Suka Goswami said, The age of Kali commenced as soon as Lord Krishna left this world and returned to his abode. The age of Kali is characterised by disagreement and hypocrisy. Due to the influence of the age, piety, honesty, tolerance, truth, compassion and purity will all continuously deteriorate.
In the age of Kali, wealth will be accepted as an indication of someone’s good qualities. The application of justice will depend on a person’s power and influence. Marriages will be based on mutual attraction. Cheating will govern business transactions and someone will be accepted as a brahmin merely because they wear a sacred thread. Respectability will be judged on wealth, and skill in argument will be an indicator of scholarship.
A body of water will be accepted as a holy place and not going hungry will be considered the aim of life. Beauty will be judged on external grooming and spiritual principles will be followed only for fame and reputation. Anyone who can support a family will be accepted as capable and those who are insolent and outspoken will be considered honest.
The earth will become overpopulated and the human race will become corrupted. Political power will be gained by power and wealth. The greedy rulers will be no better than thieves and they will harass the citizens with excessive taxes. Due to the inadequacies of the rulers, the citizens will suffer excessive cold, heat, drought and rain. They will experience hunger, thirst, disease and excessive anxiety.
Through the corrupting influence of the age of Kali, all creatures will diminish in size and people will not follow the Vedic principles. True spiritual principles will be unknown within society and people will earn their livelihood by theft, deceit and violence. Lord Vishnu descends to protect virtue and protect those who are devoted to him.
In the house of the brahmin Vishnuyasa, in the village of Sambhala, the Lord will incarnate as Kalki. He will traverse the earth on his horse Devadatta, and kill the thieves who pose as kings. When all the fraudulent kings have been destroyed, the residents of the Earth will be purified by the wind filled with the sacred fragrances from the Lord’s body. This will bring the age of Kali to an end and the age of Truth (Satya yuga) will begin. The sequence of the four ages – Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali continues repeatedly on this earth.
King Pariksit said, Could you please explain how those who are living in the age of Kali can escape the corrupting influence of the age of Kali? Can you also please describe the different ages as well as their duration and qualities?
Suka Goswami said, The first age is the age of truth (Satya yuga) and the 4 principles of religion –honesty, compassion, austerity and charity are fully present in this age. In the age of truth, the people are contented, compassionate, dedicated to the welfare of all living beings, peaceful, tolerant and self-controlled.
In the Treta yuga one fourth part of each of the principles of religion are slowly destroyed by the four principles opposing religion – dishonesty, violence, discontent and hatred. The people of this age engage in religious rituals and austerities and regulate their sensual enjoyment.
In Dvapara yuga the religious principles diminish by half. The people study the Vedic literature and are materially prosperous. Greed, dishonesty, discontent and jealousy become prominent.
In the age of Kali only a quarter of the religious principles remain. Even that small amount will gradually diminish with the progression of the influence of the age of Kali. In the age of Kali the people are cruel, greedy and always fighting. Dishonesty, laziness, deception, anxiety, fear and poverty become prominent.
Due to the influence of the qualities of the age of Kali, humanity will be greedy, immoral, selfish and impoverished. The rulers will exploit the citizens, the impious will interpret the Vedic literature, the towns will be full of thieves and the brahmins will only be interested in satisfying their stomachs and genitals.
The merchants will be deceitful and earn money by any dishonourable occupation. Workers will withhold their service if their master has no wealth and masters will abandon a worker who is in distress and unable to work. Cows will be slaughtered when they can no longer give milk. Uncivilised people will earn money by wearing the clothes of a priest. Ignorant people will take an elevated seat in an assembly and dare to speak about religious principles.
People will always be in anxiety and their minds will be disturbed. They will be weakened by taxation and famine. People will fight each other over trifles. Men will stop protecting their parents, children and wives. They will be focused only on satisfying their sensual desires. The people will become heretical and stop worshipping the Supreme Lord.
Because of the age of Kali, everything is corrupted. Such corruption can be eliminated if one focuses their mind on the Supreme Lord. Anyone who hears the glories of the Lord, or offers respect to the Lord will have the pollution within their mind dispelled. Even if one engages in austerities, breath control, practices compassion, bathes in all the holy places and follows strict vows, they cannot achieve the same level of purity that can be achieved when the Supreme Lord appears within one’s heart.
Therefore, you should try to establish the Supreme Lord within your heart. If you can maintain your concentration on the Lord, then at the time of death you will reach the supreme destination. The age of Kali is rife with imperfections, there is one excellent quality of the age. It is possible to achieve liberation from the material world simply by chanting the name of Krishna.
