Predictions for Kali Yuga

             Veda Vyasa is the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma having codified the four Vedas, composed Mahabharata that contains many jewels in it amongst Bhagavad Gita, Viduraneeti, Yaksha Prashnam, Vishnu Sahasaranamam and Sanatsujatiya; the eighteen Puranas including the Bhagavatam and Brahma Sutra (a set of aphorisms that provide the highest vedantic wisdom). He stands amongst the foremost of seers who has given not just the roadmap of the future in Bhagavatam, but also explained in detail the characteristics of people that were to come after thousands of years. This is more than predicting few events like seers of the exalted class of Nostradamus. The most interesting piece of this insight is, each one of us can validate it in our own personal lives without any room for misinterpretation.

            Bhagavatam in its twelfth skanda (canto), second adhyaya (chapter) talks about the progress of Kali yuga. We already had a detailed insight into Parikshit’s encounter with Kali and how we can be protected from the evil effects of Kali. Dharma (धर्म:) is perceived to be standing on its four legs – Satyam (सत्यं) – Truth, Shaucham (शौचं)- Cleanliness, kshama (क्षमा) – Forbearance and daya (दया) – Compassion. Due to the passage of time, the last three will almost be gone and dharma will be resting on satya alone with great difficulty. This is a trend we can see both as a society and also within every individual.

 

Vyasa’s magnificent predictions of the dread ahead

            Let us study a few of these deep insights.

वित्तमेव कलौ नृणां जन्माचारगुणोदय: । धर्मन्यायव्यवस्थायां कारणं बलमेव हि ॥ 12-2-2

vittam eva kalau nṝṇāṁ janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ dharma-nyāya-vyavasthāyāṁ kāraṇaṁ balam eva hi

 In the age of Kali, wealth alone will be considered as the basis for superior birth, behavior and virtuous conduct. Might alone is right and will be the basis for determining dharma, justice and day today transactions.

Jnana and the pursuit of Truth were the supremely desired and respected qualities in the Sanatani society till Kaliyuga, when it gets replaced by money and power. Money becomes the lingua franca that gets the job done. It appears to substitute even the heritage or bad behavior and seems to give an aura of greatness where none exists. While money becomes the primary force, power becomes its effect. Together they determine the nature of justice and societal transactions. Needless to say that Moksha and Dharma are out of the equation like even in the most orthodox circles and Artha and Kama reign supreme.

 

दाम्पत्येऽभिरुचिर्हेतुर्मायैव व्यावहारिके । स्त्रीत्वे पुंस्त्वे च हि रतिर्विप्रत्वे सूत्रमेव हि ॥ 12-2-3

dāmpatye ’bhirucir hetur māyaiva vyāvahārike strītve puṁstve ca hi ratir vipratve sūtram eva hi

Mutual attraction alone forms the reason for marital relationship. Success in business will depend on fraud. Skill in love-making will translate to manliness and womanliness. The sacred thread alone will be the identity of a Brahmana.

It is not uncommon to have endless years of dating or marriage being dissolved in weeks and months and even in few days. This despite the fact apart from the ability to bring money and power, relationship is purely based on mere physical attraction. How many picture perfect power couples we know who end up in splitsville? How many characterless powerful people come to our minds that are charming and ravishing? The yardstick for marital success gets shrunk to mere lovemaking skills. This vanity can be seen in the number of unhappy marriages and divorces in modern India, in a land where grihastashrama formed the bedrock for dharma.

            Fraud and deception has crept into everything related to business, including the imported religions which follow this model. There seems to be no shame in doing anything to get ahead. One can see this in the large scale food adulterations for instance, where government itself is silenced by its own sold out agencies to allow chemicals into food. We learnt how anyone can be a Brahmana (through the wisdom of Krishna and Yudhishtra). But in Kaliyuga, the sacred thread remains as a mere external symbol to identify a Brahmana, who is far removed from all the character traits that must define him.

 

लिङ्गमेवाश्रमख्यातावन्योन्यापत्तिकारणम् । अवृत्त्या न्यायदौर्बल्यं पाण्डित्ये चापलं वच: ॥ 12-2-4

liṅgam evāśrama-khyātāv anyonyāpatti-kāraṇam avṛttyā nyāya-daurbalyaṁ pāṇḍitye cāpalaṁ vacaḥ

 Ashramas will be based on mere external insignia and the only way to see the transition. Poverty will imply justice denied due to weakness. Mere word jugglery or vocabulary will define scholarliness.

            The four ashramas – brahmacharya, grihasta, vanaprasta and sannyasa imply the focus of the individual. (Read more in society classification in Hinduism). Today with the loss of our understanding of Dharma and Moksha the last two ashramas are practically absent. The brahmacharya focus has reduced to exclude dharma and center only on mundane ways to make a living. With many going back to studies after college, on-going education, it appears they two have fused as well.

            The weak will be denied justice as power and wealth are seen controlling the judiciary. The reach is so strong that they can bend the legislative to even enact special laws in their favor. Having a vocabulary of bombastic words satisfies the definition of being a scholar, even if they have no understanding of the related content. Compare the acharyas who excelled in philosophy and had experience with characters that merely spit out tough words in the thesaurus.

 

अनाढ्यतैवासाधुत्वे साधुत्वे दम्भ एव तु । स्वीकार एव चोद्वाहे स्न‍ानमेव प्रसाधनम् ॥ 12-2-5

anāḍhyataivāsādhutvesādhutve dambha eva tu svīkāra eva codvāhe snānam eva prasādhanam

Poverty will be deemed as unholy and hypocrisy will define good character. Mating will be deemed as marriage. Bathing will be for hygiene and not purification.

 

दूरे वार्ययनं तीर्थं लावण्यं केशधारणम् । उदरंभरता स्वार्थ: सत्यत्वे धार्ष्ट्यमेव हि ॥ 12-2-6

dūre vāry-ayanaṁ tīrthaṁ lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam udaraṁ-bharatā svārthaḥ satyatve dhārṣṭyam eva hi

Tirtham will be considered as a far off water body. Beauty will be reduced to having a nice hairdo. Filling the stomach will be synonymous with the purpose of life. One who is vociferous and audacious will be deemed as truthful. 

 

दाक्ष्यं कुटुम्बभरणं यशोऽर्थे धर्मसेवनम् ॥ 12-2-7

dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇaṁ yaśo ’rthe dharma-sevanam

 One who maintains a family by any means will be considered as an expert (successful). Reputation alone will be the reason for adherence of dharma or a semblance of it.

 

ब्रह्मविट्‍क्षत्रशूद्राणां यो बली भविता नृप: ।  प्रजा हि लुब्धै राजन्यैर्निर्घृणैर्दस्युधर्मभि: ॥ 12-2-8

brahma-viṭ-kṣatra-śūdrāṇāṁ yo balī bhavitā nṛpaḥ prajā hi lubdhai rājanyairnirghṛṇair dasyu-dharmabhiḥ

The one who is most powerful will emerge as the rulers (or political class) and the guna karma based societal classification will have no bearing in this regard. These greedy and merciless rulers will live the way of robbers and thieves.

            Vyasa goes in greater detail about what is in store and it gets grim with every advancing sloka and eventually he gives hope that Kalki avatara will happen to restore dharma and protect dharmis. As this timeline is quite stretched and as we are already feeling the ill effects of Kali Yuga, it will be prudent on our part to inoculate and protect ourselves.

In Ailing Hinduism – inversion of values, we saw that the core reason for rot in the society is the erosion of values. Dharma must be the basis for obtaining Artha which must be able to support the Kama not opposed to Dharma. If so, the outcome of this Dharma is Moksha. Having divorced Dharma and Moksha, we end up with unregulated Artha-Kama hedonistic fest. Due to this everything revolves around the individual who is slave to the senses and sense objects. Selfishness rules every aspect of the individual, who believes that gratifying the desires alone will make one complete.

            With the gross reduction of Purusharthas to mere self-gratification, the individual has trapped oneself into becoming a massive slave of the senses. So relationships get redefined as what is in it for me, be it parents, spouse or children, let alone extended family. Spouse, having lost the purpose to co-evolve in the dharmic spiritual journey of life, look at each other as pleasure providers or facilitators be it gastronomic, economic or relationship and everything in between.

            Hypocrisy, being the top dog in a dog-eat-dog world, money, power, flaunting even the ignorance as scholarship amongst others define the basic skills needed to thrive in Kali Yuga. So violence becomes completely justified in this timeline as it justifies the means to an end. As this lack of Dharma becomes more rooted at an individual level, it gathers momentum in its expression in the society. Abuse, exploitation, grave transgression, corruption and violence get completely justified as tools of politicians and the wealthy, who abide by the saying – might is right.

            This results in rampant abuse of nature, ignoring the wisdom of the rishis and acharyas. Vyasa highlights not only the impact on the individual’s character traits, but also its shadow on the society and Nature.

 

An oasis we all can create around us:

The primary reason for the evil effects of Kali Yuga is the dominant direction of our mind. Currently it is centered only on sense and sense gratification. If we translate the wisdom of the rishis the direction may look more like:

• Cleansing the bad vasanas move away from a sense gratification driven life > Moving away from purely body and mind driven orientation to an intellect based one. This intellect must be elevated to the exalted Supreme. (Bhagavad Gita 6-5)

• In other words,

Selfish ego and ego centric desires > Include larger values of Satyam, daanam, kshama, daya > Include others based on dharma not mere Artha and Kama in life, especially spouse > As mind gets purified include larger ideas of community, society, nation and the world > Expand the mind to include all living beings > expand the mind to a cosmic level.

• Commit to studying scriptures regularly – itihasapuranas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita.

• Unless the individual is committed to some form of Sadhana conducive to one’s vasanas, spiritual evolution is impossible. The easiest way is to do satsangha on periodic basis.

• One must strive to purify one’s own gunas. We are all an admixture of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. We must strive hard to replace the latter two. It is everyone’s experience that Tamas cannot be directly replace by Sattva alone, hence a temporary via media of Rajas based on Sattva is required.

• As more individuals commit to this inner journey of cleansing one’s vasanas and gunas through some form of Sadhana, it has a ripple effect on the family and beyond.

            Spirituality is a personal journey of inner discovery. Each one begins where we are, with our baggage and vasanas. Obviously no two persons experience will be similar despite many parallels. That is why Sanatana Dharma doesn’t prescribe a handbook of rules like Abrahamic cults.

When one is oriented and strives to live these ideals, one is said to live the life of a man. As one achieves refinement, it is said to be the life of a deva, illumined being and living a materialism centric life, adding more problems by strengthening wrong vasanas, one falls to the mindset and lifestyle of an asura or rakshasa.

            The biggest beneficiary in this journey is for us, despite the positive impact on others. So even for ultimate selfish reasons one must focus on the SELF. The intense sense oriented living, materialism, is the pure result of our ignorance. We misinterpret our real SELF as the body and feel the emotional mind as its pinnacle. This folly is behind the fall of the man in Kali Yuga. As the idea takes firm root, the idea of us enjoying and only through the sensory enjoyment one can experience a grander side of SELF becomes dominant.

            The confused “I” feels incomplete and to make itself more complete it expands with “I want”. When it contacts the object, it realizes a temporary state of desirelessness which is experienced as happiness in the mind. But the next second, it realizes its incompleteness and wants to repeat this cycle. Only with it develops the Viveka of what is permanent and what is the nature of relationship of the Jiva and Jagat, it can naturally root itself in a larger idea, Ishwara. The idea is not to live a sannyasa life, but keeping the priorities right.

            Grihastashrama must be centered on dharma. The lack of it results in a pompous Artha-Kama fest which will result in the misery of everyone involved. It is not the responsibility of the spouse but oneself to bring that foundation. Materialism that replaces dharma in the family can be easily observed as movies, media, politics and selfish pursuit of Artha and Kama. Dharma when upheld, upholds us. Understanding this subtlety one must constantly strive to refine one’s adherence.

            We can reverse this Kali Yuga effects, provided we realize which the real Atman is, cleanse our vasanas by focusing on increasing our sattvic gunas. The ripple effects we see in the society begin with the individual. May we all strive to work on ourselves and realize the subtler truths expounded by the great rishis. May we create this small oasis in our heart, far from the reach of Kali that Bhagawan would love to guide us from within.

 

ॐ तत् सत

Evolution through Rama kainkarya

            Ramayana obviously revolves around Bhagawan Rama. Though HE performs many wondrous acts including the killing of Ravana, Rama’s presence and contact elevates everyone to operate at a higher level and contribute for a bigger cause. As Rama was understood even during his times as vigrahavan dharma, embodiment of dharma, he set very high standards for himself, even in the face of extreme calamities.

            One of the impacts HE had on the people around him was to uplift their standards. Consequently as everyone wanted to operate on a higher dharma frequency, they all seem to get tuned to HIS goals and mission subconsciously. It almost seems like all the rivers flowing to meet the ocean, everyone dharmic gets polarized to join his team, contribute big or small and be part of something important. We will investigate some prominent characters and understand this fact with the idea of applying it in our daily lives. Rama kainkarya during Ramayana is not the same for our times, so we will apply this idea as the relationship between Jivatma and Paramatma.

Sita: Unlike Lakshmana’s wife, Urmila, who listened to her husband’s desire to have her stay in Ayodhya, Sita openly, challenges Rama. She declares it not only her desire, but duty and responsibility to share the path of Rama. Rama’s genuine desire was to protect her from discomfort and she used the same argument to turn it on its head that she will be most unhappy with the separation.

• When deep dharmic subtlety is not merely understood, but practiced in daily lives, one fights to be part of Rama’s journey. Mere anticipated discomforts of the future get trivialized in the mind that is fixated on the highest purpose in life – dharma (which is the other side of Moksha and hence inseparable)

• The more practical implication for a husband and wife is that both must actively strive to be on the same page, not the one driven by their desires but one rooted in dharma.

Lakshmana: Being a lifelong shadow of Rama, it is not that he didn’t have his own opinions, but Lashmana found his greatest joy in serving him from the most mundane chores to being the lead fighter in Rama’s army. He vocally fights hard to cement his position behind Rama, heading for vanavasa. Rama tries to create giving him an opportunity to revert his stance early on, but finding him too strong in his position and hence relents.

Rama kainkarya at the level of Lakshmana’s investment is extraordinary. That is why when Rama finds the unconscious or near dead Lakshmana in the battle, declared that the war’s outcome didn’t matter without Lakshmana. Lakshmana is the best example for us to show the spectrum of issues in Ramayana – the path of Rama. He had the tough job of consoling Rama when Sita was kidnapped and even save the world from Rama’s fury. He was falsely accused by even Sita so he can go and search the source of Rama’s distress call; the one Maricha did in his deathbead to trick them. Lakshmana was brought down twice by Indrajit, whom he killed in a final encounter and once by Ravana. Standing by Rama or Dharma will extract a heavy toll. We see that in case of his ancestor Harischandra, how he was put to an extreme fire test for merely wanting to be truthful.

• The dharmic path is very arduous. Yama tells Nachiketas in Kathopanishad - क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति ||(1.3.14)

• Commitment to Dharma may test our limits, but one must be assured that these tests are intended for the benefit of ourselves and others as they are controlled conditions where Bhagawan wants to highlight us as a special cast. Be brave and march forward.

Kausalya: Kausalya desired to follow Rama into the forest. But unable to counter Rama’s well constructed logic, she understood her place was to be beside her husband who was still recovering from the shock of the scheming Kaikeyi. Her larger dharma was to be with her husband not her desire - her son. Desire to do Rama kainkarya elucidated this subtlety to her.

•  Understanding the real role in the mission is critical. This can be automatic if one is fine-tuned to one’s own dharma or to the advice of scriptures or the wise.

Bharata (and Shatrughna): Bharata was eager to replace himself with Rama on the throne, thus getting rid of the infamy. Unable to convince Rama with his wondrous arguments, which was effectively nullified by Rama, his mission of crowning Rama failed. Rama being steadfast in his word given in the presence of the late Dasaratha could not shake off Bharata’s nishta. Though Rama made him to stay as Ayodhya’s caretaker, Bharata took Rama’s sandals thereby making Rama the proxy ruler. To further his commitment, he stayed in Nandigram, a forest on the outskirts of Ayodhya and administered from there leading the same lifestyle as Rama. Shatrughna was only desirous to serve Bharata in all his endeavors and hence confined his role to just that.

•  One may not be able to achieve all they desire, even in the dharmic path, but one must strive harder to deepen their stance and dharma alone protects us here and in the after.

• Rama may have denied Bharata from joining his mission or altering it, but could not stop Bharata, as an individual from raising the standards set.

Guha: A trivial forest dweller tribal with no access to culture, yet Guha raises the bar by his stellar dedication and commitment to Rama. He seeks Rama’s stay which obviously was not going to happen, but this love raises him to earn the status of a brother. Guha captured Rama’s heart by his simplicity and loyalty.

• Doing our cameo for Dharma is crucial as each cog in the wheel has a place.

Jatayu:  A classic example of not letting our known limitations from not discharging our Dharma. Knowing Ravana’s vast superior strengths and his fate if challenging him, Jatayu stayed true to the course. He manages to save the breath long enough to convey Rama of the kidnap. Rama is so moved that he performed his funeral rites as if he would have done for his father, despite Jatayu being a bird.

• Do not worry about the consequences of following Dharma. Doing Dharma itself is the biggest reward, but the ripple effect of either following or not is much larger than anyone can fathom. Can we estimate how much impact that us as a single individual following dharma or as a family can impact the future generations?

• Many times we let the challenges stun our strengths and duties. We see contrasting examples in Godavari River and Jatayu, the later focused only on Rama kainkarya.

Kabandha: A cursed gandharva who perishes trying to consume Rama and Lakshmana for a meal, still finds a useful role. Kabandha on regaining his normal form informs Rama to get Sugriva on his side and head towards Sabari for finer directions.

• Do not let your present state of Adharmic disorientation from not reaching your true potential. Encounter with Rama will remind you of your kainkarya. When one comes in contact with a higher principle, one gets elevated. This can happen to us by satsanga and regular study of scriptures.

• Unless we elevate our standards to approach dharma, one may be unable to perform real Rama kainkarya, which is what we learn by Kabandha’s death from the accursed state.

Sabari: Sabari lives a long life of anticipation, based on her Guru’s parting words that one day she will see Rama. Her daily commitment and enthusiasm did not get dented with the passage of time. Her reward was the realization of her Guru bhakti and directed Rama in the direction of Sugriva.

• When one is deep rooted in guru bhakti, scriptures or Bhagawan, time is not a factor in the result. Our sincere actions and the karmaphala are the only two variables, which even Bhagawan is forced to oblige.

Hanuman: The real performer of superhuman feats, one who combines extreme dexterity and intellect with humility to undertake any role for Rama’s cause. Hanuman gets the deepest insight about Rama as Parabrahman in this very first contact. He is able to tap into his deepest potential by constantly remembering the bigger needs of the mission and the grace of Rama. His feats in Lanka during his first visit and in the war get dwarfed by his mission to get medicinal Sanjeevani herbs.

• The best example that despite high education, Hanuman remains down to earth. He exhibits tremendous acumen in confronting absolutely unsolvable problems and resolving them outstandingly. (Read more in Practical lessons from Hanuman’s dilemmas – Part 1 and Part 2. Also read how he resolved obstacles differently enroute)

•  Evolution is a key part of Rama kainkarya - hanuman undergoes a transformation during the search for Sita from being a Ramadhoota to Ramadasa.

Sugriva: As a seeker of his kingdom, Sugriva is eager to join forces with anyone to dethrone Vaali. He even tests Rama on account of his past traumas. But soon lets victory distract him to raucous pleasures that only adds a doubt in Rama’s heart. Back on track, he proves to be a task master with an aggressive commitment to Rama’s mission. The successful sighting of Sita brings his entire Vanara sena to the shores. Sagara’s reminder of Nala and Nila’s skills transforms the army into builders. Sugriva’s building schedule in five days with increasing mileage is a testimonial to his zeal. The battlefield is ripe with his exploits and also of every single vanara. It is interesting that the fallen Vaali was eager to contribute, wonders why Rama went to Sugriva instead of asking him.

• Commitment to dharma can never be partial. Though one may have numerous distractions, staying close to Rama and heeding to his reminders will keep us on track.

• Dharmic commitments must be aggressive in implementation as also one’s Sadhana.

•  As a leader when we commit ourselves to dharma, we are bound to influence others. This may be family and society but at the least we influence our manas and senses to follow a well established buddhi that is oriented towards Bhagawan.

• Though Sugriva and Vibhishana both had their brothers killed by Rama and switched sides, the only difference was the number of resources Sugriva brings to the table. From a task perspective this could mean a huge difference between success and failure in Rama kainkarya.

• Though one gets motivated by Artha and/or Kama like Sugriva, even a little contact with Bhagawan, that may come due to Sadhana, study of scriptures, nama sankirtana or serving other bhagavatas elevates us to shift to Dharma and eventually Moksha.

Vibishana: Despite being the brother of evil Ravana, who threatened his life for advising him dharmic and right perspective, Vibhishana was committed to dharma at all costs. He was ready to bear the mistrust of Rama’s confidantes and earn his trust by his behavior. He proves to be more than wondrous ally with his timely wise counsel on the battlefield.

• Recent sadaks face the backlash of their own past karmas more. This can be resolved by going deeper in our practice of dharma and Rama kainkarya. Let us not let our background and past mar our current actions. We can always charter a new path and the choice determines the results.

•  Unlike Sugriva, Vibhishana’s role from the opposite camp against his own ex-friends and family was long and arduous. The only way he was able to do his role was to stay close to the feet of Rama.

Practical Applications:

• Leadership - Rama just walked with Sita and Lakshmana. Having lost Sita, he earned every single resource – directions (from Kabandha, Sabari), friendships (Sugriva, Vibhishana), army and even had to build a bridge to transport them. Being resourceful is one of the hallmarks of a leader. He didn’t even think of asking Bharata.

• Team work – Rama had to identify the right resources (Hanuman for meeting Sita, Angada as peace ambassador) besides build a team who had conflicting interests (Sugriva lost in pleasure hunt or Vibhishana being mistrusted in the camp). Holding a common team direction and unity is possible only with a common higher goal.

• Team Building - Every contributor – big, small, one time or continuous, was respected alike. Respect everyone and raise the standard by focusing on the task at hand. Celebrate every step of success, but remember the road ahead in dharma is long.

• How - We are not with Rama, so what kind of kainkarya we can do now? But we see dharma under attack all around; do we have any personal responsibility? Yes, the first is to raise our standards even as we start impacting positively. Can we contribute to the dharmic ecosystem? How - by doing Sadhana, study scriptures, satsanga, serving other bhagavatas, contributing for dharmic causes and most importantly standing for dharma whenever adharma threatens it.

• Our duty - Being Jivatmas, we have a responsibility to first realize the existence of Paramatma, through progressive cleansing of our gunas. It is our duty to take care of the apparatus of BMI. Being naturally materialistic thinkers, we do take care of our body, but tend to neglect our manas and buddhi. We barely even recognize the existence of Atma, let alone aid its progress.

• What we can do - It is ironical that if one were to apply Ramayana and do kainkarya for Rama, it comes back to us. The only difference is we replace our current selfish outlook with a more dharmic uplifting and cleansing one that guarantees faster evolution.  Rama could have destroyed Ravana through mere sankalpa, yet he toiled hard to set us the example. He goes to extremes to erase every single human excuse that doesn’t want to follow the path of dharma.

            The biggest takeaway is when dharma is in distress and you are aware of it, do not turn your back. Be a brave human and come to the aid. Spiritual Sadhana is never for cowards or people who give fake lectures on ahimsa. Dharma rakshana is the highest contribution all of us can and must make towards Rama and our own spiritual growth. May Rama continue to inspire us in more ways, may our hearts be filled with enough Bhakti and Jnana that we are always eager to contribute for Dharma, as Dharma is Rama.

 

ॐ तत् सत