DS Dhaliwal

THE MAHAYUGA

Somewhere in the late 1960s a song by James Rado and Georme Ragni for the Musical Hair took music lovers by storm inWestern world.

When the Moon is in the seventh house,
And Jupiter aligns with Mars,
Then peace will guide the planets,
And love will steer the stars.
This is the dawning Age of Aquarius,
Age of Aquarius…..
Aquarius……Aquarius……….Aquarius

The song aroused a keen interest in minds ofthe people about “astrology” andtheir curiosity aboutthe so called”Age of Aquarius”.

An effort has been made in this paper to dwell upon the concept of “Age” in astrology.
INTRODUCTION

Some periods of human evolution on earth have been described as high “ages ofenlightenment” whereas some as low “ages of darkness”. Concept of “Ages” in human evolution istherefore not a new phenomenon and existed from the pre historic times.In Vedic scriptures, we find reference of human evolution through different Yugas ie Sat yug, Treta yug, Dwapar yugand Kalyuga and this entire period of evolution is termed as Mahayug. Whereas Treta is associated with the age of highest form of “Maryada”, Dwaper is associated with highest level of commitment to one’s“Karma”. In Kal yuga the morality is described at its nadir notwithstanding its strides in technology. Vedic scriptures haveeven gone beyond this time frame and have clubbed 1000 Mahayugas into one “Kalpa” and two Kalpas” make one day of Brahma. Each Yuga has been given a span of 4,32,000 Sidereal years.There is a similar reference of “Mahayug” in other scriptures too. Greek mythology refers to something as “Great year” in the history of human evolution which they also sub divide into four parts ie Golden Era, Silver Era, Bronze Era and Iron Era.Time line of the Mahayuga or Great Year hasa striking relationship with the movement of Earth in the celestial sphere. It is clear by now that ancient astronomers/astrologers in India and other parts of the globe possessedan advanced knowledge about how the universe moves. They were very much familiar with the phenomenon of the “Precessionof Equinox” ie point of intersection of ecliptic and earth’s equator.Not only the phenomenon but the rate of precession was also calculated to its minutest. They knew thatper year precession of the Earth’s revolutionaround the Sun is 50.33’ or 1° per 72 years and at that rate, it will takes about 26,000 years for the Earth to complete one full circle of 360° around Sun by way of precession. {1°in 72years, 360°=360x72=25,920 say 26,000 years}

It is therefore this cycle of 26,000 years as shown in Fig-1 below which Vedic scripture refer to as “Mahyug” or the Greeks refer to as “Great Year”.

As per Vedic scriptures, a life span of 43,2000 yearsor its multiples by 10 has also been ascribed to each Yuga. If we go by the rate of precession of the Equinox ie 1° per 72 years and multiply the same with 30° ie span of each Zodiac sign, we arrive at a figure of 72x30=2160 and for two Zodiac signs it would be 2160x2=4320. The figure of “4320” isan enigma for astronomers all over the world who universally admit that figure of “4320” is not merely a coincidence. Recent researchers have found that the figure of 43,20 is a “common factor” in the dimensions of Great Pyramid of Giza near Cairo in Egypt. The great Pyramid is more than 750 ft. (229 Meters) along each side and 481 ft.(146.6 Meters) tall. If the height of the Pyramid is multiplied by 43200; it equals Earth’s Polar radius. Similarly if we measure the base perimeter of the Pyramid and multiply the same with 43,200 we get Earth’s equatorial circumference. The Great Pyramid is also targeted on true North within 3/60 of a single degree. These astronomical mysteries point towards great societies spread over our planet more than thousands of years ago be it the Indus valley, Egyptian Sahara, Greek or Angkor (Cambodia) civilizationwhose demise still remains a mystery.

GENESIS OF AGES

In order to understand the genesis of “Ages” we have to familiarize two astronomicalphenomenons ie “PRECESSION” and “ZODIAC” as discussed in PART- I and PART- II of this paper.

PART-1 (PRECESSION)

We are aware of the transit of planets and their sidereal return in our solar system. In a similar fashion, there is another astronomical change taking place around us up in the celestial sphere due to precession of ecliptic as explained in Fig-2. Earth’s axis is tilted at an angle of 23.30° in its yearly revolution around the Sun.

As our Earth is not a perfect sphere but bulged outalong the equator besides tilt of the polar axis, it gets wobbled due to gravitational pull from closest celestial bodies primarily Moon, Sun and other planets in the solar system. No only wobbling,the gravitational pull causes a receding effect on the motion of the earth and it remains behind by about 50.33’ each year to reach its start point when measured along the 360° circle around Sun. This phenomenon is astronomically called “Precession”.

As a result of this yearly precession, the alignment of Earth’s Polar axis also keeps changing as we look up in the sky.Due to a consistent precession, our polar axis makes an angle of 47° on the celestial sphere and as a result of it our“Pole Star” in the North also changes). Fig-2 on the previous page will make it further clear. Presently our polar axis is pointing towards a star called Polarisor the North Pole. This was however not the position say about 14 thousand years ago. Our polar axis was then pointing towards a star ” VEGA” in the constellation of Lyra ( fifth brightest star in the sky and about 25 light years away from us)

Incidentally “VEGA” is the same star which is referredto as “ABHIJIT” in the Vedic scriptures.

VEGA or ABHIJITwill therefore again be our Pole star say after about another fourteen thousand years. We find mention of ABHIJIT in“Mahabharat” which we can date back accordingly. ABHIJIT is an integral part of Vedic astrology which seems to have lost its astronomicalsignificance due to its shift from the earlier identifiable position of being our “Pole Star”. ABHIJIT is presently positioned between 6°.40’ to 10° 53’ 20’’ in the sign of Capricorn between Uttarshada the 21st and Shrawana the 22nd Nakshatra of Sidereal Zodiac.

As does the map of sky changes in the celestial sphere due to above phenomenon, the position of “Signs” also changes in the ZODIAC as we view from the earth.

This Phenomenon is being discussed in PART-II of this paper

PART-II (ZODIAC)

In the scheme of Earth’s precession, the reference point is taken from the Vernal Equinox (Spring Equinox). As the situation stands today, SUN transit to Aquarius from Pisces at the time of this Equinox.Therefore in the parlance of astrology, we are presently in the age of Pisces and receding towards Aquarius as a result of precession. Before Pisces we were therefore in the age of ARIES, TAURUS, GEMINI and so on in a succeeding manner

A study of the Zodiacs will clarify this phenomenon further. We have practically three Zodiacs which are followed and referred toby different schools of thought.

1 CONSTELLATIONAL OR NATURAL ZODIAC This is the Zodiacthat we see in the sky with naked eye. The Sun and all other planetsappear to be moving in a belt of 9° on either side of the Sun’s orbit (Ecliptic) through this Zodiac. Some of the constellations such as Cancer appear very small whereas some like Virgo appear very large. Some constellations even appear to be overlapping each other.

2. SIDEREAL ZODIAC Vedic astronomers/astrologers and some 5th century BC astronomers in Mesopotamia standardized this Zodiac (also called fixed Zodiac) in such a manner that it contains 12 signs exactly of 30° with reference to a fixed star.This Zodiac is roughly aligned with the Constellational/ Natural Zodiac.

3.TROPICAL ZODIAC: This is the Zodiac which is followed by Western astrologers. This Zodiac is also of 12 signs of 30° each and aligned with the seasons on the Earth and Gregorian calendar.
This implies that there are basically three reference points in the celestial sphere from where calculations are drawn and all three are referred to as Zodiac which may not be aligned with the natural or Constellational Zodiac but the names of Signs are still drawn from the Natural/Constellational Zodiac which causes all the confusion.

Both Sidereal and Tropical Zodiacs were aligned together somewhere near 285 AD when Western Astronomer/Astrologer Claudius Ptolemy defined the 1st degree of Aries as the Vernal or Spring Equinox and Western astrologers are following this reference point for the past about 1800 years. “Fig-3”on the next page will make this point clear. The outer most circle denotes the Constellational Zodiac, middle circle represents the Sidereal Zodiac and the inner most circle represents Tropical Zodiac. As mentioned above, all three Zodiacs were aligned somewhere during the 285 AD ie about 2019-285= 1734 years back. This implies that a precession of about 1734 ÷ 72= 24° has already taken place. So both the Tropical and Sidereal Zodiac which were aligned in 285 AD have drifted from each other by about 24° ie close to a full Sign. So a planet which was say at 0°Aries in the SiderealZodiac in 285 AD has moved by about 24° as of now in the Tropical Zodiac. In Fig-3 above we can see that Aries of the Tropical Zodiac (inner circle) which was aligned with Aries of Sidereal Zodiac(middle circle), has moved by about 24°and the Zero point of Aries of the Tropical Zodiac is drifting from PISCES towards AQUARIUS.

During this grand cycle of precession, our solar system also movesaround center of the Milky Way Galaxyat a rate of 828,000 km/hrs.and takes about 230 million years to complete one orbit. Indian and Western astrologers believe that this phenomenon cannot occur without a consequential effect on the events over our Earth.Going by the astronomical facts as discussedabove a “sign wave diagram” of the long term history of position ofearth’s Vernal Equinox is shown in “Fig-4” on the next page.

“AGES” and “SIGNS”

As we can see in “Fig-4” above, we are at present at the cusp of “human story of evolution” while we transit from the Age of Pisces to Aquarius. We can trace various stages of human evolution from astrological perspective in a “Retrograde” fashion. As discussed earlier, each Zodiac sign has a span of roughly 30°. As the constellations forming these signs are widely spread and in some case overlap each other, the overlapping period in terms of years can therefore be as much as up to 500 years. For the purpose of convenience, we shall take each sign as that of 30° and the age of each sign as 30°x72yrs = 2160 or say 2000 years and a plus minus of 500 years.

AGE OF PISCES (0 to 2000 AD)

The 12th Sign is Pisces lorded by Jupiter (GURUor teacher) 12th House in natal horoscopealso represents detachment from materialistic desires or “mokhsha” and the last phase in a natives life. It also represents enlightenment, charity, sacrifice and life after death. This period from 0 to 2000 AD of human history has seen the birth of Buddha, Jesus, Prophet Mohammed and Guru Nanakbesides 500 years of Bhakti movement in medieval India which produced saints like Kabir who enlightened the world through their teachings. Bible and Koran were conceived during this.period itself.There has been a lineage of ten Gurus in Sikhism and Granth Sahibthe sacred book of Sikhs compiled during this period is still revered as a living Guru.Kindness, charity,forgiveness, sacrifices and yet an orthodox approach towards one’s own belief are all intrinsic to these religions which are strong Piscean traits.Followers of Jesus extensivelyused images of fish as a mean of communicationthrough secret codes inscribed within images of fish for holding their congregations after crucifixion of Jesus under Roman rule. Imagesof fish are still found in many underground burial chambersin Rome

Symbol of Fish is still being revered bybelievers of the faith.
A strong polar influence of the 6th sign VIRGO can also be traced in the Age of Pisces such as the cult of “Virgin Mary” and outlook of Church towards sex

AGE OF ARIES ( 0 AD-2000 BC )

Aries is lorded by Mars; the planet signifying courage, valor, prowess, masculinity, arms and wars besides being significator of land and territories. This periodhas seen the descent of Aryans into North India around 1100 BC who after dislodging Drawids established themselves over vast tracks of land mass between Indus to Ganges. Alexander who is considered as history’s greatest military minds during 300 BC established the greatest Greek kingdom and reached up to India in his quest for more territories; again a Martian trait. This period also witnessed emergence of races like Spartans around 650 BC who rose to become the dominant military land power in ancient Greece and configured their entire society to maximize military proficiency. Spartan women enjoyed more rights and equality to men than elsewhere. Greeks were the first people to evolve democracy for a balanced and harmonic social order which goes in sync with the polar influence of Libra. Traces of Martian traits of Aries and polar influence of Venusian traits of Libra can also be found on some of the Greek antiques as on the vasebelow.

As pera Greek mythology, Achilles (a Greek warrior) slayed queen Penthesileia of Amazon in the battle for Troy; depicting the conflict between physical prowess and beauty.

AGE OF TAURUS (4000-2000 BC)

This is the periodof evolution when humans started diversifying agricultural activities. Bulls and cows became an integral part of agricultural activities besides means of transportation by way of bullock carts. Cows and bulls were not only considered as economic assets but were also accorded religious importance. Association of cow with Lord Krishan who also lived during this Age is well known.In Vedic astrology some Mahuratas (timings for an auspicious event) like “Godhuli-Lagan” are also associated with cow herds

Not only in India but in the Greekas well as Egyptian mythology there are references ‘galore’ of Taurus (Greek word for bull). Sign of Bull symbolise Egyptiandeity“Ptah” also known as Ptah Seker Asari whom theyrevere as deity of creation like Vishwakarmain Vedic scriptures

Archeologist and researchers have also found similar references from other ancient sculptures like the one on the left , where one of the Roman God “Mithras” is depicted as slaying the Bull. Some of the sculptures of Bull slaying are accompanied by depictions of Sun, Moon and Stars signifying certain astrological connotations. According to some researcher, these depictions of bull slaying as a matter of fact signify the end of the “Age of Taurus”.Ending the Age of Taurus is also represented with similar depictions in Egyptian artwhere the wingedGreek God Nike is shown as terminating the Bull (Taurus)

Emergence of dynasties during this Age injected an element of luxuries into the public life of royalties a“Taurean” trait.The polar influence of the 8th House and the 8th Sign Scorpio is quite vivid especially in the Egyptian civilization where tradition of mummifying dead bodies and burying them deep in underground secret chambers evolved. Human race has conceived by this time of evolution that there is a life after death. Techniques of digging tunnels to connect places of hiding are also believed to have been evolved by the humans during this period.

AGE OF GEMINI (6000-4000BC)

This is the period in human evolution when settled life becomes more prevalent and eventually evolved into greatcivilizations. The Indus valley civilization considered as cradle of civilizations spread in the North western part of Indian sub-continent besides other contemporary civilization like Mesopotamia and Anatolian to name a few. This was also the age when humans inventedcopper and started its usage in ornament and other implements. Domestication of crops like wheat and barley was followed by rearing of cattle, goats and sheep. Agricultural activities spread from West Asia to Southern and Central Europe. With the recession of ice age, the sea level also started rising.

“Geminin” traits in the evolving human’s race could be spotted with agricultural activities leading to the art of weaving and spinning and“Wheel” is considered to have been invented during this period itself.Rising sea level gave birth to making of rafts and boats and trade to distant places which initiated the process of “communication” and development of writing skills; a “Geminine” trait.

An old tablet of Mesopotamia era→

Rising water levels of oceans opened movement and trade through newly formed watery channels. Polar influence of Sagittarius as well as the 9th House made the human race more adventurous and people could venture into long sea voyages and long journeys over land mass in search of avenues. Only navigational mean for undertaking long journeys over land and sea was possible through celestial references which lead to the knowledge of “Astronomy”.Though bows and arrows were used by the Humans much before this age, buta force multiplier was added with the use of animals. Humans are believed to have added their most important single ally from the animal kingdom when they domesticated“Horse” during this period albeit wild horses wandered throughout the planetfrom early stages and humans hunted them just for meat. Archerywhich was hence before used only for hunting was now used for military purpose too which were in tune with the polar influence of“Sagittarius” .

AGE OF CANCER (8000-6000BC)

This is the Neolithic period or new Stone Age or the final division of the Stone Age. Evidences of this age have been found during excavations near Mehargarh area of Bolan Pass in Balochistan (Pakistan) to the west of Indus River besides at other locations where artefacts of an era around 7000 BC have been found. Human evolution from the age of Cancer to that of Gemini had been only transitional in nature. As the artefacts at Mehargarh suggest,it was just a precursor to the Indus valley civilization displaying a continuous phenomenon of evolution right up to much advanced Harappan civilization.

Humans by this age had starting observing the rise and fall of tides in the oceans due to vanishing icy regions and knew by then that these are related to the increase and decrease in the size of “Moon” ; the very own sign of Cancer. Small settlements made the man realize the importance of living a family life and comforts of his own house that establish his identity and linkage to family rather than that of a hunter and a wanderer. All these traits were intrinsic to “Cancer” and the 4th House. Agricultural activities including rearing of cattle, goats and sheep and also trade through sea and land brought in vast spectra of professional/business opportunities which go in line with the attributes of the 10th House. Ease of moving on land and sea matched with the Earthy and Watery attributes of Capricorn and Cancer and also the symbol of Capricorn (land& sea)

AGE OF LEO (10000-8000BC)

With the existing archeological evidence available, almost all research works lead to the facts that it was the period of transition from Mesolithic to the Neolithic period in the human evolution. Ice sheets which were at their maximum extent and covered much of North America, Europe and Asia had started to retreat with rise in temperature.Warmer climate on the Earth gave impetus to agricultural activities and humans developed the urge to settle and they started use of pottery and domesticated“Dog” as their best friend till this Age. Importance and role of “Sun” in those days marking end of ice age cannot be under scribed. Some prehistoric cave paintings reflect the creative traits of Leo in humans of that Age. Polar influence of Aquarius added purity at heart and inclination to help others as basic instincts of survival during those harsh days.

AGE OF AQUARIUS (2000-4000 AD)

As from Fig-4 of the sign wave, we can see that we at the threshold of transit from Pisces to Aquarius and Fig-5 indicate ourpresent positionin the Great cycle of Mahayug.

About 10,000 BC, we were in the Age of Leo with polar influence of the Aquarius when human race was in the Mesolithic period. Humans have made great strides in their evolution since then and have moved beyond space into territories of Planets and Moons and preparing to settle there in the same Mesolithic fashion.Humans have developed artificial intelligence and trying to establish contacts with life in other Galaxies; all Aquarian traits.
Is it Polarity of Leo that raisesglobal temperatures to its new heights and Ice age is receding tothe poles.

The era of great wars has ended with demise of cold war and elimination of weapons of mass destruction. Period of unification of countries is dawning; Europe is already unified. Technology has eliminated boundaries between countries. Common good of people is compelling the warringfactions and countries to resolve their differences for an everlasting peace. We are ushering towards anera ofuniversal wisdom and“Vasundhra Kutambhkam”; a true dawn of the” Age of Aquarius”

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehood or derisions
Golden living dreams of vision
Mystic crystal revelations
And the mind’s liberation
Aquarius
Aquarius
Aquarius
Aquarius……