Time, is it Cyclical Or Linear? A Fresh Look at the Ancient Vedic Yug System

In Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, time and				age of Treta Yug comes out to be thirty six hundred
death are synonymous and called Kaal. If we examine				years. Three thousand as the length of the Yuga and
this closely, we find that it is not a coincidence. Time				three hundred years before and after as its Sandhis;
indeed actually means decay and death. Everything				a total of thirty six hundred years.
decays with time and dies once its life span is over.				Thus two thousand years is the length of the
History abounds with civilizations and cultures which				Dwapar Yuga with two hundred years before and
were once mighty and powerful and are today only a				after as its Sandhis. A total of twenty four hundred
pale shadow of their former glory. They flourished,				years. Lastly the duration of the Kali Yuga computes
reached the pinnacle of their glory, and then slowly				to be one thousand years with the junctions or
died.				Sandhis lasting one hundred years. This makes the
In India many thousands of years ago some very				total age of Kali Yuga to be twelve hundred years.
remarkable and exceptional men reached a level of				If we add 4800+3600+2400+1200 we get a total of
self realization which enabled them to understand the				12000 years which is the length of one Daiva Yuga.
mystery of creation and the laws which govern and				Two of these Daiva Yugas make one cycle
sustain it. These men were known as Rishis. These				complete.
were the men to whom all the knowledge that				Sequence of Yugas
humans needed or would ever need was revealed as				1200)- Dwapar(2400) - Treta(3600)- Satya(4800).
the Ved (Knowledge). In their higher state of				Total 24000 Earth years.
consciousness, these ascended masters could				As we can see two Satya Yug, one descending and
intuitively see the devastating effect of time on				one ascending are joined together producing a total
humans and knew that unless steps were taken to				of 9600 years. Similarly at the other extremity, the
safeguard it, the knowledge that they had would be				descending and ascending Kali Yug are also joined
lost over a period of time.				producing a total of 2400 years. The sequence is in
Vedas are called Shruti. Shruti means something which				fact a circle.
is heard. The knowledge was revealed as the spoken				In 11501 BC the autumnal equinox was on the first
word and was committed to memory by those				degree of Aries. At this point the Sun began to
receiving it. Written records can fall into wrong hands				move away from its position closest to Vishnu Nabhi
so the first step was to pass it on from generation				or grand center to its position farthest from it. This
to generation as memorized word. The easiest way				movement set in motion the very slow and
to commit something to memory is by developing it				imperceptible decline in the mental virtue of humans.
into a rhyme or ditty. The sum total of knowledge				The intellectual power of man began to diminish. In
was thus converted to thousands of verses and				the next 4800 years we lost the power to grasp
rhymes. These rhymes were called Richa and Sootra.				spiritual knowledge. In the following 3600 years during
The language and selection of words of these Richas				the Sun's journey through the descending Treta Yuga
is such that each one can be interpreted in a number				the human intellect lost all power of grasping the
of ways. Generally every important Richa can have				divine magnetism. In the succeeding 2400 years of
as many as six meanings. A person with gross				the journey of the Sun through the descending
intelligence will get only the literal meaning which is				Dwapar yuga the intellect became more clouded and
often unimportant. An ascended master on the other				humanity lost the ability to understand the existence
hand will be able to explain the real, ( intellectual and				and nature of five electricities. Finally in the last 1200
spiritual) meaning. It is for this reason that most				years of the Kali Yuga the intellectual power became
English translations of Sanskrit works appear to be				so weak that nothing about the creation could be
dull and meaningless.				understood. Only gross material level of existence
This had to be done as some portions of this				was known to us.
knowledge were meant for only those who had				Adding 12000 years to 11501 BC we reach a figure of
reached the appropriate state of maturity and				499 AD. The period around 500 AD was indeed the
enlightenment.				darkest part of kali Yuga and of the whole cycle of
The information was thus handed down from				twenty four thousand years.
generation to successive generation. People of				From this point onwards the Sun began to move
exceptional mental caliber were chosen to remember				towards the Vishnu Nabhi or grand center and the
Richas and Sootra. In this way the ascended masters				human intellect slowly started to develop. During the
negated the negative impact of time on available				1100 years of the ascending kali Yuga there were
knowledge. It is because of this that Indian civilization				frequent wars all over the world and man's cruelty
and Vedic philosophy have emerged unscathed				and brutality knew no end. This period ended in 1599
across a gaping chasm of time lasting twenty four				AD.
thousand years at the very least. Depending upon				At the end of the kali Yuga the hundred year period
their spiritual and intellectual caliber, some people could				of Yuga Sandhi came into effect to usher in the
remember and reproduce all four Vedas, some three,				Dwapar Yuga. Slowly the human intellect began to
two or one respectively. They were known as				develop and we took the first few hesitant steps
Chaturvedis, Trivedis, Dwivedis and Vedis. Their				towards the understanding of electric current and
descendents are still known by these names and				magnetism. In 1600 AD William Gilbert studied the
enjoy a high status in Indian society.				magnetic forces and observed the presence of
To make the less sensitive information available to				electricity in all living beings. A little later Kepler
masses, Upanishads and Bhashyas (commentary)				discovered the laws of astronomy and the first
were written.				Telescope was invented by Galileo. In 1621 Drebbel
For people with still lower mental caliber Upanishads				of Holland produced the first microscope. In 1670
were further simplified into Puranas. Two epics				Newton laid down the laws of gravitation and a little
Ramayana and Maha Bharat were penned by the				later in 1700 AD Thomas Savary used the steam
Rishis and these condense the wisdom of the Vedas				power to lift water from the mines for the first time.
into simple, easy to understand stories and parables.				In 1720 Stephen Grey discovered the action of
The Yuga system of time is the gift of this great				electricity on human body. These discoveries and
and ancient civilization.				inventions came rapidly on the heals of one another.
Yuga system defined				This became possible because the heavy burden of
The Indian concept of time is cyclical in nature. All				Kali Yuga was lifted from the minds of humanity and
systems, ideas and events have a beginning a mid				human intellect could begin to soar in the realm of
point and an end. Nothing is everlasting in the visible				pure thought.
universe that we see all around us. The human				The political structure too underwent a major change.
intellect is limited in its scope and often assumes that				People began respecting themselves and the all
a smoothly or chaotically functioning system will keep				powerful medieval political system became less rigid
on doing so for ever. We take for granted that				and suffocating. In England democracy took firm
growth or decay will proceed in a straight line for all				roots and undermined the power of the king.
times to come. In reality, nature has no straight lines.				Concept of liberty, equality and fraternity gained
Night and day, growth and decay of animal and plant				ground in France and the united states of America
species is a natural part of life. Companies and				won its independence. The war torn Europe at long
corporations, kings and their kingdoms all appear on				last saw some peace.
the world stage, flourish for a while, then die. This is				The rising Dwapar gave a huge impetus to the
the eternal truth.				utilization of fine energies like electricity and
The Rishis being one with the universe knew the				magnetism. Electric motors combining the two forms
reality of time. They knew it was unreal and had				of energy came into common use. Mankind learned
validity only in the three dimensional world. They also				to harness these energies though their real nature still
knew that under its influence everything will go				eludes us.
through crests and troughs, life and death. The				In 1899 the two hundred year period of Dwapar
essence of this Vedic insight was reintroduced to the				Sandhi came to an end and the two thousand years
world in 1894 by Gyan Avatar Swami Sri Yukteswar				long Dwapar Yuga began. This coming period will give
ji. His concise but ground breaking book, The Holy				us a real understanding of electricity and magnetism.
Science explains in detail the creation and sustenance				As Dwapar advances, communication will become
of this universe. The following is a summary of his				increasingly widespread and technologies will keep
teachings about the Yuga system.				emerging that will simplify this process.
We all know that our solar system has Sun at its				The mistake According to this new theory
center and the earth and the rest of the planets				propounded by Sri Yuteshwar, the Hindu almanacs do
move around it. Sun itself is a dual star and revolves				not show correctly the present Dwapar Yuga. The
around another star. According to the Vedic				astronomers and astrologers who calculate the
philosophy, this dual system of stars orbits around a				ephemeris maintain that the duration of Kali Yuga is
region in space called Vishnu Nabhi. This region is the				432000 years of which only 5103 years have passed
seat of creative intelligence. When Sun reaches				till 2003, leaving 426897 years still remaining.
closest to the Vishnu Nabhi, the Dharma (mental				Fortunately this is not true.
virtue) is at its peak and humans are close to God.				The reason for this mistake can be traced back to
They understand the creative principals which create				the reign of Raja Parikshit who lived around 700 BC.
this universe and make life on earth and elsewhere in				This was immediately after the completion of the last
the universe possible. When Sun reaches a point				descending Dwapar Yuga. At that time Maharaja
farthest from Vishnu Nabhi, Dharma is at its lowest				Yudhishthir noticing the approaching dark Kali Yuga,
ebb and humans lose all their understanding of the				relinquished his throne to his grandson Raja Parikshit
creative principals. We understand nothing higher than				and retired to the Himalayas. All the learned and wise
the grossest material creation.				men of his court migrated along with him and so
The autumnal equinox is the pointer to the position				there was no one left who could understand the
of the Sun in relation to the Vishnu Nabhi. When				principle of correctly calculating the age of the Yugas.
autumnal equinox falls in Aries, sun is closest to it.				After the completion of the 2400 years of the then
When autumnal equinox falls in Libra, the Sun is				current Dwapar Yuga, no one wanted to - and dared
farthest from it. It takes twelve thousand years for				to - announce the end of Dwapar and the beginning
the Sun to travel from the closest to the farthest				of the coming Kali Yuga.
point from Vishnu Nabhi.. At the end of this period				This wrong method of calculation in two steps went
The Sun swings around and again begins to advance				like this:
towards the seat of creative intelligence. Each of				First mistake The first year of kali Yuga was
these two periods of twelve thousand years is called				numbered 2401 along with the age of the now ended
a Daiva Yuga. When the Sun is moving away from				Dwapar Yuga. In AD 499 when the 1200 years of
Vishnu Nabhi, the Daiva Yuga is known as descending				the length of the true kali Yuga were complete, the
Yuga. Conversely when the Sun is moving closer to				age of kali Yuga was given as 2400+1200 = 3600
the grand center, the period is called ascending Daiva				years.
Yuga. Each Daiva Yuga brings about a complete				And the second As the Sun began to move towards
change in our external world as well as in our thinking				the Vishnu Nabhi or grand center the intellectual
process. In twenty-four thousand years the Sun				power of man began to rise. The mistake in the
completes one ascending and one descending Daiva				almanacs thus came to the notice of the Pundits
yuga.				living at that time. They found that the ancient Rishis
The growth and decay of Dharma is a slow and				had fixed the duration of the kali Yuga at only 1200
gradual process and is divided into four different and				years. They could however make out only the
distinct stages in a period of twelve thousand years.				mistake and not the reason for it. They interpreted
As mentioned above the Sun takes twenty four				that the 1200 years of the real age of kali were not
thousand years to complete one orbit around Vishnu				solar years but so many Daiva years. Each Daiva
Nabhi or grand center. 1/20th portion of this period or				year was supposed to contain 12 Daiva months and
twelve hundred years is called Kali Yuga. Dharma				each Daiva month was supposed to contain 30 Daiva
during this period is only a quarter developed. The				days. Further each Daiva Day was taken to be equal
human intellect can not understand anything beyond				to one solar year of our earth.
the simple process of living like eating, sleeping and				The simple mathematical calculation went like this.
procreating.				1200 (Age of Kali Yug) X 12 (Daiva months) X 30
The period of 2400 years during which the Sun				(Daiva days) = 432000 (Daiva Days)
passes through the 2/20th portion of twenty four				Since each Daiva day equals one solar year,
thousand years is called Dwapar Yuga. Dharma at this				therefore total length of Kali Yuga is 432000 years.
point is in its second stage of development. It is only				The ephemeris shows that the autumnal equinox
half complete. Humans can understand the electricities				now to be almost 23.85º from the first degree of
and their properties which are the creating principals				Aries. This shows through a simple calculation that
of the external world.				1705 years have passed since the time that the
The period of thirty six hundred years during which				equinox began to recede from the first degrees of
the Sun passes through the 3/20th portion of its				Aries.
orbit is called Treta Yuga. Dharma at this stage is				Deducting 1200 years (The age of kali Yuga) from
three quarters developed. This enables us to				1705 we get a figure of 505 years to show the
understand the divine magnetism which is the source				present year of our world's entry into the Dwapar
of all electricities and electrical forces on which				Yuga.
creation is dependent for existence.				The present year is thus 505 Dwapar.
The period of forty eight hundred years during which				As time passes this view mentioned above will gain
the Sun passes through the 4/20th portion of its				ground and replace the old one which gives hugely
orbit is called Satya Yuga. At this stage the				inflated number of years for each Yug.
development of Dharma is complete and we can				Resonance of this view The only other people who
understand all principals of creation including God.				kept meticulous track of time like us were Mayan of
This is the English rendition of the relevant portion				South America. They were no strangers to our
from Manu Smriti				forefathers. Mayans have been mentioned twice in
Four thousand years is said to be the Krita Yuga				our epics. Once in Ramayan and the second time in
(Satya Yuga). Its morning has as many hundreds, and				Mahabharat. In both instances they are depicted as
its evening is of the same length. (400+4000+400 =				master builders and technologically advanced race.
4800). In the other three ages, with their morning				Their calendar is very similar to ours and corresponds
and evening twilights, the thousands and hundreds				to our Yug system.
decrease by one. (i.e. 300+3000+300 = 3600 and so				Calculations from Mahabharat Scholars from across
on...). That fourfold cycle comprising twelve thousand				the world came together, for the first time, in an
years is called an Age of the gods. The sum of a				attempt to establish the 'Date of Kurukshetra War
thousand divine ages constitutes one day of Brahma,				based on astronomical data.' Undoubtedly, it was a
and of the same length is its night.				comprehensive presentation of information in a
Manu specifically mentions earth years, nowhere does				discussion group, held on January 5 and 6, 2003 at
he say celestial years.				the Mythic Society, Bangalore.
The period of Satya Yuga proper is four thousand				Scholars analyzed the astrological information present
years in duration. Four hundred years before and				in Mahabharat and their estimates varied from 2067
after the Satya Yuga are its Sandhis or junctions				BC to 1478 BC. This is roughly in accordance with the
with preceding and succeeding Treta Yuga where the				Dwapar period given by our revised theory.
gradual changes in the nature of the Yuga take place.				I feel that we should be open to new ideas when
Thus forty eight hundred years in all is the total age				dealing with ancient Indian history. It has been
of the Satya Yuga. Manu has laid down that in the				misrepresented and misinterpreted due to many
calculation of the periods of the other Yugas, numeral				reasons and needs a fresh look.
one should be subtracted from the number of both				I am deeply indebted to the teachings of Shri
thousands and hundreds which indicate the periods of				Yukteshwar who was the Guru of Swami
the previous Yugas and Sandhis. From this rule the				Paramhansa Yogananda.

Yogananda Dif

Time, is it Cyclical Or Linear? A Fresh Look at the Ancient Vedic Yug System

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