Hindu Prophecies

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 "Whenever there is decay of righteousness... and there is exaltation of unrighteousness,
then I Myself come forth... for the destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly establishing
righteousness, I am born from age to age." --- KRISHNA- Bhagavad Gita- fourth discourse

 Hindus are awaiting the coming of the Kalki Avatar at the end of this present age, Kalki Yuga (Dark or Iron Age). Baha'is believe that the Kalki Yuga age has already ended and, as promised in the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord has again manifested Himself to humanity.... this time with the name Baha'u'llah. Baha'u'llah is the Kalki Avatar.

 Baha'u'llah's name means the Glory of Bhagwan or the Splendor of Ishvara. The coming of Baha'u'llah is therefore the start of the Sat or Krta Yuga (Golden Age). It is the time when people will return to righteousness and the world will be at peace.

 Baha'is have pointed to the prophecies in the Hindu scriptures and stated that all of these have been fulfilled in this age. There are many passages in the Hindu writings which describe the condition of the world at the end of the Kalki Yuga. Baha'is would say that what is described in the Hindu books is exactly what we are seeing in the world today. Among the most striking of these passages from the Hindu holy books are the following:

 "In the Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be the deciding factor of nobility [in place of birth, righteous behavior or merit]. And brute force will be the only standard or deciding what is righteous or just."
 
 "Mutual liking [and not family pedigree, social status, etc.] will be the deciding factor in choosing a partner in marriage; cheating will be the order of the day in business relations; satisfaction of sexual pleasure will be the only consideration of male or female excellence and worthiness; and the wearing of the sacred thread (Yajnopavita) [and not pious behavior or Vedic or Shastric learning] will be the outward index of being a Brahmin.

 In the Kali Yuga, only one quarter of each of the four feet of Dharma [panance, truthfulness, compassion and charity] remains. And that too goes on decreasing day by day while the feet of Adharma [unrighteousness] increase greatly. So that in the end Dharma becomes extinct."

 "In that [Kali] age, people will be greedy. They will take to wicked behavior. They will be merciless, indulge in hostilities without any cause, unfortunate, extremely covetous for wealth and women. High social status will be attained by Sudras, fisherman and such other classes..."

 "When deceit, falsehood, lethargy, sleepiness, violence, despondency. grief, delusion, fear, and poverty prevail, that is the Kali Yuga..."

 "...mortal beings will become dull-wittwd, unlucky, voracious, destitute of wealth yet voloptuous, and women, wanton and unchaste.

 Countries will be laid waste by robbers and vagabonds; the Vedas will be condemned heretics; kings will exploit their subjects, and twice-borns like Brahmanas will only think of the gratification of their sexual desires and other appetites.

 "Celibates [of the Brahma Carya ashrama] will cease to observe their vows of study, purity and celibacy; householders will take to begging [instead of giving alms]; hermits [of the vanaprastha ashrama] will resort to villages [leaving their retreats in the forests]; and Sannyasins will be extremely greedy for money.[in short, the whole system of the Varnashrama Dharma will have broken down.]"
 
 "Petty - minded people will conduct business transactions and merchants will be dishonest."

 In the Kali Yuga, men will abandon their parents, brothers, friends, and relatives. They will occupy high seats [and pulpits] and will [pretend to] preach religion.

 People will have their minds weighed down with constant anxiety and fear. This will be due to devastating famines and heavy taxation. The land will not grow food-crops, and the people will always be in fear of impending droughts.

 There are similar prophecies in many other passages of the Hindu scriptures such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana. Baha is believe that all of the conditions described in these books have come about today.

 Swami Vivekananda, a prominent writer wrote: But greater than the present deep dismal night...no pall of darkness had ever before enveloped this holy land of ours. And compared with the depth of this fall, all previous falls appear like little hoof-marks.

 There are also prophecies that we are seeing today of the breakdown of the caste system and the abandonment of religion: "The observance of caste, order and institutes will not prevail in the Kali Yuga; nor will that of the ceremonials and rituals enjoined by the Sama, Rig, and Yajur Vedas. Marriages, in this age, will not conform to the ritual; nor will the rules that connect the guru and his disciple be in force. The laws that regulate the conduct of husband and wife will be disregarded; and oblations to the gods with fire will no longer be offered..."

 The doctrines of false teachers will be held to be scripture... In the Kali Yuga, those who practice fasting, austerity and liberality will do so in whatever way they please [and not according to the law]. And men will call this righteousness...

 Men of all degrees, filled with conceit, will consider themselves to be equal with Brahmins...

 In the Kali Yuga, men, corrupted by unbelievers, will refrain from adoring Vishnu, the Lord of sacrifice, the creator and lord of all. They will say: Of what authority are the Vedas? What are gods, or Brahmins? What need is there for purification with water?

 "When the practices taught by the Vedas and the institutes of law shall nearly have ceased, and the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of his own spiritual nature in the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon the earth. He will be born as Kalki in the family of an eminent brahmin of Sambhala village, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. By his irresistible might he will destroy all the barbarians and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will then re-establish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita age, the Age of Purity." --- Hinduism- Vishnu Purana 4.24

 All the Hindu scriptures are agreed that when conditions have reached this point, when things have deteriorated and mankind has sunk to the lowest depths of moral degradation, then the Lord will again manifest Himself as the Kalki Avatar... when Vedic religion and the dharma of the law books have nearly ceased and the Kalki Yuga is almost exhausted, then a part of the creator of the entire universe, the blessed Lord Vasudeva [Vishnu], will become incarnate here in the universe in the form of Kalki.
Baha'i scholars have demonstrated that the prophecies in the Manu Srmiti and other books indicate the exact date of the end of the kalki Yuga and the coming of the Kalki Avatar. This date, 1844, is also the year of the beginning of the Baha'i Faith. Therefore Baha'is believe that, faithful to the promises and prophecies recorded in the Hindu holy books, the Lord has now manifested Himself again in the form of the Kalki Avatar. Baha'is believe that, this is the Baha'u'llah.
  The purpose of the Baha'u'llah's coming is to fulfill the prophecies in the Hindu scriptures and to give us the teachings that will bring in the new Sat or Krta Yuga (golden age) as foretold in the Vishnu Purana. He will then establish righteousness upon the earth and the minds of the people will be awakened and become as pure as crystal. And these men, the remnant of mankind, will thus be transformed... And these offspring will follow the ways of the Krta Age.
Baha'is believe that through the teachings of Baha'u'llah, these prophecies will be fulfilled. As a result the Sat or Krta Yuga
(golden age) will be established.