Time and the
Individual
Indian texts Hindu and Buddhist
- say time is an illusion .Yet the illusion persists. Man needs to break up
time into fragments because he has to understand, monitor and manage his life
and of his fellow beings. Therefore, time is important in mans life. But, is
man important in time?
In the shorter time-spans, say in
day-to-day life, decade or in a century the individual takes the center stage.
Changes that occur during this time-span are centered round him and become immediately
relevant to his life and that of his fellow beings. History tries to record
activities, changes, unrest etc. of this period. However, it often fails to project
it in the perspective of human history.
When you stretch the time-span to
centuries, the perspective is diffused. Individuals become less important than
events .And isolated incidents get lost in the general sweep of broad
appraisals.
When you stretch the time-span to
million years or more, you can only talk of survival of human species on this
planet.