Question

You recently posted some YouTube content from the first chapter of Sūrya Siddhānta and noted that time is ultimately based on Brahmā’s breath. Does Bhagavān breathe as well? Does he also have night and day in his own realm? Does he sleep? Or are these polarities exclusive to our realm?

My Reply

Viṣṇu breathes, and his breath (as mahā-viṣṇu) is the time unit containing Brahmā’s life. It seems Brahmā exists during Viṣṇu’s exhalation, and ceases to exist during Viṣṇu’s inhalation. This seems reverse to what we might expect, but this is intentional. We should also note that Mahā-Viṣṇu is constantly asleep while Brahmā is active. This is because our realm exists in ignorance of Mahā-Viṣṇu. It manifests where he is not actively present.

Since Viṣṇu breathes, sleeps etc – we realize that space and time exist even outside Brahmā’s domain (“the universe”). There are semi-beats, beats, days, months, years, etc. even for Viṣṇu – because if there were not, Viṣṇu would not be able to do anything. Time is the side effect of Viṣṇu’s ability to act and do things. Hence there is certainly time, with all its pulses and sub-pulses, in Viṣṇu’s reality.

Since Viṣṇu experiences time, we might think that he ages and dies. But we are specifically told that he does not. He is “akṣara” – un-aging. It is because time is Viṣṇu’s power, and is therefore his servant, not his master.

Even we ourselves know that time is cyclic and apparent creation and destruction it enables only pertains to manifestations, and not to the manifestors.