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Everything Must Come To An End At Some Point, So It Is Better To Practise Dispassion Now In Order To Continue Spiritually

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद्ब्रह्मणो विदु: |
रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जना: ||8.17||

sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ
rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te ’ho-rātra-vido janāḥ||8. 17||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 8- Ver. 17:

One day of Brahma (kalp) lasts a thousand cycles of the four ages (mahā yug) and his night also extends for the same span of time. The wise who know this understand the reality about day and night.

Explanation

The Vedic cosmological framework has enormous and incredible time measurements. The Vedas provide time metrics that are beyond human comprehension. One year on Earth equals one day and night of Indra and other celestial gods, according to the Vedas. Thus, on the earth plane, one year of the celestial gods, consisting of 12 x 30 days, equals 360 years. The computation goes even further: one maha yuga (cycle of four yugas) on the earth plane, or 4.32 million years, is equal to 12,000 years of celestial gods.

Brahma’s day, called a kalp, is made up of a thousand maha yuga, and Brahma’s night is made up of an equal number of maha yuga. The kalpa is the world’s greatest unit of time, equaling 4.32 billion years. Shree Krishna says in this verse that only those who have this wisdom actually realise what day and night are.

Kali Yuga: 432,000 years
Dwāpara Yuga: 864,000 years
Tretā Yuga: 1,296,000 years
Satya Yuga: 1,728,000 years
Mahā Yuga: 4,320,000 years (Adding the four yugas)
Kalpa: 4,320,000,000 years (1000 Mahā Yug = 1 day of Brahma)

Only those who comprehend this understanding, according to Shree Krishna, actually grasp what day and night are. According to the Vedas, the universe’s lifetime is equivalent to Brahma’s 100-year lifespan. Brahma’s one day and night add up to 8.64 billion earth years, and his lifetime would be 311 trillion 40 billion years if he lived for 36,000 days. So that will be one of our universe’s life cycles.

Brahma is also a soul who has attained a very high level of consciousness. As a result, God has bestowed the title of Brahma upon him, allowing him to fulfil his responsibilities as a creator on God’s behalf. However, Brahma, like all other living creatures, is subject to the cycle of life and death. He is, however, liberated at the end of his term and travels to the Abode of God. When God cannot find any suitable souls for the post of Brahma during the creation of the world, God becomes Brahma.

Verse & what we can learn

The era of truth, or satyayuga, is supposed to be the beginning of the creation cycle. The treta yuga and the dvaapara yuga come after it. The present yuga is the kali yuga, also known as the era of conflict. The Kali yuga is the shortest of the four yugas, lasting 432,000 years. Dvaapara is twice as long as treta, treta is three times as long as satya yuga, and satya yuga is four times as long as dvaapara. As a result, the entire creation time is ten times 432,000, or 4.32 million years. Chatur-yuga is another name for this period of creation.

Let us dive deep into this shloka’s symbolic meaning. There are two things we need to consider. To begin with, this shloka emphasises that every action we take produces fruit, but not always in this lifetime.

We can strive our hardest, yet the consequence of our efforts may not manifest in this lifetime; however, they may yield fruit in another. Alternatively, we may occasionally find ourselves in situations that we believe we do not deserve. These could be both favourable and unfavourable situations (for example, an unexpected cash windfall) (a natural disaster). These kinds of outcomes are the result of acts we took in a previous life.

The cultivation of dispassion, or vairagya, towards this world is the second component. We take activities in this world not only for immediate gratification, but also to leave a legacy, something that future generations will remember. It could be money, power, or prestige, for example. Shri Krishna, on the other hand, tells us that nothing lasts forever. Everything will come to an end at some point, so it is better to practise dispassion now so that we can go on spiritually.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the Next verse, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna What causes the universe to manifest and dissipate?

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…