In Jain cosmology, time is cyclical and universal. The cycle contains big alternating phases (avasarpini and utsarpini) made of successive eras. These eras are not experienced only by one person at a time; they unfold across the entire cosmos. In other words, all beings collectively move through the eras as the time cycle advances, though individual experiences and spiritual progress within a given era depend on each soul’s karma.

Key points:

• Time is not “personal” to each being; it is a universal sequence.
• At the end of an era, the next era begins for the whole cosmos, and all beings are, in a sense, living through the new stage together.
• Within an era, beings may have very different experiences based on their karma, but the era itself is a shared phase of time.

If you’d like, I can outline the basic structure of the two halves of the cycle (avasarpini and utsarpini) and how the eras are described in Digambara and Śvetāmbara texts, with simple, clear notes on any differences.