Danielou, Alain. the Myths and Gods of India: the Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Rochester: Inner Traditions International, 1991.
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“Before anything exists, time is. Time is the first condition for the existence of the universe. Although the “point of view of cosmology” (Sankhya) takes time to be a corollary of space, the point of view of logic (Nyaya), as well as that of metaphysics (Vedanta), considers time as prior to space. Time thus understood is distinct from the relative time we perceive. It is Transcendent-Time (maha-kala), absolute, eternal, measureless, ever present. It is also called the “rodlike undivided time” (akhanda dandayamana). The divisions of relative time as we perceive them are merely an apparent division of continuous Time due to the motion of the planets. Relative time is experienced differently by different kinds of beings. The planets whose motions determine the rhythms of relative time, the process of the phenomenal world, may well be regarded as the agencies of eternal laws which rule over our destinies, and viewed under this aspect they are spoken of as deities. So long as we are subject to the rule of the planetary rhythms we remain shut up within the realm of relative existence. It is only when the relative succession of time lapses, or somehow loses its significance, that we can attain rest within absolute time.
Siva, as the Destroyer, is identified with Time (Kala).”
By following calendars that don’t follow the cycles of the Moon, the Seasons, the Year, or larger measures (sunspot cycles, etc), we free our minds from the confines of our material existence.
The 260-day calendar developed in Mesoamerica is a tool perfectly suited to this purpose. Even the 729-day biennial is a departure from our annual round.
Rethinking Time 