| Time, Epochs & Millennia | |
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Most of us are accustomed to living life according to linear beliefs and patterns of existence. We believe everything has a beginning, middle and an end. But Hinduism has little to do with the linear nature of history, the linear concept of time or the linear pattern of life.
Cyclical
Time
The passage of 'linear' time has brought us where we are today - at the dawn
of a new century and a new millennium. But Hinduism views the concept of time
in a much different manner, and there is a cosmic perspective to it. Hindus
believe the process of creation moves in cycles and that each cycle has four
great epochs of time, namely Satya Yug, Treta Yug, Dwapar Yug and Kali
Yug. And because the process of creation is cyclical and never ending, it
"begins to end and ends to begin".
Time
is God
According to the Hindu theory of creation, time (Sanskrit 'kal') is a
manifestation of God. Creation begins when God makes his energies active and
ends when he withdraws all his energies into a state of inactivity. God is timeless,
for time is relative and ceases to exist in the Absolute. The past, the present
and the future coexist in him simultaneously.
Kalchakra
God creates the cycle of time, called Kalchakra, in order to create divisions
and movements of life and sustain the worlds in periodic timeframes. God also
uses time to create the 'illusions' of life and death. It is time, which is
accountable for old age, death and dying
of his creations. When we overcome time, we become immortal. Death is not the
end of the line, but a gateway to the next cycle, to birth. This is also true
of the universe itself and akin to the cyclic patterns in the rhythms of nature.
Next Page > The Four Epochs or Yugs > Page 1, 2, 3
