Karunakara Guru: Santhigiri Ashram's Web Site

The purpose of Creation, is the elevation of all creatures through various stages, to the realization of the Absolute which is the Supreme Light. According to Nava Jyothi Sri Karunakara Guru, Yugadharma -Divine Law to be observed in a certain era- is worked out through the Manus -progenitors of mankind who preside successively over the fourteen Manvantaras. Each, of the 14 Manus, is in charge of the evolution in the Universe, for a time span of 306 720 000 years -a Manvantara. The Dharma -Divine Law- of Manu, works out perfection in the Universe as per the Will of the Supreme God. There are time segments in this scheme of perfection. A Kalpa -aeon- is one such time segment -4 320 000 000 human years. This time period called Kalpa, is divided into 14 units called Manvantaras, each headed by a Manu. Each Manvantara is divided into 71 Chaturyugas -age quartets. One Chaturyuga -4 320 000 years- is made of four Yugas (eras) -Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali. We are living in the Kali Yuga of the 28th Chaturyuga of the 7th Manvantara. Kali Yuga has 432 000 years out of which approximately 5100 years have passed now. Dwapara Yuga is two times the span of Kali Yuga -864 000 years-, Treta is three times -1 296 000 years- and Satya is four times that of Kali -1 728 000 years. This is in short, the measurement of Yugas -eras- on which Sanatana Dharma or the Eternal Religion of man is based.

We are living in the 7th Manvantara, in the 28th Chaturyuga, in the Kali Yuga in the year 5,200 aproximately.

Satya Yuga (1 728 000 years)

Treta Yuga (1 296 000 years)

Dwapara Yuga (864 000 years)

Kali Yuga (432 000 years)

71 Chaturyugas= 1 Manvantara (306 720 000 years)

14 Manvantaras= 1 Kalpa (4 294 080 000 years)

Manu is considered to be the progenitor of mankind. Like the Gomukh in the Himalayas from which the river Ganges emerges and spreads the length and width of the country, in the form of river, rivulets, lakes and ponds, Dharma in the World manifests from Manu -progenitor of mankind and first Guru or preceptor of the human race. That is the reason why we find a unity in the essence of all religions. The principles of love, sacrifice, kindness and belief in the existence of God are common to all religions, because the essence of this knowledge comes from Manu himself. So Dharma -Divine Law- is first manifested through the Manus, which are 14 in number and each heading a Manvantara -aeon comprising of 306 720 000 years). They in turn, impart the Spiritual Law to mankind through the Yugacharyas, the ordained spiritual heads for a period of time, who become the fountainhead of God realization and Dharma in the World. After the time of the Yugacharya, several Great Souls, sent by Manu, take this Dharma forward in human society. The whole spectrum of human thought and culture, art, literature and spiritual knowledge is oriented by these Yugacharyas, who come in the lineage of Manu from time to time. There are 5 such Yugacharyas in each Yuga. Out of this 5 Gurus in a Yuga, one is born in the twilight or threshold of a Yuga (Yuga Sandhi) -period describing the end of a Yuga and the beginning of the next one- to prepare the ground for the next Yuga. Krishna was such a Yugacharya in a Yuga Sandhi, who was born in the end of Dwapara Yuga, and died in the beginning of Kali Yuga. Similarly a Yugacharya is born in a Chaturyuga Sandhi -period describing the end of a Chaturyuga and the beginning of the next one- also. So there are 21 Yugacharya Gurus in a Chaturyuga -age quartet- through whom the Sanatana Dharma, divine codes of conduct to be observed by humanity itself in order to attain liberation, is worked out. In the earlier times, the Kings ruled the country by the guidance of such Yugacharyas who were the knowers of three fold times, i.e, the past, present and future. All decisions in respect of governance, were taken under the guidance of the Yugacharya Guru. All people lived happily under the guidance and protection of the Yugacharya Guru observing Dharma in life.

One of the characteristics of our present era -Kali Yuga-, is that God should be worshipped directly, or through a fully realized Guru. Therefore saints, angels, devas -deities misconceived as fully realized souls-, the Trimurti -Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva- or any other divinities, should not be accepted as the object of worship, only God Almighty. The reason is that these deities have reached certain stages in spiritual evolution, though they have not attained full spiritual realization. They are attached to the senses and they are not free from their emotions -anger, hate, jealousy, egoism, etc., so when we pray to these deities, some of them might become jealous of our spiritual progress, blocking our spiritual path. Another problem is that material gains and fortunes are prayed for and accrued by the devotees, then the deva-devi powers take away in turn punya -merit earned, in this and previous births, through right thought, word and action- of the devotees, which cause further lowering or descend of their soul.

As we know, there are millions of life forms in this World. Every thing and every creature in the Universe tends to evolve as time goes by. Evolution gradually takes place from the mineral reign, to the vegetal and animal reign and then to the human stage, into which the soul will have the opportunity to attain spiritual liberation. Yugas or Chaturyugas in a Manvantara, represent evolutionary steps towards the final goal of perfection in a Kalpa -aeon. This is the 7th Manvantara and we are in the Kali Yuga of the 28th Chaturyuga -age quartet. After this Kali Yuga, the next Chaturyuga i.e, the 29th Chaturyuga starts. The souls who deserve liberation, depending on their spiritual evolution, merge in the Supreme Light of God in this Kali Yuga, attaining spiritual liberation. All other souls are guided to take birth in the next Yuga, i.e. Satya Yuga, to keep on working out their remaining goal towards perfection. Similarly in the creation, phase by phase, all life forms are involved in an evolutionary process.

Modern science traces back the origin of man to about fifty million years. On the basis of research in History, human civilization dates back either to five or ten thousand years of history. Viewed in the light of the knowledge, advanced by ancient Indian spiritual science, the account of modern history is an absurdity. One of the uniqueness of Indian spiritual philosophy, is this knowledge on time-periodicity in accordance with the calendar of Manu, which sheds light on human life in the past millions of years or past seven Manvantaras -period of time comprising of 306 720 000 years each.

According to Hindu tradition evolution takes place within the Universe and there are time segments in this evolutionary process. As we know, every single thing, animal and people are involved in this process. For each time segment -Yuga-, the Yugadharma -Divine Law for an era- is given by the Almighty through Great Souls, such as Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Shankara, etc.

A year is divided into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each season has specific characteristics. For example, during Spring the weather becomes warmer and plants revive. Summer is the warmest season of the year. In Autumn, the temperature is lower and the leaves tend to fall from the trees. Winter is the coldest season of the year. Likewise, a Chaturyuga -age quartet- is divided into Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali; each with a specific nature in itself.

A Chaturyuga or age quartet begins with Satya Yuga. In the Satya Yuga, the Light of God is self manifested, i.e. everyone could see the Light of God effortlessly, people generally live in peace in this epoch and there is little suffering, though the levels of spiritual attainment are very low. In this era, the Supreme is worshipped directly. There is no intermediary between God and man. Dyanam or meditation is the means of worship. On sankalpa -mind prayer- one gets the Light of the Supreme and everything gets revealed from that Light.

Treta and Dwapara Yuga are considered here together because both Yugas are characterized by the eminence of deities, such as saints, angels and deva-devi (‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ wrongly considered to be liberated souls) dominance. The Supreme is worshipped through those deities in these ages. God Almighty has given them the authority to receive worship and the worship of deities was correct according to the Dharma -Divine Law- of both the ages.

In Treta and Dwapara Yuga, the Light still withdraws into nature, necessitating yet some more changes in the mode of worship, and the means of worship is yaga, yagna and homa -rituals and fire sacrifices-, mantras - syllables or words which connect you to a certain source of spiritual energy- and tantra -rituals. Men could get by darshans -spiritual visions-, the appearance of any saint, deity or deva-devi on the chanting of mantras, applicable to each power and receive blessings. The glitter of material well being, symbolizes the deva stage in the spiritual evolution.

In contradiction to what many believe, Kaliyuga is the noblest age. Many people, specially in India, think that this is a bad era of tremendous suffering and destruction, but we must remember that this is an era of purification through all that suffering. Only in this era -Kaliyuga- liberation can be attained, but not in the previous ones. Fortunately we are now living in this golden era.

When you go to University, graduation time comes only once a year. You cannot graduate at any time that you chose, because there is a specific date in a year in which you can graduate. Graduation (spiritual liberation) comes only in Kaliyuga, but not in the previous eras -Satya, Treta and Dwapara-, so if liberation cannot be attained in Kali -432 000 year period-, then you will have to wait for a long time,

3 888 000 years, -period comprised of Satya, Treta and Dwapara Yugas- so that you may have the opportunity once again to reach the liberation age -Kaliyuga.

Kaliyuga is the age of Guru Margam -the path of Guru. Though there had been Guru Margam in all the ages, in Kaliyuga the Supreme should be worshipped directly, or through a fully realized Guru, because by doing this, our soul can evolve at a faster pace towards liberation.

One of the distinctiveness of Kaliyuga is that it is the age, in which all the people who have attained low levels in their evolutional processes and also the Sudra, lowest of the castes in India- i.e. the ignorant (who haven’t inherited in the soul the punya -merit earned through right thought, word and action- and ‘tradition’ for acquiring the Supreme Knowledge) and the whole lower castes created consequent upon caste system, are entitled for the knowledge of the Supreme. It is, as I have mentioned before, that of the four ages, only in Kaliyuga, mukti -salvation- is possible. The Hindu scriptures note that even devas -‘gods’- are praying in the astral plane for obtaining birth in this age, because only by taking birth and through right thought, word and action, liberation is possible.

Adi Shankara, Indian philosopher and religious thinker who developed Advaita Vedanta -monism- stated that there are three things that are rare indeed, namely a human birth, an intense desire for spiritual liberation and finding a fully realized Guru who undoubtedly, will lead the seeker of Truth towards liberation.

I (Carlos Guzman) have seen in darshans -spiritual visions- that saints, sanyasins -renouncers-, devas -deities misconceived as fully realized souls-, saints, rishis -sages-, boddhisatvas -according to Buddhism, beings who, out of compassion, forgo Nirvana in order to save others- and millions of souls from so different planes of evolution, are praying to the Almighty, demanding a chance to take birth once more in this precious but difficult era. Only in Kaliyuga, through the path shown by a fully realized Guru, who come in accordance with the Will of the Almighty, the higher spiritual evolution of soul, leading to oneness with the Supreme Light, is possible.

In Kali Yuga, the mode of mukti -deliverance- is through ‘Namasamkirtanam,’ recital of the name of the Yugacharya Guru, (spiritual teacher who dispels and removes darkness from its followers in a certain era, guiding them towards mukti -spiritual liberation), as enunciated through the asariri -words from God Almighty- through the spiritual experience. The recital or chanting of the name of the Yugacharya Guru, should be ordained by the Almighty. Chanting the name of this Great Soul, who is endowed with the authority of the age, has been prescribed for the worship of the Supreme, in this Kali Age, by the Almighty himself, in order to lead man towards liberation. This spiritual practice, automatically connect us to the Guru’s Spiritual Radiance and this precious energy will start purifying our souls, at a tremendous pace, from previous bad karmas -wrongful actions-, and evil vasanas -tendencies- so that spiritual liberation can be attained. In this age, Kali, the right path to Satya Yuga is laid down. This is accomplished by a fully realized Guru, who comes for setting the karma -mode of action- and Dharma (Divine Law -law of being, way of righteousness, religion, mode of worship compatible with the age, virtue, justice, duty and responsibility of man. The worship and glorification of deities, saints, angels, rishis and spiritual leaders, who have not attained spiritual liberation, is against the Yugadharma -Divine Law for that era- of this Kali Age and hence the Will of God. Nowadays, billions of people around the World, are praying to so many deities, saints, angels, etc. assuming that these entities are fully realized souls, due to their enormous miraculous power and obviously people erroneously suppose, that they can be leaded by these ‘spiritual entities’ towards liberation, nevertheless this is a tremendous mistake.

If the Yugadharma -Spiritual Law- is not followed, what follows is the destruction of eternal values in the World and failure of Dharma -Spiritual Law- and karma -mode of action- of man, bringing about chaos, confusion and misery in the society. Therefore the evolutional process of man becomes severely affected. Who is that glorious Yugacharya Guru, of unmatched wisdom and radiance in our time, who has come to reestablish, both the Yugadharma -Spiritual Law- of our actual era -Kali- and also the Eternal Dharma of mankind? According to my experience -spiritual visions-, this supreme Guru of all Gurus, is Nava Jyothi Sri Karunakara Guru of Santhigiri Ashram. Not only me, but al least 300 people around the World can testify, based on their spiritual visions, about this truth, and at least 50 of them are living in Santhigiri Ashram.