It's high time we awaken our conscience in the Iron Age before it gets too late to reverse the damage, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj
As per the Hindu philosophy and vedic scriptures, we are currently in the fourth and final stage of cycle of world — Kali Yuga or Iron Age. Out of four stages of the world —Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapar Yuga and Kali Yuga, the fourth and the last stage is considered as the age of vice and sin when dharma is destroyed. Saints and sages have described the people in Kali Yuga as greedy, ill-behaved and merciless. In this age, merely possessing wealth is considered as a sign of good birth, proper behaviour and fine qualities. law and justice are determined by one’s prestige and power. Marriage ceases to exist as a holy union as men and women simply live together on the basis of bodily attraction, verbal agreement and only for sexual pleasure.
According to scriptures, humans in Kali Yuga seek only money. Only the richest have power and people without money are their slaves. The leaders of the state no longer protect the people but plunder the citizenry through excessive taxation. Farmers abandon living close to nature. They become unskilled labourers in congested cities. Many dress in rags or are unemployed and sleep on the streets. Through the fault of the government, infant mortality rates increase. False gods are worshiped in false ashrams, in which pilgrimages, penances, charities and austerities are all concocted. Women, children and cows who are protected in an enlightened society are abused and killed during the Iron Age. At such times, even good deeds either go waste or produce bad results.
Don’t you think that our present times are very much like thisIJ Today, everything in the world is increasingly getting corrupted under the influence of the Iron Age. Human efforts to solve the world’s problems are unwittingly producing more problems. In fact, our scientific progress has been accompanied by a slide into moral decay. The practical manifestation of this, is that even though our physical comforts are increasing, our peace of mind, inner contentment and spiritual strength are getting depleted. Why is this soIJ The answer is that nothing truly good can happen in this degraded world.
If we take a look at our development over the ages, it can be seen that our economic growth is giving more and more people access to an increasing variety of goods and services. But has this development made people happierIJ Not really. Because the gap between the rich and the poor is widening day by day and exploitation of the weak has become an integral part of the modern society. The consumption-driven model of growth is causing social strife, with communities violently opposing projects for which their resources are expropriated by governments or private firms that give them little in return.
The phenomenon of climate change, triggered by our abuse of nature, threatens to make life on this planet impossible. Scientists and policy makers can only wring their hands in despair as they see droughts, floods and freak weather caused by climate change wrecking economic havoc in rich as well as poor countries.
Over the past century we have conquered an array of diseases and our lifespan has increased as a result of medical advances. But newer and incurable variations of older diseases are emerging and taking a toll on human life. In the political field, too we see divisions and strife on the rise. On one hand, nations are forging partnerships for economic gain, on the other, countries are getting fragmented on ethnic, linguistic and sectarian lines. The most ominous part of the world’s political rivalries is the huge stockpile of weapons of mass destruction built up by nations. The cold war is supposed to have ended and trade and telecommunications have brought nations together like never before but still governments are engaged in refining these tools of annihilation. Unable to bear the growing grief, misery, disease, untimely death, conflicts and natural calamities, humans are now turning to God for succor, but in vain, because they do not know who the real God is.
Today, religion has divided mankind and produced hatred and violence. Ignorance of our true spiritual identity and that of God has thwarted all human efforts to create inter-religious harmony. The increase in sufferings despite all human efforts is a proof that however many lamps you may light, you cannot turn night into day.
So will this night of moral darkness ever come to an endIJ It will end only when God, the sun of knowledge, ushers in the Golden Age. He performs this task of transforming the old world into new through his children that is humans, by awakening them to their true spiritual identity and giving them the strength to overcome vices, which are the root cause of man’s degradation. Remember, when the vices are eradicated, all suffering will end and the golden dawn breaks over the world. So let us enlighten and awaken self with the true knowledge given by almighty supreme and get a safe passage to golden age.