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 man’s 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.