The cycles of time and the Yugas

Past lives and reincarnation

The cycles of time and the Yugas

Time itself moves in spiritual cycles, known in the East as Yugas. In Eckankar, these are acknowledged as real phases that influence the collective spiritual state of humanity. Soul lives in periods known as days and nights. Each day and night lasts for a Kalpa, which is four and a quarter million (4,320,0000) of our years. The day which is known as the manvantara is divided into four yugas.

There are:

Krita or Satya (Golden Age) – a time of spiritual purity and harmony. It endures for 1,728,000 years.
Tretya Yuga (Age of Ritual) – where divine truth begins to fade. It lasts for 1,296,000 years.
Dvapara Yuga (Age of Duality) – marked by growing conflict and materialism; where the forces of light and darkness, pleasure and pain are equally balanced. It lasts for 864,000 years.
Kali Yuga (Age of Darkness) – the current age, characterized by spiritual forgetfulness whereby the universe is overwhelmed by darkness and decay. It lasts for 432,000 years.

At the end of the Kali Yuga, the universe is turned into ashes and nothingness, This is when the Lord Sugmad (God) takes all Souls to the Soul Plane (the 1st positive world of the Spiritual worlds) and destroys the lower regions in fire and ashes. Thereafter, the Cycle starts again, and they are returned to the new worlds of matter.

As God breathes out, these worlds are manifested. These worlds are levels of consciousness. They are made manifest by God. It is the divine purpose of all beings to pass through these worlds at some time or other.

Each Soul will pass through what is called the twelve paths or divisions of the Wheel of Becoming, This is the wheel of Eighty-Four, which goes the complete cycle of the zodiacal circle. It is here that Soul spends eighty-four lacs in each zodiacal sign and each is equivalent to one hundred thousand years. Eighty-four lacks amount to eight million four hundred thousand years.

A wandering Soul, making its way from birth to birth, may possibly be required to pass its long and tiresome course through all these signs of the Zodiac, provided its karma calls for it. But there is an escape and that is to meet with the Living ECK Master and accept him. The Master can link him to the ECK Stream of Life and there do not have to be further births for him. He is now free of the Wheel of the Eighty-Four.

So, even in Kali Yuga, Soul has access to the Light and Sound of God through the teachings of Eckankar. The presence of the Mahanta means that spiritual seekers can still break free from the wheel of karma and reincarnation—regardless of the outer age.