TIME IS the merciless destroyer of us all because it marches on irrespective of our little lives.
Interesting then to meet Ed(ward) Henning, who was after a copy of an ancient book I translated anciently, the Kaulajnananirnaya, ascribed to one Matsyendranath.
Ed, in return gave me a copy of his book Kalacakra and the Tibetan Calendar, a closely argued basically astronomical monograph. (American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2007).
People will find all sorts of things to argue about, and as we all know, do. A debate still rages between astrologers whether the “sidereal” or “tropical” zodiac is the “correct” one. Henning’s book argues closely that a series of events caused the degradation of the Tibetan calendar, but the Kalacakra recension was at least a radical approach to calculations.
I still haven’t been to Kerala, but some of the finest Hindu astronomers/astrologers came up with some astonishing results while King John I and last of England was looking for his jewels in the wash. Unfortunately, a lot of science got mixed up with even more superstition, so unravelling these threads is not an easy task. ♥
