Tsunami, Population Explosion & Kali Yuga
The good news is, according to some estimations,
we've already completed 5,107 years of Kali Yuga.
The bad news is we have 426,893 more to go.
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20 January 2005 — Amritapuri
In the 12th chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam*, Suka Maharishi
gives King Parikshit a detailed account of what life will be like in
the age "when only a quarter of the four feet of dharma remain." What
he describes is disturbing: a world steeped in darkness, where greed,
lust, thievery, poor physical and mental health and spiritual ignorance
reign supreme.
(Pictured: The tsunami at the beach by Amritapuri
Ashram.) |
Furthermore, Sage Suka says that in the Kali Yuga
the harmony between man and nature will be lost, resulting
in mass destruction through natural disasters and extreme
weather: "Already oppressed by famine and taxation,
people will perish through drought, cold, storms, sunshine,
rain, snowfall and mutual conflict."
When one reads this, it's hard to not think of the
tsunami.
Recently when asked about the cause of the tsunami,
Amma pointed to man's exploitation of nature, the cause
of which is two-fold—adharmic actions stemming from
lack of faith in God and the world's population problem.
"The Srimad Bhagavatam gives
a clear picture of Kali Yuga," Amma said. "In
Kali Yuga, man will cut trees and build houses.
Houses will become business centres. Temples
will be exploited for material gains. All these
have become true these days. By developing faith
in God, the lost harmony can be regained. Faith
in God indicates abiding in a dharmic way of
life. Traffic rules help to maintain order on
roads. Similarly, living a dharmic life will
help us to bring harmony in our lives. These
days, suppose a family is comprised of three
people—all three of them will live like isolated
islands. Sanatana Dharma says that we are all
links on the same chain, but today everybody
wants to grab as much as they can. Readiness
to give is most needed." |
"Now there is no longer any
rain when it is supposed to rain. If it does
rain, there is either too little or too much,
and it comes too early or too late. It is
the same with sunshine. Nowadays humans are
trying to exploit nature. This is why there
are floods, draughts and earthquakes, and
everything is being destroyed. There is a
tremendous decline in the quality of life.
Many people have lost faith. They do not
feel any love and compassion, and the spirit
of working together, hand in hand, for the
good of all, has been lost. This will have
a bad effect on nature. Nature will withdraw
all her blessings and turn against man. Unimaginable
will be nature's reaction if man continues
like this."
�Amma, from "Man & Nature" (1994) |
"We are taking three times more than what we
need from Nature," Amma said. "We cut trees,
dig bore wells, build dams against free-flowing water,
cut stones from the mountains—thus goes on the list
of exploitation."
This was the third time in the past year that Amma
had spoken to the ashramites about the growing disharmony
between man and Mother Nature—each time focusing on
the population problem:
"Controlling the population explosion is the
best way to control the exploitation of nature," Amma
said. "It is enough to have just one child. In
case a couple needs more, they can adopt an orphan."
Amma said that the world's birth-rate is continually
increasing and its death-rate decreasing. She has specifically
mentioned India and Bangladesh as being places where
this problem is particularly out of hand. "If
things continue the way they are, in 30 years India
will have the No.1 population problem," Amma said.
"Population has increased by hundreds of millions,
but the size of the earth has not increased," Amma
said. "Because
of this, man has started exploiting the eco-system.
Trees that purify the atmosphere are mercilessly cut
down and factories are built in order to cater to our
ever-increasing needs."
Amma said we must control the population and make
others aware about the problem. "It is best if
couples have just one child," Amma said. "We
should create this awareness in India. This will save
us from poverty, hunger and the loss of our culture."
"Some religions are against controlling the population," Amma
said. "This may be in some religious texts, but
if so then the texts need to be changed."
Amma admitted that limiting the number of children
they have could be difficult for some couples because
of the strength of their vasanas [tendencies]. "But
it can be done," She said, citing for example
the sacrifice some Indian families make when the husband
temporarily relocates to a Gulf country in order to
make more money. "For everything, we need control," Amma
said. The implication was clear: we are willing to
sacrifice for the sake of our immediate family; we
need to become more expansive and become willing to
make such sacrifices for the sake of this one-world
family.
Reading the Bhagavatam, one realizes the
horror of Kali Yuga is not a thing of the future. True,
things can get even worse, but we are already very
much in the Age of Kali. Almost all of Sage
Suka's predictions have already come true.
Since the tsunami, many TV reporters and newspaper
journalists have asked Amma about its cause and how
to prevent such tragedies from repeating. Amma has
been telling them that we must stop our exploitation: "Go
back to your dharma. When we lose our dharma, nature
also loses its dharma. The harmony is lost."
With regard to population problem, Amma said, "On
one side, we are free to create as many children as
we want. But on the other side, nature can destroy
all of them in one fell swoop."
"The tsunami was a warning, but no one heard
it," Amma said. "It is easy to wake up someone
who is sleeping, but difficult to wake up someone who
is pretending to be asleep."
�Sakshi
*Srimad Bhagavatam is a text written at least
5,000 years ago by Sage Veda Vyasa. It details the
incarnations of Lord Vishnu and details many aspects
of the modern world.
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