TIME FROM THE TIMELESS

Brahman has no past and no future; it is unaffected by time.  Yet the relative world that Brahman manifests has a past and a future; it is affected by time.  How is it possible that something that is timeless can manifest something that has time?

The reason is that time in the relative world is only an appearance, is only what seems to be.  According to the Sixth century Greek philosopher Parmenides, our sensory faculties create the false perception of time, making this a world of appearances rather than what really is.  What really is, Parmenides holds, is an eternal oneness where change is impossible, and existence is timeless, uniform, necessary, and unchanging. 
 
Vedanta adds that it is “maya” that causes our senses to have the false perception that there is time in the relative world.  Maya is defined, generally, as illusion.  The traditional analogy is that a rope seen from a distance appears to be a snake.
 
Since Brahman is the only truth, maya is true but not the truth.  The difference is that the truth is the truth forever, while what is true is only true for now.  Since maya causes the material world to be seen, and how it is to be seen, it is true in itself but is untrue in comparison to the Brahman.