Thursday, January 24, 2013

The Yugas - From my book Kriya Secrets Revealed

The book from which this article comes is called Kriya Secrets Revealed. Please order it from CreateSpace online at: 

Yogic Wisdom – The Yugas

Lahiri wrote the following, rather startling and simplistic, interpretation of the Yuga scriptures in the Bhagavad Gita (c. 1885, Arya Mission Institution publishers):
“Satya Yuga is to hold onto the Kutastha, or the inner Self.
Treta Yuga is to see the Kutastha.
Dwapara Yuga is to generate Happiness through Kriya practice.
Kali Yuga is to initiate into Kriya” (1:86 Manusanghita).

Originally the Yugas were defined as simple units of time, which evolved in later writings into periods of rising and declining virtue in mankind. More recently, Swami Sri Yukteswar added his own interpretation in a book first published in 1894 entitled The Holy Science. Manusanghita, or the Laws of Manu Commentary by Yogiraj Shyama Charan Lahiri was published several years earlier; however, it is not clear that Sri Yukteswar was even aware of its existence, as he never mentioned it, and had instead offered a totally different and extremely controversial alternate interpretation. Yukteswar made the following three controversial claims:

  1. The Yugas were measured in years, not years of the gods as commonly understood by scholars.
  2. The precession of the equinoxes is actually tied to the cycle of the Yugas. Even though the period of precession is currently accepted as lasting 25,772 years, Yukteswar claimed that this number was a miscalculation by modern science, and that the length is exactly 24,000 years. He explains this by saying the period of Earth’s rotation slows up and speeds down to accommodate this difference.
  3. The cause of precession is the rotation of our sun around a dual.

The first controversial claim was that, in fact, the years mentioned in the Laws of Manu were not years of the gods, but years of man. One divine year is equal to 360 human years. The following table illustrates the differences in Sri Yukteswar’s system versus common belief, and later writings found in other Indian texts.

Age
Common interpretation in Years
Sri Yukteswar’s interpretation in Years
Kali
432,000
1200
Dwapara
864,000
2400
Treta
1,296,000
3600
Krita
1,728,000
4800

When reading the Laws of Manu as original text it is easy to find the ambiguity; and thus it is not so farfetched to come to Sri Yukteswar’s conclusion.
From the first chapter of the Laws of Manu (c. 1500 BCE):
65. The sun divides days and nights, both human and divine, the night (being intended) for the repose of created beings and the day for exertion.
66. A month is a day and a night of the manes, but the division is according to fortnights. The dark (fortnight) is their day for active exertion, the bright (fortnight) their night for sleep.
67. A year is a day and a night of the gods; their division is (as follows): the half year during which the sun progresses to the north will be the day, that during which it goes southwards the night.
68. But hear now the brief (description of) the duration of a night and a day of Brahman and of the several ages (of the world, Yuga) according to their order.
69. They declare that the Krita age (consists of) four thousand years (of the gods); the twilight preceding it consists of as many hundreds, and the twilight following it of the same number.
70. In the other three ages with their twilights preceding and following, the thousands and hundreds are diminished by one (in each).
71. These 12 thousand (years) which thus have been just mentioned as the total of four (human) ages, are called one age of the gods.
72. But know that the sum of one thousand ages of the gods (makes) one day of Brahman, and that his night has the same length.
73. Those (only, who) know that the holy day of Brahman, indeed, ends after (the completion of) one thousand ages (of the gods) and that his night lasts as long, (are really) men acquainted with (the length of) days and nights.

The words in parenthesis are not in the original text. If we look at line 69 in the Sanskrit, it actually reads:
69. They declare that the Krita age is four thousand years; the twilight preceding it consists of as many hundreds, and the twilight following it of the same number.

Since the Laws of Manu are the basis of later texts which refer to Yugas, Sri Yukteswar’s hypothesis that the years delineated are human and not divine years seemingly stands on solid ground.

Just from a practical point of view, since the Yugas are associated with the decline and rise of mental virtue, times spanning millions of years makes little sense for a race which has not even existed so long. Even if one believes for whatever reason that the human race has been around much longer than the archaeological records support, recent history shows that attitudes and civilizations shift much faster than that. Even 24,000 years may be too long.

The next claim by Sri Yukteswar is that the precession of the equinoxes is tied to the Yugas, and that the 25,772 year cycle is in fact a 24,000 year cycle. This is a difference of 7% which is extremely significant. His claim that Earth’s rotations slows down during the ascending arc of the Yugas does not seem to be observed in the degree required to fit this discrepancy. The Earth’s rotation is slowing down. The average length of a day has increased by 17 milliseconds over the past century. If we assume a linear slowing, then this would mean the length of the day will increase to a little over 2 seconds in 12,000 years to what it is now. However, a year is not measured by the number of days, but rather from solstice to solstice. Even if the Earth’s rotation slowed by 7% each year, it would still take a year because its duration has nothing to do with the length of a day, but rather the radius of its orbit. In order for Sri Yukteswar’s hypothesis to be true, the Earth would need to move farther away from the Sun and then closer every 24,000 years. Besides being against well-established laws of physics and every laboratory and real world observation ever made since the beginning of time, this was not the explanation given by Sri Yukteswar.

It seems this particular claim by Sri Yukteswar could not possibly be valid, even from a purely logical point of view. This may be because Sri Yukteswar, by his own omission, did terribly in science, even dropping out of college because he had difficulty in his first physics class. He decided after that point that astrology was better suited to his temperament.

And so, we are then left with only three possibilities: (1) The Laws of Manu are faulty by 7% in the number of years; (2) The Yugas have nothing to do with the precession of the equinoxes; or (3) The Yugas as presented in the Laws of Manu are a hoax. At this point, any of these three explanations are possible.

Until Sri Yukteswar wrote the Holy Science, scholars had never made the correlation between the precession of the equinoxes and the Yugas. Frankly, because, even in the ancient world, it was known that this precession occurs much faster than the several millions of years required to pass through an entire cycle.

The third controversial claim is that the Yugas, the precession of the equinoxes, and man’s spiritual state are all linked by our movement through space around a yet-to-be-discovered dual star. (Some claim this is actually a central sun, Alcyon, located 400 light years away.)

To be clear, science has yet to discover this star; furthermore, if it did exist, it is expected to be much farther away, and therefore have a much longer orbital period than simply 24,000 years. It would also need to be a brown dwarf which would mean that its gravitational pull would be very weak. It must also be weak, because we would have detected it already if it were not.

But the nail in the coffin to Sri Yukteswar’s claim is not that the dual star does not exist, but that, in fact, it in no way could be the cause of the precession. The cause of precession has long been known to be caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon with insignificant contributions from the other planets. This has been known since 1600 when Isaac Newton made the calculations in his monumental work, Principia (1687). A spinning body when left on its own without outside forces will continue to spin in the same direction; its axis will always point in one direction in space. To illustrate this, take a top and spin it on the floor. If the axis is tilted, you will notice that it will precess or make a small circle with its axis. This is because the gravitational force of the Earth is causing precession. In the same way, the Sun and Moon are causing the Earth to precess. There is no other way that precession can occur. This is the only mechanism without question.

And so if a dual star did significantly contribute to precession, it would mean that its gravitational pull on the Earth would have to be at least to within a fraction of that caused by the Sun and Moon. However, we know from observations that this is not occurring simply by looking at the tides. We also know this is not the case by observing the orbits of all the planets in the solar system. We are rotating around the center of the galaxy every 250 million years. Some alternatively claim we are rotating around a galactic arm or a central sun such as Alcyon; however, this would be easily observable, as we would need to be travelling at 10% the speed of light in order to complete one orbit within the required 24,000 years.

Therefore, none of these explanations given by Sri Yukteswar and others has anything to do with observed precession, which is clearly caused by the Sun and Moon’s gravitational effect upon the Earth. Sri Yukteswar’s explanation that we are moving closer and farther from the galactic center just is not observed in even the slightest. This third claim in his theory is actually not only illogical but against all known well-established laws of physics and centuries of careful observation. If he had completed his first physics class, he would have come to that understanding.

Is it possible then that Sri Yukteswar was only partly correct about the Yugas? Yes. It does appear that the Yugas are more likely in the thousands and not millions of year ranges. However, he was clearly mistaken about the link between precession and the Yugas—not only because the time scale is off, but because we would need to break well-established laws of physics. These are not just established laws of physics, but of logic and observation which anyone can make when they spin a top, or use an amateur telescope, or measure the tides.

Since Yukteswar was wrong about the solar system moving closer and farther from the Seat of Brahma (that which theoretically controls man’s virtue), then what is the explanation for the rising and declining virtue in man? According to science, it has everything to do with changing influences over time. In fact, man may not be getting more but rather less intelligent as technology lessens the pressure of survival. In fact the Laws of Manu mentioned the Yugas as an answer to the question: Why is man becoming less spiritual? Why was he becoming more material? The real answer may have nothing to do with hidden, unseen rays coming from the center of the galaxy, but more to do with the rise of technology, and agriculture replacing man’s reliance upon his divine inner voice. The logical trappings of the material world had busied him. Instead of relying upon intuition to know when to plant his crop or hunt, he now used the almanacs and levies to control water flow. There were more mouths to feed and less time to contemplate spiritual issues. Intuition was a necessity, but with material abundance had become a luxury.

In conclusion, we really need to ask ourselves as Kriyabans why it even matters if we are moving through the cycles of the ages. Since we are allotted such a short period of time on Earth, perhaps the answer is “No, it does not.” The concept of cyclical ages does bring us some sense of certainty in a world of change as was the original intention of the Laws of Manu. However, a Kriyaban should not welcome nor relish certainty. He or she should be rather disinterested in everything outside other than that which fulfills his Sadhana; therefore, the genius of Lahiri’s interpretation of the Yugas. Only Kriya is Truth; the rest is false. Trust nothing external to yourself, even if donning the Swami robe and claims of avatarship.

12 comments:

  1. The book from which this article comes is from Kriya Secrets Revealed, the True Kriya Yoga techniques: http://createspace.com/3961018

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  2. This is a very much needed book. I cannot wait to read it!

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  3. sir, please make this book into a digital copy... i am a college student from india and i cant afford to order it for it may stir trouble in my home...

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  4. Yes, will there be an e-book format? I would buy it instantly if it were an e-book. Thank you!

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  5. I am working on it. It is challenging to redo the diagrams on such a small screen upon which most kindle books can be read. So it is taking time to get a good result.

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  6. Ah, lots of diagrams, I see the issue. So I bought the paperback, looking forward to it - thank you for making these techniques available!

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  7. Hello, Mr Stevens, can I contact you for Russian translation rights for your book? Couldn't find any email of yours on the net. Mine is kostenko2002@yahoo.com, please kindly respond. Thank you!

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  8. why this book is not available in india ? please make it available so that we can buy it.

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  9. You missed something significant in your analysis.
    There were two important Yugas that Sri Yukteswar mentioned:
    A Yuga and a Maha Yuga.
    This means two different orbits: One orbit with a 24,000 year period and a larger orbit measured in millions of years. This means at least 3 objects are in orbit with the Sun.
    A small star with a 24,000 year period and much larger star off in the distance with R>>r. As an analogy, think of the Earth and the Moon in mutual orbit as they orbit the Sun again with R>>r.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Dear JC. I read your book and was enchanted by its pure and simple message. I would like to translate it into my native language for Romanian public. Could you please contact me in respect of copyright at tiscri@gmail.com. Thank you

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  12. Wonderful book. Thank you very much for sharing this holy secret.

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