What proof is there that a new Golden Age is comming? What will it be like? When will it come? My previous post “2012 & The Golden Age” was based on an Indian prediction supposedly from the Brighu Samhita. Like many translations of ancient works, some predictions seem accurate, while others are not. This post explores what is predicted in other Vedic texts and the visions of the Gaudiya Vaisnava Guru’s

Srila Prabupada speaks about the Golden Age within this Kali Yuga (Morning walk, March 11, London, 1975):

“Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, will the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Movement take over the world eventually, in this Kali-yuga?  Prabhupāda: No, that is not possible, because only the fortunate persons will take.”

As a living Vaisnava Prophet, Srila Prabhupada explains that not everyone will experience the Golden Age of Lord Caitanya. Only those who worship Sri Gauranga will enter into the bliss of this “Prema-Yuga”. The offenders of Krishna and Gauranga will no doubt congregate where pockets of Kali remain during the coming ‘Golden Age of Harinama’. No, the whole planet will not become heavenly, even though it is predicted by Lord Gauranga Himself that “In every town and village my Holy Names will be sung”. Therefore, some towns and villages will be inimical to the Golden Age Devotees of Lord Gaurahari who pass through those towns!

Below is a statement by Srila Prabhupada’s siksa disciple, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami about how long this “Prema Yuga” will last in this extra-ordinary Kaliyuga. (Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, Cessnock, Australia, February 25, 2002).

“When Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes, (once in thousands of Kali-yugas), there is no Kalki Avatar. The effect of harinama will continue everywhere, until the end.”

Thus, the lila of the Prema-Yuga is seen with some differences amongst the Gaudiya Vaisnava Acaryas.

Below is a 60 minute discource by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, from 2009, which describes what to expect as we enter the coming Golden Age. More information about the Vedic prophecies from the Bhagavata and Brahma-Vaivarta Puranas can be found at his site: http://www.dharmacentral.com

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SEARCH FOR THE NEW “GOLDEN AGE” IN THE WRITINGS OF INDIA

The Srimad Bhagavata Purana, (7.9.38) states:
“My Lord, You kill all the enemies of the world in Your multifarious incarnations in the families of men, animals, demigods, sages, aquatics, and so on. Thus You illuminate the worlds with transcendental knowledge. In the age of Kali, O Mahapurusa, You sometimes appear in a covered incarnation. Therefore You are known as Triyuga (one who appears in only three yugas).”

In the text Brahma-yamala, the Supreme Personality of Godhead declares:
athavaham dhara-dhamni
bhutva mad-bhakta-rupa-dhak
mayayam ca bhaviryami
kalau sankirtanagame

“Sometimes I personally appear on the surface of the world in the garb of a devotee. Specifically, I appear as the son of Saci in Kali-yuga to start the sankirtana movement.”

There is very little Vedic literature about the Golden Age of Sri Caitanya. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, coming in the line of Sri Caitanya, claims this age of divine love will last 10,000 years from the year of Chaitanya’s appearance in 1486 CE. Some say he meant from his own appearance in 1896. Other Gaudiya Masters declare the entire remainder of Kali-yuga will be like a Tretā-yuga paradise, where every village has a Temple of Sri Caitanya, accompanied with sacred singing and dancing in the streets. Only a small minority will choose to live like outcast savages.

Some Vaisnava scholars don’t credit the Brahma-Vaivarta Purana prophecy to apply to this yuga. An alternate translation says that all the holy rivers will vanish by 5,000 years into Kali, while the ‘mantropāsakā’ devotees who chant will only last 10,000 years into the yuga. Since the sacred Ganga is still present, another Kali yuga, from another Kalpa (Day of Creation) is implied.

HOW LONG WILL THE GOLDEN AGE LAST?

However, one of the Upa-Puranas, the Kalki Purana, sheds some more light on this particular Dhanya Kali yuga. Composed by Vyāsadeva, he saw in trance how the avatar of Kalki would take birth and carry out his mission at the end of the yuga. At the introduction of the Purana (Ch 1 Text 38) the progress of the yuga is described:

dvitiye tannama hinas trtiye varna sankarah

ekavarnas caturthe ca vismrta cyuta satkriyah

“In the second quarter of Kali-yuga, people will no longer chant the holy names of Lord Krsna. In the third quarter of Kali-yuga, there will be an upsurge of unwanted population, and in the final quarter of Kali-yuga, there will be only one class of human being, because God consciousness will have been long forgotten.”

Here we see a reference to Lord Gaura’s ‘Age of Prema’. By the second quarter of Kaliyuga, Krishna’s names will not be chanted. That’s after 108,000 years of this Kali Age. Does this pattern follow the same degradation pattern of the four yugas? If it did, The Golden Age of Prema should have been at its height during the life of Lord Gaura, some 500 years ago. At that time all of India was wonderfully affected with Sri Chaitanya’s Golden Age – a spiritual revolution of Krishna-Bhakti with the public inauguration of the secret Mahamantra, but by the time of Srila Bhaktivinoda, the expansion of the Golden Age had practically disappeared. This was only 400 years later. The only indication that God had walked the Earth was the automatic ripple effect in Europe, the end of the ‘Dark Ages’ and the beginning of the Renaissance, the European “Age of Enlightenment”.  We see from this evidence, that the Age of Lord Gaura does not behave like the degradation of yugas. (See 4 Yugas – Ages of Man)

THE ONE IN A THOUSAND ‘GOLDEN AGE’ WITHIN KALI YUGA

Duration of the Golden Age within Kali Yuga “In the second quarter of Kali-yuga, people will no longer chant the holy names of Lord Krishna” (click to enlarge)

We should imagine then, an alternative to the typical yuga pattern of gradual degradation. The coming of the Gaura-Yuga may evolve like the passing of a season. It may sweep through this Dhanya-Kali like a monsoon season of transcendental love, intensifying with each future incarnation of Lord Gaura’s eternal servants.

One quarter of Kali Yuga is 108,000 years. Thus, we can imagine, like the cycle of seasons, that the Golden Age should rise for 54,000 years, cover the entire world, then decline for 54,000 years until the Chanting of Krishna’s names ceases altogether. The peak, or ‘summertime’ of the Golden Age of Prema could last for some 30 to 50 thousand years, with a total duration, from Lord Gaura’s appearance, to its end at a quarter way through Kali, of 103,500 years!

Thus, at the present time, this enormous period of both spiritual growth and technological advancement, has practically just begun. As the Prema-Yuga progresses, it will become like a Treta-yuga of spiritual and material happiness, with garden city-states of unlimited clean energy and amazingly evolved technologies.

Then, at its fullness, The New Golden Age, like a special Satya-yuga within Kali, should last for up to 50,000 years. By this time, practically everyone, everywhere on Earth, will be blissfully meditating on the Lord by singing and remembering the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, along with other blissful Holy Names of the Lord according to local traditions. In every town and village there will be beautiful shrines and pavilions for the singing of Lord Gauranga’s names. There will be no wars, no government, no corporations, no pollution, no private ownership of resources, and only when required, will the wise village elders intervene with the carefree and virtuous daily lives of the citizens. By virtue of the power of the mantra, old age and disease will become forgotten. Technology will have been transcended by mystic siddhi perfections. All necessities for life will be manifest by this chanting, and, at the end of their lives, the people of this Golden Age will each ascend to the highest spiritual abode of Goloka-Navadvīpa.

However, being within Kali-yuga, and although the chanting will be in every town and village, there will always be a very small percentage of rebellious souls who will not be saved. Those who offend the ‘Chanters of the Great Holy Names’ will neither achieve happiness nor salvation. Like lepers or savages, they will remove themselves to the mountains and forests to live banished from society. Gradually, the Golden Age of Prema will diminish through a cycle of 54,000 years, as the darkness of Kali once again envelopes humanity until the end of the age.

Bhaktivedanta Swami was asked by a New York reporter on July 14, 1976 if everyone on Earth will become Krishna conscious. This was his reply “That is not possible. It is more for the most intelligent class of men. Unless one is intelligent class, he cannot understand. So we don’t expect that everyone is intelligent. People are engrossed with the bodily concept of life. It is beyond that. So dull brain cannot understand what is beyond this body. So you cannot expect that everyone will understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

It is written in one of Srila Prabhupada’s biographies that he said WW3 will come to wipe out communism and atheistic science, unless his books on Bhakti-yoga are extensively distributed:

However, from various verses in the Puranas we understand that the majority of people, the ‘lokān sarvadā’ or people of ‘all the world’, will be saved by the pastimes of Lord Gaura. For example, in the Varāha Purāṇa, the Supreme Lord predicts:

aham eva dvija-śreṣtho līlā-prācurya-vigrahaḥ

bhagavad-bhakta-rūpeṇa lokān rakṣāmi sarvadā

“I shall come as the best of the brāhmanas. I will exhibit many pastimes in the form of a devotee [Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu]. I shall deliver the people of all the world (lokan raksami sarvada).”

Mahaprabhu’s Golden Age has certainly received minimal treatment by Vaisnava authors and thus remains somewhat a secret doctrine. One such author, Kanupriya Goswami, wrote a small booklet on this topic in 1929, a time when a world war was looming, and any worldwide spread of Gaudiya Vaisnavism seemed very unlikely. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who had passed away 15 years earlier, and his illustrious son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, who would leave eight years later, were the only other Acharyas in the world writing on this topic.

In his essay “Dawn of the Age of Love”, Kanupriya quotes Caitanya Caritamrita: CC Ādi 3.19  “I shall personally inaugurate the religion of the age – nāma saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the holy name. I shall make the world dance in ecstasy, realizing the four mellows of loving devotional service.” and then writes that the day is not far off when “thousands of fallen persons like Jagai and Madhai will be initiated in the religion of Devotional love” He seems to predict the world-wide propagation of the Krishna Movement by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his disciples in the 1970s.

He also comments on how uncharacteristic it is of this Kali Yuga that symptoms which are usually reserved for the last quarter of Kaliyuga are clearly visible in the world today, after only 1% of the yuga has passed. He conjectures that being in great fear of the coming Golden Age sown by Sri Caitanya, the Kali-purush is trying his hardest to perform his service of destroying religion now, instead of at the completion of Kali Yuga. Kanupriya thus believes the entire 427,000 year remainder of the yuga will be a Golden Age of Krishna-saṅkīrtana, which he calls a “śuddha-sattva-yuga” or “Prema-Yuga”.

His only evidence are these two verses from the Bhagavata Purana:

SB 11.5.36 – Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this Age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of saṅkīrtana.

SB 11.5.38 –  “My dear King, the inhabitants of Satya-yuga and other ages eagerly desire to take birth in this Age of Kali, since in this age there will be many devotees of the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa.”

The Goswami then predicts, at the end of his essay, that “by Krishna’s wish, the blood red clouds of the Kali-purusha’s destructive potency gathers on the world’s horizon to cause such a conflict amongst the world’s nationalistic leaders than an unprecedented blood-curdling destructive war will take place, leaving barely one fourth of the world’s population to survive  ……  thereafter, the tranquil world will witness the clear generation of Mahaprabhu’s prema-dharma, the religion of devotional love. After that, the period of time remaining in the Kali yuga will be worshipped by the people of the Satya-yuga”

He then reflects:

“The whole world is about to burn up in the flames of this holocaust as a result of offenses, yet if we can quickly turn from the path of destruction to our natural religious life, then it is possible that the inconceivably powerful Supreme Lord, by His irresistible will, could prevent such an imminent drama of death from taking place and simply cause the ”Premayuga”  to start. Yet we personally think that this axe of destruction now looms so close to us, that to ward it off is beyond the capacity of human society.”

Of course, we can see in hind-sight that 1929 was the eve of the second world war, so, much of what the Goswami foresaw came to pass, yet it was a far cry from an apocalyptic war that would leave only “a quarter of the Earth’s population alive”. However, it did shock the world into a mindset that would soon evolve into the anti-war counter culture based on ‘love and peace’ seen in the 1960s.

As we can clearly see, there is no definitive scriptural evidence to suggest an entire Kaliyuga will become a heavenly Golden Age. It is an idea that has crept into various sectors of Lord Chaitanya’s mission today. The verse from Kalki Purana still seems the clearest guideline to describing this New Golden Age. That said, there are more predictions by Kanupriya Goswami discussed below by another eminent acarya.

PREDICTIONS BY THE ‘HIDDEN ACARYA’

One of Bhaktivedanta Swami’s most advanced disciples was Gour-Govinda Swami (1929 – 1996). He was born to a family of exalted devotees in Orissa during the year that Kanupriya Goswami published his book. After leading an exemplary career as a teacher, he renounced worldly life and was offered the holy order of Sannyasa upon meeting his spiritual master in Vrindavan in the year 1975. By the order of his guru, in 1985 Gour-Govinda Swami began touring the world, spreading the teachings of the Golden Avatar.

In Bhubaneswar, May 1994, after travelling the world many times and inspiring thousands of people to take up the chanting of the Krishna mantra, he was asked to talk about the Golden Age of Lord Caitanya. Around this time, after his guru’s departure, there was much quarrelling in the world-wide ISKCON Hare Krishna movement. Many of the western-born leaders had fallen from their vows and disappeared.

“Kali is in the Krishna movement now, we can see there is so much quarrelling. Reforms were made in 1986 to kick Kali out, but he will remain another 10 years. In 1996, finished! The Age of Prema will come. Dr. Fakir Mohan dasa has found this prophecy during his research”.

A disciple asked: “The Acarya, will the Guru-Acarya appear around that time? Gour-Govinda Swami replied “Acarya, it is said – it is like a patch of black cloud is covering the effulgent sun. When cloud is removed the sun will come out. That is like the appearance of the Acarya, at that time it should happen. Then, gradually, gradually, the Prema-yuga shall come – but there should be war, otherwise how these unnecessary things will be destroyed?  Unwanted things should be destroyed. Then the pure thing will come out. When there is a great war – Mahabharata war was there – then after that – dharma was established. Krsna did it. War must be there – and after the war – that will herald the sankirtana movement of Lord Caitanya and the pure chanting of the Holy Name”.

Laughing, Gour-Govinda Swami said “A dangerous period is coming. Devastation is required,  then good will come out, everything nice will come out”. What will happen to ISKCON? the disciple asked. “Nothing …. Nothing will destroy Mahaprabhu’s movement”.

Later in October that year, in Melbourne, a disciple again asked Gour-Govinda Swami about this Prema Yuga coming after the 500^th festival anniversary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. His gurudeva then replied “A prophecy tells that after 1986 it will spread more in the Western world than in India. So after 1986 chanting of Krishna is spreading more and Kali becomes weaker and weaker. So it is spreading more in the Western countries. This is the prophecy. You see in Russia there was a ban on Mahaprabhu’s Movement, but now that ban is lifted and it is spreading rapidly. Thousands and thousands of Russians are coming to join. So many books are being distributed. Russia is among the top ten places, the statistics tell us. This is how it is going on because in the West, Mahaprabhu is showering His mercy upon the mlecchas, yavanas, the degraded souls”.

“This is said, Kali becomes weaker especially after 1986. Then for 10 years some strength will still be there. From 1986 to 1996 Kali will still have some strength. But after 1996 Kali will become very weak. Then a prema-yuga will come. In 1996 we are going to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s 100th birth anniversary. From that day it will spread more and then a prema-yuga will come. There is some prophecy like that. One Swami called Kanupriya Goswami, he gave that prediction”.

“In the University of Orissa is one scholar whose name is Dr. Fakir Mohan dasa. He is a research scholar of Mahaprabhu’s teachings. He is a Gaudiya Vaishnava, a professor, and has received a doctorate from the Utkal University. He has produced this thesis where he has mentioned this prophecy by Kanupriya Goswami, that after 1996, a prema-yuga will come. And so we see many people in the West are taking up vegetarianism. That is one symptom, also, thousands of Russians are coming to join, this was predicted”.

We can see why many groups of devotees made bunkers and prepared for world war three around this time! They did not understand the world war Kanupriya sensed was over in 1945. However, it is still a possibility that another terrible war will be necessary to cleanse and redirect the worlds population toward spiritual goals and to nurture the Earth.

It does appear, though, that Kanupriya was correct to some extent with these two figures; 500 and 510 years after the birth of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In 1986 there was a huge international festival, and the pretending gurus in ISKCON were kicked out, and worship of Krishna was decriminalised in the USSR, and the movement spread more and more in the western world. Exactly ten years later in 1996, three months after Gour-Govinda Swami left this world, a new guru began to spread the teaching of Prema in the west. His name was Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami, another great swami, who was born to exalted Sri Rama devotees, in Bihar, India, 1921.

Although he had been directly requested by Bhaktivedanta Swami to educate his disciples and perform his funeral rites, because quarrel had remained in ISKCON, this great leader was not accepted as the Acarya. He therefore began to preach the message of Prema, Divine Love, all over the world with the blessing of Bhaktivedanta Swami’s own godbrother-guru, Keshava Goswami and his Gaudiya Matha association, where he had served for five decades. Many of Gour-Govinda’s bereft followers from ISKCON however, accepted him as the predicted Prema-Yuga Acarya.

Before his departure from this world in 2010 at the age of 91, Narayana Goswami had published over 100 sacred books, initiated more than 10,000 disciples, travelled the world 30 times between 1996 and 2009, and had been awarded the title of ‘Yuga Acarya’ for his lifelong contribution to the spreading of the Prema-Yuga by the “World Religious Parliament”. He also thought that the entire remainder of Kali Yuga will become a Golden Age of Krishna sankirtan. Yet today in 2017, quarrel still remains in both ISKCON and in the Gaudiya Matha, so it seems the Kali-Purusha has still not left Krishna’s movement!

We can understand that the Golden Age of Sri Caitanya will last for a very long time, from 10,000 to 100,000 years, so it may also take a long time to fully manifest. Simply by hearing of the effect Lord Caitanya had when He appeared, and the effect the great parivrajaka-acaryas, Bhaktivedanta Swami, Gour-Govinda Swami and Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami, we realise that waves of the Prema-Yuga will continue to inundate the world in this Kali Age as more perfected messengers of Gauraṅga incarnate amongst us and travel the world.

PREDICTIONS FROM THE SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM

BV Tirtha Swami, a sannyasin of Narayana Goswami’s Gaudiya Matha institution, has studied various texts including the Kalki, Bhagavata and Vishnu Puranas, and has used the predicted lineage of Kings and Rulers found there, to create a timeline for the future. From the texts of the Puranas he argues that the Golden Age is gradually rising, and will last for about 125,000 years into the Kali age. Using verses from Bhagavata Purana he also pinpoints the description of the current millennium:

SB 12.1.27-28 “Then will follow seven kings of the Ābhīra race from the city of Avabhṛti, and then ten Gardabhīs. After them, sixteen kings of the Kaṅkas will rule and will be known for their excessive greed. Eight Yavanas will then take power, followed by fourteen Turuṣkas, ten Guruṇḍas and eleven kings of the Maula dynasty.”

History tells us Ābhīras ruled the Sindh region in 400 CE, then by 700 CE the different Islamic and Turkic invaders, who we call the Umayyads, Abbasids and Samanids, begin to take control from the north west direction. At this time the Vedic Gujarat princes still ruled central Bharata (India). By 1000 CE, the north west was conquered by the Islamic Ghaznavids (Gardabhīs), and then by the Ghurids, who’s rule then spread all the way eastward to Bengal by 1200 CE.

BV Tirtha Swami surmises that the Gardabhīs, Kaṅkas, Yavanas & Turuṣkas must be the different groups of Muslim, Turk and Mughal Invaders who took control of India between 608 and 1707. Thereafter, the Guruṇḍas (as confirmed in the Bhavishya Purana) are the ten British Monarchs (George I – George VI) who oversaw the occupation of India until independence.

It appears from these verses that the group “Ābhīra-Gardabhīs-Kaṅkas” and the “Yavanas-Turuṣkas-Guruṇḍas” who followed them, had control of India up until the Maulas, who are considered the Presidents of the Republic of India, which was formed in 1947. The current presidents of India have no power, as the country is actually governed by its Prime Ministers. We are therefore now living in the reign of the powerless Maula presidents in 2017.

SB 12.1.29-31 “These Ābhīras, Gardabhīs and Kaṅkas will enjoy the earth for 1,099 years, and the Maulas will rule for 300 years. When all of them have died, there will appear in the city of Kilakilā a dynasty of kings consisting of Bhūtananda, Vaṅgiri, Śiśunandi, Śiśunandi’s brother Yaśonandi, and Pravīraka. These kings of Kilakilā will hold sway for a total of 106 years.”

Here, the Bhagavata Purana describes the Islamic and British conquest of India, and then begins to describe the future that has not yet manifest. The Ābhīras, Gardabhīs and Kaṅkas  must simultaneously rule different states along with the Yavanas and Turuṣkas (these are the different Islamic and Mughal Sultans, and the Portuguese, Spanish and French Yavana colonists who invaded India along with the British). They ruled much of India from around 608 CE until the British “Guruṇḍas” start to take total control in about 1707, creating the total of 1,099 years as confirmed in this verse.

The powerless Maula Indian presidents see that Bharata has actually been governed by its Prime Ministers for 70 years since independence in 1947. These figure-head Maulas should continue to hold office for another 230 years before the first Kilakilā dictator, Bhūtananda, takes power in 2247.

SB 12.1.32-34 “The Kilakilās will be followed by their thirteen sons, the Bāhlikas, and after them King Puṣpamitra, his son Durmitra, seven Andhras, seven Kauśalas and also kings of the Vidūra and Niṣadha provinces will separately rule in different parts of the world. There will then appear a king of the Māgadhas named Viśvasphūrji, who will be like another Purañjaya. He will turn all the civilized classes into low-class, uncivilized men in the same category as the Pulindas, Yadus and Madrakas.”

THE FUTURE OF THIS MILLENIUM  2000CE – 3000CE

Thus Bhūtananda is understood to begin an Afghani ‘dynasty’ that invades and rules India by about 2247 CE for 106 years, until 2353. Then thirteen generations of their sons, the Bāhlikas, will rule India until finally, a new king Puṣpamitra, and his son, Durmitra come to power. After this, seven Andhras and seven Kauśalas will rule, making a list of 29 rulers since the Afghani Kilakilā invasion. If each rule for 20 years, that would cover a 580 year period. Therefore, by about year 2933, the rascal king Viśvasphūrji is destined to rule like an incarnation of Kali-Purusha, forcing everyone in Northern India to be uncivilized and sinful. Fortunately the eastern city of Navadvīpa has been prophesied to become a great centre for the New Golden Age of Sri Caitanya, even if the northern holy places fall for some time to Kali. We are told that the provinces of Russia, Europe, Africa and the Americas will have their own rulers, and hopefully they will be nurturing the new Golden Age there also.

SB 12.1.35-36 “Foolish King Viśvasphūrji will maintain all the citizens in ungodliness and will use his power to completely disrupt the kṣatriya order. From his capital of Padmavatī he will rule that part of the earth extending from the source of the Gaṅgā to Prayāga. At that time the brāhmaṇas of such provinces as Śaurāṣṭra, Avantī, Ābhīra, Śūra, Arbuda and Mālava will forget all their regulative principles, and the members of the royal order in these places will become no better than śūdras.”

From these verses, we see more detail of the next 1,000 years. It appears as though Prime Ministers will govern the Republic of India instead of the figurehead ‘Maula’ presidents, or the traditional princes, for another 230 years until 2247. Hopefully, like Narendra Modi, they will give support to the traditional Vedic religion, and especially to those associates of Lord Caitanya who are expected to incarnate and expand the age of love.

After this, a war with Afghanistan is indicated by the term Bāhlika (Bactria or Northern Afghanistan). Six powerful Afghani dictators lead by Bhūtananda will conquer and occupy India for 106 years, then their 13 sons and successors for possibly another 260 years until about 2613. Then another 16 rulers will follow starting with King Puṣpamitra, who we hope will return India to the growth of the Golden Age with the help of powerful gurus, until the end of the second millennium CE. It is possible, of course, that the rest of the world avoids the Afghani-Indian conflict and will continue to develop spiritually and ecologically in line with predictions of Lord Caitanya and the Acharyas.

However, even as the Golden Age progresses with waves of spirituality from empowered incarnations of Sri Gaura’s devotees, there are also set-backs by the incarnation of demons who are servants of Kali. Such is indicated by the birth of foolish Viśvasphūrji around 2933 (an extrapolated guess), who will become a great and influential figure in South Asia. Ruling from Northern India, he will indoctrinate all the citizens with atheism and will use his power to completely disrupt the established order of the world. This is not very different from the activities of communist China or North Korea at the beginning of the millennium. The Golden Age will take a huge blow, as all those brāhmaṇas in the west of India will forget the religion of love, and become the foolish servants of their senses.

Unfortunately the Bhagavata Purana does not speak about the Golden Age of Lord Gauranga, it only secretly discloses His advent as the Golden Avatar. The beginning and the end of Kaliyuga are described, but not the most fascinating first half or first quarter of the “one-in-a-thousand” Dhanya-Kali-Yugas. This wonderful age is brushed over in the Kalki Purana with only one verse, just like many other Puranas, which very briefly predict His incarnation and mission. Lord Gauranga lived for only 50 years before physical ascension in front of many witnesses, but the next 100,000 years are never mentioned!

Perhaps we shall learn more as the age progresses, indeed, there is a verse in the Caitanya Bhagavata that states more and more pastimes of Lord Caitanya will be revealed as time progresses, as Srila Vrindavan Das Thakura has promised:

Caitanya Caritamrita, Antya 20:87, by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami:

caitanya-maṅgale ihā likhiyāche sthāne-sthāne

satya kahena,–‘āge vyāsa kariba varṇane’

“In Caitanya-maṅgala, Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has stated in many places the factual truth that in the future Vyāsadeva will describe them elaborately”.

The statement āge vyāsa kariba varṇane is similar to a text in the Caitanya-bhāgavata (First Chapter, text 180) in which Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura says:

śeṣa-khaṇḍe caitanyera ananta vilāsa
vistāriyā varṇite āchena veda-vyāsa 

“The unlimited pastimes of Śrī Caitanya will be described by Vyāsadeva in the future.” Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that these statements indicate that in the future, other representatives of Vyāsadeva will elaborately describe Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes.

And remember, the associate of Śrī Caitanya, Śrīla Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, has written:

ke jābi ke jābi bhāi bhava-sindhu-pāra

dhanya kali-yugera caitanya-avatāra (1)

Who will go? Who will go, O brothers? Who will cross over this ocean of material suffering? This Kali-yuga in which Śrī Caitanya-avatāra has appeared, is truly blessed!

Below is a recent 7 minute message from Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, a disciple of Srila Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhara Swami (a close friend and godbrother of Srila Bhaktivdanta Swami Prabhupada). Sri Acharyaji is confident about the dawning of the New Golden Age, whether it come smoothly or through violent changes. He follows Srila Prabhupada’s prediction that the Prema-Yuga will last 10,000 years.

SRILA SRIDHAR MAHARAJ ON THE KALKI PURANA

Mutual Intense Exploitation will come to such Degree that it will Burst.
Srila Sridhar Maharaj

Devotee: In this Kalki-Purana by Srila Vyasadeva, it gives the historical reference to when the Kalki-Purana was spoken. So it was spoken after the third seating, between Sukadeva and Pariksit Maharaja. Right after that period, then Markandeya Rsi comes in and then Sukadeva Goswami relates Kalki-Purana in his presence. So does that mean that what is in this Kalki-Purana is going to happen or is it a description from a previous kalpa, yuga, how to take it?

References:

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/vedic_prophecies.htm  by Stephen Knapp.

http://harmonist.us/2013/11/a-look-at-the-golden-age  by Bhrigupada dasa.

http://web.onetel.com/~kishoredadlani/papers/gvais/KanupriyaGosvamiDL0.1.pdf   by Kanupriya Goswami.

http://www.dandabhanga.com/important-conversations/the-prema-yuga  by Sri Sacinandan Das.

https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/12/1  translated by Hridayananda das Goswami

http://om-aditya.ru/userfiles/ufiles/purany/sri_kalki_purana.pdf  translated by Bhumipati Das

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A Look at the “Golden Age”

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Very interesting comments from the Harmonist’s online publication of  ‘A Look at the Golden Age’

Kula-pavana
November 27, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Great analysis, prabhu. All in all it is a nice and inspiring story, no doubt meant to increase our Krishna consciousness. Reminds me of the ‘fall from Vaikuntha’ story, and the story of the soon to happen world war three (some hardcore devotees are still working on their bunkers).
Coming to think of that, we could also add here the story of SP books being the law books of mankind for the next 10,000 years, and the story of SP making ISCKON the house where the whole world could live.

Satyaraja Dasa (NY)
November 28, 2013 at 12:32 pm
Nice analysis. Thank you. I was surprised, though, that you gave short shrift to Kanupriya Gosvami, who was likely the source of the 10,000 years quote. If he was not its originator, he was surely the one who popularized it.

A well-known Bengali scholar and practitioner from the early 20th century, he fell out of favor with the Gaudiya Math and was belittled by its leaders in the usual way (the unfortunate fate of the persona non grata, eh?). Perhaps this is why Prabhupada didn’t cite him as a source. In any case, Kanupriyaji spoke of “Prema-yuga,” and elaborated on it much in the same way that Prabhupada did. Where he got it from is anyone’s guess.

Here is what Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja has said on the subject:

__

Yes. Kanupriya Gosvami has said that after 500 years of Mahaprabhu’s appearance we observed a festival, the 500th year the fifth centennial of Mahaprabhu’s appearance. He has said it will spread more, particularly in the west. That has happened now. In Russia, you find it is banned, but there are so many Russians and they are coming to India in great numbers. That is the symptom. In the west it spreads more than in India. That is because they cannot get peace, going from the top of material enjoyment, you see, the highest level, no peace. So now it is catching up. It is spreading there.

In India it is not spreading so much. India is like the wet well [the grass is very green around it] and the west is like a dry well [the grass is very dry around it]. The west is like a dry well; the fire catches easily; but India is a wet well. Kanupriya Gosvami said this. It is because in India there are so many organizations and they all say, “O, I know”, “We know, we know”. So it is not spreading so much. But in the west it is spreading.

After the 500th anniversary of Mahaprabhu it will spread. He has said that, and it is taking place. He said that from 1986, (Mahaprabhu’s 500th anniversary, 1486 to 1986, 500 years) Mahaprabhu’s movement will spread. Devotees will come up, then Kali will become weaker, so Kali became weaker from that day in 1986. Then he said, “Still Kali will stay in the movement; he has some strength and it will last for 10 years.” That will be from 1986 to 1996. For ten years it will remain but it will become weaker and weaker. But in 1996, no more! Prema, prema – love will come. “The Prema-yuga will come”, he said. Kanupriya Gosvami also said this. He was from Navadvipa and he comes in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
__

Nuff said. 🙂

Yajnavalkya Dasa
November 28, 2013 at 6:42 pm
Srila Prabhupada’s caveat “provided you keep it uncontaminated”, mentioned in the article, speaks volumes.

From what I understand, sahajiyaism contaminated much of Gaudiya-Vaishnavism after the disappearance of the last of the Six Goswamis. The pure devotional path was still there, but greatly reduced in number. To quote the a page from the website gaudiyahistory.com: “Educated upper class Bengali society was shocked and disgusted by the practices of these heretical sects and came to identify Mahaprabhu’s religion with the lower classes, the uneducated and immoral. People of the gentle classes thus had no understanding or faith in Mahaprabhu’s true religion.” But the Seventh Goswami, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, was able to bring everything back on track.

And now, almost 40 years after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, it is happening again. Contamination not by sahajiyaism, but by humanism (e.g., opening of hospitals and clinics), new-ageism (hatha yoga classes in temples) and mayavadism (consorting with professional mayavada kirtaniyas, demigod worship in temples) and ethnic Hinduism.

Kali yuga is like a river. Just as you have waves in the river, where things go up, the general trend is down, down, down. One upward wave was from the time of Mahaprabhu to the last of the Goswamis, the second wave was from Srila Bhaktivinoda to Srila Bhaktivedanta.

Unless a strong personality like Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur appears to set things straight again, I am not hopeful.

swami bv tripurari
November 29, 2013 at 1:53 pm
The real problem today is religious fundamentalism in the name of Guadiya Vaisnavism.

Regarding your lack of hope:

“This line of guru-parampara is existing up to today without any break and it will continue to exist like this in the future also. To say, ‘There is no sad-guru living in the world at present and neither will there be any in the future,’ is an atheistic opinion.”

-Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada

Anonymous
December 11, 2013 at 11:41 pm
I suggest that you be the opposite so that all those who don’t like what you call “religious fundamentalism” can join you instead.

This would be a win-win situation. In the case of ISKCON instead of fighting among themselves could again focus fighting against maya. In your case you will swell your ranks with fellow travelers.

Seriously, canvas the ISKCON liberals to join you. Make Urmila dd a diksha guru, etc and all the liberals will jump ship over to your side.

Then both parties can go out and preach without fighting each other and may the best win.

swami bv tripurari
December 13, 2013 at 4:38 am
Do you think that there is something called religious fundamentalism that applies to any religious tradition?

I don’t make people gurus and I don’t advocate affirmative action with regard to recognizing gurus.

Iskcon is fighting with itself and its shadow in the form of its ritvik sector.

atmananda
December 15, 2013 at 7:36 am
Its not about increasing membership its about increasing understanding so that devotees can make further advancement.

Yajnavalkya Dasa
January 27, 2014 at 7:40 am
Your equating my lack of hope with the non-existence of an existing sad-guru is a stretch. Of course, there is always a sad-guru; but it takes an especially powerful one to put things back on track (or to keep things on track), as we have seen with Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Bhaktivedanta Swami.

There were certainly sad-gurus before Bhaktivinoda Thakur (e.g., Jagannatha dasa Babaji, Baladeva Vidyabhusana), but still sahajiyism flourished, contaminating the public’s perception of the true followers of Mahaprabhu. This is an historical fact; who can deny it?

And as for the “real problem today is religious fundamentalism in the name of Guadiya [sic] Vaisnavism”, the real problem is deviance from the fundamentals. That is the problem, that is what leads things off track, that is the gist of Srila Prabhupada’s warning (“provided you keep it iuncontaminated”).

swami bv tripurari
January 27, 2014 at 7:56 am
To be fair, all kinds of heterodoxy flourished even while those you consider “especially powerful” were present. All one really needs is an acarya powerful enough to deliver oneself. And saving oneself is the first step in saving others.

The real problem today is a lack of understanding what the fundamental principles of the tradition are by way of misconstruing them with details that often need to be adjusted as times change. And that is characteristic of religious fundamentalism.

Bhrigupada Dasa
November 28, 2013 at 10:46 pm
Thanks for the further link to Kanupriya Goswami, Satyaraja. I haven’t seen anything else on this topic from him than the booklet I mentioned, but that doesn’t speak about the 10 000 years so prominent in Srila Prabhupada’s version. That is why I rather linked it to the “dhanya kali” idea. Another source worth examining is Sri Aurobindo, who was very influential in mid-1900 India and whom Srila Prabhupada read.

Actually, this article was republished here from the Sampradaya Sun without my knowledge, leaving out the intro and (unfortunately) the bibliography. The intro also included something important: that this is an abbreviated and slightly modified version of an article which appeared in Journal of Vaishnava Studies 13:2 (Spring 2003).

Your servant
Bhrigupada Dasa

atmananda
December 9, 2013 at 6:53 am
Given that there is not a specific reference for the golden age of 10,000 years maybe it could be understood that B.V. Swami Prabhupada was taking license and preaching to encourage his disciples.

I find the idea of the golden age referring specifically to ISKCON and Srila Prabhbupada’s appearance problematic. ISKCON is full of such prophecies which all support the “Jesus-fication” of Prabhupada. It appears very similar to how Christians have found so many things from the old testament predicting the appearance of Jesus. If these type of ideas are taken too far they could very well result in ISKCON being a new religion unto itself

Anonymous
December 11, 2013 at 11:32 pm
I am curious as to why you are so concerned about what ISKCON does when you are not part of ISKCON.

You also want to change ISKCON and criticize its policies. Why should you care?

It seems that you define yourself in terms of your opposition to ISKCON as opposed to your own ideals. It seems that without ISKCON to criticize and attack you would be nothing.

swami bv tripurari
December 13, 2013 at 4:46 am
Iskcon has been the largest Gaudiya Vaisnava mission in the world. It was founded by my guru. As it morphs into something other than what it was meant to be, that is a concern to me. Misrepresentation of the tradition and its spiritual/scriptural conclusions is of concern to anyone who is properly representing them, especially if it is widespread. But if you take the time to acquaint yourself with Sri Caitanya Sangha, you will find that it defines itself by its own contemporary presentation of Gaudiya Vedanta chaste to the tradition’s spiritual and scriptural conclusions.

Citta Hari dasa
December 14, 2013 at 5:47 am
It is a sannyasi’s duty to speak the truth, which often means challenging misconception. Failure to do so is as bad as the misconception itself. As Martin Luther King said: “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”

atmananda
December 15, 2013 at 7:28 am
Talking about Gaudiya Vaisnavism means talking about what it is and also what it is not. That is siddhanta, what it is and what it is not. Throughout history Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas have spoken strongly about what it is not. That is necessary and appropriate. Wherever apasiddhanta appears, be it in ISKCON or in Sri Caitanya Sanga that can and should be pointed out. It is really not about what group one is associated with.
As far as being nothing, yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi, that is what it really means to be nothing.

Anuj Ghai
April 2, 2014 at 6:41 am
Dasa concludes that ‘Prabhupada’s prophecy regarding the Golden Age does not seem to have a scriptural source’. Interestingly however, my own reading reveals that this idea of a ‘golden age’ is by no means peculiar to ISKCON or GV generally. One of Nammalvar’s decad’s in the Tiruvaymoli (5.2) appears to point to a similar prophecy. The decad reads as follows: ‘Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! The persisting curse of life is gone, the agony of hell is destroyed, death has no place here. The [force of] Kali is destroyed. look for yourself! The followers of the sea-coloured Lord swell over this earth, singing with melody, dancing and whirling [with joy]. We see them.’ In his commentary on that decad, Pillan writes: ‘The age of Kali is stopped for all time and only the golden age exists’. None of this, of course, is intended to countenance the suggestion that Prabhupada’s prophecy is itself foretold in the scriptures; it does however indicate that this idea of a golden age is an enduring one! (For those interested, all such references are to Carman and Narayanan’s ‘The Tamil Veda’)

Copyright © 2015 Steve M. Doyle (Soolaba)