mw692c Pra-vesa-na n. entering, entrance or penetration into . . . mw819c <H"lsl mukha n. the mouth, face, countenance . . . opening, aperture, entrance into or egress out of. Reflections: In the West, time is viewed linearly, as beginning in some remote past and continuing to some unimaginable future; in the East, however, time is viewed cyclically: the cycle of day and night, the phases of the moon, the rotation of the seasons, the cycle of birth and death, and so on up to cycles lasting billions of years. That Time is indestructible is simply an acknowledgement of the fact that these cycles keep on tirelessly repeating. In daily life, time is viewed as a subdivision of some convenient cycle (e.g. time of day), or as a multiple of cycles (e.g. years): this is the measurement or reckoning aspect. Time is inextricably linked with movement: if there was no movement there would be no time, for time is a measure of the change of position or state relative to some more durable 'constant'. In one sense time can be viewed as an effect of movement, as a measure of the movement; in another sense time can be viewed as the cause of movement, as the underlying constant, relative to which movement takes place. In the light of the Vedic teaching, the latter view would be more appropriate: thus here Krsna represents the Absolute Unmoving Consciousness within which all movement takes place. In the second half of the line, 'Providence' may be a better word to use than 'Dispenser': the latter has a sense of purposive action (i.e. seeking a result), whilst the former is more an impersonal principle. This is more in keeping with the artha of the dhatu as 'nourishing, supporting', rather than the active role of 'creator, arranger' given for dhatr, and more appropriate to the universal aspect implicit in visvatomukha. The all-pervading Consciousness thus provides the space, intelligence, and food for all beings: indeed It provides for their total sustenance and nourishment, even their very existence. Taking mukha in the sense of 'mouth', it represents a two-way opening through which food enters, and speech exits; taking it in the sense of 'face', it may be interpreted as symbolizing all senses. Thus sarvatomukha could be viewed as the sum total of all senses, both active and receptive, through which all creation is nourished and through which Consciousness Itself is nourished. Or again, sarvatomukha could refer to Consciousness as the Witness, and dhatr to the manifest appearance of that Consciousness.
