FW: [indiadivine] Q & A: The qualities of Kali-yuga

[Guest guest]

Respected Shri Sadagopan and the Group Members,

 

I am forwarding herewith a mail, which again is part of a Information Sharing group's mail, which I thought

of sharing with you.

 

 

Warm regards,

 

Krishnan S

Chennai

 

 

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> Why is the Kali-yuga (the present age)

> considered the most sinful of ages.

 

[Note: Kali-yuga means the " age of quarrel " and refers to the 432,000

year period we are presently in. It began approximately 5,100 years

ago. For those who are unfamiliar with this terminology, the Kali-yuga

has no connection with the deity Kali (who is a goddess).]

 

Of all the yugas the Kali-yuga has been described in the shastras as

the worst. The Bhagavata Purana describes and defines the qualities of

Kali-yuga as follows:

 

yada mayanritam tandra

nidra himsa vishadanam

shoka-mohau bhayam dainyam

sa kalis tamasah smritah

 

" When there is a predominance of cheating, lying, sloth, sleepiness,

violence, depression, lamentation, bewilderment, fear and poverty,

that age is Kali, the age of the mode of ignorance. "

 

Why these qualities develop is further explained:

 

prayena martya bhagavantam acyutam

yakshyanti pashanda-vibhinna-cetasah

 

" In the Kali-yuga the human beings will not offer sacrifice to God

because their intelligence will be diverted by atheism. "

 

dharmam vakshyanty adharma-jna

adhiruhyottamasanam

 

" Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and

presume to speak on religious principles. "

 

vedah pashanda-dushitah

 

" The Vedas will be contaminated by the speculative interpretations of

atheists. "

 

Thus with the degradation of religion, and the rise of atheistic

thought, all sacrifice to God will be stopped. Human life is unique

among all forms of life in that it alone offers the opportunity for

spiritual advancement. Due to the fully blossomed mental faculties,

the human is able to inquire into the source of everything, the

absolute truth. Without this inquiry, the human being is essentially

no better than a common animal. The scriptures describe such people as

dvi-pada pashu, or " two legged animals " ). Thus such a society without

spiritual endeavour is nothing more than an animalistic society of

cats and dogs. Among the cats and dogs we do not expect there to be

peace and harmony. Likewise, when human beings live in animalistic

consciousness, we cannot expect there to be any peace in the society -

there will be only war (kalih). Thus the situation becomes the " age of

war " , or kali-yuga.

 

Some of the other qualities of the age are described as follows:

 

na rakshishyanti manujah

sthavirau pitarav api

 

" Men will no longer protect their elderly parents. "

 

durbiksha-kara-karshitah

 

" The people will become emaciated by famine and taxation. "

 

nityam udvigna-manaso

 

" Their minds will constantly be disturbed and agitated. "

 

rajanash ca praja-bhakshah

 

" The politicians will virtually eat their citizens. "

 

dasyutkrishta janapada

 

" The cities will be dominated by theives. "

 

vittam eva kalau nrinam

janmacara-gunodayah

dharma-nyay-vyavasthayam

karanam balam eva hi

 

" In the Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man's

good birth, proper behaviour and fine qualities. And law and justice

will be applied only on the basis of one's power. "

 

vipratve sutram eva hi

 

" One will be known as a brahmana simply by wearing a thread (not by

one's qualities or knowledge). "

 

tatash canu-dinam dharmah

satyam shaucam kshama daya

kalena balina rajan

nankshyaty ayur balam smritih

 

" Truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life,

physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of

the powerful influence of the age of Kali. "

 

The four yugas (satya, treta, dvapara, and kali) rotate like seasons.

Just as certain seasons have particular qualities (summer is hot,

winter is cold), so each cosmic age has particular qualities. In the

Satya yuga (the age of truth) the entire population is religious and

self-satisfied. Their aim is only self realization. All of the godly

qualities are present in the Satya yuga.

 

Due to the influence of time, all things degrade and decay. Thus as

the age passes from Satya-yuga to Treta-yuga, the subtle qualities of

people degrade, and thus there is a loss of truthfullness, austerity,

mercy, etc. As the time passes from one age to the next, one quarter

of all good qualities and religion are lost. Thus as the Treta-yuga

begins, only 75% of the people are interested in spiritual activities.

Then as the Dvapara-yuga begins, only 50% of the population is

interested in God consciousness. Finally as the Kali-yuga begins, only

25% of the population is interested in religion, and this number

gradually reduces to zero, at which time the Lord incarnates as the

Kalki avatara to put an end to the Kali yuga and bring about a new

cosmic cycle of time beginning again with the Satya-yuga.

 

Just as the good qualities of the people degrade, in the same way

their life spans also decrease from age to age. In the Satya yuga, the

life span is 100,000 years. In the Treta yuga, the life span is only

10,000 years, or one tenth that of the Satya-yuga. In the Dvapara yuga

the life span is only 1,000 years, or one tenth that of the

Treta-yuga. And in the Kali-yuga the life span is only 100 years, or

one tenth that of the Dvapara-yuga. Gradually the maximum life span

decreases to less than 50 years: trimshad vimshati varshani paramayuh

kalau nrinam.

 

As people give up religious principles, which are based on sacrifice

to God, the nature withholds her natural resources. As a result of

degradation of one's mental and environmental states, the life spans

of the people automatically decrease. Along with the decrease of life,

all major qualities, such as strength, health, memory and intelligence

likewise decrease. As such the scriptures describe the inhabitants of

Kali-yuga as unfortunate and unlucky: mandah sumanda-matayo

manda-bhagya hy upadrutah

 

As people give up sacrifice, which is based on dharma, there will be a

scarcity of water, resulting in famine. The scriptures state:

 

annad bhavanti bhutani

parjanyad anna sambhavah

yajnad bhavati parjanyah

yajna karma samudbhavah

 

" All living entities subsist on food grains, and all food grains come

from rain. Rain is due to sacrifice, and sacrifice is based on

prescribed duties. "

 

As sacrifice is stopped, the rain will cease to fall. When the rain

stops, the grains will not grow. Without grains, the people will turn

to eating the flesh of other humans. Such will be the situation in the

age of Kali.

 

ittham kalau gata-praye

janeshu khara-dharmishu

dharma-tranaya sattvena

bhagavan avatarishyati

 

" Thus when the age of Kali is almost finished and the people have

assumed the qualities of asses, the Lord will incarnate for the

deliverance of the eternal religion (as Kalki Bhagavan). "

 

Yet, despite all of these faults, the scriptures declare there to be

one great quality of Kali-yuga:

 

kaler dosha-nidhe rajann

asti hy eko maha gunah

kirtanad eva krishnasya

mukta-sangah param vrajet

 

" Although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good

quality about this age: simply by chanting the names of Krishna, one

can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the

transcendental kingdom. "

 

In other yugas, the yuga-dharma (process of self-realization for the

age) is much more difficult. For example, in the satya-yuga, the

yuga-dharma is ashtanga-yoga. People would have to live alone in the

forests and engage in severe austerities and meditation for thousands

of years to come to the platform of self-realization. Such a process

is difficult even in the exalted age of satya-yuga. In the kali-yuga

the Lord gives us one very special benediction. Since we have lost all

good qualities, and since we have no proper qualification, the Lord

gives us the simplest and quickest method for self-realization -

chanting His holy names.

 

harer nama harer nama

harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nastyeva nastyeva

nastyeva gatir anyatha

 

" In the age of Kali there is no other way to attain the supreme

destination of life except the chanting of the names of Sri Hari.

There is no other way, no other way, no other way. "

 

Thus despite all of the sinful qualities of this age, we have the

greatest opportunity to advance spiritually. What the sages and rishis

spent thousands of years meditating for, we can attain simply by

mantra japam (chanting the Lord's name):

 

hare krishna, hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare,

hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare

 

For this reason the great sage Narada Muni has actually glorified the

age of kali as the best of all the yugas. The negative qualities are

no comparison to the great spiritual opportunity we are given in this

age. Please take advantage of this special mercy given by the Lord and

chant His holy names daily.

 

Yours in service,

 

Jahnava Nitai Das,

Bhaktivedanta Ashram &

Bhaktivedanta International Charities