Current War Marks End of Era

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>"Bhaktisiddhartha Dasanudas"

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>Current War Marks End of Era >Sat, 10 Aug 2002 18:48:41 -1000 >

> I Love Yoga! > >Current War Marks End of Era > >By Bhaktisiddhartha >

Dasanudas > >Dear Vrindavan das Prabhu, > >Whenever I speak publicly, give

Jyotish readings > or teach, people ask me >about the current war: is it World

War III? The end of the world? What >is its spiritual significance? > >First of

all don't worry, it's not the end of the world. We puny humans >hardly have the

ability to destroy this planet, designed and made by >intelligence and power

far superior to ours. If we get too far out of >line, Mother Nature will rein

us in with natural disasters, as is >happening already with global warming. >

>Let us begin by putting the current era into its astrological >perspective.

Vedic Astrology (Jyotish > ) divides historical time >into four Yugas of

decreasing spiritual purity. We are currently in the >fourth or Kali-yuga, and

sure enough, spiritual purity is at an all-time >low. > >In his excellent essay

on Brahma Vidya > , Sanjay Rath >describes the nuances of the Vedic yuga system.

Within the four yugas >are subdivisions of time called chakras. These are not

directly related >to the seven chakras of the body, but are so named because

they form a >circle of repeating time periods (chakra basically meaning

'wheel'). > >These chakras or sub-periods are based on the human lifespan in

>Kali-yuga, or 120 years. They are very similar in their effect to the >dashas

and maha-dashas in the Vedic astrological chart. If you have had >your Vedic

astrological reading > done, you know that these >planetary periods provide

very accurate predictions about the larger >phases of one's life. Similarly,

the chakras of the yugas provide >fine-grained predictions affecting the whole

of humanity. > >According to Rath, we are currently at the end of the first

Kali-chakra >of the Kali-yuga, and about to enter the first Krita-chakra of

>Kali-yuga. What does this mean? According to Rath, "The Kali-chakra has >seen

the development of the most powerful weapons for mass destruction >as well as

their use. Next year (2000), the entire cycle changes and >another Maha-chakra

begins with a Krita-chakra. Once again, the temples >will be built, Vedic

literature will flourish and a lot of good will >happen on this planet." > >We

have already seen the foundation for these changes with the advent of >Lord

Caitanya in India 500 years ago, >and the subsequent presentation of the

original Vedic spiritual >teachings for the first time in the Western

countries. My spiritual >master Bhaktivedanta Swami > translated and >published

many esoteric Vedic works > , never before accurately >rendered in English

according to the original tradition. He also made >thousands of disciples and

constructed many gorgeous temples in all >parts of the world, an unprecedented

feat. Surely this presages a new >era of global Vedic spirituality, as foretold

by the Jyotish seers. > >But we're not out of the woods yet. Transitions from

one yuga or chakra >to another do not happen overnight; they occur gradually,

the features >and qualities of one era gradually giving way and blending into

the >next. These intermediary periods are called sandhyas or junctions. While

>the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the preaching work of

>Bhaktivedanta Swami may have prepared a firm foundation for the coming >Golden

Age of spirituality, we still have a lot of cleaning up to do >from the previous

dark period. > >In the Puranas, or Vedic histories of the universe, we often see

>pralayas or periods of destruction in the sandhyas between the various >cycles

of time. There is a complete devastation of the material universe >at the end

of each day of Brahma, an inconceivably long period of time; >similarly, there

are also small local pralayas in the sandhyas >connecting the chakras of each

yuga. > >The current war cycle, beginning with World War I, represents the

>pralaya of the sandhya from the Kali-chakra of the Kali-yuga to the

>Krita-chakra of Kali-yuga. In other words, we are transitioning from a >very

dark materialistic period where ignorance was in ascendance, to a >lighter

period in which enlightenment will again properly become the >theme of human

life. But before the new age of the Krita-chakra can be >properly established,

so many social institutions and other structures >built up in the Kali-chakra

will have to be destroyed. > >Thus in the present war, we see the forces of

Christian fundamentalism >arrayed against the forces of Islamic fundamentalism.

Both claim >ascendancy, and both seem to be willing to fight to the end, and to

>invoke the terrible destructive forces of Armageddon. Why? Just to make >a

point? > >No, both materialistic forces are fossils of the Kali-chakra and are

>being used to destroy one another to prepare for the coming age of >light.

Just as one thorn is used to uproot another, then both are thrown >away, the

overwhelming military power of the Christian world will be >used to uproot the

devious entrenchment of Islamic terrorism. In the >process, both will be

destroyed and transformed. There is likely to be >considerable collateral

damage, and a good many people will probably >die. > >While this is certainly

not good news, neither is it the end of the >world. A sandhya between two

chakras is a relatively small pralaya. And >there is a wonderful silver lining:

the immanent dawn of the >Krita-chakra: Lord Caitanya's Golden Age. > >There is

more evidence of this change. In 1991 I had the good fortune to >attend a

retreat with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a remote lake in >the Vermont

woods. During that retreat, which was only for monks, the >Dalai Lama revealed

in a private audience that he was the last >incarnation of the Dalai Lama. >

>"I am the last Dalai Lama," he said, "there will be no more Dalai Lama >after

me." When I asked him why, he replied, "You are a disciple of >Bhaktivedanta.

You should understand that now there is no more need for >me here. Tibetan

Buddhism is the past; your instructions are for the >future. This is a very

wonderful thing." Then he laughed. At least the >Dalai Lama has the wisdom to

accept the inevitability of the coming >changes, and make a graceful exit from

the scene in harmony with the >times, befitting his exalted spiritual status. >

>We also see that in general, the religious organizations and moral >structures

meant to guide people in the past age are in advanced stages >of corruption and

decay. We do not need to detail the gradual >disintegration of Christianity into

thousands of bitterly competing >sects, the fall of the Islamic jihad from proud

warriors to cowardly >terrorists, the lie factory that modern corporate life has

become, or >the covert war of government against the people that characterizes

>contemporary so-called democracy. These have all been adequately >described by

others. > >All these rotten structures are due to be replaced by something far

>finer and better. They require only a good shove to come crashing down,

>clearing the way for a new, more spiritual society. Just as a farmer >burns

his field before planting new crops, the devastation of the coming >war will

clear the way for the real new age, the Golden Age of Lord >Caitanya. > >This

is not a matter for lamentation. This material life is temporary. >Life and

death, pleasure and pain, war and peace come and go, but >spiritual existence

is eternal. The Vedas teach that the soul can never >be killed or hurt by any

material force. Our experience in this world is >just to teach us, by its hard

lessons, the same spiritual truths freely >given in the Vedas but ignored by

the vast majority of people of the >world. > >What is the cure? Our spiritual

duty is eternal: "Just try to learn the >truth by accepting a bona-fide

spiritual master. Inquire submissively >and render service unto him. The

self-realized soul can impart knowledge >unto you because he has seen the

truth. And when you have thus learned >the truth, you will know that all living

beings are but part of Me-and >that they are in Me, and are Mine."

[bhagavad-gita As It Is > , 4.34-5] > >I hope this sheds some light on the

meaning of the current war, and >helps to put it in perspective. > >Hare Krsna!

All good fortune to you! > >Bhaktisiddhartha Dasanudas >www.iloveyoga.org

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