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

 

“Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s faiths dedicated to the idea the Cosmos undergoes an immense, indeed infinite, number of deaths and rebirths, the only religion whose time scales correspond to 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 we have a linear conception of the West and the Christian creation story spanning 6000 years and over the last two centuries those representing Vedic culture may have compromised by anglicising such timescales.

 

'Sri Yukteswar' a scholar of Gita and guru of 'Paramahansa Yogi' enrolled in the Srirampur Christian College having an interest in the Bible which he describes as 'the holy science' and discusses the unifying principles of Yoga and the Bible.

 

This is seen in his presentation of Yuga cycles, which the Vedas combine to a total of 4,300,000 years, yet, what seems to be a compromise between the Vedas and the Bible, he calculates the four Yuga cycles as a combined total of 12,000 years.

 

 

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

 

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

 

Along with this comes new age gurus promoting spirituality and it seems this compromise of Yukteswar is popular amongst them as vast timescales are reduced to the 12,000 year timespan of the Christian appeasing Sri Yukteswar.

 

 

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

 

"12,000 years of demigods is the duration of four yugas on earth. The duration of Satya-yuga is 4000 celestial years, Treta-yuga is 3000 celestial years, Dvapara-yuga is 2000 celestial years, Kali-yuga is 1000 celestial years." Kalki Purana.

 

"Time divides into four yugas known as 'Satya' 'Treta' 'Dvapara' 'Kali'. Such yugas are defined in terms of the years of gods 'Satya' has 4000 years 'Treta' has 3000 years '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 satya yuga equals 4,800 years of the demigods, treta yuga equals 3,600 years of the demigods, dvapara yuga equals 2,400 years, kali yuga is 1,200 years of the demigods." Srimad Bhagavatam 3.11.19.

 

"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 four Yugas and according to New Age Gurus this means a day and night of Brahma is 2000 x 12000 years ( 24 million years ) yet the Vedas declares this to last 8.64 billion years.

 

Many do not believe in such timescales which is fine, however, one should not distort the Vedas to appease convention and compromise to win over Western minds which is a tendency of new age gurus as they appear on social media.

 

 

New age gurus say we have passed through Kali and entered the next age, yet each week 4 billion animals are slaughtered, each year 42 million abortions take place and governments destroy rainforests all of which belongs to one age 'Kali'.

 

Conditioned minds conjure up 1200 years for Kali and 12,000 years for the four yugas, while 'Veda' free from the limited minds of humans speak of a day and night of Brahma lasting 8.64 billion years, such are the glaring contradictions.

 

We see no support for such speculations while the Vedas gives clear information in the above quotes from 'Matsya Purana' 'Kalki Purana' 'Bhagavat Purana' 'Bhagavad Gita' 'Visnu Purana' 'Vayu Purana' 'Bhavishya Purana' 'Mahabharata'.