Happy January!According to the Gregorian calendar, we have just entered the year 2022. According to the Yogic Seers, we are roughly 5,123 years into the 28th Kali Yuga (कलियुग) of the Varāha Kalpa (वराहकल्प). These Yogis tell us that time moves in cycles called Yugas (युग). Just like seasons in a year, we move through four 'seasons' of humanity – Satya (सत्य) the Golden Age, Tretā (त्रेता) the Silver Age, Dvāpara (द्वापर) the Bronze Age, and Kali (कलि) the Iron Age. Incidentally, one complete cycle of four yugas lasts 4,320,000 years. Human goodness and virtue peak at 100% during the Satya Yuga and diminishes by 25% with each subsequent Yuga until it reaches the nadir of human kindness at 25% during the Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga is a time of utter chaos, inner turmoil, hate, and hypocrisy with almost no virtue left in the world. People abuse and exploit each other, the plants, minerals, and creatures of the earth, and the soil herself without regard to anything but personal profit and greedy gain. At this critical juncture, Yogic Prophecies predict two possible outcomes – things can continue in a chaotic downward spiral until Nature can no longer bear the pain and cries out for help. Viṣṇu (विष्णु), the preserver will hear the cry of Nature then incarnate as Kalki (कल्कि), and destroy all evil – which is essentially the entire human population – sparing the few who have managed to hold onto truth and virtue to begin the next Satya Yuga. Still, Kalki may also come as a natural or anthropogenic disaster of unimaginable magnitude and devastation. Or the transition can be smoother and more dignified if we strive to create pockets of truth where people welcome Satya Yuga into their hearts by living a life following dharma (धर्म) – truth, righteousness, duty, expansion, justice, and natural law. We may gradually and gently coax Satya Yuga to return more gently. It does not matter whether you take this Yogic Prophecy literally or metaphorically. It is not as important as the fact that one should heed it. These are "dark" times, and our world is in an undeniable crisis, as are our hearts. What can we do about it? Light the lamp in our hearts; drive the darkness out of your hearts first; transform your backyards first; clean up your house first; create Satya Yuga within, despite the Kali Yuga without. If we successfully make Satya yuga within, it will also be without because it is within. When we cultivate the attributes of Satya Yuga such as love, peace, freedom, contentment, and our hearts glow with these qualities of Satya Yuga, we will automatically become beacons for stranded ships. Light doesn't plot to drive out darkness – that is neither the duty nor concern of light. The job of light is to shine, and the only way our God Light can shine is if the heart, body, and soul perform their duties to love all, serve all and return to God. For in the presence of light, love, selfless service, and God – darkness, pain, greed, and ignorance inevitably vanish. Through the complete practice of yoga, we must strive to do precisely that. Contemplation for the Month:How bright does your God Light shine? How selfless are you in your thoughts, speech and actions? What can you do to bring Satya Yuga more clearly into your heart?
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