No, that isn’t a typo.
A few people say that I crack dad jokes. And so, today’s title humors them.
There are multiple versions of the “Yuga” theory in Sanātana Dharma. Some calculations go into trillions of years, others a more respectable thousands.
So there is an ongoing debate now if this is Kaliyuga, or ascending Dwapara Yuga.
It seems a bit odd, since I guess we expected Kaliyuga to last a lot more than it supposedly has, and we don’t seem to be better as human beings – rather, we have taken a turn for the worse…
And what are we doing calculating anyway? We wouldn’t last even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a full Yuga, and we wouldn’t remember any of it when we do appear (if we do appear) in Sata Yuga for instance, so why break our heads over what point on the cycle we are at?
But, it is good to know the theory behind it – a glimpse into the minds of our ancients, who came up with elaborate classifications and recording of the passing of time.
So here is a look at the secrets of the yugas – confusions notwithstanding.
Yuga…epic…Yepic…get it? I guess the facepalm came about just now.
Have a good one!
Secrets of the Yugas

The following article by David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is adapted from Astrology of the Seers, by David Frawley
Who knows now and who can declare the paths that lead to the God; only their lower habitations are visible, who dwell in regions of supreme mystery. Rig Veda III.54.5

According to the Vedic seers, life on Earth is under the rule of vast cosmic forces that originate from the stars. All that happens locally on our planet is a result of forces coming from the distant regions of the universe. These are not just distant regions of the physical world, but also of the cosmic mind, the mysterious origin of things from which the underlying forces of creation arise. These forces determine the nature of the time in which we live. Usually we are so involved in the transient events of our personal lives that we miss these great powers altogether. Like fish, we fail to see the ocean.

Just as we resonate to the seasons of the year, so too are we individually and collectively under the rule of various time cycles. Each person, each nation, and each humanity has such a cycle, as does the planet itself. We exist at different stages in the processes of birth, growth, decay and death, not just in our bodies but also in our minds and souls. Yet this is not just a mechanical round that goes nowhere. Behind the cycle of time lies an ongoing evolution of consciousness. Just as a tree has annual cycles of growth and retreat but continues to grow year after year, so all things have an inner growth process in which consciousness continues to develop through life after life.
The Lesser Cycle of World Ages
The main time cycle governing the human race, the seasons of humanity, is the precessional cycle. This period of 25,000 years is about one year in the life of humanity. According to some Vedic astrologers, it reflects the period of revolution of the Sun around a dark companion. According to them, the Sun is a double star but its companion appears to be a dark dwarf possessing no real luminosity of its own. Modern astronomers have begun to suspect the existence of such a star and have postulated its existence to explain irregularities in the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, which suggest the gravitational influence of a more distant heavenly body within the solar system.

Besides the light from our own Sun, we also receive light from the center of the galaxy, the galactic Sun. Much of the light of this greater Sun, however, is not in visible frequencies. Some astronomers have suspected a central galactic light, like that of a quasar, whose light may be obscured by dust or nebulae in the region of the galactic center. According to Vedic astrology, the light from this galactic source has a special influence upon Earth. It nourishes and sustains intelligence in human beings. This is not the materialistic intellect but true intelligence, the capacity to perceive the real or divine spirit in things and act according to the Divine Will.
When the Sun is located on the side of its orbit where its dark companion comes between it and the galactic center, the reception of the cosmic light is reduced. At such times there is a dark or materialistic age on Earth. When the Sun is on the opposite side of its orbit and has an open reception to the light of the galactic Sun, there is a golden or spiritual age on Earth. Humanity then acts in harmony with cosmic intelligence and with Divine powers that are its functionaries and emissaries. The Sun’s dark companion appears to possess a negative magnetic field that obstructs the cosmic light from the galactic center from reaching the Earth. Through this it creates cycles of advance and decline in human civilization.
Modern astronomy estimates this cycle at around 25,900 years. The rate of yearly precession does not appear fixed, so this duration is only approximate. Manu, the great Vedic lawgiver for the human race in the Golden Age, in his teaching the Manu Samhita (I. 68-71, also note The Holy Science, Sri Yukteswar, p. 11), places this cycle at 24,000 (100 x 240) years. Other Vedic astrologers have placed it at 25,920 years (108 x 240, with 108 being the occult or mystic form of the number 100). While the exact details are not known, the general affect of the cycle is certain.

Ancient astrology places humanity under the legendary four ages: the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron ages. We find this idea among the Greeks as well as the Hindus, but the time periods involved are not given. In Sanskrit these are called the yugas or world ages of Satya (which means truth, also called the fourth age), Treta (the third), Dwapara (the second) and Kali (the first). Manu fixed their duration at, respectively, 4000, 3000, 2000 and 1000 years, plus a transitional period of 1/10 of their respective length both before and after.
This makes a total of 4800 years for the Satya Yuga, 3600 for the Treta Yuga Age, 2400 for Dwapara Yuga, and 1200 for Kali Yuga. The total for all four ages is 12,000 years. Two cycles of the four ages make up the 24,000-year precessional cycle.
Part 2 tomorrow…