Yuga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the 2006 film, see Yuga (film). Yuga in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four-age
cycle. A complete Yuga starts with the Satya Yuga, via Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga into a
Kali Yuga.[1] Our present time is a Kali Yuga, which started at 3102 BCE with the end of the
Kurukshetra War (or Mahabharata war).[2]

Contents
 1 Four yugas
o 1.1 Characteristics of each Yuga
 2 Durations of the four Yugas
 3 Decline
 4 See also
 5 Notes
 6 References
 7 External links

Four yugas
There are four Yugas in one cycle:

 Satya Yuga
 Treta Yuga
 Dwapara Yuga
 Kali Yuga

Characteristics of each Yuga

 Satya Yuga (also known as Krita Yuga "Golden Age"): The first and best Yuga. It was
the age of truth and perfection. The Krita Yuga was so named because there was but
one religion, and all men were saintly: therefore they were not required to perform
religious ceremonies. Humans were gigantic, powerfully built, honest, youthful,
vigorous, erudite and virtuous. The Vedas were one. All mankind could attain to
supreme blessedness. There was no agriculture or mining as the earth yielded those
riches on its own. Weather was pleasant and everyone was happy. There were no
religious sects. There was no disease, decrepitude or fear of anything.[citation needed]
 Treta Yuga: Is considered to be the second Yuga in order, however Treta means the
"Third". In this age, virtue diminishes slightly. At the beginning of the age, many
emperors rise to dominance and conquer the world. Wars become frequent and
weather begins to change to extremities. Oceans and deserts are formed. People
become slightly diminished compared to their predecessors. Agriculture, labour and
mining become existent.[citation needed]
 Dvapara Yuga: Is considered to be the third Yuga in order. Dvapara means "two pair"
or "after two". In this age, people become tainted with Tamasic qualities and aren't as
strong as their ancestors. Diseases become rampant. Humans are discontent and fight
each other. Vedas are divided into four parts. People still possess characteristics of
youth in old age. Average lifespan of humans is around a few centuries.

1
  Kali Yuga: The final age. It is the age of darkness and ignorance. People become
sinners and lack virtue. They become slaves to their passions and are barely as
powerful as their earliest ancestors in the Satya Yuga. Society falls into disuse and
people become liars and hypocrites. Knowledge is lost and scriptures are diminished.
Humans eat forbidden and dirty food. The environment is polluted, water and food
become scarce. Wealth is heavily diminished. Families become non-existent. By the
end of Kali Yuga the average lifespan of humans will be as low as 70 years.[citation needed]

Durations of the four Yugas

Relationship between various time units in Hindu cosmology

According to one Puranic astronomical estimate, the four Yuga have the following durations:
[3]

 Satya Yuga equals 1,728,000 Human years[4]

 Treta Yuga equals 1,296,000 Human years[4]
 Dvapara Yuga equals 864,000 Human years[4]
 Kali Yuga equals 432,000 Human years[4]

Together, these four yuga constitute one Mahayuga and equal 4.32 million human years.[3]
According to one version, there are 1,000 Mahayugas in one day of Brahma or 4.32 billion
human years. A Mahakalpa consists of 100 years of Brahma.[3]

2
According to Srimad Bhagavatam 3.11.19, which is dated around the 400–500 BC,[5] the
Yugas are much longer, using a divine year in which one day is equal to one human year, thus:

one year of the demigods is equal to 360 years of the human beings. The duration of the
Satya-yuga is therefore 4,800 x 360, or 1,728,000 years. The duration of the Tretā-yuga is
3,600 x 360, or 1,296,000 years. The duration of the Dvāpara-yuga is 2,400 x 360, or 864,000
years.[6]

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa Time measurement section of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa Book I Chapter III adds:

 2 Ayanas (6-month periods, see above) = 1 human year or 1 day of the devas.
 12,000 divine years = 4 Yugas (= 4,320,000 human years) = 1 Mahā-Yuga (also is
equal to 12,000 Daiva (divine) Yuga).
 2*12,000 = 24,000 divine year = 12000 revolutions of sun around its dual.

While the long yuga count is the most popular, it does not correlate to any known celestial
motion found in the Astronomical Almanac. The value of 24,000 years fits relatively close
with the modern astronomical calculation of one full precession of the equinox, which takes
25,772 years.[note 1] Thus the yuga cycle may have some basis in known terrestrial cycles.
Srimad Bhagavatam 3.11.19 describes the timespans of the demigods, in which a year of a
yuga is a year of the demigods. It is this second sloka which appears to have been modified
over the years.

Decline
The ages see a gradual decline of dharma, wisdom, knowledge, intellectual capability, life
span, emotional and physical strength.

 Satya Yuga – Virtue reigns supreme. Human stature was 21 cubits. Average human
lifespan was 100,000 years.
 Treta Yuga – There was 3 quarter virtue and 1 quarter sin. Normal human stature was
14 cubits. Average human lifespan was 10,000 years.
 Dwapara Yuga – There was 1 half virtue & 1 half sin. Normal human stature was 7
cubits. Average human lifespan was 1,000 years.
 Kali Yuga – There is 1 quarter virtue & 3 quarter sin. Normal human stature is 3.5
cubits. Average human lifespan will be 100 years.

In the present days we may be said to live in a Kali Yuga, which is said to have started in 3102
BCE[7] with the end of the Mahabharata war. This date is also considered by many Hindus to
be the day that Krishna left Earth and went to his abode.[note 2]

See also
 Ayanamsa
 Hindu units of time
 List of numbers in Hindu scriptures
 Vedic-Puranic chronology

Notes

3
 1.
 This phenomenon is observed as the stars moving retrograde across the sky at about 50 arc
seconds per year, and is thought to produce periods of warm ages and ice ages known as the
Milankovitch cycle.
1.  According to Sri Yukteswar Giri, guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, The
ascending phase of the Kali Yuga began in September 499 CE. Since September 1699,
we have been in the ascending phase of the Dwapara Yuga. According to Sri
Yukteswar, nobody wanted to announce the bad news of the beginning of the
descending Kali Yuga, so they kept adding years to the Dvapara date (at that time 2400
Dvapara) only retitling the epoch to Kali.[8]

1.

 Mark L. Prophet, Elizabeth Clare Prophet. The Path to Immortality. Summit University
Press.
  Giriwar Charan Agarwala. Age of Bhārata War. Motilal Banarsidass.
  Bryan E. Penprase. The Power of Stars. Springer. p. 182.
  Hans Kng. "Tracing The Way: Spiritual Dimensions of the World Religions". A&C Black.
  Kashi Nath Upadhyaya. "Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgita". p. 58.
  pnd (15 July 2011). "SB 3.11.19". vedabase.com.
  Richter-Ushanas 1997, p. 16.
 Yukteswar 1949.

Kali Yuga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Kalyug (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Kālī.

Kali Yuga (Devanāgarī: कललिययग [kəli juɡə], lit. "age of Kali", or "age of vice") is the last of
the four stages (or ages or yugas) the world goes through as part of a 'cycle of yugas' (i.e.
Mahayuga) described in the Sanskrit scriptures.[1] The other ages are called Satya Yuga, Treta
Yuga, and Dvapara Yuga.

Kali Yuga is associated with the demon Kali (not to be confused with the goddess Kālī). The
"Kali" of Kali Yuga means "strife", "discord", "quarrel" or "contention".

According to Puranic sources,[2] Krishna's departure marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the
start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE.[3]

Contents
 1 Current Kali Yuga and possible starting dates
 2 Attributes of Kali Yuga
o 2.1 References in the Mahabharata

4
  2.1.1 Prophesied events during the Kali Yuga
 3 10,000 year "Golden Age"
 4 Personification
 5 In Shaivism
 6 In Sikhism
 7 Other usage
 8 See also
 9 References
 10 Further reading
 11 External links

Current Kali Yuga and possible starting dates

According to the Surya Siddhanta, Kali Yuga began at midnight (00:00) on 18 February 3102
BCE.[4] This is also considered the date on which Lord Krishna left the earth to return to
Vaikuntha.[5] This information is placed at the temple of Bhalka, the place of this incident (see
photo).

Information Kiosk at Bhalka, the place from where Lord Krishna returned to his heavenly
abode

According to the astronomer and mathematician Aryabhatta the Kali Yuga started in 3102
BCE. He finished his book “Aryabhattiya” in 499 CE, in which he gives the exact year of the
beginning of Kali Yuga. He writes that he wrote the book in the "year 3600 of the Kali Age" at
the age of 23. As it was the 3600th year of the Kali Age when he was 23 years old, and given
that Aryabhatta was born in 476 CE, the beginning of the Kali Yuga would come to (3600 -
(476 + 23) + 1 (As only one year elapses between 1 BCE and 1 CE) = ) 3102 BCE.[6]

According to KD Abhyankar, the starting point of Kaliyuga is an extremely rare planetary

alignment, which is depicted in the Mohenjo-Daro seals.[7] Going by this alignment the year
3102 BCE is slightly off. The actual date for this alignment is February 7 of 3104 BCE. There
is also sufficient proof to believe that Vrdhha Garga knew of precession at least by 500 BCE.
Garga had calculated the rate of precession to within 30% of what the modern scholars
estimate.[8][9]

5
Most interpreters of vedic scriptures, as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami and his recent
disciple Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada believe that Earth is currently in Kali Yuga and
lasts 432,000 years. Other authors, such as Swami Sri Yukteswar[10] and Paramhansa
Yogananda,[11] believe that it is now an ascending Dvapara Yuga, indicating levels of cycles
within each major Yuga period as each being a development, the smaller cycles within cycles
eventually leading to full development of the qualities of the ages. The Kali Yuga is thought
by some authors to last 6480 years although other durations have been proposed.[12]

Attributes of Kali Yuga

Hindus believe that human civilization degenerates spiritually during the Kali Yuga,[13] which
is referred to as the Dark Age because in it people are as far away as possible from God.
Hinduism often symbolically represents morality (dharma) as an Indian bull. In Satya Yuga,
the first stage of development, the bull has four legs, but in each age morality is reduced by
one quarter. By the age of Kali, morality is reduced to only a quarter of that of the golden age,
so that the bull of Dharma has only one leg.[14][15]

References in the Mahabharata

The Mahabharata War and the decimation of Kauravas thus happened at the Yuga-Sandhi, the
point of transition from one yuga to another. The scriptures mention Sage Narada to have
momentarily intercepted the demon Kali on his way to the Earth when Duryodhana was about
to be born in order to make him an embodiment of 'arishadvargas' and adharma in preparation
of the era of decay in values and the consequent havoc.

Prophesied events during the Kali Yuga

A discourse by Markandeya in the Mahabharata identifies some of the attributes of Kali Yuga.
In relation to rulers, it lists:

 Rulers will become unreasonable: they will levy taxes unfairly.

 Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their
subjects: they will become a danger to the world.
 People will start migrating, seeking countries where wheat and barley form the staple
food source.
 "At the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the
residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher varnas
(guna or temperament) and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even
by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser." (Srimad-
Bhagavatam (2.7)

With regard to human relationships, Markandeya's discourse says:

 Avarice and wrath will be common. Humans will openly display animosity towards
each other. Ignorance of dharma will occur.
 People will have thoughts of murder with no justification and will see nothing wrong
in that.
 Lust will be viewed as socially acceptable and sexual intercourse will be seen as the
central requirement of life.

6
  Sin will increase exponentially, while virtue will fade and cease to flourish.
 People will become addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs.
 Gurus will no longer be respected and their students will attempt to injure them. Their
teachings will be insulted, and followers of Kama will wrest control of the mind from
all human beings.
 Brahmins will not be learned or honored, Kshatriyas will not be brave, Vaishyas will
not be just in their dealings, and the caste system will be abolished.

10,000 year "Golden Age"

The Brahma Vaivarta Purana (related to Rathantara kalpa) mentions a ten thousand-year
period, starting from the traditional dating of the Kali Yuga epoch, during which bhakti yogis
will be present.[16] Lord Krishna foretold that Kali Yuga will be full of extreme hardships for
people with ideals and values.

The Brahma-vaivarta Purana has words spoken by Lord Krishna to Mother Ganga just before
the beginning of the Kali Yuga (the age of quarrel and strife). The Kali Yuga began
approximately five thousand years ago, and it has a duration of 432,000 years, leaving us with
427,000 years until the end of the present age. Within this 432,000 year period, there is a
period of 10,000 years that will be a golden age. That golden age is being described below by
Lord Sri Krishna. Predicted in Brahma-vaivarta Purana 4.129. The fourth part of the Brahma-
vaivarta is called Kṛṣṇa-janma-khanda. Chapter 129 is called Golokarohanam, because it
describes how Krishna returns to His abode. This specific dialogue is between Lord Krishna
and Mother Ganga. Verse 49 is a question by Ganga, verses 50–60 are Lord Sri Krishna's
answer.

This text is taken from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana [14]

https://www.aeongroup.com/mani.htm
+++++

by Norman Scherer
2003
from CycleOfTime Website

It is never a question of belief;

the only scientific attitude one
can take on any subject is
whether it is true.
The law of gravitation worked as
efficiently before Newton
as after him.
The cosmos would be fairly
chaotic if its laws could not
operate without the sanction of
human belief.

7
 Yukteswar

Introduction
An alternate theory about mankind’s development is that our history is not a linear progression but
occurs in cycles.

That mankind’s intelligence gradually increases, reaches a peak and then gradually decreases,
reaches a nadir and then starts to ascend again. A profound book written in 1894 by Swami Sri
Yukteswar called The Holy Science discusses his ideas on this subject.

In a brief introduction to the main theme of the book (which discusses the underlying unity between
religions) he explains mankind’s mental and spiritual development throughout the ages.

He claims that our Sun takes some star for its dual and revolves around it in about 24,000 years of
our Earth and this (see below image) is what causes the apparent backward movement of the
equinoctial points around the zodiac.

Pretend the dotted line that looks away from the Sun is an observer looking
out toward the constellations. Notice the observer now has a changing
orientation to inertial space and over time at each vernal equinox, his gaze
can precess through the constellations without any independent torqueing of
the Earth required.

Zoom in to see the “incremental change” in orientation to inertial space now

attributed to lunisolar induced axial wobble. One year of this change is
equivalent to the annual rate of precession. See how the accumulated change
results in “apparent wobble” with the earth axis tracing a 360 degree circle in
the sky.

8
 Notice the Earth does make a 360 degree motion “relative to the Sun” but this
is not a 360 motion relative to inertial space. The reason is simple, as the Sun
curves it causes the observer on Earth (attached to the Sun by gravity) to
slowly turn to see a different point in inertial space each year. This is the same
“observable” attributed to an Earth torqued by lunisolar forces.

The Sun curving through space in a binary orbit solves many more problems
than just precession mechanics.

An interesting website that explores this possibility is the Sirius Research Group who actually seem to
prove it mathematically. Another site that researches this topic is Walter Cruttenden’s Binary
Research Institute.

Dharma
At the same time, the Sun also has another motion by which it revolves round a grand center called
Vishnunabhi, which is the seat of the creative power of the universe, Brahma.

Brahma regulates dharma, the mental virtue of the internal world. When the Sun, in its revolution
around its dual, comes to the place nearest to this grand center, (which takes place when the
Autumnal Equinox reaches the First Point of Aries,1 the star Zeta Piscium 2), dharma, the mental
virtue, becomes so much developed that man can easily comprehend all, even the mysteries of Spirit.

After 12,000 years, when the Sun goes to the place in its orbit furthest from Brahma (which takes
place when the Autumnal Equinox is on the First Point of Libra), the mental abilities of man is so
reduced that he cannot grasp anything beyond the gross material creation.

Then in the same manner, the sun begins its advance to return to the place nearest the grand center
and mental virtue begins to develop again for another 12,000 years and completes the 24,000 year
cycle.

Rate of Precession
Modern science tells us that the present rate of precession is about 1º in 72 years.

At that rate it would take 25,920 years for the equinoctial points to complete one trip through the
zodiac (72 x 360º), not 24,000 years as Yukteswar claims. However there is no proof that the present
rate of precession is constant throughout the entire cycle.

If in fact our Sun is revolving around another star in an elliptical orbit, the relative velocity of the star is
slowest at its apoapsis and fastest at its periapsis (point closest to its focus).

Thus with an average period of 24,000 years, the measured relative velocity at apoapsis may
correspond to 26,000 years, and 23,000 years or less at periapsis.

Yukteswar claims we were at the apopsis of our orbit at around 500 AD when the Autumnal Equinox
reached 0°of Libra. The intellectual power of man was so diminished that we could not comprehend
anything beyond the gross material matter of creation.

9
History seems to bear this out as it was one of the darkest periods of mankind with the fall of the
Western Roman Empire just a few years earlier and the beginning of what was eventually termed the
"Dark Ages".

The Four Yugas

The development of dharma, Yukteswar goes on to explain, is gradual and divided into four different
stages or Yugas in an ascending arc of 12,000 years.

The first stage is called Kali Yuga during which the Sun passes through 1/20 th portion of its entire orbit
or 1200 years. The human intellect cannot comprehend anything beyond gross material creation, the
external world. The next stage or age is called Dwapara Yuga which the Sun passes through 2/20 th of
its orbit or 2400 years.

The human intellect can comprehend the fine matters or electricities and their attributes which are the
creating principles of the external world. The period of 3600 years which the Sun passes through
3/20th of its orbit is called Treta Yuga.

Our intellect can then comprehend the divine magnetism, the source of all electrical forces on which
creation depends for its existence. The period of 4800 years during which the Sun passes through the
remaining 4/20th orbit is called Satya Yuga.

The mental virtue is in its fourth stage and completes its full development.

Human intellect can comprehend all, even God the Spirit beyond this visible world and dharma has
reached its peak. It now begins to decline in a descending arc of 12,000 years and mankind gradually
loses dharma as it once again travels through the four Yugas in reverse order.

The following diagram may be helpful:

10
As you can see from the above diagram, the Autumnal Equinox entered the ascending Dwapara Yuga
around the year 1700 and so we are currently just 300 years (or barely 1/8) into this 2400 year Yuga
which is scheduled to last until the year 4100 AD.

Obviously the last 300 years has seen a tremendous advance in our knowledge of the universe. It
should also be pointed out that as you pass from one age to another there is a transitional period
from one to the other that is proportionate to the length of the age in question.

So the Kali Yuga, for instance, that has a total length of 1200 years, has a transition time of 100 years
at its start and end plus the 1000 years sandwiched in between to make the total 1200 years.

In similar fashion Dwapara Yuga has a 200 year transition + 2000 years + another 200 year transition
at its end and Treta has a similar 300+3000+300 and Satya 400+4000+400. In this scenario, 1600 AD
would mark the beginning of the 100 year transition out of the last Kali Yuga.

Therefore, 1700 AD would begin the 200 year transition into the Dwapara Yuga and 1900 would be
the start of the actual Dwapara Yuga proper.

11
No one can argue that the last 100 years of the 20th century has seen an unparalleled advance in
knowledge throughout the world which corresponds to our finally entering into the Dwapara Age
proper in 1900 AD.

Age of Aquarius
Another point you may notice from the diagram, is that it is the Autumnal not the Spring or Vernal
Equinox which seems to be the true indicator of mankind’s state of development in the world today.

As you can see, the Autumnal Equinox is falling in the constellation of Virgo and so the Vernal
Equinox would be in its opposite sign of Pisces. Since western astrologers always give prime
importance to the Vernal Equinox they say we are in the Piscean Age.

However, as demonstrated above, there can be little doubt that it is the Autumnal Equinox that is of
prime importance and that we are really in the Age of Virgo and will then enter the Age of Leo around
2500 AD.

This brings up another widespread misconception in that you are always hearing about how we are
already feeling the vibrations and effects of the "Aquarian Age". That this is what’s causing the
"enlightenment" of the last few years. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Even if the Vernal Equinox was the prime indicator of mankind’s development, it will still be about 500
years before it will reach Aquarius or a good 25% of the entire sign of Pisces is in fact left.

In astrological terms this is about 7.5 degrees (30°per sign x 0.25=7.5°). Influences between
planetary bodies do not even begin to be felt until they are at least within 5-6 degrees of an exact
angle or conjunction.

The closer they come to their exact angle the more intense the effect.

A fuller explanation of orbs of influence in astrological terms is provided:

All aspects have an allowable tolerance of exactness, called the orb of the aspect.
The orb is the permissible degree to which an aspect can vary from the exact number
of degrees characteristic of that aspect.

Major aspects--that is, conjunctions, sextiles, squares, trines, and oppositions--are

allowed an orb of up to 6° in natal Astrology.... [the birth chart of an individual]

Major transiting or progressed aspects are allowed a 1° orb, unless the Sun or the
Moon is involved, in which case 2º can be allowed.3
Obviously, in discussing the precession of the equinoctial points around the zodiac we are not
referring to the horoscope of an individual but of the current movement of our entire solar system.

In other words a transit. Therefore one can assume, at the most, a 1° to 2° orb before the so-called
"Aquarian Age" effects would even begin to be felt. Even assuming a 6° orb we are still much too far
away to even begin to feel any effects from the constellation of Aquarius.

You may wonder why the Autumnal Equinox and not the Vernal Equinox is the true indicator of world
conditions.

In a series of articles for East-West Magazine called "Astrological World Cycles", Laurie Pratt writes
that:

12
 ...it may be that the 24,000 year equinoctial cycle which we are now traversing is a
female or negative cycle, and therefore the Autumnal, rather than the Vernal Equinox
is of primary importance during this period, for ancient astrological rules tell us that
Libra 0° (the place of the Autumnal Equinox) is the natural starting point for a female
horoscope, just as Aries 0° is for a male.4

Decline of Civilization
If Yukteswar’s theory is correct, mankind has had 12,000 years of declining mental development that
reached its nadir in 500 AD.

This would mean in the remote past of history man had reached a peak around the year 11,500 BC.
Of course this is wholly at variance with the current theories of science and archeology.

However all theories should be subject to continual testing to see if they are valid. What exactly do we
know about our remote past? Very little it would seem if you read about it. Much is unknown and there
seems to be a lot of speculation. "Unknown" and "speculation" is not hard scientific fact.

Yet often the theories that are formulated from the available evidence is all we have, so that many
times they are assumed to be fact when in reality they are at best, an educated guess.

Egypt
In re-examining the diagram above we can see that the last descending Dwapara Yuga started
around the year 3100 BC.

This corresponds with the beginning of the Dynastic period in Egypt. But how did this civilization in
Egypt start? What happened before 3100 BC? No one seems to know.

As John Anthony West wrote in his book, Serpent In The Sky:

...every aspect of Egyptian knowledge seems to have been complete at the very
beginning.

The sciences, artistic and architectural techniques and the hieroglyphic system show
virtually no sign of a period of ’development’; indeed, many of the achievements of
the earliest dynasties were never surpassed, or even equaled later on.

This astonishing fact is readily admitted by orthodox Egyptologists, but the magnitude
of the mystery it poses is skillfully understated, while its many implications go
unmentioned.

How does a complex civilization spring full-blown into being?... The answer to the
mystery is of course obvious, but because it is repellant to the cast of modern
thinking, it is seldom seriously considered. Egyptian civilization was not a
’development’, it was a legacy.5
If it was a legacy from an earlier advanced civilization then this would tend to substantiate the
diagram above. But a legacy from how long ago?

Dr. Robert M. Schoch has now provided for the first time some hard scientific evidence that gives
some support to a much earlier date for the start of the Egyptian civilization.

13
Dating the Sphinx
West noted that R.A. Schwaller wrote in his book Sacred Science, that the weathering patterns
observed on the Great Sphinx were due to water, not wind and sand.

West was stunned when he read this assertion as he had always assumed (along with most everyone
else) that the wind had caused the weathering features seen on the Sphinx.

Not being a scientist himself, he naturally wanted a professional opinion from a geologist.

When explaining his predicament to a friend at Boston University it aroused the interest of a geologist
colleague, Dr. Robert M. Schoch. Schoch was a stratigrapher and paleontologist, and thus an expert
in the weathering of soft rock.

As West explains,
....though my photographs [of the Sphinx] looked to his practiced eyes like typical
water weathering, he was still deeply skeptical, mainly because it looked too obvious.

Schoch found it difficult to believe that in two hundred years of studying, excavating
and restoring the Giza Plateau, no one prior to Schwaller had noticed that the
weathering on the Sphinx was water weathering, and no one prior to me [West] had
noticed that this was peculiar to the Sphinx (and its immediate associated structures).

His initial conviction was that, as an amateur, I must have overlooked some crucial
piece of evidence that would allow the accepted dating and attribution to stand. 6
As it turns out, Schwaller was right and his observation did "hold water".

The error West made was assuming that the water erosion was due to the Nile flooding in pre-historic
times. According to Schoch, however, the weathering was precipitation based; in other words rainfall.

The Sphinx, of course, is located in the Sahara Desert. The implications of this fact is staggering. It
means that the Sphinx and the adjacent Sphinx Temple (which shows the same weathering to the
exclusion of all other structures in Egypt) were built at a time when it rained for thousands of years in
that area.

As Schoch explains:
This line of thinking dates the original excavation of the Sphinx to somewhere on the
order of 7000 to 5000BC, a figure that fits with the climactic history revealed in the
rain erosion patterns.

As earthshaking a calculation as this has proved to be to conventional Egyptology, it

is in fact a conservative estimate that represents only a minimum age. 7

The water-weathering pattern on the Sphinx makes sense only if the structure had
been carved at a time when the Egyptian climate was much wetter than it is today.
This indeed was the case at the end of the last Ice Age, circa 12,000 years ago... 8
This would be the first corroborating piece of scientific evidence that could possibly show an alternate
scenario for mankind’s development as opposed to the currently accepted theories.

In this regard, Schoch notes that:

The tidy scenario of a civilization that began in Sumeria in 3500BC and flowered in
Old Kingdom Egypt of the Fourth Dynasty runs aground at Giza. 9
The debate over Schoch’s conclusions rages on within the Egyptology community. Another source of
great debate and speculation is also located on the Giza plateau, the Great Pyramid.

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References
 1 The "First Point of Aries" is the point where the Ecliptic and the Celestial
Equator cross one another. It defines the zero-point for Right Ascension.
When the Sun reaches this point every year we have the Vernal or Spring
Equinox (around March 21st). The Autumnal Equinox occurs around
September 22nd every year.

 2 The ancient Hindu rishis claimed that a new "Day of Creation" is ushered in
when all the planets, which belong to any given solar system, are placed in
the same zodiacal degree. The fixed star that marked this degree would
serve, throughout the entire life of the solar system, as the starting point or
first degree of Aries of a fixed zodiac. The star Revati (Zeta Piscium) is
considered by the Hindus to mark 0° Aries in the heavens for our solar
system. The scientific knowledge of the rishis was very great; in the
Kaushitaki Brahmana we find precise astronomical passages which show
that in 3100 B.C. the Hindus were far advanced in astronomy, which had a
practical value in determining the auspicious times for astrological
ceremonies. In an article in East-West, February, 1934, the following
summary is given of the Jyotish or body of Vedic astronomical treatises:
o "It contains the scientific lore which kept India at the forefront of all
ancient nations and made her the mecca of seekers after
knowledge. The very ancient Brahmagupta, one of the Jyotish works,
is an astronomical treatise dealing with such matters as the
heliocentric motion of the planetary bodies in our solar system, the
obliquity of the ecliptic, the earth’s spherical form, the reflected light
of the moon, the earth’s daily axial revolution, the presence of fixed
stars in the Milky Way, the law of gravitation, and other scientific
facts which did not dawn in the Western world until the time of
Copernicus and Newton."
It is now well-known that the so-called "Arabic numerals," without whose
symbols advanced mathematics is difficult, came to Europe in the 9 th century,
via the Arabs, from India, where that system of notation had been anciently
formulated. Further light on India’s vast scientific heritage will be found in Dr.
P. C. Ray’s History of Hindu Chemistry, and in Dr. B. N. Seal’s Positive
Sciences of the Ancient Hindus.

 3 Frances Sakoian and Louis S. Acker, Predictive Astrology: Understanding

Transits as the Key to the Future (New York, New York: Harper and Row,
1977) p. 81-83.

 4 Laurie Pratt, "Astrological World Cycles," East-West, Vol. 5-10 (1932), 61.

 5 John Anthony West, Serpent in the Sky (Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical

Publishing House, 1993), p.1.

 6 Ibid., p. 226.

 7 Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D., Voices of the Rocks (New York, New York:
Harmony Books, 1999) p. 42

 8 Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D., Voyages of the Pyramid Builders (New York,

New York: Putnam Books, 2003) p. 11

 9 Ibid. p. 18

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_precession.htm

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