In today's fast-paced society, time has become a precious commodity, and the contemporary perception of the calendar and clock is a relatively new phenomenon.
But the Penn Humanities Forum wanted to change that conception of time when its leaders invited David Pingree of Brown University to lecture on the ancient Kalpa system of time.
On Tuesday night in Van Pelt Library's Rosenwald Gallery, Pingree outlined the evolution of the Kalpa, a numerical theory used by ancient Babylonians, Indians and Buddhists for purposes ranging from astrology to determining the age of the universe.
He concluded that the Kalpa was important because it had lasting impacts on religion and science in Eurasian culture.
Pingree noted that while modern-day society views time in very linear terms, the ancients viewed it as being quite cyclical.
For example, some of the cultures that used the Kalpa system believed in reincarnation, making time more of an unlimited resource to them.
Pingree's lecture elicited different responses from the audience of about 50 people.
One man remarked, "I've been reading Pingree for years so I enjoyed the lecture.... I hope that everyone was able to follow it."
Another audience member, however, complained about the intense academic focus of the lecture, saying, "If I had known how much advance knowledge was required to understand [Pingree], I wouldn't have wasted my evening."
The lecture was aimed mostly at faculty members as opposed to students, and a good portion of the audience was composed of professors and other staffers.
The lecture was part of a series in discussions concerning time sponsored by the Penn Humanities Forum. The forum chooses a topic each semester on which to base all of their events.
Gene Narmer, chairman of the forum, called the series important because "the topic of time needed to be explored outside of western linear tradition."
David Nelson, organizer of this particular lecture, said that he named Pingree "without a moment's hesitation" when asked who was best qualified to speak about ancient Indian concepts of time.
Pingree is widely considered the world's leading expert on Sanskrit manuscripts.
Penn is home to the largest collection of Sanskrit manuscripts, so holding the event near Penn's Rare Book and Manuscript Library seemed highly appropriate.
The gallery was lined with some examples of the Sanskrit texts to help illustrate Pingree's topic.
