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Don't understand Yuga cycles

ronki23

Well-Known Member
Each yuga is an age with specific characteristics in which incarnations of Krsna appear. The four yugas make up a cycle called divya-yuga, which lasts 4,320,000 years. One thousand of these yugas equal one day of Brahma, which is called a kalpa. Brahma's lifespan is 100 years of his time. In each yuga there is a specific process of self-realization (yuga dharma).

SATYA YUGA - (sometimes also called krta-yuga): the golden age lasts 1,728,000 years. The process of self-realization in this yuga is meditation on Visnu. During this yuga the majority of the population is situated in the mode of goodness and the average life span at the beginning of the yuga is 100,000 years.

TRETA YUGA - also called the silver age, lasts 1,296,000 years and the process of self realization is the performance of opulent yajnas(sacrifices). The average life span is 10,000 years and the godly qualities decrease one fourth compared to the Satya yuga.
It is during this age that Varna-asrama-dharma is introduced.

DVAPARA YUGA - or the bronze age, lasts 864,000 years and the process of self realization is the worship of the deities within temples. Godly qualities are reduced to 50% by now and the average life expectancy is only 1000 years.

KALI YUGA - the iron age of hypocrisy and quarrel lasts 432,000 years. Lord Krsna appeared in His original, trancendental form right before the beginning of Kali Yuga. The process of self realization is sankirtana, the chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. God consciousness is reduced to 25% of the population and life expectancy is only 100 years. By now already 5000 years of Kali yuga have passed and it is predicted that by the end of the yuga people will hardly be older than 20 years and their only food will be meat.

Why are we humans subject to multiple Yugas?

How many days of Brahma in his lifespan? What happens at the end of Brahma's lifespan?

If Hinduism is scientific then how can humans live 100,000 years? 1 million years ago did we even have cavemen?

Sun is 5 billion years old, Earth is 4.5 billion years old, moon is 4 billion years old. Sun will be too hot for humans to live on Earth in 2 billion years; in 4 billion years the Sun will destroy Earth but we humans will be long gone as we'll have evolved multiple times or face multiple wipeouts.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I don’t try to understand it because it doesn’t affect my bhakti. I think these things are best left to the professional thinkers. Spending too much time on these subjects becomes a stumbling block to spiritual advancement.
 

George-ananda

Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism
Premium Member
I too have asked in the past how this information can marry with our mainstream understanding of reality. I suspect this Yuga understanding may not be worthless, but I haven't found intellectual satisfaction either.
 

Satyamavejayanti

Well-Known Member
"ronki23"

Namaste,

Why are we humans subject to multiple Yugas?

That is the nature of the cosmos for Hindus, asking why is everything cyclical is irrelevant, for Hindus this is just how time is measured,

How many days of Brahma in his lifespan? What happens at the end of Brahma's lifespan?
If Hinduism is scientific then how can humans live 100,000 years? 1 million years ago did we even have cavemen?

To answer these first one must learn about how time is measured in Hinduism. below links can help.

Hindu units of time - Wikipedia

You have to understand Hindu cosmology
below link can help

Hindu cosmology - Wikipedia

Vedic Time System - वेद Veda

Hope this helps
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Why are we humans subject to multiple Yugas?

How many days of Brahma in his lifespan? What happens at the end of Brahma's lifespan?

If Hinduism is scientific then how can humans live 100,000 years? 1 million years ago did we even have cavemen?

Sun is 5 billion years old, Earth is 4.5 billion years old, moon is 4 billion years old. Sun will be too hot for humans to live on Earth in 2 billion years; in 4 billion years the Sun will destroy Earth but we humans will be long gone as we'll have evolved multiple times or face multiple wipeouts.
Well, there was 19th Century and then the 20th and now 21st century, Yugas. Drawing lines at different times.
Pre-Cambrian, Phanerozoic, Cenozoic, Quarternary.
Pre-historical, Ancient, Medieval, Modern.
Similarly Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kaliyuga.

At the end of Brahma's life span, dissolution. Calculate, take out your calculator. Something like 311 trillion years.
Puranic tales. poetic exaggeration.
Earth will be unlivable for humans in about a billion years, that will be the final wipe-out for us (if not earlier). But Earth or Solar System is not the whole universe, the universe will carry on regardless.
 

ronki23

Well-Known Member
Well, there was 19th Century and then the 20th and now 21st century, Yugas. Drawing lines at different times.
Pre-Cambrian, Phanerozoic, Cenozoic, Quarternary.
Pre-historical, Ancient, Medieval, Modern.
Similarly Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kaliyuga.

At the end of Brahma's life span, dissolution. Calculate, take out your calculator. Something like 311 trillion years.
Puranic tales. poetic exaggeration.
Earth will be unlivable for humans in about a billion years, that will be the final wipe-out for us (if not earlier). But Earth or Solar System is not the whole universe, the universe will carry on regardless.

I don't understand; how can humans have lived to ages of 1000-100,000 years old?
And why are humans subject to anything less than Satya Yuga on multiple instances?

How long does Brahma live for? If/when Brahma dies then it's the end of material existence so who remains? Allah/Waheguru???
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
They don't. But children like exaggerations. Elders understand. You have not reached that stage that is why you are confused.
Progress is a double-edged sword. That gave us atom bombs and pollution.
As I said 311 trillion years. Nothing. Back to the great void.
 

Kapalika

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I think the amount of years given is to try impress on their scope. Unlike most religions Hinduism is very truly cosmic in it's depiction. The ages and timescales given are much closer to what we know from science than any other religion.

I hadn't considered it as exaggeration as Aup suggested, but that makes sense to me. I had previously considered it metaphorical but I think his explanation makes more sense.
 

ronki23

Well-Known Member
They don't. But children like exaggerations. Elders understand. You have not reached that stage that is why you are confused.
Progress is a double-edged sword. That gave us atom bombs and pollution.
As I said 311 trillion years. Nothing. Back to the great void.

So that means the only remaining thing once Brahma dies will be Waheguru/Allah/Parabrahman as Vishnu and Shiva are equal to Brahma
 
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