Theos-Talk Archives (December 2006 Message tt00075)

Friends, 

Along with the Adyar TS "The Theosophist", the ULT Indian periodical  "The Theosophical Movement" is one of the few monthly magazines firmly established in the movement today. 
In it, every month one finds an interesting section of questions and answers. 
See an example below:  

"Question: Are the Yugas fixed in their length and sequence? Can they be changed by the actions of human beings?"
"Answer: The Sanskrit equivalent of "cycle" are Kalpa, Yuga and Manvantara, of which Yuga is the nearest, as it is of lesser duration than the others. The Bhagavad-Gita refers to Brahma's Day and Night. At the approach of Brahma's Day all manifested objects come forth from the non-developed principle and at the approach of Brahma's night they are absorbed in the original principle. This refers to the great cycle, which includes all cycles of every kind. What determines different cycles? It is said that at the first moment of the solidification of our earth, "the mass of matter involved attained a certain and definite rate of vibration, which will hold through all variations in any part of it until its hour for dissolution comes." We are also told that "cycles are the clock of Karma." Cycles are not different from Law and Karma, but only the way of marking the time of cause and effect, of action and reaction. Karma is like the mainspring that makes all the wheels go round. There are many little and big wheels inside the clock. Cycles are like the hands that point the hour on the face, as they travel round it. Thus, we may say that the sequence and the length of the Yugas are determined by the Karma of the people experiencing them. The four yugas are: Krita or Satya (golden); Treta (silver); Dvapara (Bronze); and Kali (Iron). Kali Yuga is 432,000 years in length, according to old Indian calculation, and its first five thousand years have come to an end. However, the course of evolution for every race is divided into four yugas, in its own way. These yugas do not affect the entire mankind at one and the same time. In The Secret Doctrine, we are told that the fourth subrace was in Kali Yuga when destroyed. Each race, as well as subrace, goes through all the four yugas from the Golden to the Black. Thus, at one and the same time races may be in one of the four yugas. Some might be in the Golden Age and others in the Black. Kali Yuga is marked by darkness—darkness of ignorance. Mr. Judge observes that there is great thirst for riches and material betterment, while the spiritual life is ignored. If spiritual light were prevalent, the rich and the poor would still be there, but the poor would know how to accept their lot and the rich would find out ways and means to improve the conditions of the poor."

You can see all of the answer and other interesting issues at 

http://www.teosofia.com/Mumbai/7509questions.html

The air mail yearly subscription is rather unexpensive. Older issues are available at   http://www.teosofia.com . 

"The Theosophical Movement" is a  high level magazine on the spiritual path.  

Regards,  Carlos. 


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