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Re: Age of the universe
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To: alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Re: Age of the universe
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From: ramster@cpcug.org
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Date: 3 May 1995 16:24:23 GMT
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From news@news1.digex.net Wed May 3 12: 18:44 1995
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Newsgroups: alt.hindu
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Organization: Express Access Online Communications, USA
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References: <3o42i8$3i3@ucunix.san.uc.edu>
In message <3o42i8$3i3@ucunix.san.uc.edu> - krajam@aol.com (Krajam) writes:
>A while age there was a note on the net which talked about the number of
>years of Bramha and yugas etc and how it correlates to the age of the
>unviverse as calculated by some scientists.
>
>Can anyone shed some light on the topic.
>
I read about this a very long Time ago, so please bear with any errors ...
Kali Yuga: 432,000 Earth Years
Dwapara Yuga: 864,000 Earth Years
Treta Yuga: 1,296,000 Earth Years
Krta (Sathya) Yuga: 1,728,000 Earth Years
-----------------------------------------------
Maha (Chatur) Yuga: 4,320,000 Earth Years
71 Maha Yugas make up one Manvanthara. Beginning with Svayambhuva,
Svarochisha, etc, there are 14 Manus. The present Manvanthara is named after
our current progenitor, Vaivasvatha, the 7th Manu in this list of 14.
Incidentally, I find it interesting that the Webster's Dictionary mentions
that the root for the word "Man" comes from the Sanskrit word "Manu". The
closest individual in the Western beliefs that I can associate Manu with is
Adam.
Manvanthara = 71 X 4,320,000 = 306,720,000 Earth Years
One Cycle of all 14 Manus is known as a Kalpa.
Kalpa = 14 X 306,720,000 = 4,294,080,000 Earth Years
Symbolically, it is believed that a Kalpa is the equivalent of one half of a
day of Brahma, the Creator. He is said to create the Universe at the
beginning of His day, which Siva destroys at the end of Brahma's day. Brahma
then rests for the night, and starts the process the next day.
Brahma's day = 2 X 4,294,080,000 = 8,588,160,000 Earth Years
It is also believed that Brahma life is for 100 of His years, when the next
Brahma takes over. The current "pravaras" that are chanted in most Hindu
religeous ceremonies indicate that we are in the Prathama pada (first leg)
of Dvitiya Parardha (second half) of the life of our Brahma, indicating He is
more than 50 Years old in His Time, or so I am given to understand. I don't
want to calculate the life of Brahma beyond the 8.6 odd Billion Earth Years,
because I am not convinced ... or there is a lack of any documentation as to
the number of Brahmic days (for the lack of a better definition) in one
Brahmic Year.
This Brahma (Saguna Brahma), I guess, should not be confused with the Supreme
Being, also known as Nijaguna Brahma. I may have criss crossed the names
here, and if so, I apologize. The Supreme Being, it is believed, does not
have a form, shape, gender, size or any other physical attributes normally
associated with existence as we know it, and is said to be independent of
Time, which the Saguna Brahma is not.
Also interesting is another feature in the measurement of Time by the ancient
people of the Hindu System. Just as there is a unit of Time for a period as
long as 4.3 Billion Years (the Kalpa) there is also a unit of Time on the
smaller scale as well .... it is called "Kashta" which is the equivalent of
one Billionth of a second. I would imagine this Saguna Brahma would need
such units of Time, if He were to, say, try to convert my lifespan in His
time scales, although I would not know why He would want to do it.
Ramgopal Kurpad
