THE TIME FACTOR OF W. D.

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.

THE TIME FACTOR IS THE KEY TO GANNS FORECASTS Ganns forecasts of the stock and commodity markets were based on the time factor, the dictionary definition of which is The passage of time as a limitation on what can be achieved. Gann provided the following comments on the time factor: The most important thing of all is the Time factor, which I use in making up my annual forecasts. It is not my object here to give away that secret, but I am showing you plain enough and giving you rules enough that, if you follow them, you will be able to make a success in the stock market (Truth Of The Stock Tape, 1923, page 116). Many people want to know what method I use to determine future indications on the market. I keep charts of the various active stocks and also a set of averages. My charts are different from the charts of the average statistician because they are based on a discovery of my own. I have discovered a time factor that enables me to determine important tops and bottoms one year or more in advance. My annual forecasts on stocks, issued in December for ten years past, have proved remarkably correct. The cotton and grain markets can also be forecast by this time factor, which enables me to tell when extreme highs and lows will be made, as well as the minor moves (Truth Of The Stock Tape, 1923, page 41 of appendix). The time factor and time periods are most important in determining a change in trend because time can over balance price, and when the time is up the volume of sales will increase and force prices higher or lower (45 Years In Wall Street, 1941, page 10). Time is the most important factor of all and not until sufficient time has expired does any big move start up or down. The time factor will overbalance both space and volume. When time is up, space movement will start and large volume will begin, either up or down. At the end of any important movement monthly, weekly or daily Time must be allowed for accumulation or

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.

GANNS NOVEL ENTITLED THE TUNNEL THRU THE AIR Although Gann was unwilling to explicitly reveal his time factor in his books and courses on trading the stock and commodity markets, he was prepared to leave strong clues in his novel entitled The Tunnel Thru The Air, which he wrote in 1927. This book describes the events in the United States leading up to the Second World War through the life of the principal character, Robert Gordon. Most importantly, in the foreword to this book Gann wrote, The Tunnel Thru The Air is mysterious and contains a valuable secret, clothed in veiled language..When you read it the third time, a new light will dawn. You will find the hidden secret..The future will become an open book. Ganns valuable secret, clothed in veiled language is that, as the Bible clearly states, astrology really works. This theme runs throughout the book and is highlighted in the following quotations: Robert was a great believer in Astrology because he had found this great science referred to so many times in the Holy Bible. He had made notes as he read the Bible at different times where it referred to Astrology or the signs in the heavens and was thoroughly convinced that the influence of the heavenly bodies govern our lives (page 172). I believe in the stars, I believe in astrology, and I have figured out my destiny. The Bible makes it plain that the stars do rule (page 66). Through my study of the Bible, I have determined the major and minor time factors which repeat in the history of nations, men and markets (page 70). I have studied the Bible very carefully because I believe it is the greatest scientific book ever written. The laws are plainly laid down how to make a success. There is a time and a season for everything and if a man does things according to the time, he will succeed (page 204). Robert had gone deeply into the Bible study in order to learn more about the great science of Astrology (page 213). He read all the books he could get on astrology and began to understand why thing had happened as they had (page 215).

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.

GANNS TIME FACTOR IS ASTROLOGY As stated above, Ganns forecasts of the stock and commodity markets were based on the time factor, which may be defined as The passage of time as a limitation on what can be achieved. Since astrology may be defined as The study of the effects of the trends of time, we see that time factor may be synonymous with astrology. It therefore appears that Gann preferred to state that his market forecasts were based on the time factor, rather than to state that they were based on astrology. Indeed, this is certain after carefully studying Ganns book The Tunnel Thru The Air and identifying its valuable secret that astrology really works. The reason for Ganns secrecy is suggested in the following quotation: It has taken me twenty years of exhaustive study to learn the cause that produces effects according to time. That is my secret and is too valuable to be spread broadcast. Besides, the public is not yet ready for it (Morning Telegraph interview, December 1922). Therefore Gann preferred not to reveal that astrology is the basis of his market forecasts for the following reasons: 1) The principle that astrology may be used to produce detailed forecasts of the stock and commodity markets is a valuable secret that had taken Gann much time and effort to master. 2) Gann firmly believed that his students should, like him, devote much time and hard work to their studies on how to make speculation a profitable profession. 3) Gann was well aware that the suggestion that the stock and commodity markets are governed by astrological influences is an astounding new paradigm, which violates the conventional wisdom and would therefore attract hostility. This is highlighted in the following quotation: It appears to be a fact that Mr Gann has developed an entirely new idea as to the principles governing stockmarket movements. He bases his operations on certain natural laws which, though existing since the world began, have only in recent years been analysed with precision and added to the list of so-called modern discoveries. We have asked Mr Gann for an outline of his work, and have secured some remarkable evidence as to the results obtained therefrom. We submit this in full recognition of the fact that a man in Wall Street with a new idea an idea which violates the traditions and encourages a scientific view of the proposition is not usually welcomed by the majority, for the reason that he stimulates thought and research. These activities said majority abhors (Ticker & Investment Digest interview, December 1909). GANN AND ASTROLOGY Since Ganns book The Tunnel Thru The Air reveals the valuable secret that astrology really works and, by implication, astrology is the basis of Ganns stock and commodity market forecasts, one should look for evidence of the use of astrology by Gann in his other writings. 1. Ganns Chapters On Forecasting In His Stock And Commodity Market Courses Gann produced and sold separate courses for trading the stock and commodity markets. These courses overlapped to some significant extent. One chapter common to both courses is entitled The Basis Of My Forecasting Method: Geometrical Angles. An important quotation from this chapter is as follows:

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.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. W.D. Ganns highly-accurate annual forecasts of the stock and commodity markets were based on astrology. Therefore, if we as investors and traders wish to emulate Ganns outstanding forecasting ability, it is absolutely necessary that we learn astrology. Although astrology may be learned from a variety of sources, the present writer recommends, as a first step, the correspondence courses in spiritual astrology taught by The Rosicrucian Fellowship, which may be contacted at International Headquarters, 2222 Mission Avenue, Oceanside, California 92054, U.S.A. 2. Once we have learned astrology, we must apply this knowledge to the stock and commodity markets. This task requires much hard work, as Gann himself observed: I soon began to note the periodical recurrence of the rise and fall in stocks and commodities. This led me to conclude that natural law was the basis of market movements. I then decided to devote ten years of my life to the study of natural law as applicable to the speculative markets and to devote my best energies toward making speculation a profitable profession (Ticker & Investment Digest interview, December 1909). However, Gann has provided us with specific guidance. In summary, we should obtain daily price charts which depict important tops and bottoms in the stock and commodity markets and we should then observe the following: i) The angles between the planets (the most important of which is the 90 degrees, or square, angle); ii) The angles (especially the 90 degrees angle) between the planets and particular points on the zodiac;

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.

THE TIME FACTOR OF W. D. GANN

By Greg Cherni
Not many may realize that term "Time factor" came from Vedic literature as well as idea of squaring and sq9 as a mathematical representation of Vedic concept of Absolute consciousness relating to itself. Also squaring elements you can find in Einsteins E=mc2 and virtually in any formula depicting dimensional relation. According to Vedas Time is the ultimate dimension of this material world from which everything else unfolds. Following is a compilation on "Time Factor" by Syamasundara Das from some Vedic sources. Mysterious energy Time (kala) is one of the five tattvas (realities) of existence which are the five subjects of the Bhagavad-gita. (The other ones are: isvara - God, jiva - living being, prakrti - material nature, and karma - material activity). In the Bhagavad-gita (BG 11.32) Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has stated that He is time and that time is all destructive, and "among subduers I am time". (BG 10.30) That time is Krsna by virtue of being one of His multifarious energies explains, to a great extent, the truly mysterious nature and effects of time. Our perception of time can be dependent on our age, which in itself is caused by time. For example it is a common adage that time flies faster the older you get. That somehow a year shrinks with every passing new year. This perception of shrinking time is prevalent in all cultures. How is it possible for time to shrink or at least to appear to do so? Shrinking time For a possible explanation let us consider the following experience that I had as a child growing up in Northern Canada, where the seasonal changes are dramatic. As a boy of four years I recall being amazed when winter came and snow appeared again (as it had done one year previously since time immemorial). It seemed to me that I could remember this white stuff falling out of the sky and piling up all over the place. It had happened, I thought, a long time ago and here it was happening again. As I grew I found that it did indeed occur on a regular basis, a yearly basis, but like every one I noticed that as I grew older the time interval seemed to mysteriously grow shorter even though there were still 365.25 days in the year, none added or subtracted. It occurred to me that the only explanation for this shrinking time was my own previous experience of time. To a child of four years, one year would represent 25% of my total previous experience of time to that date. But now that I am 40 years old, one year represents only 2.5% of my previous total experience of time. This is a dramatic decrease by a factor of 10. By the time I am 80, one year will only represent 1.25% of my previous experience. Thus the longer a person lives the smaller a year becomes in relation to their total previous experience of time in this life. Time dilation It has been observed by investigators that the perception of time can be influenced, either shortened or lengthen, because of the effects of certain types of drugs. This is especially true with psychotomimetic drugs such as LSD, Mescaline, and others in this category. The users of these drugs often report that they felt that time seemed to stand still. That a moment seemed like eons. This subjective effect of the drug could cause trauma to a user. One user reported to me that he once became quite anxious because of this time dilation effect. He had gone to the latrine to answer the call of nature, but to him it had felt as if a greatly inordinate length of time had been spent using the facilities (he said it felt like years) and thus he became afraid that his friends and family would consider that he was lost and send the police in search of him (the last people he would want to meet under such conditions would be the constabulary).

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.

1) Kala (time) is a special manifestation of Krsna's energy. "The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people..." (BG 11.32) "My Lord, I consider Your Lordship to be eternal time, the supreme controller, without beginning and end, the all-pervasive one. In distributing Your mercy, You are equal to everyone. The dissensions between living beings are due to social intercourse." (SB 1.8.28) "The time factor, who causes the transformation of the various material manifestations, is another feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anyone who does not know that time is the same Supreme Personality is afraid of the time factor." (SB 3.29.37) "Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices, is the time factor and the master of all masters. He enters everyone's heart, He is the support of everyone, and He causes every being to be annihilated by another." (SB 3.29.38) 2) Kala, the time factor, causes material creation.

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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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Four cosmic ages (yugas) Krta or Satya-yuga (Golden Age) Duration - 4,800 demigods years or 1,728,000 human years Life span - 100,000 years Yuga-dharma - meditation or astanga yoga Yuga-avatara - white with four arms, has matted hair and wears a garment of tree bark. He carries a black deerskin, a sacred thread, prayer beads and the rod and waterpot of a brahmacari. (SB 11.5.21) Symptoms of Satya-yuga The people are peaceful, non-envious, friendly and naturally Krsna conscious. In Satya-yuga there was no division of asrama, everyone was a paramahamsa. There was no demigod worship, only the worship of Krsna and religion was perfectly practiced. (SB 9.14, 11.5.21-22) Treta-yuga (Silver Age) Duration - 3,600 demigod years or 1,296,000 human years Life span - 10,000 years Yuga-dharma - Fire sacrifice (yajna) Yuga-avatara - red with four arms and golden hair. He wears a triple belt representing initiation into the three Vedas. His symbols are the sruk, sruva, etc. (ladle, spoon and other implements of sacrifice). Symptoms of Treta-yuga In Treta-yuga the people are thoroughly religious. In Satya-yuga people are naturally Krsna conscious. In Treta-yuga they are inclined to become Krsna conscious. To achieve that end they are very strict in following Vedic principles. Dvapara-yuga (Copper Age) Duration - 2,400 demigod years or 864,000 human years Life span - 1,000 years Yuga-dharma - Temple worship (arcana) Yuga-avatara - his complexion is dark blue. He wears yellow garments. His body is marked with Srivatsa and other distinctive ornaments, and He manifests His personal weapons. The original Personality of Godhead from whom all other incarnations expand is Sri Krsna. He appears once in a day of Brahma, during the period of the seventh Manu (Vaivasvata) in the 28th divya-yuga. The original Personality of Godhead Krsna only comes once in a day of Brahma. Although in every Dvapara-yuga there is a yuga-avatara, they are all expansions of Visnu, who is an expansion of Sri Krsna. Symptoms of Dvapara-yuga In Dvapara-yuga people have the weaknesses of mortal beings, but they have a strong desire to know about the Absolute Truth and they worship the Lord in the mood of honoring a great king, following the prescriptions of both Vedas and tantras. Kali-yuga (Iron Age) Duration - 1,200 demigod years or 432,000 human years Life span - 100 years Yuga-dharma - Chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra (harinama sankirtana) Yuga-avatara - golden or yellow but generally black. Lord Caitanya, who is Krsna Himself, appears only in the Kali-yuga immediately following the appearance of Sri Krsna in Dvaparayuga.

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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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