Summary:

Lesson 68 starts with 3 defects pursuing limited-worldly goals leading to rebirth. Even heaven (subtler worlds) is limited. Meaning of 4 yugas is given (kali, dvapara, treta, satya) and used to calculate age of entire universe and age of creator (Brahmaji). Finally what happens when universe goes into singularity (great dissolution).

Source: Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8 – verse 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

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Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8 – Verse 15:

māmupetya punarjanma duḥkhālayamaśāśvatam |
na”pnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ ||

Having attained Me (Īśvara), those great souls do not take rebirth which is an ephemeral abode of misery. They have attained liberation, ultimate.

 

• Previous verse, Krishna concludes answer of 7^th Q (process of dying).
• In following verses 15-22, Krishna speaks of 2 types of human goals.
  • Goal 1: Īśvara (Infinite, Sacred)
    • Śreyaḥ: Path of good. Delayed gratification. Needs much patience.
      • EG: Father has patience to support and discipline a spoilt child. Later, child’s success brings much joy to father/mother.
      • EG2: Business owner sees mediocre profits for excess hours. By providing excellent services with care, slowly word of mouth spreads. Years later, he/she is enjoying decent profit to hours ratio.
    • Vaidika: Found in Vedic literature. Or any scriptures which talk of both (1) Consciousness (2) Matter, and how they are ONE. Matter doesn’t exclude dharma (morals, virtues).
    • In CH8 context, called: Niṣkāma upāsana. Produces infinite goal by means of krama mukti.
      • Krama Mukti: sequential liberation. It simply means: Self-Knowledge is gained by Brahmāji (creator himself).
      • Order is: Much rituals/meditation on Lord while living > die > jīvātma goes to Brahmāloka > krama mukti (ignorance removed) > mokṣa.
  • Goal 2 is: World (Finite, Material, Secular)
    • Preyaḥ: Path of pleasant. Instant enjoyment.
      • EG 1: Slide into another relationship then exit when honeymoon is over. Food! Sight-seeing tours. Entire world of entertainment. Netflix. Icecream. Massage. Sun bathing on beach. Socializing. Worshipping God for personal pursuits. Basically majority of human activity in household with decent income.
      • EG 2: Moment one has spare money to spend beyond basic survival, it gets invested into changing chemistry of the body-mind through various experiences (instant enjoyment). Want more dopamine? Just go and socialize! Easy.
      • EG 3: Why do lotto ticket buyers re-purchase each forthnight despite infinitesimal chances? Because when mind of emotions (which speaks language of “I want to feel GOOD now”) supersedes Intellect, then intellect ends up bidding for the emotions. Instant gratification tempts/seduces humans universally across all ages.
      • Summary: Preyaḥ is path of making love to saṃsāra in creative ways.
    • In CH8 context, called: Sakāma upāsana

• Krishna points out:
  • For intelligent person, God alone become PRIMARY goal.
  • Only indiscriminative person seeks everything, other then Īśvara (this word always refers to English equivalent word ‘God’, which has higher nature (parā-prakṛti) & lower nature (aparā-prakṛti). Or spirit & matter).
• Why Īśvara is right goal, we revise (62):
  • In reference to World, all goals/accomplishments have 3 defects (doṣās). Every rose comes with thorn (trap).
  • Defect 1: Every pleasure mixed with pain.
    • EG: Child birth gives both pleasure/pain. Or famous movie-star has to put up with constant admirers, and lack-of-privacy even in a shopping mall.
    • Pain in form of: acquisition, preservation, loss.
      • Each more painful then last. EG: Breakup is loss, being more painful then preserving/maintaining the relationship.
  • Defect 2: Never give total satisfaction.
    • Know that there’s bigger/better.
    • EG: Whole world calls one rich. But rich person unhappy because comparing to RICHER.
  • Defect 3: Enslaved by attachment/dependence.
• One is immune to 3 defects only if pursue Goal 1 (Īśvara). Reason:
  • Because Bhagavān represents independence, fullness, unlimited security. Hence identifying with Bhagavān, one ‘becomes’ self-dependent.
  • Also because God (fullness) is never away from me. Thus no need to chase experiences for satisfaction. Meaning one is never disappointed, since they don’t have experiences which produce the 3 defects.
• Hence Krishna answers what is advantage of choosing path of God:
  • mām upetya: If person attains Me, advantage is punarjanma na āpnuvanti, never come to finitude/mortality again.
  • Free from duḥkhālayam, temple of sorrow. Abode of misery.
    • Source of dissatisfaction because of aśāśvatam; fleeting, impermanent nature of things.
  • And while living, have little to no ups & downs. Because ups/downs are only real if one gives reality to world and BMI (Body-Mind-Intellect).
    • EG: Notice how we remain value-neutral when at another person’s funeral or someone speaks of death of someone close to them. We listen objectively, without being pulled into their grief. Reason? No attachment to this other person. Doesn’t mean we don’t care, only that we’re OBJECTIVE.

1. 2. 1.  

ābrahmabhuvanāllokāḥ punarāvartino'rjuna |
māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||

All the worlds, O Arjuna, including the realm of the Brahmāji, are subject to return, but after attaining Me, O son of Kunti, there is no rebirth, O Arjuna.

 

 

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8 – Verse 17:

sahasrayugāparyantamaharyad-brahmaṇo viduḥ |
rātriṃ yugāsahasrāntāṃ te'horātravido janāḥ ||

Those people who are conversant with day and night know the day of Brahmā to be lasting up to one thousand catur-yugās and the night to be lasting up to (another) one thousand catur-yugās.

What exactly does this mean? Who is this Brahmā, and what is a catur-yuga? Let's see…

Distinguishing Brahmā from Brahman

Before diving into the calculations, it's important to understand a crucial distinction in Sanskrit terminology. The language uses two similar-sounding but fundamentally different concepts:

Brahman (or simply Brahma without the long ‘ā') refers to the supreme, formless, absolute reality. This is nirguṇa Brahman – beyond all qualities, beyond time and space, the ultimate ground of existence itself. This is the unchanging, eternal principle that pervades everything.

Brahmā (with the long ‘ā'), on the other hand, is the creator deity within the cosmic cycle. He is saguṇa – with qualities and form. Unlike the timeless Brahman, Brahmā exists within time and has a definite lifespan, albeit an incomprehensibly long one. The suffix “ji” you might hear in Hindi (Brahmāji) is an honorific used to show respect and to clearly distinguish this personified creator from the formless absolute.

The Four Yugas: Cycles of Cosmic Time

The term “catur-yuga” means “four yugas,” where catur means four and yuga means an age or epoch. According to Hindu cosmology, time moves in great cycles, and each cycle consists of four yugas that progressively decline in virtue and human lifespan. These four ages are:

1. Satya Yuga (also called Krita Yuga or the Golden Age)

This is the age of truth and perfection, lasting 1,728,000 years. During Satya Yuga, humanity existed in its highest state. The Mahabharata describes it beautifully: “Men neither bought nor sold; there were no poor and no rich; there was no need to labour, because all that men required was obtained by the power of will; the chief virtue was the abandonment of all worldly desires. The Krita Yuga was without disease; there was no lessening with the years; there was no hatred, or vanity, or evil thought whatsoever; no sorrow, no fear.”

In this age, dharma (cosmic law and righteousness) stood on all four legs like a stable bull. The four pillars of dharma — austerity (tapas), cleanliness or charity (śauca or dāna), compassion (dayā), and truth (satya) — were all fully present. Humans lived in harmony with divine principles, and according to Vaishnava tradition, the Supreme Godhead Narayana was the sole object of worship.

2. Treta Yuga

The second age lasts 1,296,000 years (three-quarters the length of Satya Yuga). Virtue begins to decline, and dharma now stands on only three legs. One quarter of sin enters the world, while three quarters of virtue remain. Human lifespan, which was extraordinarily long in Satya Yuga, begins to decrease.

3. Dvāpara Yuga

The third age spans 864,000 years (half the length of Satya Yuga). The balance now shifts to equal parts virtue and vice — dharma stands on just two legs. Human lifespan shortens further to around 1,000 years. The world becomes more complex, with knowledge and wisdom becoming fragmented.

4. Kali Yuga (The Iron Age)

This is our current age, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy, lasting 432,000 years (one quarter the length of Satya Yuga). Kali Yuga began around 3100 BCE. This means 426,000+ years remaining.

In Kali Yuga, dharma stands on only one leg. Three quarters of the world is dominated by sin and discord, with only one quarter virtue remaining. Human lifespan has declined to roughly 100 years. The ancient texts describe this as an age of strife, ignorance, irreligion, and vice. Yet, paradoxically, spiritual liberation is said to be more easily attainable in Kali Yuga through devotion and the chanting of divine names, precisely because the challenges are so great.

The Mathematics of Cosmic Time

When we add up these four yugas, we get one complete cycle called a mahā-yuga or catur-yuga:

• • • Satya Yuga: 1,728,000 years
    • Treta Yuga: 1,296,000 years
    • Dvāpara Yuga: 864,000 years
    • Kali Yuga: 432,000 years
    • Total: 4,320,000 years

Notice the elegant mathematical pattern: the yugas decrease in the ratio of 4:3:2:1, reflecting the progressive decline in righteousness.

Now here's where it gets truly cosmic. According to the Bhagavad Gita verse, one complete day of Brahmā consists of 1,000 such catur-yugas, and his night also lasts 1,000 catur-yugas.

One day of Brahmā = 1,000 × 4,320,000 = 4,320,000,000 years (4.32 billion years)

One night of Brahmā = 1,000 × 4,320,000 = 4,320,000,000 years (4.32 billion years)

One complete day-night cycle = 8,640,000,000 years (8.64 billion years)

Reconciling Brahmā's 4.32 Billion Years with Science's 13.8 Billion Years

This brings us to an intriguing question: modern cosmology estimates our universe to be approximately 13.8 billion years old since the Big Bang. Yet one day of Brahmā is calculated as 4.32 billion years. How do we reconcile this apparent discrepancy?

Several thoughtful possibilities emerge when we examine this question:

The Scope of Reference May Differ

The Vedic texts might not be describing the entire universe as we understand it cosmologically, but rather a specific domain of manifestation. Brahmā's day could refer to the creation cycle of our particular solar system, planetary realm, or the 14 lokas (realms of existence) described in Hindu cosmology, rather than the entire cosmos. Modern science measures from the Big Bang, which created spacetime itself, while Brahmā's day might mark a different kind of manifestation event — perhaps the organization of already-existing cosmic material into habitable worlds.

Interestingly, our solar system is indeed approximately 4.5 billion years old, remarkably close to the 4.32 billion year figure for one day of Brahmā. This could suggest that the Vedic measurement refers to our local cosmic neighborhood rather than the universe at large.

Different Levels of Creation

Hindu cosmology speaks of multiple Brahmās across infinite universes. The current Brahmā's “day” might represent a particular phase of creation within an already-existing universe. The universe itself (the total cosmic manifestation) could be far older than the current creative cycle overseen by this particular Brahmā. Think of it as the difference between when a house was built (the universe) and when the current residents moved in (Brahmā's day).

Metaphorical vs. Literal Numbers

Ancient wisdom traditions often encoded spiritual truths in numerical form. The numbers might be symbolic representations of cosmic principles rather than precise astronomical measurements. The pattern of 4:3:2:1 in the yugas, for instance, beautifully represents progressive decline, which might be more important than the literal year count. The purpose of these numbers could be to convey the vastness of cosmic time and our relative insignificance within it, rather than to provide exact chronological data.

The Nature of Manifestation

When the texts say that during Brahmā's day “the universe is manifest,” this might not equate to the Big Bang as modern physics describes it. Brahmā's day might refer to when earth or any-loka-in-general becomes friendly to host sentient beings to start exhausting their karma, or when jiva becomes self-conscious, or gains free-will. It's subject to speculation.

Cycles Within Cycles

We're told we're in the first day of the 51st year of the current Brahmā's second half of life, meaning roughly 155 trillion years have supposedly elapsed. This is obviously incompatible with a 13.8 billion year old universe if taken literally. This mathematical impossibility might itself be a teaching device, pointing us toward the limitations of conceiving the infinite through finite numbers, or suggesting that different planes of existence operate under different temporal frameworks.

The Humility of Not Knowing

Perhaps the most honest approach is to acknowledge that we're comparing two different frameworks developed for different purposes. The Vedic system emerged from contemplative and revelatory traditions aimed at spiritual liberation. Modern cosmology developed through the scientific method aimed at understanding physical reality. Both may be describing aspects of truth from their respective vantage points, and forcing them into perfect alignment might miss the point of each.

The number 4.32 billion years is precise and mathematically elegant within its system. The number 13.8 billion years is our best current scientific estimate but continues to be refined. Rather than needing to prove one right and the other wrong, we might hold both perspectives with appropriate respect for their contexts while remaining open to deeper understanding.

The Lifespan of Brahmā: An Almost Incomprehensible Number

But we're not done yet. Brahmā lives for 100 years according to the divine calendar, where each year consists of 360 days (not the 365 days of our solar year).

Let's calculate:

• • • 100 years × 360 days per year = 36,000 days
    • 36,000 days × 8,640,000,000 years per day-night cycle
    • Total: 311,040,000,000,000 years

That's 311.04 trillion years — the complete lifespan of Brahmā.

According to the Puranas, we are currently in the second half of Brahmā's life (the second parārdha), specifically in the first day of the 51st year. We're in the seventh Manvantara (age of Manu) of this current day, within the 28th catur-yuga of that Manvantara. This means approximately 155 trillion years have already elapsed since this Brahmā began his life.

Twilight Periods: The Fine Details

For those interested in the complete picture, each yuga doesn't simply begin and end abruptly. Traditional texts describe that each yuga has a dawn (sandhyā) and a dusk (sandhyāṃśa), each lasting one-tenth of the main period.

For example:

• • • Satya Yuga dawn: 144,000 years
    • Satya Yuga proper: 1,440,000 years
    • Satya Yuga dusk: 144,000 years
    • Total: 1,728,000 years

This applies proportionally to all four yugas, adding a beautiful symmetry to the cosmic calendar.

What Happens During Brahmā's Day and Night?

During Brahmā's day, the universe is manifest. The 14 realms (lokas) exist, beings take birth, live, and die according to their karma. Creation unfolds in all its complexity across countless worlds.

When Brahmā's night arrives, a partial dissolution (pralaya) occurs. The universe is absorbed back into the unmanifest state, resting in potential form until the next day of Brahmā dawns and creation begins anew.

At the end of Brahmā's complete 100-year lifespan, a great dissolution (mahā-pralaya) occurs. Everything, including Brahmā himself, is absorbed back into the supreme reality. Yet even this is not the absolute end — according to the texts, after this dissolution, a new Brahmā is born, and the entire cycle begins again. Brahmās are themselves innumerable, each presiding over universe after universe in an eternal cosmic dance.

Who Knows These Things?

The Bhagavad Gita verse refers to those who know these measurements as ahorātravido janāḥ — those who have studied the sacred scriptures where all the cosmic realms (lokas) and timescales are described. This knowledge comes from texts like the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Surya Siddhanta, Vishnu Smriti, and various Puranas.

This isn't meant to be mere theoretical knowledge. Understanding these vast timescales serves a spiritual purpose: it puts our brief human life in perspective. When we grasp that we're living in a fleeting moment within an incomprehensibly vast cosmic cycle, it can inspire both humility and urgency in our spiritual practice.

NEXT VERSE: What happens during day & night of Brahmāji? Next verse…

 

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8 – Verse 18:

avyaktād-vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavantyaharāgame |
rātryāgame pralīyante tatraivāvyaktasaṃjñake ||

On the arrival of the day of (Brahmā) all manifest beings emerge from the unmanifest. On the arrival of the night (of Brahmā) they merge into that itself called the unmanifest.

 

• What happens during Brajmāji day & night? Krishna points out that Brahmāji’s day/night is similar to jīva’s:
  • WAKING (Jīva):
    • When day begins, immediately time/space comes.
      • And BEGINS all activities, knowledge, emotions, people, responses.
      • Also worry, tendencies & habits return.
    • Meaning private world is not destroyed during sleep. But goes to dormant condition.
      • Proven by fact of continued life of yesterday.
      • Meaning, contents in causal body (kāraṇa-śarīra) are not destroyed by temporary death.
    • DREAM (Jīva):
      • Jīva “throws out” own private world. With dream space/time & objects.
        • Made out of jīva’s individual vāsanās, saṃskārās, impressions, memories.
      • Meaning, the alert-waker is “as though” Brahmāji for entire dream universe.
    • SLEEP (Jīva):
      • My world is resolved FOR me, into me.
        • Time/space/duality resolved. Transactions. Pleasant/unpleasant (sukha/duḥkha)
      • Jīva’s dissolution called: layaḥ (dissolution / melting / dissolving).
    • In same way, Brahmāji withholds entire creation during sleep for 1000 catur yugās, then throws it out for 1000 catur yugās.
      • When Brahmāji sleeps: pralayaḥ.
        • Pra: Lalya: dissolution.
      • DIFFERENCE compared to jīva:
        • Only jīva’s subjective world resolves in sleep. While world continues for people who are AWAKE.
        • Whereas when Brahmāji (macrocosmic samaṣṭi) sleeps, WHOLE creation (vyāvahārika) resolves into unmanifest condition.
    • Meaning universe is NEVER created by anyone.
      • Therefore word “creation” is misleading. Implies creatED at some time.
      • So question “Why God created world” is incorrect. Because everything is OF beginningless beginning.
      • Thus understand “Creation” as manifestation of world which was ALWAYS existent in potential form.
        • And manifested world is sustained by time.
        • Time is a subtle principle (like space) which makes transactions possible.
• What happens when Brahmāji night comes (sleeps)?
  • Whole creation goes to unmanifest condition (avyakta avasthā). All individuals are resolved (pralīyante) into state of unmanifest.
• Does this mean matter is destroyed upon resolution of manifest Universe?
  • Matter can’t ever be destroyed. Destruction is actually conversion of matter to energy.
    • EG: Boiling water isn’t destroyed. It disappears from vessel as vapour.
  • Similarly, visible Universe time of pralayam is converted into unmanifest matter (prakṛti / māyā / avyaktam).
• What happens when Brahmāji WAKES up?
  • Potential energy / prakṛti converted BACK TO matter. Invisible to visible. Non-dual to duality. Activity begins.
    • EG: Potential of “flying” was converted to flying through means of Wright Brothers (aviation pioneers).
  • Also time comes. Because time & matter are always together. EG…
    • Time sustains perception of matter. And matter gives legitimacy to time.
    • For this reason we can’t say anything before “big bang”.
• Finally, vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavantyaharāgame: out of manifest, again they become manifest.
  • Thus universe is eternal cycle of manifest/unmanifest. Expansion/contraction. Like heart.
  • What scientists call “Universe going to singularity” is actually unmanifest (Brahmāji going to sleep).
    • Thus universe is never destroyed as it manifests again.

 

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8 – Verse 19:

bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṃ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate |
rātryāgame'vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavatyaharāgame ||

On the arrival of the night (of Brahmā) that very same multitude of beings merges, having emerged again and again. On the arrival of the day of (Brahmā) it emerges again helplessly, Oh Arjuna!

 

• If universe goes to unmanifest, then AGAIN to manifest, what happens to all jīvās?
  • Krishna says, jīva continues SAME destiny.
    • Meaning jīva (with it’s ignorance/desires) remains inactive in potential for 1000 catur-yugās.
      • Like animal in hibernation.
    • Then jīva emerges with intact puṇya/pāpa karma.
• How will jīvās REMAIN during pralayam? (macrocosmic dissolution)
  • Bhagavān already given sample called sleep.
  • During sleep, jīva’s “I-sense”, knowledge/ignorance, joys/sorrows go into RESOLVED/DORMANT condition.
    • Not destroyed.
  • How do we know they remain dormant & NOT destroyed?
    • We continue thread of past habits/knowledge/ignorance. Meaning it was in potential condition.
    • Meaning even if all scriptures are destroyed, jīva’s knowledge isn’t. Carries it over next world.
  • Thus in same way, during pralaya, all jīvās go into potential condition.
• Hence Krishna says: bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṃ bhūtvā, the SAME multitude/group of jīvās go to dormant condition. Again come back. Eternal process.
  • Meaning, no new-fresh jīva is every created. Same number of jīvās are circulated.
• OBJECTION: If no new jīvās are created, how do we explain population growth?
  • First understand jīva does NOT only mean humans. But also insects, animals, plants… in all 14 lokās.
  • Swami Chinmaya use to say: assume plenty of forests were there. So were animals in them. As forests got destroyed, animals hunted. So they were converted to human jīvās.
    • EG: Less animals & trees on earth, more humans.
• LOGIC why new jīva can NEVER be created:
  • Jīva is fashioned out of previous karma. If no past (pūrva) karma, what is bases of new jīva?
  • Thus jīva is NOT determined by Īśvara’s wish to populate. But by jīva’s causal body.
    • Meaning, new jīva can’t have a causal body, because causal body is made up of PAST actions.
• OBJECTION: If new jīva can’t be created (no causal body), then HOW did the 1^st jīva come?
  • Because jīvās Implying PAST karma/saṃskārās.
  • ANSWER: Jīvās were never created FIRST. All jīvās are eternal (anādi).
    • EG: What came first? Up or Where there is up, there is also down.
• SUMMARY:
  • All jīvās are eternal.
    • Eternal means: no first. Just like we can’t say “when did first wave in ocean come?”.
  • New jīvās are never created. Because to say “new created” is to limit definition of limitless (which means, everything already IS in potential).
    • EG: During time of vacuum tube, transistor was in potential. Potential manifested in 1947.
  • Therefore SAME number of jīvās go through manifest / unmanifest condition.
    • Meaning we ALREADY met every jīva in the universe.
  • And despite having choice to get in/out of the cyclic merry-go-round, jīva feels helpless to get out.
• Hence avaśaḥ, I find myself here helplessly, whether I like it or not.
  • For this reason, jīva is reborn again.
  • Meaning mortality can’t be escaped, long as pursue time bound results.

 

Keywords: apara-prakrti, asasvatam, ashashvatam, avastha, bhagavan, brahmaa, Brahmabhuvanat, brahmaji, duhkhalayam, dvapara yuga, jiva-atma, jivatma, karana-sarira, krita yuga, krta yuga, layah, lokas, mam upetya, maya, nishkama, niskama, papa karma, para-prakriti, prakriti, pralayah, preya, preyah, punya karma, sakama, samsara, samskaras, satya yuga, sharira, shreya, sreya, sreyah, treta yuga, upasaka, vyavaharika

 

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• Class work: 4 Yoga Chart (Discuss each: Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Hatha/Ashtanga Yoga, Bhakti Yoga)
• Mind-map: Reality of Earth-bound living

Credit for help in Bhagavad Gita teaching given to Chinmaya Int. Foundation & Swami Paramarthananda

Recorded 1 Oct, 2019