The Time Paradox and the Vedantic Perspective.

Pratipakṣa Bhavana for Transforming Thoughts.

When we are sad or distracted, our brain records fewer details and creates fewer memories. This makes time seem longer in the moment, but shorter in retrospect, when we think back to what we did. This phenomenon is called the time paradox and is one of the mysteries of our mind.

I'll give you another example: imagine going on vacation to a new and beautiful place, where you do many fun things and meet many interesting people. When you're there, time seems to fly by, because you're happy and engaged in what you do. But when you get home and think back to your vacation, it seems you lived a long and intense experience, because you have many vivid memories. On the contrary, imagine staying home all day watching TV or doing homework, without doing anything special or different. When you're there, time seems to drag on, because you're bored and distracted by what you do. But when you think back on your day, it seems you lived a brief and insignificant experience, because you have few blurred and monotonous memories.

This time paradox teaches us that time is not an objective and equal thing for everyone but depends on how we live and remember it. Time is a construction of our mind, which shapes it based on our emotions, attention and memories. For this reason, we can influence our perception of time by making different choices in our lives. If we want time to go by faster when we are sad or bored, we can try to distract ourselves with something we like or stimulate us. If we want time to pass more slowly when we are happy or curious, we can try to focus on what we do and memorize details.

Vedanta can offer an interesting and unique perspective on the time paradox. In the non-dual vision of Vedanta, objective time does not have a real existence. It is seen as māyā, an illusion created by the human mind. There is no real past, present or future, there is only an eternal now.

This understanding of time as an illusion can initially disturb and disorient, as we are used to seeing time as a concrete reality that flows linearly. However, if explored in depth, the Vedantic perspective on time can prove liberating and bring serenity. It frees us from the frustration and anxiety generated by the sense of lack of time and the fear of its inexorable passage.

To integrate this vision and benefit from it, Vedanta proposed techniques like pratipakṣa bhavana. Pratipakṣa bhavana literally means "cultivating the opposite state". In practice, it is a positive visualization, a technique that consists in replacing negative thoughts about time with positive images associated with it. For example, instead of thinking in frustration about how time passes quickly, one imagines living every moment of life with joy, presence and meaning.

Practised regularly, pratipakṣa bhavana generates a virtuous circle. The new positive mental patterns that are cultivated gradually take over the negative, automated ones. The loop of pessimistic thoughts about the passage of time that causes much unhappiness and confines us to the past or future, making us lose contact with the fullness of the present, is thus interrupted. Pratipakṣa bhavana must be practised with patience and constancy, without expectations. By generating this new positive mental space, it is possible to rediscover the joy and beauty inherent in living in the here and now, in the eternal present, free from the illusory conditioning of chronological time.

"In Yoga Sutra 2.33-34, Patanjali advises: 'Vitarka badhane pratipaksha bhavana': when disturbing thoughts (vitarka) afflict you (badhane), cultivate (bhavana) opposite thoughts (pratipaksha), that is, change perspective. This is what Vasistha taught Rama: to shift his perspective from suffering and limitation to the infinite."

(Debi Robinson - Yoga Teacher)

The wisdom of Vedanta and its techniques like pratipakṣa bhavana therefore offer us valuable tools to change our perspective on time. They allow us to transcend the paradox of its apparent objective passage, opening us to a new serenity untouched by time, which stems from having understood its nature as māyā, as an illusion created by the mind. It is a path that requires commitment but can lead us to a freer and more fulfilling life.

It is necessary to underline that in the moments in which pratipakṣa bhavana is not needed for us because we do not live in difficulties, we are not sad, there is no pain, but we are in positive moments calm and happiness, one must not cease the spiritual practice, Sādhana, as the Bhagavad Gita teaches us: "Just as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, such is the devotee who, practising the yoga of meditation, controls the mind, is absorbed in the Self and is tranquil amidst the chaos. In the same way, when there is calm the devotee remains active in the spiritual practice."

(VI.19)

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