A Study of Time in Indian Philosophy

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Based on Sanskrit source material, this book is a unique attempt at presenting a comprehensive review of the widely divergent views about time in Indian thought. Clearly written, it succeeds in setting out the issues of discussion pointedly and cogently. Since the concept of time intertwines with such major concepts as that of causality, being and non-being etc., this book also 'serve as a general introduction to the classic heart of Indian philosophy.' The author 'has demonstrated a rare ability to translate technical doctrines from one tradition of thought into the language of another', and thus has made it possible - for all those who are concerned with the question of time but do not have access in the Indian conceptual world to appreciate the contributions of Indian thought with regard to this complex question.

Noteworthy is the fact that this book is the first attempt which 'successfully exposes the simple falsity' of such clichés as that the Indian view of time is 'cyclic' as opposed to Judaeo-Christian understanding of linear time. A Study of Time in Indian Philosophy therefore, renders a valuable service to all those who are concerned with cross-cultural and interreligious exchange

About the Author

Anindita N. Balslev did her Ph.D. from University of Paris. Presently she is at the Department of Philosophy, University of Copenhagen and also engaged in promoting a program entitled Cross-Cultural Conversation. Her other published work is Cultural otherness: Correspondence with Richard Rorty (Shimla/New Delhi, 1991).

Preface to the second edition
Preface to the first edition
Introduction
General Background
Cravation, causaity, and time

1. (i) On the reality of absolute time - the Nyaya-Vaisesika view
   (ii) An exchange regarding the idea of present time (vartamana kala)
   (iii) Is time perceived or inferred? - a debate amongst the indian realists

2. (i) Time as aspect of concrete becoming - the Sankhya view
   (ii) Time as instant - the Yoga view
   (iii) Sankhya and Vaisesika on time - a comparative note.

3. (i) On time as appearance - the Advaita Vedanta appraisal
   (ii) On refutation of the reality of time
   (iii) Being as timeless in Advaita Vedanta

4. (i) Time in Jainism
   (ii) The Jaina challenge to the Nyaya-Vaisesika conception of singular, ubiquitous time

5. (i)The Buddhist idea of instantaneous being
   (ii) Some internal difference regarding the doctrine of momentariness within the Buddhist tradition
   (iii) Controversies centering on the Buddhist doctrine of momentariness (Ksanikavada)
   (iv) Annihilaion and time - a Nyaya-Buddhist controversy

6. A note on the problem of time in the perspective of philosophy of language and the idea of the timeless as inexpressible

7. An overall view of time in Indian philosophy
   (i) Time and consciousness
   (ii) A comparative note on the concept of instant (Ksana)
   (iii) The views about time and the problem of change
   (iv) Being and time

8. (i) The problem of time - an intercultural perspective
   (ii) A note on the cyclic and the linear notions of time
   (iii) Some parallel ideas in the investigation on time in Western philosophy
   (iv) The timeless and the temporal - paradox and predicament

Bibliography
Index