The Metaphysical Demotion of Time in the Vedanta Tradition

The gods too are subject to time, and even live through daily cycles. This awe-inspiring conception of cosmic time forms the background to such ideas as karmic retribution and reincarnation. One of the Upanishads explicitly rejects the claim that time is a creative principle. The Vedic philosophical tradition goes further still in this metaphysical demotion of time by doubting whether it is real at all.