KalYuga – the Godless World
जय श्री गणेशा
Folks you might be thinking, what has this got to do with the life’s purpose.. To be able to understand the appreciate the next set of writings on this topic, it is important we understand the Life’s challenges in today’s Era or Yuga.
Yuga or युग represents an era in our Vedic ( वैदिक) Tradition. As per our Scriptures there are four Yugas viz: Satya (सत्य), Treta (त्रेता), Dwapara (द्वापर) and Kali (कलि).
More details about this you can find in many Vedic books, sites and in wiki as well.
We are currently in the Age of Kali ( Demon Kali) and this era has its specific set of Challenges as mentioned in “Shrimad Bhagavatam(श्रीमद भागवतम)” where Lord Shri Krishna (श्री कृष्ण) himself has explained about the current era or Kal Yuga:
What I want to bring to your notice are the certain verses in “Shrimad Bhagavatam(श्रीमद भागवतम)” where Lord Shri Krishna (श्री कृष्ण) himself has explained about the current era or Kal Yuga:
ततानु दिनं धर्मः सत्यं शौचं क्षमा दया।
कालेन बलिना राजन् नड्क्षय्यायुर्बलं स्मृतिः।।
कालेन बलिना राजन् नड्क्षय्यायुर्बलं स्मृतिः।।
“Religion, 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.”
वित्तमेव कलौ नॄणां जन्मचारगुणोदयः ।
धर्म न्याय व्यवस्थयं कारणं बलमेव हि।।
“In 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.”
“In 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.”
दाम्पत्येभिरुचिर हेतुर मायैव व्यावहारिके।
स्त्रीत्वे पुंस्तवे च हि रतिर्विप्रत्वे सूत्रमेवहि।।
“Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brahmana just by his wearing a thread”
“Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brahmana just by his wearing a thread”
लिड्गमेवाक्षमख्यातावनेयोन्यापत्तिकारणम्।
अवृत्तया न्यायदौर्बल्यं पांडिण्त्ये चापलं वचः।।
“A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. A person who doesn’t have money will not get justice And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.”
अनाढयतैवासाधुत्वे साधुत्वे दम्भ एव तु।
स्वीकार एव चोद्वाहे स्नानमेव प्रसाधनं ।।
“A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.”
दरे वार्ययनं तीर्थ लावण्यं केशधारणम्।
उदरंभरता स्वार्थ सत्य्त्वे धाष्टर्यमेव हि।
दक्ष्यं कुटुंबभरणं यसोर्थे धर्मसेवनं।।
“A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation”
आत्छिन्नदारद्रविणा याय्स्न्तिगिरिकाननम्।
शाकमूलामिषक्षौद्रफलपुष्पाष्टिभोजनाः।।
अनावृष्टया व्याधिभिश्चैव सन्तप्स्यन्ते च चिन्या।
शीतवीतीवपप्रावृड्हिमैरन्योन्यतः प्रजाः।।
“Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined. The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety”
तस्मात् क्षुद्र-दर्सो मर्त्यः क्षुद्र-भाग्यमहास्नः कामीनोवित्तहिनः च स्वैरिनवः च स्त्रीवोसतिः
“Because of the bad qualities of the age of Kali, human beings will become shortsighted, unfortunate, gluttonous, lustful and poverty-stricken. The women and men, becoming unchaste, will freely wander from one man to the next”
क्षित्तृड्भ्या व्याधिभिश्चैव सन्तप्स्यन्ते च चिन्चया।
त्रिंशद्विंशतिवर्षाणि परमायुः कलौ नृणाम्।।
“The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali Yuga will become very less from 30 to 50 years”
These are some of the dark prophecies which have been made in the Srimad Bhagwatam which
have been narrated by Lord Shri Krishna (श्री कृष्ण ) himself
कलेर दोष-निधे राजन अस्ति ह्येको महागुणः।
कीर्तनाद एव श्री कृष्णस्य मुक्त-संघः परं व्रजेत।
However, God always takes care of his devotees and has also provided the necessary remedial measures for these hardships.So as mentioned in the Sloka above, in these dark times, one can become free from material bondage and experience the bliss of the Lord’s transcendental kingdom just by chanting the names of Lord Shri Krishna through SatSang (सत्संग) and SanKirtan (संकीर्तन)
If you look closely at the verses, they are very apocalyptic and talk about the challenges in this Era which the natives will have to endure and many of them are already true and let us all hope not all of them come true…
From my perception, Kal Yuga tends to make people Godless where people continue to pursue only material desires and lose their connection with the Spiritual Self and in effect with the Paramatma(परमात्मा) and in the process are always groping in darkness agitated and fearful.
Darkness gives rise to unfounded fears, superstitions, boastfulness, deceit, full-hardiness and utter disregard to the value system and rules.
Materialistic nature of today’s world has made human relations driven by the material gain one can derive from each other or rather people want to make friends and relations only with people which benefits them in the material world
At the same time, people being very overtly materialistic and always in the questioning mode, Scientific knowledge and experiential knowledge has been able to make a lot of progress where lot of new knowledge, new devices of communication, modern engineering, advances in medicine has all led to a perceived improvement in human lives….
In spite of these technological advancements in human life, people continue to suffer and we can see many successful people and celebrities saying they are not happy being so successful materially..
We also see the people in power misusing their position and power to their advantage and corruption being rampant..
People are more worried about their social position and how people perceive them rather than their own view of themselves
Many people follow religious practices due to fear and superstition and due to peer pressure..
People are running away from social and family responsibilities and compassion & adjustment is no more a virtue leading to divorces and non committal relationships..
Why things are like this in Kal Yuga is a topic of discussion on its own and we will take it up some other day….
All this quite clearly shows, we are living in a world where we are living in has lost the connection with the Soul and to the Spiritual World leading to the path to the Paramatma..
We are at the end Jeevatma (जीवात्मा) and always desiring to reach the Paramatma (परमात्मा) or GOD
To explain this in short, I ask all of you do a simple exercise:
“Close your eyes and relax for breath for 60 seconds and ask yourself the question what really makes you Happy”
Some of you will think about your childhood days, some about the time you spend with your kid, who are into Music will think about the songs you sing and the instruments you play and some might think of the early morning walks and runs and nature trips.
Some of you might also think about college days and some might think about visiting temples and places of worship and historical places…
The choices vary, but I can assure you none will associate the true sense of happiness to your Material gain like increase in Pay Cheque.. People new to job might still remember the day when the got their first salary but over a period of time, it loses its significance and becomes mostly an event which we all look forward to as our Security but not the source of Happiness…
In the next topic, we will talk about what is the relation of the Jeevatma to the Parmatma or GOD and in the process to the Universe and then how do we understand and decipher the soul’s need
धन्यवाद्
References:
https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/16-most-amazing-predictions-for-kali-yuga/157984
दक्ष्यं कुटुंबभरणं यसोर्थे धर्मसेवनं।।
“A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation”
आत्छिन्नदारद्रविणा याय्स्न्तिगिरिकाननम्।
शाकमूलामिषक्षौद्रफलपुष्पाष्टिभोजनाः।।
अनावृष्टया व्याधिभिश्चैव सन्तप्स्यन्ते च चिन्या।
शीतवीतीवपप्रावृड्हिमैरन्योन्यतः प्रजाः।।
“Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined. The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety”
तस्मात् क्षुद्र-दर्सो मर्त्यः क्षुद्र-भाग्यमहास्नः कामीनोवित्तहिनः च स्वैरिनवः च स्त्रीवोसतिः
“Because of the bad qualities of the age of Kali, human beings will become shortsighted, unfortunate, gluttonous, lustful and poverty-stricken. The women and men, becoming unchaste, will freely wander from one man to the next”
क्षित्तृड्भ्या व्याधिभिश्चैव सन्तप्स्यन्ते च चिन्चया।
त्रिंशद्विंशतिवर्षाणि परमायुः कलौ नृणाम्।।
“The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali Yuga will become very less from 30 to 50 years”
These are some of the dark prophecies which have been made in the Srimad Bhagwatam which
have been narrated by Lord Shri Krishna (श्री कृष्ण ) himself
कलेर दोष-निधे राजन अस्ति ह्येको महागुणः।
कीर्तनाद एव श्री कृष्णस्य मुक्त-संघः परं व्रजेत।
However, God always takes care of his devotees and has also provided the necessary remedial measures for these hardships.So as mentioned in the Sloka above, in these dark times, one can become free from material bondage and experience the bliss of the Lord’s transcendental kingdom just by chanting the names of Lord Shri Krishna through SatSang (सत्संग) and SanKirtan (संकीर्तन)
If you look closely at the verses, they are very apocalyptic and talk about the challenges in this Era which the natives will have to endure and many of them are already true and let us all hope not all of them come true…
From my perception, Kal Yuga tends to make people Godless where people continue to pursue only material desires and lose their connection with the Spiritual Self and in effect with the Paramatma(परमात्मा) and in the process are always groping in darkness agitated and fearful.
Darkness gives rise to unfounded fears, superstitions, boastfulness, deceit, full-hardiness and utter disregard to the value system and rules.
Materialistic nature of today’s world has made human relations driven by the material gain one can derive from each other or rather people want to make friends and relations only with people which benefits them in the material world
At the same time, people being very overtly materialistic and always in the questioning mode, Scientific knowledge and experiential knowledge has been able to make a lot of progress where lot of new knowledge, new devices of communication, modern engineering, advances in medicine has all led to a perceived improvement in human lives….
In spite of these technological advancements in human life, people continue to suffer and we can see many successful people and celebrities saying they are not happy being so successful materially..
We also see the people in power misusing their position and power to their advantage and corruption being rampant..
People are more worried about their social position and how people perceive them rather than their own view of themselves
Many people follow religious practices due to fear and superstition and due to peer pressure..
People are running away from social and family responsibilities and compassion & adjustment is no more a virtue leading to divorces and non committal relationships..
Why things are like this in Kal Yuga is a topic of discussion on its own and we will take it up some other day….
All this quite clearly shows, we are living in a world where we are living in has lost the connection with the Soul and to the Spiritual World leading to the path to the Paramatma..
We are at the end Jeevatma (जीवात्मा) and always desiring to reach the Paramatma (परमात्मा) or GOD
To explain this in short, I ask all of you do a simple exercise:
“Close your eyes and relax for breath for 60 seconds and ask yourself the question what really makes you Happy”
Some of you will think about your childhood days, some about the time you spend with your kid, who are into Music will think about the songs you sing and the instruments you play and some might think of the early morning walks and runs and nature trips.
Some of you might also think about college days and some might think about visiting temples and places of worship and historical places…
The choices vary, but I can assure you none will associate the true sense of happiness to your Material gain like increase in Pay Cheque.. People new to job might still remember the day when the got their first salary but over a period of time, it loses its significance and becomes mostly an event which we all look forward to as our Security but not the source of Happiness…
In the next topic, we will talk about what is the relation of the Jeevatma to the Parmatma or GOD and in the process to the Universe and then how do we understand and decipher the soul’s need
धन्यवाद्
References:
https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/16-most-amazing-predictions-for-kali-yuga/157984
https://prabhupadabooks.com/pdf/SB3.1.pdf
https://www.bhaskar.com/news/JM-JKR-DGRA-UTLT-infog-10-prediction-about-kalyug-in-bhagwat-geeta-5775909-PHO.html
