EarthStar Magazine

October/November, 2007

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Mistakes in Ancient Almanacs

The Yukteswar Theory by Lori Toye

(from Page 64, EarthStar Magazine, October/November 2007 Issue)

Since the light of the Galactic Center, also known as the Great Central Sun, regulates the intelligence of humanity during the cycles of the Yugas, some Vedic authorities argue that mathematical calculations made during the darkness of Kali are inaccurate. This is the theory of Sri Yukteswar, disciple of Avatar Babaji and Paramahansa Yogananda’s Master Teacher. He writes in The Holy Science, “The mistake crept into the almanac for the first time about 700 BC, during the reign of Parikshit, just after completion of the last Descending Dvapara Yuga… Together with all the wise men of his court, (he) retired to the Himalayan Mountains, the paradise of the world. Thus there were none in the court of Raja Parikshit who could understand the principle of correctly calculating the ages of the several Yugas.” It has been suggested that once the Rishis fled for refuge to the Himalayans that they also took the sacred knowledge of Vastu Shastra—the Vedic science of Earth’s geomancy—which later evolved into Chinese Feng Shui.

Using the Yukteswar approach, by the year 2000 AD we experienced 300 years of a Bronze Age, Dvapara-Yuga, in an ascending cycle of light. It is also important to note that the Yukteswar Yuga Cycle (often referred to as the “Electric Cycle”) is based on the movement of light through declining and ascending cycles. This descending cycle ceases at the lowest point and then begins an upward motion in the ascending cycle to the highest point of light. From a practical point of view, this would seem to make more sense than the commonly held viewpoint, prophesying a Golden Age directly following an age of Iron. This method reflects a more natural progression of light—i.e. the flow of the seasons from spring to summer; fall to winter, not winter moving directly to summer.

It is also important to understand that the Yukteswar Cycle uses a shorter cycle with only 24,000 years completing a cycle of four yugas. The traditional Yuga cycle contains a total of 4,320,000 years with 432,000 years allotted to Kali-Yuga. According to this system the cycle of Kali-Yuga began in the year 3102 BC. So, which system is correct?
Optimistically the shorter cycle is a much more pleasant viewpoint, marking an obvious upward trend for humanity’s growth and evolution. It is, however, entirely possible that we are experiencing two trends simultaneously with an overall downward phase containing a smaller, minor upward cycle as taught by Sri Yukteswar and prophesied in the Brahmavaivarta Purana. Dr. David Frawley, Vedic authority and teacher of the ancient wisdom addresses the issue, “I see humanity to be in a greater dark age phase, because even in the Golden and Silver Ages of the lesser cycle as evidence in the Vedas, the great majority of human beings appear to remain on a materialistic or vital plane level, concerned mainly with the ordinary goals of family, wealth and personal happiness. Only the higher portion of humanity, the cultural elite of a few percent, appears to experience the full benefits of the ages of light. This is the same as today, when the majority of human beings live on the same emotional level as before, and only a few really understand the secrets of science and technology, though all benefit from them.”

If you overlay both systems, it is definite that we are experiencing an upward trend, albeit major or minor, with the subsequent cycle of descending light targeted between the years 11,900 AD to 12,500 AD. Often the Master Teachers remind us, “The minutes and seconds tick… the Awakening is at hand. The time has come for man to receive the gift!” No doubt, we are living in an important time, and with the assistance of the upward cycle of Galactic Light, we may evolve and develop through a finer harmonic. So why wait? “The Time is Now.”

Bibliography

Frawley, David. The Astrology of the Seers, Salt Lake City, UT. Passage Press, 1990.

Toye, Lori. New World Atlas, Volume One, Payson, AZ. Seventh Ray Publishing, 1992.

Yukteswar, Sri. The Holy Science, Los Angeles, CA. Self-Realization Fellowship, 1949.

© 2007, by Lori Toye, Payson, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved.