Methods


  1. Living in the Present (Sat-Chit-Ānanda)

    • Practicing Self-Awareness and detachment from past and future.

  2. Deep Meditation (Dhyāna & Samādhi)

    • In nirvikalpa samādhi, time ceases to exist.

  3. Mantra and Nāda Yoga

    • Omkāra and Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra reduce time-related fears. Get initiated for these.

  4. Karma Yoga

    • Selfless action removes karmic residues that create kāla bandhana.

  5. Surrender to Mahākāla

    • Worship of Śiva as Mahākāla dissolves time-bound consciousness.



Illusion of Time | Being Shiva Foundation
Meditation: The original ‘pause’ button for the Universe! Are you pausing?

5. Siddhis (Spiritual Attainments) After Transcending Kāla


After breaking time’s bondage, a yogi may attain:

  1. Freedom from Death (Jīvanmukti) – Living liberated while in the body.

  2. Ability to Perceive Past and Future (Trikāla Jñāna) – Knowing events beyond linear time.

  3. Control over Time (Kālachālana Siddhi) – Altering one’s perception of time (mentioned in Yoga Sutras).

  4. Existence in a Timeless State (Turiya & Turiyatita) – Supreme realization beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states.



Why You Need to Understand Time Before It Understands You


Look, you can’t escape a prison if you don’t even know you’re locked up. And Kāla? It’s the ultimate warden—silent, sneaky, and running the show while you’re too busy scrolling.

The thing is, time isn’t just a clock on the wall. It’s a mental program, a script you’ve been handed since birth: “Grow up, get a job, stress about the future, regret the past, repeat.” But the Vedas drop a truth bomb—time is relative. Not just in a physics-class way, but in a your-entire-reality-is-a-rigged-game kind of way.


Why does this matter? Because if you don’t see time for what it really is—an illusion, a cycle, a saṁsāric treadmill—you’ll keep running in place, mistaking motion for progress. You’ll keep saying, “I don’t have time,” when in reality, time has you.



Mahākāla isn’t in a rush. He’s seen galaxies born, die, and still had time for a cosmic coffee break.
Mahākāla isn’t in a rush. He’s seen galaxies born, die, and still had time for a cosmic coffee break.

Breaking Kāla Bandhana means realizing that you’re not in time; time is in you. The moment you stop treating it like an unstoppable force and start seeing it as a mental construct, the chains loosen. Suddenly, deadlines don’t own you. The past loses its grip. The future stops scaring you. And boom—you start living in the present, where true power exists.


Moral of the story? If you want to beat time, first, stop being its puppet. 🚀


Here are wonderful books that you can read to understand the Time Cycles and a lot about managing spiritual journey through that understanding. You can search these books in the bookstores online or offline in your country, below links are for Australian Amazon:




You can also listen the prolific author "Ajay Chaturvedi" of the above books on our Dharma Dialogues Podcast below:




Conclusion


In Vedic thought, time (kāla) is both a cosmic force and a subjective experience. While Mahākāla governs the grand cycles of existence, kāla affects planetary and karmic movements, and samaya defines individual perception. Spiritual seekers must transcend kāla bandhana through yoga, meditation, and self-realization to attain liberation (mokṣa) and timeless awareness.


Enlightenment is realizing you’ve been on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode from Brahman this whole time.

The ultimate goal is to dissolve the illusion of time and exist in the eternal present (nitya), merging with the absolute (Brahman).


Blessings & Love,

Jai Shivay,

Prakriti

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