A calendar year consists of four seasons namely Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each season spans the duration of 3 calendar months which adds up to 12 month in total. According to vedic cosmology, there are four yugas also known as universal seasons that make up the age of the cosmos.
The four yugas that make up a full yuga cycle are:
- Satya Yuga
- Treta Yuga
- Dvapara Yuga
- Kali Yuga
But what is a yuga? In this article we will explain the four yugas with emphasis on our current cycle, Kali yuga.
Satya Yuga
Satya Yuga also known as the Golden Age was a time where humans lived in harmony with nature. According to the Vedic texts, humans during the Satya Yuga lived for up to 100 000 years and were gifted in the art of meditation.
As time went on, humans started to move away from spiritualism and desired the increase of their material comforts. This caused the rise of competition amongst men and a class-based society (varnasrama) was introduced. This was the beginning of the Treta Yuga known as the Silver Age.
Treta Yuga
In Treta Yuga, although there was some division among men, people still lived in peace and prosperity. It was a time where humans were taking part in non-violent sacrifices to please the gods and ultimately the Supreme God, Vishnu.
Society was divided into four classes for the purpose of sacrifice namely:
- brahmanas (Intellectuals)
Spiritual leaders who studied the Vedic texts.
- kshatriyas (administrators)
Rulers, politicians and army generals
- vaishyas (merchants)
Worked in commerce and industry
- sudras (workers)
Served the other three classes
- sudras (workers)
- vaishyas (merchants)
Although there was division of classes, humans still lived morally with no feelings of envy or condescension.
Dvapara Yuga
As time went on, humans became more selfish and were looking for ways to improve their own social standings, living standards and happiness. This was often done through the exploitation of others and the people moved further away from their spiritualism. Wars were fought because Kings wanted more wealth and power.
The people erected great monuments and started to worship Vishnu in His deity form. This was the Bronze Age, also called Dvapara Yuga. Mankind lived to about 1000 years of age. During Dvapara Yuga, people became distrustful of their leaders and fellow citizens. Towards the end of this age, the earth was filled with leaders moving away from their spiritualism in favor of their greed and selfishness. Krishna was to appear on earth to destroy the godless kings and restore the world's virtue.
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga could not begin while Sri Krishna was on earth, but as soon as Krishna left for the spiritual realm chaos ensued. The religious and political leaders became the most corrupt of all. People use religion as a tool of deception and morality has been diminished. This is Kali Yuga, the Iron Age.
We are currently in the beginning of Kali Yuga. It is the complete opposite of Satya Yuga, devoid of peace and harmony. In this age people live to be only about 100 years old and suffer great hardships during their time. They have a constant struggle for survival and live in fear.
People are consumed with materialistic objects, they neglect their religion and morality and they are in conflict with others. As the Kali Yuga progresses, it will become more difficult for humanity and the Vedic texts state that humans will become lower than wild animals. In fact, humans are described as hunting and consuming one another for food and social groups are described as being like a pack of dogs.
