Yuga - Patterns in time - 1

    Rishis embodied wisdom. They didn’t make Nostradamus style predictions. But they made more incisive behavioral predictions and we see them true as what Veda Vyasa described as Kali Yuga’s patterns. We understood more from Parikshit’s interactions with Kali on where his domain resides. It may benefit us to take a big picture and visualize the different concepts of Yugas. Yuga is a measure of time. On a cosmic scale, it measures in hundreds of thousands of years. But at a human level, it is measured more in gunas, human behavior and mindset.

 

   Srimad Bhagavatam repeatedly reiterates the above idea. We earlier saw in Parikshit encountering Dharma as a bull. The same idea that was introduced in Chapter 17 of Canto 1 is finding traction in the final Canto 12, Chapter 2.

ततश्चानुदिनं धर्म: सत्यं शौचं क्षमा दया । कालेन बलिना राजन् नङ्‌क्ष्यत्यायुर्बलं स्मृति: ॥ (SB 12-2-1)

tataś cānu-dinaṁ dharmaḥ satyaṁ śaucaṁ kṣamā dayā kālena balinā rājan naṅkṣyaty āyur balaṁ smṛtiḥ

Due to the adverse effect of time, in the age of Kali, Dharma, Truth, cleanliness, Forgiveness/Tolerance, Compassion, lifespan, physical strength and memory will diminish with every passing day.

    This sloka once again reminds that Dharma as defined through satyaṁ śaucaṁ kṣamā dayā is the yardstick used for measuring the yuga amongst humans. The degree to which their potential is maximized defines the Yuga pattern. Let us capitalize on Parikshit’s question to Sri Suka on what are the patterns that exists in different Yugas, the evils seen in Kali and how to protect oneself from it.

How does Guna change play out? Let us look at a simple fan. It has an on-off switch and a regulator usually with different settings. It takes a combination of both to have the fan run at a desired speed. Even if the regulator is set to high, but the fan is switched off, it won’t run. Let us reimagine this analogy. There is a switch that can be pointed to Dharma or Kama. Unlike our fan where electricity can be stopped, in the analogy, Karma is the electricity, but it cannot be blocked, implying a nonstop action mode. The regulator usually has different modes 0-3 and in our analogy we have Tamas, Rajas-Tamas, Rajas and Sattva as the different options. These are preset options in the analogy. But in real life our Gunas are affected by Karma and Karma is affected in turn by the Gunas. There is a cyclical impact on each other so much that we can GunaKarma always together.

    Vyasa’s powerful insight is to enlighten us that what happens in an individual gets exaggerated in the society, resulting in Dharma’s existence expressed as different Yugas. We see Varnas as Gunakarma expression in an individual, when subject to different stages of life, the same exudes as Ashrama. But when GunaKarma plays out as a trend in the society manifesting as its major facet, it spans much longer due to its momentum and can impact generations upon generations. In Varnas – a spiritual insight, we saw how GunaKarma plays out in the individual.

    In this three part series, Vyasa explains how the same acts at societal level. We compare the different yugas in the first, followed by the traits and impact of Kali and finally how to remain immune and escape from the clutches of Kali.

Yugas and their nature:

    The idea of Dharma as the unit of measurement is reiterated time and again. Definitely Yuga is a unit of time. Nonetheless, Vyasa’s focus seems to be on Dharma as the framework to define it. It is evident that the term was used for both cosmological unit of time measurement as well as classifying the tendency of the masses in a given period of time, based on dharmic adherence, giving rise to a conflated notion dominated by the former. Let use Vyasa’s lens to study the Yugas by teasing out his statements and regrouping for the ease of our understanding.

Krita (Satya)Yuga: Krita has all the four legs of Dharma – Satya, Daya, Tapas and Dana fully developed. (Note: Dana and Shaucha seem to be interchangeably used as one state results in the other) The emphasis is that Dharma is well rounded and fully established - (कृते प्रवर्तते धर्मश्चतुष्पात्तज्जनैर्धृत: । सत्यं दया तपो दानमिति पादा विभोर्नृप ॥ kṛte pravartate dharmaś catuṣ-pāt taj-janair dhṛtaḥ satyaṁ dayā tapo dānam iti pādā vibhor nṛpa SB 12-3-18).

    Vyasa goes a step deeper by analyzing the Gunas that form the very fabric of Prakriti. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the three Gunas which influence the material world by its combinations. His insights provide deep ramifications as we understand that Gunas are the framework for the society, be it Varnasharma or the modern adhoc one.

    In Krita Yuga, the Gunas are manifest as contentment, compassion, friendliness, tranquil, self-controlled, forbearing, finds peace in one’s true self(Atman), possessed of equal vision and always endeavor for spiritual perfection. (सन्तुष्टा: करुणा मैत्रा: शान्ता दान्तास्तितिक्षव: । आत्मारामा: समद‍ृश: प्रायश: श्रमणा जना: ॥ santuṣṭāḥ karuṇā maitrāḥ
śāntā dāntās titikṣavaḥ ātmārāmāḥ sama-dṛśaḥ prāyaśaḥ śramaṇā janāḥ SB 12-3-19)

    The Gunas are dominated by Sattva in Krita Yuga, hence it is also referred as Satya Yuga. People take deep interest in attaining higher levels of Knowledge and austerity. (प्रभवन्ति यदा सत्त्वे मनोबुद्धीन्द्रियाणि च । तदा कृतयुगं विद्याज्ज्ञाने तपसि यद् रुचि: ॥ prabhavanti yadā sattve mano-buddhīndriyāṇi ca tadā kṛta-yugaṁ vidyāj
jñāne tapasi yad ruciḥ SB 12-3-27)

Treta Yuga: There is a serious impact on the Gunas and the legs of Dharma shrink by a fourth. Adharma creeps over the space vacated by Dharma. It manifests itself as untruth (lying), violence, discontent and quarrel. (त्रेतायां धर्मपादानां तुर्यांशो हीयते शनै: ।
अधर्मपादैरनृतहिंसासन्तोषविग्रहै: ॥ tretāyāṁ dharma-pādānāṁ turyāṁśo hīyate śanaiḥ
adharma-pādair anṛta- hiṁṣāsantoṣa-vigrahaiḥ SB 12-3-20)

    Treta Yuga is dominated by devotion to rituals and austerities. They are not driven to violence and strong emotions and are free from strong lustful gratifications. Their mind is equally interested in the three vargas – Dharma, Artha and Kama. They have a strong affinity to the three Vedas and most people in the society will be Brahmanas. This is a clear clue that Varna is based on GunaKarma and not the degenerated caste system of today. (तदा क्रियातपोनिष्ठा नातिहिंस्रा न लम्पटा: । त्रैवर्गिकास्त्रयीवृद्धा वर्णा ब्रह्मोत्तरा नृप ॥ tadā kriyā-tapo-niṣṭhā nāti-hiṁsrā na lampaṭāḥtrai-vargikās trayī-vṛddhā varṇā brahmottarā nṛpa SB 12-3-21)

    Due to the lost focus on Atman and Jnana and settling for Dharma, Artha and Kama, there is emergence of Rajas. Though devoted to their duties, the masses are driven by desires and even duties are for a sense of honor. Bhakti becomes the vehicle instead of Jnana, but the emphasis is on rituals and austerities.

Dwapara Yuga: As Dharma is further weakened by another quarter to half the original, Treta Yuga descends to Dwapara. The qualities of tapas, satya, daya and dana stand no match to the ravages of time. These noble ideas get replaced by violence, untruth, discontent and animosity. (तप:सत्यदयादानेष्वर्धं ह्रस्वति द्वापरे । हिंसातुष्टय‍नृतद्वेषैर्धर्मस्याधर्मलक्षणै: ॥ tapaḥ-satya-dayā-dāneṣv ardhaṁ hrasvati dvāpare hiṁsātuṣṭy-anṛta-dveṣair dharmasyādharma-lakṣaṇaiḥ SB 12-3-22)

    The dominant Varnas(mindset) will be that of Kshatriya and Brahmana, who are extremely motivated by the desire of fame, perform yagas and yagnas, indulge in the study of Vedas. They possess wealth and are joyous with their large families. (यशस्विनो महाशीला: स्वाध्यायाध्ययने रता: । आढ्या: कुटुम्बिनो हृष्टा वर्णा: क्षत्रद्विजोत्तरा: ॥ yaśasvino mahā-śīlāḥ svādhyāyādhyayane ratāḥ āḍhyāḥ kuṭumbino hṛṣṭā varṇāḥ kṣatra-dvijottarāḥ SB 12-3-24) One can see a swing from Dharma towards more Kama, but the momentum of the past Yugas, keeps dharma on life support.

    It is important to realize that the Varnas or the mindset that dominate are not that of castes, but the natural outlook of the masses. Having a right understanding of Varnas – a spiritual insight, is imperative to grasp Veda Vyasa’s words.

    We observed that Gunas that were dominated by Sattva in Satya Yuga became Rajasic in Treta and in Dwapara it gets tainted as Rajas-Tamas. The Tamas veers the mind away from Dharma and it gets more under the sway of Kama. When greed, discontent, false pride, hypocrisy and envy become prevalent, along with attraction desire and selfishness driven actions, then it is the age of Dwapara, fraught with Rajas and Tamas. (यदा लोभस्त्वसन्तोषो मानो दम्भोऽथ मत्सर: । कर्मणां चापि काम्यानां द्वापरं तद् रजस्तम: ॥ yadā lobhas tv asantoṣo māno dambho’tha matsaraḥ karmaṇāṁ cāpi kāmyānāṁ dvāparaṁ tad rajas-tamaḥ SB 12-3-29)

Kali Yuga: Dharma and its manifestations are reduced to a mere fourth its original and they are replaced by their counterparts of Adharma. Yet there is a disturbing element. The trends of dharma shrinking and Adharma growing stay as a pattern. This makes Kali Yuga to manifest more difficult situations as time moves on. The negatives that manifested in the individual, in a small way, in Dwapara, become well established trends by the masses in Kali.

    Perversion is the hallmark of Kali Yuga with the way of life. The tendency of people is strongly driven by desire and desire modifications which are expressed dominantly as greed, bad behavior, merciless, meaningless quarrel. They are unfortunate (owing to their bad karmic baggage and vasanas) and obsessed with material desires and their fulfillment. Sudras are the dominant varna. This is not birth based, but guna karma based. (Sudra, root word means one who wants to avoid pain, pain is the state where the desire is not met) (तस्मिन् लुब्धा दुराचारा निर्दया: शुष्कवैरिण: । दुर्भगा भूरितर्षाश्च शूद्रदासोत्तरा: प्रजा: ॥ tasmin lubdhā durācārā nirdayāḥ śuṣka-vairiṇaḥ durbhagā bhūri-tarṣāś ca śūdra-dāsottarāḥ prajāḥ SB 12-3-25)

    The reason why Kama is the driver of the gunas is because the guna composition is prevailed by Tamas. As we saw Sattva of Satya Yuga became Rajas in Treta and further muddled as Rajas-Tamas in Dwapara, in Kali Yuga it becomes increasingly predominated by Tamas. This Tamas expresses itself and dominates as deception, falsity, laziness, sleep, violence/cruelty, depression, sorrow, delusion and fear, coupled with overall wretchedness everywhere. (यदा मायानृतं तन्द्रा निद्रा हिंसा विषादनम् ।
शोकमोहौ भयं दैन्यं स कलिस्तामस: स्मृत: ॥ yadā māyānṛtaṁ tandrā nidrā hiṁsā viṣādanam śoka-mohau bhayaṁ dainyaṁ sa kalis tāmasaḥ smṛtaḥ SB 12-3-30)

    In summary, we realize that GunaKarma at individual level is the foundation of Varnashrama, but at the societal level is the basis for Yugas. Unlike the short duration at the individual level of Varnashrama, the Yuga impacts can be felt for hundreds and thousands of years. It is also important to understand that while the society may have a certain Yuga pattern, but it is the individual’s responsibility to regulat GunaKarma at their level. We will learn about this after studying the last sloka in depth to understand the evil effects of Kali in the next article.

To be continued..

ॐ तत् सत