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Category: The Yugas

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April 3
2012

Truth in the Ramayana?

Kailash
Saudi Arabia

Question

Just a question that I wanted to ask out of curiosity — Are the tales in Ramayan true or mostly symbolic? My brother refuses to believe in the epic, for which I replied that most of the stories might have been symbolic ones created by saints in the past to explain Man’s battle with evil. But he needed an answer, so I decided to ask the very question to my most favourite website!

Thank You!

Puru (Joseph) Selbie

Ananda Village

Answer

Dear Kailash,

While researching and writing the book, The Yugas, I arrived at the conviction that much of the Ramayana, and other ancient epics, is probably true.

According to the cycle of the yugas, as expounded by Sri Yukteswar, Yogananda’s guru and author of The Holy Science, the Ramayana was likely composed during the last Treta Yuga. During Treta Yuga, mankind as a whole possesses mental powers that are only hinted at today. Sri Yukteswar said that mental telepathy was the normal means of communication during Treta Yuga and that mankind as a whole would comprehend the "Divine magnetism."

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September 30
2011

Alien Invasions in Ancient Times

Davy
Belgium

Question

Davy asked a long question which we have summarized here:

The question stems from statements made by Master in Conversations with Yogananda. In #36, Master confirms the truth of UFO sightings, and says someday we’ll travel to other planets as easily as we go now from continent to continent. In #44, Master responds to the desire of some disciples to visit Mt. Shasta in California because they have heard that ancient masters live there. He said there are no masters living on Mt. Shasta, but there have been “colonists.”

Davy asks about research, supported by “Sumerian tablets found in Iraq,” that say Earth has been visited by beings from other planets, who have tried to gain power over earthlings and that perhaps the darkness and seeming satanic influences on Earth now are because of these invaders. He speaks of these dark, reptilian creatures interbreeding with earthlings, feeding on negative energy, etc. In this context he mentions the vast numbers of ways the three gunas can manifest. He also asks about lower astral entities and how to protect ourselves from them.

Nayaswami Asha

Ananda Palo Alto

Answer

Dear Davy:

Many of your questions are answered in the book just published by Crystal Clarity, The Yugas, by Joseph Selbie and David Steinmetz (Sanskrit names: Purushottama and Byasa). “Yugas” are the different ages — long periods of ascending and descending consciousness — that have happened on Earth over many thousands, in fact, millions of years.

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July 27
2011

Are We in Kali or Dwapara Yuga?

John C
USA

Question

Namaste. I trust that we’re now about 311 years into an ascending Dwapara Yuga. But I’ve heard many other spiritual teachers or those that’re regarded as Masters/Gurus/Avatars by their followers, say that we are in a Kali Yuga. I believe in one version of AOY, it indicated that though we’re in Dwapara of the 24000 cycle, we are in Kali of a much larger cycle. Could these other teachers be referring to this larger cycle or because they’re wrong, it’s simply a sign that they’re not true Masters?

Puru (Joseph) Selbie

Ananda Village

Answer

Dear John,

In 1894, when Sri Yukteswar wrote "The Holy Science" and described the 24,000 year yuga cycle, the tradition in India was that the world was not only still in Kali Yuga but it had over 300,000 more years to go! Although Sri Yukteswar’s 24,000 year cycle is rapidly gaining adherents, this far longer traditional cycle remains the most widely accepted.

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April 2
2011

Are New Souls Incarnating in Our New Age?

sharon
usa

Question

ive heard that many souls coming here now are from a place where they have been experiencing a newer age, therefore poised to make the best of this yuga of energy mastery. i see it in my kids. they are adept at things i hadn’t a clue about, and have an innate sense about current awareness and subtlties. so, have i known my kids before. or recently? seems theyre coming from such a different reality than i just came from. have they progressed more-were our planes ever close enough to meet

Puru (Joseph) Selbie

Ananda Village

Answer

Sharon,

According to Yogananda’s teachings, soul’s are attracted to incarnate into circumstances that will give them opportunities to grow as human beings and to expiate old karma. It would stand to reason then that the soul’s that are attracted to incarnate at this particular time would have some resonance with this current age.

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November 28
2010

Prehistoric Yugas

A
Canada

Question

Swami Sri Yukteshwar mentions in his book that all the yugas occur within a 24000 yr period and that we are currently in the dwapara yuga. Based on this theory it believed that perhaps the human civilization has already seen several such complete 24000yr yugas and we refer to them as ' Days of Brahman' . I was wondering as to where prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs etc fit into the yuga cycle? Furthermore how does the yugas account for the prehistoric ape man? where does he fit it?

Nayaswami Byasa

Ananda Village

Answer

Dear A,

We know from Sri Yukteswar that the yugas pertain to the human level of consciousness and the process of soul evolution leading to liberation. What they mean to animal consciousness in prehistoric times is an open question.

The consciousness of early humans is not recorded in bones. The influence of Darwin and the notion of linear, rather than cyclic, development have strongly colored conventional thinking. The peoples of the Satya Yuga are characterized by paleoanthropologists as "hunter-gatherers", yet at Göbekli Tepe in Southern Turkey there are elaborate megalithic structures built about 9000 BC, in the middle of the Satya Yuga, with no sign of a permanent settlement nearby contemporary with those structures. The popular image of a hunter-gatherer’s life style of that time period doesn’t fit with these discoveries of coordinated work at a fixed location over a 1500 year time period. If you strip away the thick layer of biased guess work and just look at the data, what is known about the period of the higher yugas is not inconsistent with Sri Yukteswar’s description.

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October 11
2010

Human evolution

Brock
usa

Question

Just to be sure, Yogananda says that human beings are a special creation of god, and not linked with apes. So essentially human beings are a one time creation of God (they magically and radomly appeared). This means that one must place oneself in direct conflict mainstream biological evidence concerning human origins to be a disciple of Yogananda. In other words, humans can’t have evolved at all, but must have been a one time creation. Am I missing something concerning PY’s view on human origin?

Nayaswami Gyandev

Ananda Village

Answer

Paramhansa Yogananda did indeed say that human beings are a special creation. I don’t know about the “magically and randomly appeared” part of your question, but special, yes. Check out this article.

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October 11
2010

The Cosmic Drama

KJ
India

Question

Does God want this drama to continue? Or does he want all of us to get back to him?

If God wants us to perform drama and if all of us get back to him using self realization then will it not be against his will..?

If this drama ( this cycle of Yugas ends) then will there be a new drama?

Nayaswami Gyandev

Ananda Village

Answer

Yes, KJ, God does want the drama to continue – but only in an overall sense, not for us individually. He is, Paramhansa Yogananda said, very keen for each one of us to “go home.” That’s why He has given us the techniques of yoga through the great souls who have handed them down through the ages. He has plenty of ways (and souls) to keep the show going without our being part of it. Still, he doesn’t make it easy for us, does He? Well, it’s all part of His drama.

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August 5
2010

Dwapara Yuga versus Kali Yuga

Dominic McKay
Australia

Question

Hi, I’m researching the Dwapara vs Kali Yuga confusion after having read The Holy Science. Any suggestions of where I can find out more about this subject? Any clear articles about it? I found an answer to a similar question on this website that had a link that’s now dead:

http://www.ananda.org/ask/114/kali-yuga-or-dwapara-yuga-–-are/

so was unable to find out more.

Your time and expertise is much appreciated.

Dominic.

Tyagi Dharmaraj

Ananda India

Answer

Dear Dominic,

Thank you for your question: the yugas are a fascinating topic!

You might be interested in Swami Kriyananda’s recent book, Religion in the New Age. The first chapters go in detail into dwapara versus kali yuga. Here is the book’s introduction.

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