The Ancient scriptures of India which are known as the Vedas do not do small time, they speak of vast timescales with creator gods living for billions and billions of years, in fact Carl Sagan, the famous science correspondent once observed.

 

“The Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang.”

 

As a contrast to these vast cycles of the Vedas we have the linear conception of the West as well as the Christian creation story which spans some 6000 years and it seems that over the last two centuries those who represent the Ancient Vedic culture have compromised in such a way to appease the Christian version by anglicising these vast timescales.

 

 

One such personality was 'Sri Yukteswar' a highly respected personality who was a Kriya Yogi, a Jyotisha, a scholar of the Gita and the Upanisads and famous as the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda and Swami Satyananda Giri.

 

He was also influenced by Christianity and enrolled in the Srirampur Christian Missionary College where he developed a keen interest in the Bible which he describes in his book 'The Holy Science' and discusses the unifying principles behind Yoga and the Bible.

 

The result of this seems to be seen in his presentation of the Yuga cycles, which, according to the Vedas, combine collectively to a timescale of 4,300,000 years, yet, according to Sri Yukteswar, and what seems to be a compromise between the Vedas and the Bible, he calculates the four Yuga cycles to be a combined total of 12,000 years.

 

 

Sri Yukteswar calculates that the golden age known as 'Satya Yuga' lasts some 4,800 years, the silver age known as 'Treta Yuga' lasts some 3,600 years, the copper age known as 'Dvapara Yuga' lasts some 2,400 years and this present age of iron known as 'Kali Yuga' lasts some 1,200 years.

 

At the present moment India is experiencing a kind of renaissance as people throughout the world are practicing 'Yoga' are studying and researching the 'Bhagavad Gita' are learning how to 'meditate' are becoming 'vegetarians' and many are learning 'Sanskrit'.

 

Along with this interest in the Ancient Vedic culture has come the rise of the new age gurus, who, in many ways broadcast a positive message promoting spiritual and physical health, however, it seems this compromise of Sri Yukteswar has become popular amongst them and the vast timescales long associated with these yugas are now seen by many as the 12,000 year timespan of the Christian appeasing Sri Yukteswar.

 

 

Sri Yukteswar presents timescales which are clearly mentioned throughout the Vedas as 'divine years' as in the years of the Devas and each of these divine years represent 360 human years, hence the timescale of the Yugas according to the Vedas are 12,000 years x 360 which is 4,320,000.

 

"Twelve thousand years of the demigods is the duration of the four yugas on earth. The duration of Satya-yuga is four thousand celestial years, Treta-yuga is three thousand celestial years, Dvapara-yuga is two thousand celestial years, and Kali-yuga is one thousand celestial years." Kalki Purana (19.12-14).

 

"Time is divided into four yugas and these are known as 'Satya' 'Treta' 'Dvapara' and 'Kali'. The lengths of these yugas are defined in terms of the years of the gods and 'Satya' has 4000 years of the gods 'Treta' has 3000 years of the gods 'Dvapara' has 2000 and 'Kali' has 1000 years of the gods." Matsya Purana.

 

 

"Maitreya said: O Vidura, the four millenniums are called the Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali yuga. The aggregate number of years of all of these combined is equal to twelve thousand years of the demigods." Srimad Bhagavatam 3.11.18.

 

"The duration of the Satya millennium equals 4,800 years of the years of the demigods; the duration of the Treta millennium equals 3,600 years of the demigods; the duration of the Dvapara millennium equals 2,400 years; and that of the Kali millennium is 1,200 years of the demigods." Srimad Bhagavatam 3.11.19.

 

"The duration of Satya yuga is one million, four hundred and forty thousand human years. As for Kali-yuga, it is one fourth of that. Thus the duration of time of the four yugas excluding the Sandhyas and Sandhyamshas is declared. Including the Sandhyas and Sandhyamshas the duration of the four yugas put together is four million three hundred and twenty thousand ( 4,320,000 ) human years." ( Vayu Purana 57.29-32 ).

 

 

Within the Ancient classic of India known as the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krsna declares "By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma's one day, and such also is the duration of his night." Gita 8.17.

 

An age according to the Vedas is one cycle of the four Yugas, hence according to some of the New Age Gurus this means that a day and night of Lord Brahma lasts 2000 x 12,000 years which is 24 million years, yet throughout the Vedas it is declared that a day and night of Lord Brahma, as mentioned by Carl Sagan, lasts 8.64 billion years.

 

Many refuse to believe in such timescales which is fine, and many refuse to believe in the Vedas themselves which is also fine, however one should not pervert and distort the Vedas simply to appease convention and  one should not compromise as a way of winning over Western minds which is a tendency of new age gurus as they appear on social media.

 

 

New age gurus describe how we have passed through the age of Kali and entered into the next age, yet each week some 4 billion animals are slaughtered, each year some 42 million abortions take place and governments throughout the world destroy rainforests as one would mow a lawn, all of which belongs to one age and one age only 'Kali'.

 

Their conditioned minds conjure up timescales of 1200 years for the age of Kali and 12,000 years for the four yugas, while the Vedas which are free from the limited minds of mere humans speak of a day and night of Lord Brahma which lasts some 8.64 billion years, such are the glaring contradictions.

 

We find no support for their speculations while throughout the Vedas we find its all consistent as seen in the above quotes and many more which are from the 'Matsya Purana' the 'Kalki Purana' the 'Bhagavat Purana' the 'Bhagavad Gita' the 'Visnu Purana' the 'Vayu Purana' the 'Bhavishya Purana' the 'Mahabharata' all free from human speculations and new age gurus and all explaining the vast timescales which are a prominent feature of the Ancient Vedic culture.