Wheel of time
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The Wheel of time or wheel of history (Kalachakra) is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical and consisting of repeating ages. Many other cultures contain belief in a similar concept: notably, the Q'ero Indians in Peru, as well as the Hopi Indians of Arizona.
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Buddhism
- See Kalachakra for details.
The Wheel of Time or Kalachakra is a Tantric deity that is associated with Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, which encompasses all four main schools of 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.
Modern Usage
Literature
In an interview included with the audio book 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.
Television
Several episodes of the American TV series Lost feature a wheel which 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.
Physics
Peter Lynds has put forward a cosmology model in which time is cyclic and the universe repeats exactly an infinite number of times. Because it is exactly the same cycle that repeats, however, it can also be interpreted as happening just once in relation to time. Lynds argues that this resolves a number of thorny issues in cosmology.
