Editing Wheel of time

{{Short description|Religious and philosophical concept of cyclical, repeating epochs or ages}}
{{About|a religious concept|other uses|Wheel of time (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2008}}

The '''wheel of time''' or '''wheel of history''' (also known as ''[[Kalachakra]]'') is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Buddhism]], which regard time as [[Historic recurrence|cyclical]] and consisting of repeating ages. Many other cultures contain belief in a similar concept: notably, the [[Q'ero]] people of [[Peru]], the [[Hopi]] people of [[Arizona]], and the [[Kongo people|Bakongo people]] of [[Angola]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]].

== Ancient Africa ==
{{Main article|Kongo cosmogram}}
[[File:Kongo_Cosmogram_3.png|thumb|The Bakongo Cosmogram]]
In traditional [[Kongo religion|Bakongo religion]], the four elements are incorporated into the Kongo cosmogram. This sacred wheel depicts the physical world (''Nseke''), the spiritual world of the ancestors (''Mpémba''), the [[Kalunga line|Kalûnga line]] that runs between the two worlds, the sacred river (''mbûngi'') that began as a circular void and forms a circle around the two worlds, and [[Sun path|the path of the sun]]. Each element correlates to a period in the life cycle, which the Bakongo people also equate to the four cardinal directions and seasons. According to their cosmology, all living things go through this cycle.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fu-Kiau |first=Kimbwandènde Kia Bunseki |url=http://archive.org/details/africancosmology00kimb |title=African cosmology of the Bântu-Kôngo : tying the spiritual knot : principles of life & living |date=2001 |publisher=Brooklyn, N.Y. : Athelia Henrietta Press, Pub. in the name of Orunmila |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-890157-28-9}}</ref>

* '''Mbûngi''' represents ''aether'' and is the void that exists before creation.
* '''Musoni time''' (South) represents ''air'' and is the period of conception that takes place during spring.
* '''Kala time''' (East) represent ''fire'' and is the period of birth that takes place during summer.
* '''Tukula time''' (North) represents ''earth'' and is the period of maturity that takes place during fall.
* '''Luvemba time''' (West) represents ''water'' and is the period of death that takes place during winter.

==Ancient Rome==
The philosopher and emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]] saw time as extending forwards to infinity and backwards to infinity, while admitting the possibility (without arguing the case) that "the administration of the universe is organized into a succession of finite periods".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aurelius |first=Marcus |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/757023454 |title=Meditations |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Robin Hard |isbn=978-0-19-957320-2 |location=Oxford [England] |oclc=757023454}}</ref>{{rp|Book 5, Paragraph 13}}

==Buddhism==
{{Main|Kalachakra}}

The [[Kalachakra|Wheel of Time]] or Kalachakra is a [[Tantra|Tantric]] deity that is associated with [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Tantric Buddhism]], which encompasses all four main schools of [[Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school)|Sakya]], [[Nyingma]], [[Kagyu]] and [[Gelug]], and is especially important within the lesser-known [[Jonang]] tradition.

The Kalachakra tantra prophesies a world within which (religious) conflict is prevalent. A worldwide war will be waged which will see the expansion of the mystical Kingdom of [[Shambhala]] led by a messianic king.
==Hinduism==
{{Main|Yuga Cycle|Manvantara|Kalpa (time)}}

In [[Hindu cosmology]], ''[[Kaal|kala]]'' (time) is eternal, repeating general events in four types of cycles. The smallest cycle is a ''[[Yuga Cycle|maha-yuga]]'' (great age), containing four ''[[yuga]]s'' (''[[Dharma#Hinduism|dharmic]]'' ages): ''[[Satya Yuga]]'', ''[[Treta Yuga]]'', ''[[Dvapara Yuga]]'' and ''[[Kali Yuga]]''. A ''[[manvantara]]'' (age of [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]]) contains 71 ''maha-yugas''. A ''[[Kalpa (aeon)|kalpa]]'' (day of [[Brahma]]) contains 14 ''manvantaras'' and 15 ''sandhyas'' (connecting periods), which lasts for 1,000 ''maha-yugas'' and is followed by a ''[[pralaya]]'' (night of partial dissolution) of equal length, where a day and night make one full day. A ''maha-kalpa'' (life of Brahma) lasts for 100 of Brahma's years of 12 months of 30 full days (100 360-day years) or 72,000,000 ''maha-yugas'', which is followed by a ''maha-pralaya'' (full dissolution) of equal length.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Dr. S. V. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/501804251 |title=Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |year=2010 |isbn=9783642007378 |editor-last=Hull |editor-first=Robert |series=Springer Series in Materials Science: 122 |pages=6–9 (1.2.4 Time Measurements) |oclc=501804251 |editor-last2=Osgood |editor-first2=Richard M. Jr. |editor-link2=Richard M. Osgood Jr. |editor-last3=Parisi |editor-first3=Jurgen |editor-last4=Warlimont |editor-first4=Hans}}</ref>

==Jainism==
{{Main|Ajiva}}
[[File:Jain Cosmic Time Cycle.jpg|thumb|''Kalachakra''s in Jainism]]
Within [[Jainism]], time is thought to be a wheel that rotates for infinity without a beginning. This wheel of time holds twelve spokes that each symbolize a different phase in the universe's cosmological history. It is further divided into two equal halves having six eras in them. While in a downward motion, the wheel of time falls into what is known as [[Avasarpiṇī]] and when in an upward motion, enters a state called [[Utsarpini]]. During both motions of the wheel, 24 [[tirthankara]]s come forth to teach the three jewels or sacred Jain teachings of right faith, right knowledge, and right practice, then create a spiritual ford across the ocean of [[Reincarnation#Jainism|rebirth]] for humanity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhattacharyya |first=Sibajiban |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/91697 |title=Buddhist Philosophy From 350 to 600 A.D. |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |year=1970 |isbn=9788120819689 |page=3|oclc=91697 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dundas |first=Paul |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71358145 |title=The Jains |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2003 |isbn=9781134501656 |edition=2 |page=20 |oclc=71358145 |author-link=Paul Dundas}}</ref>

==Modern usage==
===Literature===
In an interview included with the [[audiobook]] editions of his novels, author [[Robert Jordan]] has stated that his bestselling fantasy series ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' borrows the titular concept from Hindu mythology.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Jordan chats about his 'Wheel of Time' series |url=http://www.cnn.com/chat/transcripts/2000/12/12/jordan/ |access-date=14 June 2017 |website=CNN}}</ref>

The first chapter of every book in the series begins with the lines: ''"The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again."'' <ref>{{Cite book |last=Jordan |first=Robert |title=[[The Eye of the World]] |date=1990 |publisher=Orbit|isbn=978-0-356-50382-0}}</ref>

===Television===
*Several episodes of the American TV series ''[[Lost (2004 TV series)|Lost]]'' feature a wheel that can be physically turned in order to manipulate space and time. In a series of episodes during the fifth season, the island on which the show takes place begins to skip violently back and forth through time after the wheel is pulled off its axis.

*The character [[Rust Cohle]] in the first season of [[True Detective]] makes numerous references to his belief that events in time repeat, claiming that "''Time is a flat circle''". 

[[File:Flammarion.jpg|thumb|left|[[Camille Flammarion]]'s L'atmosphere (1888)]]

==See also==
*[[Eternal return]]
*[[Kalachakra]]
*[[Wheel of the Year]]

{{Time Topics}}
{{Time in religion and mythology}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
;Sources
*{{Cite book |last=Jordan |first=Robert |url=https://archive.org/details/eyeofworld00jord |title=The eye of the world |publisher=T. Doherty Associates |year=1990 |isbn=0-312-85009-3 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}

[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Jain cosmology]]
[[Category:Time in religion]]
[[Category:Buddhist cosmology]]
[[Category:Time in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Time in Buddhism]]