Every mythology believes that mankind once lived a life of great glory and gradually met their mortality as they embraced evilness. Different mythologies describe this change differently.
As for Abrahamic religions this transition is described by the event of Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree. Greeks relate it to the myths of the seven ages of men. All of these beliefs acknowledge that this declination of humanity is tangled up with time.
Time In Western Vs. Eastern Cultures
It is notable that many of the mythologies consider this descent a linear process that is after reaching the lowest level of humanity mankind will drive themselves towards extinction and their entire existence would be destroyed.
But interestingly eastern beliefs such as Hinduism consider time as nonlinear and as the binding factor which connects all of existence. So as for these beliefs all of existence is in a harmonious presence depending on each other. The more one tries to break out from this connection and try to proclaim superiority the more miserable life becomes. A conscious mind has the capability to realize this connection and to connect with it. as for Hinduism divinity lies within the human consciousness.
Because time is not considered a linear dimension Hindus believe that the state of consciousness of the human mind is in a cycle of time rising to its consciousness at a certain period and gradually losing it only to regain the supreme consciousness again.
What Is Yuga Cycle
This cycle is called the Yuga cycle which means the world cycle. The Yuga cycle not only connects with humans but with all of existence. It is said that the entire existence revolves around a great star or a greater system.
This greater star is believed to be located not at the center but at one of the ends of the circle around which the existence revolves.
When the existence gets closer to the great star all of its inhabitants rise to a higher level to greater power and consciousness. When they move away from the star the greatness declines and the existence gets governed by hate and destruction.
Especially humans would have a very low consciousness and morality will be almost lost when our system which simply could be thought of as the solar system is away from the superstar.
As the Yuga Cycle proceeds it is mentioned that 10 avatars of Vishnu would appear in the human world. These 10 avatars are known as the Dashavatar.
Four Yugas In The Yuga Cycle
Depending on the position and the effect of the great star on our system the Yuga cycle is divided into 4 main yugas which means world ages. They are
Each of these Yugas corresponds to a period in relation to humanity’s level of spiritual awareness.
Yuga Cycle And Long Dice Game
As for some sources such as Rigveda and Atharvaveda it is described that the terms Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali were initially used in an Indian game of long dice.
Each of these terms was used to describe "a lucky throw", "the highest throw", "victorious throw" and "unlucky throw" respectively in the game. In the Yuga cycle as well these terms are used in a similar context.
How The Yugas Are Spanned In Yuga Cycle
These 4 yugas Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali are divided in the ratio of 4:3:2:1 respectively. So the period in which the system is in the Satya yuga is much greater than in the Kali yuga.
It is mentioned that it takes 25920 years to complete a Yuga cycle. So it’ll take 12,960 years for the system we live in to complete half of the Yuga cycle.
During this half cycle the solar system would passes through all 4 stages. When the circle gets complete the solar system would end up where it started which is the beginning of the half of Satya yuga.
As for the ratio the four yugas are divided across the yuga cycle; out of 12960 years,
- Satya Yuga - 5184 years
- Treta yuga - 3888 years
- Dvapara yuga - 2592 years
- Kali yuga - 1296 years
So if you add all these years it should equal 12960 years. There are other accounts that state the time taken to complete a Yuga cycle is 12,000 divine years which in normal time would be 4,320,000 years.
Satya Yuga
The cycle starts with the Satya yuga which is the age of truth. This is the yuga that is closest to the great star. Because of the power of the great sun the creation including the human mind will beat its highest capability. It's an era of spirituality and not one of materialism.
Humans will be able to understand the connection with the universe to the fullest and would be able to fully tune their minds to it so that they can harness the power of the universe. This allows them to experience happiness and peace at its fullest.
It is also mentioned in some sources that the god Yama who is the god of death moral rules and justice will take the form of a bull and will stand on all four legs. The legs of the god Yama reduce by one in each yuga that follows.
Satya yuga is the equivalent to that of the golden period in the Ages of men according to Greek mythology.
The human ability to communicate will be at its best since every living being is connected. Through this connection humans will be able to use their thoughts not only to communicate with humans but with every other being who is connected to the universal link. So speech and language are not needed in this yuga.
Knowledge meditation and penance hold special importance in this era. The Mahabharata describes Satya Yuga as
"Men neither bought nor sold; there were no poor and no rich; there was no need to labour because all that men required was obtained by the power of will. the chief virtue was the abandonment of all worldly desires; The Satya Yuga was without disease; there was no lessening with the years; there was no hatred or vanity or evil thought whatsoever; no sorrow no fear. All mankind could attain to supreme blessedness."
Out of the four yugas humans would have the highest life expectancy in Satya yuga. They are also believed to have much closer contact with gods because of their awareness. There was no war famine or conflict among the human races. Also nature is at its highest essence so no species would fight for their survival and all live in harmony. But when reaching the end of the Satya yuga the spirituality starts to decline gradually.
4 of the 10 avatars of the god Vishnu is said to appear during the Satya yuga. Those are
- Matsya Avatar - Fish Incarnation
- Kurma Avatar - Tortoise Incarnation
- Vahara Avatar - Boar Incarnation
- Narasimha Avatar - Half-man Half-lion Incarnation
As the time nears the entering of the Treta Yuga a spirit of competition arises among humans and that results in a division of mankind into a caste system.
Treta yuga
After Satya yuga the solar system would enter the Treta yuga. This is the second-best yuga of the four yugas. The human consciousness would reduce to half of its consciousness during the period of the Satya yuga.
The bull of Yama stands on three legs during this period. This would be the equivalent of the silver age of men in Greek mythology.
Even so the human mind still capable of living a righteous life and attaining mindfulness with some effort.
Treta in Sanskrit means 'a collection of three things'. The period is named as such because during Treta Yuga 3 of Vishnu’s avatars are believed to appear.
These avatars are
- Vamana Avatar - Dwarf-god Incarnation
- Parashurama Avatar - Brahman Warrior Incarnation
- Rama - A Human Incarnation
Even though this yuga is still nonviolent division among humans starts to emerge. It is in this stage that mankind divided for the first time resulting in a social hierarchy. This division is mainly to facilitate the worship of the supreme being that governs the universe.
The main four classes of men that appeared in this period are
- Brahmanas
- Kshatriyas
- Vaishyas
- Sudras
Brahmanas continued to maintain their spirituality. It was their responsibility to guide the society toward spiritual wisdom.
Kshatriyas are the governors of the society. It is from this class that political entities such as kings and rulers emerged.
Men in Vaishyas class were the merchants. They showed excellency in commerce and industrial sectors.
The sudras are the workers and it is their duty to serve the other three classes.
Even with this division mankind lived in peace. There was no violence and each class understood its purpose and worked to fulfill it with morality.
Dvapara Yuga
After treta yuga comes the Dvapara yuga. The division among humans started to become more than the worship of the greater power and morality started to get weaken.
The bull avatar of the god Yama is said to be standing on two legs in this period.
In Sanskrit the term Dvapara yuga means "the age of two" which implies the two avatars of God Vishnu that will appear in this yuga.
People become more ambitious for achievement and power. The distinct drift between the castes could be seen in this era. This period is the equivalent of the bronze age in Greek classification.
Wars emerge to prove the strength of the other forming kingdoms and separating mankind furthermore with borders. Because of these conflicts humans moved further away from the universal harmony thereby losing peace among and within themselves.
All traditions across Hinduism agree that 2 avatars appeared in this period. but these avatars vary from tradition to tradition. The most famous avatars are
- Krishna
- Balarama
Interestingly these two avatars are referred to as brothers Balarama being the eldest brother of Krishna.
There is a story of mother earth taking a form of a helpless cow to meet Brahma who is the creator god. She pleaded with him to intervene in the destruction of humans.
So Brahma tasked Vishnu to appear in the human world as Krishna and destroy all the evil kings.
It is during this time Krishna appeared before the Pandava prince Arjun and spoke the famous Bhagavad-gita which teach Arjun to fight the war righteously.
Kali Yuga
The last and the worst of the four Yugas is the Kali yuga. This is considered to be the equivalent of the iron age of Greek mythology. It is an age of darkness where morality is at its lowest.
Some sources mention that the god Vishnu advising that there is no use in teaching meditation and spirituality to the human in this yuga. So the most one could do for them is to teach them how to be devoted.
The term Kali means "discord".
Kali yuga begins with the death of Krishna which returns Vishnu to the spiritual realm. That is because this age of darkness could not begin when a divine entity is present.
At this stage the bull of Yama stands on one leg. As for historical records it is believed that the god Krishna died in 3102 BCE so the Kali Yuga started in this year.
All living beings struggle to survive in this period as humans start to destroy not only themselves but also the nature around them. the world rules with materialism and not with morals.
Towards the end of this period it is believed the last avatar of Vishnu appears. This avatar is Lord Kalki. Kalki is described as a fearsome warrior. It is said he would ride a white horse with a flaming sword and kill all the unrighteous humans.
With his arrival the Kali Yuga ends and then enters the Dvapara yuga.
Conclusion
As the cycle proceeds the humans regain mindfulness and thereby heal all the damages they’ve created to themselves and to the nature around them. eventually the solar system enters the Satya yuga where all living creatures again live in harmony.
So the system we live in is in a continuous loop where the world gets destroyed by evilness only to be mended by righteousness and spirituality. The main contradiction the eastern believes have with the western culture is that time is not linear but a continuous loop and there is no beginning or end in time. It also brings out the importance of mindfulness and true inner peace lies with spirituality and not with materialism.
For true peace one should train the human mind to attain supreme blissfulness.
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