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This week sees the release of Oppenheimer, a film about Robert Oppenheimer the man often credited as being the father of the atom bomb. On seeing the first test bomb explode in 1945 he’s famously reported as saying ‘Now I am, become death, destroyer of worlds'. What many don’t realise, is that he was quoting part of a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, which recounts the famous conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjun which took place on a battlefield. Arjun asks Krishna the question. “Please tell me about yourself and who you are”. Krishna begins his answer with kālo ’smi loka-kṣaya-krt pravṛddho The literal translation of which is “Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds.” As well as being a great physicist Oppenheimer studied philosophy and was said to have been particularly interested in Hinduism. It’s understandable why he chose the verse to sum up his feelings on that terrible and momentous day, but the misquotation obscures the Hindu understanding of the text. Krishna is explaining that Hinduism has a nonlinear, circular concept of time. God is not only involved in the creation, but also the dissolution. Time is a force throughout our lives and the universe that brings change. Death is just one way the force of time exerts its power. But it's the one that we fear and avoid the most. I recently lost a dear friend. She died two days after she found out her cancer was terminal. She was only 50 and was someone who had a real zeal for life. I was with her in her final few hours as a friend and also for spiritual support. She really didn't want to go, she was scared. Giving her reassurance that this wasn’t the end for her, and that she would be safe made it easier for her to let go. Krishna teaches that time brings death to the body and mind. However, it does not have the same effect on the spiritual self. This allows spiritual progress beyond the existence of the body and mind. Therefore, He says, death need not be feared but seen as a transition for it is death of only one aspect of the self. I believe a circular view of time and our existence can be helpful both in dying and living and it’s something we are more used to than we realise. We continually go through a process of endings and re-birth as our bodies and minds change as we pass through different stages of life. Coming to terms with that can make things a whole lot easier.