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C H A P T E R 8T H E C I R C U L A R H I S T O R Y
«For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.» (Book of Isaiah 65:17)
In the previous chapter, the Manvantara has been studied first as a cycle consisting merely of two zodiacal years of 25,920 common years, and then as preferred by the Hindu tradition, namely, as a septenary cycle by excellence, even though, considering the little space available here for a work of mere divulgation as this is, I have limited myself to a brief commentary. In the present chapter I will approach it as a descending quaternary cycle (a “maha–yuga”) subjected to the scale 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10. This should not only help us bring about other key dates in history, but also elaborate upon some important issues concerning the doctrine of cosmic cycles that are still pending analysis. To that end, and in order to go from the particular to the general, we will study in the first place some historical cases where the scale has been fundamental, even though given the scarcity of cultures that offer chronological data that is accurate enough, as well as of societies whose relative isolation guarantees their authenticity, we need to be selective. Even so, the few examples that we will be limiting ourselves to should be enough to demonstrate that the scale is applicable to the four periods of time into which the history of any people or culture can be divided.
Bearing this in mind,
in the first case selected, the ancient Egypt, we will limit ourselves to the
strictly dynastic periods and leave out the post-imperial phase, which no longer
can be regarded as genuinely Egyptian. Thus we will obtain a first phase, or
“Golden Age”, which goes from the First Dynasty, in around 3100 BC, to the
so-called First Intermediate Period, about 2300 BC – that is, a length of 200 x
4 = 800 years.
Of this phase, in which writing starts quite suddenly, I will only say that its material realizations stand out by their honest, simple grandiosity and exquisite care – the great pyramids of the third and fourth dynasties being a perfect demonstration that the only truly creative period of the ancient Egyptians is that of the beginnings of their civilization, indeed most superior in technical perfection to the posterior ones. The second period, or “Silver Age”, would span from about 2300 to 1700 BC – a length of 200 x 3 = 600 years – the latter being the date around which the so-called Second Intermediate Period is to be found. Over the course of this phase, the germ of which must actually be traced to approximately one hundred years before, there is a weakening of the monarchy in the face of a decentralization which culminates, after Pepi II’s death (around 2180 BC), in violence and anarchy; the so-called “Ipuwer papyrus” provides insight into this period, strangely reminiscent of the Puranic descriptions of the end of the Kali-yuga and the Gospels’ announcements of the end time. And while there follows the Middle Kingdom, with somewhat admirable achievements, shortly after 1800 BC there ensues the so-called “great humiliation”: the state sinks and, around 1700 BC, the Hyksos invade Egypt. The third period goes from approximately this date to 1300 BC – a length of 200 x 2 = 400 years – and although it exhibits apparent big achievements like Egypt’s trading expeditions to the Land of Punt and – among other great architectural works – the erection of the obelisks at Karnak and the temple of Luxor, as well as literary and artistic creations of great refinement like The Book of the Dead, it actually marks the beginning of end: General Horemheb is forced to stop the Libyan penetration of Egypt and proclaim himself Pharaoh after the reign of Akhenaton, the famous “heretic Pharaoh” who antagonizes the Memphis priesthood, and in 1283 BC Ramesses II is forced to sign a peace treaty with the Hittite King Hattusil III. So it may be around the end of this time that the Syrian enter and sack Memphis, defiling the streets and beheading and enslaving the people – yet of this event, called “the Syrian interregnum”, there are, for obvious reasons, no major records extant. Lastly, the fourth period, from approximately 1300 to 1100 BC – a length of 200 years, or a tenth of the total period considered – announces the proximity of disaster: After Ramesses III saves Egypt from the Libyans and the “Sea Peoples”’ pressure (and incidentally loses his life as a consequence of a harem’s plot), scandals break out everywhere: the laborers of Thebes workshops rebel out, corruption prevails on all levels, there is hunger among the people, the royal tombs are sacked. After a period of general chaos, a high priest of Amun, Herihor, rises in rebellion and relegates Ramesses XI to a subordinate position and, about 1085 BC, puts an end to the XX dynasty. Around the same time an old viceroy, Smendes, seizes the power in the Delta, wherefore Egypt is divided between Upper Egypt in the hands of the Army, and Lower Egypt in those of the military aristocracy. From then on, feudal dismembering will increase until it culminates in the Ethiopian empire, which in turn will give way under the Assyrian invasion: Never more will Egypt be the master of its own destiny.
Fig. 5 – The
Sumerian Cycle broken down into
Though I should have presented it chronologically first, our second example, due to the insufficient available data, and in order to abide by the standard usage, will be the Sumerian civilization (see figure 5). In this, the first period or “Golden Age” spans from approximately 3500 to 2800 BC, i.e. over some 700 years (175 x 4). At the start of this period, the Sumerians appear suddenly in Lower Mesopotamia bringing with them copper and, as early as that, tablets with ideographic inscriptions. Their provenance is uncertain, though it is very possible that they came from India, most likely as a remnant of the Mohenho–Daro and Harappa civilization as suggested by the remains found in the earliest strata of these cities by archeologists, by the sea deities present in the oldest legends, and even the very name of this culture, Sumeru, surely derived from the famous Mount Meru of the Hindu tradition. This earliest civilization first flourishes in Uruk, approximately between 3100 and 2800 BC. The phase that may be called “Silver Age” goes from the latter date to 2275 BC, i.e. some 525 years (175 x 3), a period of time in which the Sumerians plainly emerge into History. It consists of the so-called Proto dynastic period of which abundant tablets with cuneiform inscriptions are preserved, and as urban, developed states appear together with a religious – civilian administration and the use of slaves. This phase concludes in an invasion by a Semitic people, the Akkadian, whose leader Sargon of Akkad, after defeating the famous Lugalzaggesi, inaugurates the first Mesopotamic Empire and whose grandson, Naram–Sin, renowned for his commemorative stela, must face in turn an invasion by the Guti, who will control the area for long centuries. This whole period spans from 2275 to 1925 BC, that is lasts some 300 years (175 x 2) and would belong to the “Bronze Age” of this culture. Finally, around the latter date (1925 BC) there is a “rebirth” of Sumer with the third dynasty of Ur, which lasts some 175 years – a phase of great apparent splendor which ends up catastrophically about 1750 BC after an invasion by the Amorrites and the Elamites, who cause the ruin of the city. From then on history, which has ceased to belong to the Sumerian civilization, will continue with the Amorrites’ period of Mesopotamia. Our third example deals with the history of Israel. It covers from the departure of patriarch Abram from Ur of Chaldea in about 1950 BC to the moment that Jerusalem surrenders to the Romans, who around 60 AD destroy the temple – thus spanning over a full 2,000 years period (see Fig 6). The first phase, which may be called pastoral, is that of the Hebrew patriarchs – a Golden Age which comes to an end with the so-called captivity in Egypt. It spans from 1950 BC to 1150BC, that is, some 800 years (200 x 4).
Fig 6 – The
Hebraic cycle from Abraham
The second period or “Silver Age”, from the latter date to 550 BC (a length of 200 x 3 = 600 years), begins dramatically with the so-called “plagues of Egypt” and goes from the Exodus of the Hebraic people and their crossing of the Red Sea, possibly parallel to the great flood known as “Ogygian deluge”, to the exile in Babylon – with their entering into Canaan (the Promised Land), the period of the Judges, and the glorious reigns of David y Solomon in between them. The third phase or “Bronze Age”, which goes from 550 BC to 150 BC (a length of 200 x 2 = 400 years), ends up, after the rebuilding of the temple and other events, in Alexander the Great’s conquests – a period of servitude for the Hebrews, yet at the same time a period which is not lacking in episodes of grandeur like, for instance, the Maccabeans rebellion just before its end. Last comes the “Iron Age”, with approximately 200 years in length, which may be considered at best as a period of partial freedom, and in which the Romans take the control of Palestine – a phase which, after the occupation of Jerusalem by Titus, ends up in the Jews’ Diaspora. Thus ends this study of a few concrete cases through which I have wanted to show, at least in the case of the peoples which have remained relatively isolated from any foreign interference, that the phases of their history are not only naturally reduced to four, but also that they decay gradually and in all aspects, even the material one; and that as concerns their length, it always decreases by the scale 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10. It goes without saying that I would have liked to include a greater number of cases, for example, those of the Aegean and Roman civilizations; but the uncertain character of the phases and dates, in the first case, and the difficulties inherent in determining the precise time of their start and end in the second, prevented my doing so. Let us go now to the main purpose in this part of the study as we approach the whole Manvantara from the same point of view; only this time, based on 3102 BC as the starting year of the Kali–yuga, by marking again the year 2082 AD as the final date of the whole cycle. This will yield the year 49758 BC (51,840 – 2,082) as the starting point of the first phase or Satya–yuga; 29022 BC as that of the second one or Treta–yuga (49,758 – 5,184 x 4), a period which will witness the apogee of the Atlantis civilization; 13470 BC as that of the third phase or Dvapara–yuga (29,022 – 5,184 x 3), the likely epoch recreated by the stories narrated in Ramayana; and 3102 BC as that of the fourth and last phase or Kali–yuga, this being the one alone that can tell us anything in a historical proper sense. So if we want to demonstrate that the Manvantara broken down like this has any chronological validity at all, we will have to again resort to the expedient used in the previous chapter in relation to the same cycle, regarded as a “dual” zodiacal year: namely, to consider the Kali–yuga as a small-scale image of the whole cycle, and break it down into the same number of phases according to the same proportions (see Fig 7).
Fig. 7 – The
Kali–yuga broken down into
As can be seen from the figure above, this procedure does enable us to arrive at dates of great historical significance. In 3102 BC, in effect, there begins what paradoxically may be regarded as a “small-scale” Golden Age, as the great political organizations are formed in Egypt and Mesopotamia (and, as has just been discovered, in Asia and America) and as the monarchy and priesthood are created as dominating classes on those agricultural societies which have a well-developed state apparatus. At the same time, major hydraulic works as well as buildings for political and religious use are erected which, in a way, will never be improved; and copper, silver, and gold metallurgies are created. On top of all this, the writing systems of Sumer and Egypt, among others, are developed. Thus, contrary to what might be thought, the next phase, which can be called “small Silver Age”, and whose start would be in 1028 BC (3,102 – 518.4 x 4), represents a reversal from the previous one, even though the opposite may be true from a material point of view. For example, after the apogee of the Ramessides in Egypt, there follows the empire’s decadence and final disintegration, as the cruel threat of the Assyrian expansionism and domination looms on the horizon. In the area of the Aegean Sea, on its part, it is around this date that the great fortresses of Mycenae are destroyed and set to fire, and that the Minoan state collapses. However, I do not pretend to develop a philosophical discussion on so controversial an issue, too ample to be studied in only a paragraph. And though it is all too difficult to generalize on matters of such magnitude, it has already been said in chapter 4, while examining the present Kali–yuga, that all depends on the point of view we use; and if this is the spiritual one, in spite of the eventual and contingent periods of seeming grandeur that may have occurred on the second phase – mainly the boom of such civilizations as the Greek and the Roman in the Old World, and the Mayan and the pre Inca cultures in the New – then it is not difficult to see how there around the world takes place a progressive, general decadence, not so much in the area of morality and customs as in that of culture, which reaches its lowest precisely at the end of this second “age”, around 527 AD – even though, on the other hand, this is the year when Justinian is enthroned to rule over the East Roman Empire, a fact which may be regarded as positive. Even so, there is the curious fact that, in examining the new phase and the one that follows – which would correspond to the “small” Bronze and Iron ages – it can be seen that precisely those dates which are “dragged” 72 years back, i.e. the ones which are based rather on the year 2010 as the final point of the present Manvantara, become more relevant, almost as if in some mysterious way, Jesus Christ’s well-known words concerning his announcement of the end of the times had to do with it: «And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would live again. For the sake of the chosen then, those days were shortened.» (Matthew 24: 22) Of course, a more “scientific” approach to explain this discrepancy would resort to the difference of five days plus fraction between the ideal year of 360 days, traditionally used in all calculations related to cycles and ages, and the year of a little over 365 days, which according to some versions, would have started some five thousand years ago as a consequence of some catastrophe, possibly related to the beginning of the “El Niño” phenomenon, which would have accelerated the Earth rotation so that literally, the days would have been shortened; now, since the period that may be regarded as fundamental to the total manifestation is precisely the day, it would become necessary to make an adjustment of some 26,000 days or 72 years. However, there is the fact that the cited discrepancy is perceived not so much in the case just mentioned, in which the year 455 AD, 72 years before 527 AD, abounds in unfortunate events to the Western Roman Empire – including the stabbing of Emperor Valentinian III and the sack of Rome by Genseric – as in the episode that would start a new era: the discovery of America by Columbus, exactly in 1492 AD, compared to which 1564 AD – which would be the normal starting date of the “last” age – loses relevance, even though it does not entirely lack transcendence itself, as it is around it that the Wars of Religion break out in France. Be it as it may, between the years 455 y 1492 there ensues a long period that is usually viewed as inferior to the previous one, so much so that it is referred to as the “dark ages”: a term which somehow reflects the image of a “Bronze Age” in which men, mainly those in the higher classes, seem to be born basically to fight in wars (with the exception of those that are not good at them and are so destined to some other trade, like clergy) but in which a certain grandeur, moral principles, and a gentlemanliness and romanticism that constitute their ideal are not altogether absent; the quest for the Holy Grail is a beautiful example of it. Even so, it is near its end that there starts a new decadence, this time mainly in the fields of morals and customs – a process which through various stages has been accentuating down to our days – until it ultimately gives rise to the movements known as the Renaissance and the Reformation, which to many mark a time of great progress in the arts, sciences, and literature, but to others represent the loss of many things of real, transcendental value. A single example should suffice to demonstrate this assertion: during the Renaissance, hunting, which previously was referred to as ars nequissima (“a cruel exercise”) by the Popes, becomes a favorite pastime for many ecclesiastics – among them Leo X, the first Pope who is a hunter. However, that which in my opinion represents an irreplaceable loss is the disappearance of the traditional philosophy, as well as that of the great, authentic art which characterizes the mature epoch of this period and which is best represented by the Gothic cathedrals, unfortunately later on replaced by an imitation of ancient art which no longer expresses anything genuine. Which takes us to the central point in this process: the dissolution of Christianity, a faith the civilization of the Middle Ages essentially identified with and around which all human activities were centered, precisely as a consequence of the Reformation and the beginning of “humanism”, which ultimately is but the secularism and materialism that dominate our time. A time in which, in spite of everyone’s expectations about technology helping mankind to evolve into an ideal society, there is only disappointment and frustration, and in which history, ever increasingly accelerating, seems to have reached a culminant point which foretells of its imminent end – the signs of which are perceived everywhere: a total reversion of values, a “technological revolution” which is at best a by-product of the industrial revolution and one of whose consequences, environmental pollution, brings about in turn the planet’s warming and the disappearance of the ozone layer; the emergence of countless Messiahs posing as guides and saviors of mankind and announcing the arrival of a “New Age” whose founders and leaders are, naturally, themselves; and finally, the proliferation of abortive clinics and of certain practices which, out of an elemental reserve, I would rather avoid referring to, but which have to do with the utilization of human corpses… With this I expect to have described what in good account has been the present Kali–yuga, as well as briefly discussed its main characteristics. But what about other significant epochs, such as the one that spans over the sixth century BC, to which particular attention has been given as another possible starting point of such period?
Well – and this again
corroborates the multiplicity of approaches the Manvantara may be
subjected to – I have already shown how any cycle can be broken down
according to the scale 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10. This admitted, I will consider only
the “kali–yuga” of the last Zodiacal Year and will likewise divide it in
order to obtain the figure below:
Fig. 8 – The “kali–yuga” of the last Zodiacal Year
Note that in this case, in following the remarks above and since we are dealing with a period length considerably shorter – a tenth of the previous one – I have used the year 2010 as its ending date. Other than that we are dealing here, rather than with the Manvantara as a whole, with a minimal fraction of it – in practice, with any period length – which somehow justifies the step taken, apart from the fact that in actuality, at least in what concerns the first of the dates obtained, we are just dragging them 72 years back. Thus we see, as early as approximately on the first date, events of great historical transcendence like the appearance of Taoism in China and the Jew’s captivity in Babylon. By then too Buddha and Zarathustra, as well as Confucius and Pythagoras, must have been born – so if Hinduism is excluded, it is about this time that virtually all the major Eastern doctrines do appear. Now, at the risk of pestering the readers, I will make a quick review of the dates that would mark the start of the next periods: Approximately in 452 AD both Attila’s defeat on the Catalonian Fields (in 451) and his death (in 453) take place. Then, circa 1229 AD, the death of another scourge of mankind, this time Genghis Khan, takes place, while the Sixth Crusade wins Jerusalem by deal and the last remnants of the Albigensian Heresy are eliminated. Finally, around 1747, the manufacture of molten iron becomes commonplace and the industry of mechanical weaving looms is developed, upon which the industrial revolution gets started along with its sequel of misery for the British laboring class (and, in time, for that of the major part of the world) announcing its already mentioned by-product: the modern technological revolution. And what about the disquieting 52-year cycles that were mentioned in chapter 5, so revered by the ancient Mesoamerican cultures (and perhaps by the South American ones as well) that all of their astronomical and calendar calculations centered around them? Well, in trying to provide historical proof like I did with the cycles of 72 years, I took as starting point – a little by chance – the year 1977, the one when the “El Niño” phenomenon turned back again to cause severe damage, which prolonged into early 1998 and which, curiously enough, fell 52 years after the atrocious nuclear explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which put horrendous end to World War II. Other than that, it may be remembered that the startup of the above-mentioned phenomenon very likely matched the one of the present Kali–yuga, as has been mentioned in chapter 4; and something extremely suggestive: the previous Mega “Niño” occurred in 1925, exactly 72 years prior to the one in 1997. Then I saw that the infamous Opium War had started 104 years before and that another historical event extremely significant, the French Revolution of 1789, had taken place exactly 156 years before that. However, as I kept looking back in time, small discrepancies did occur in the dates of major and in a way always unfortunate events, so I decided to use a cycle of 51.84 years or a hundredth part of the actual Kali–yuga duration. And here the dates coincided with astounding accuracy: in 1738, 51.84 years before the French Revolution, the mechanical weaving looms were patented, a nefarious fact whose significance I have already commented; 104 years prior to that, in 1530, Lope de Aguirre, who was viewed as the Antichrist of his time, was running amok in South America, and 52 years before, in 1478, the Spanish Inquisition was created. Three cycles before, in 1271, Saint Louis died, and three before (in 1064 or maybe in 1065) the invasion of England by William the Conqueror occurred. Also, the year 1012, i.e. 52 years prior to that, is market by the persecution de heretics in Germany. In order to avoid being too meticulous, I will overlook some facts less unfortunate and, sticking to the Western world and the Christian era, will go five centuries back to around 753, a year during which a great famine breaks out in Spain. Seven centuries prior to that, exactly in the year 390, occurred an ill-fated event in which date, as viewed elsewhere, appear to have variously concurred two other cycles’ ends: the fire of the library of Alexandria, an event so important that not in vain is usually regarded as marking the end of the Old and the beginning of the Middle Ages. For the rest, six cycles before, in the year 79, the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by the Vesuvius’ eruption. And according to some, 52 years before that, i.e. the year 27, is the most likely date of Jesus Christ’s death. And here I will end this prolonged historical interlude, with which I expect to have shown that the cosmic cycles do exert a decisive influence on the evolution of human kind – both those from the west, somehow represented by the precession of the equinoxes or Zodiacal Year of 25,920 common years, and the ones from the east, as represented in particular by the so-called Manvantara and, in general, by the Hindu maha–yuga based on the scale 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10, to which any period of whatever length can be assimilated. As to the reason why the latter should be like this: apart from the natural influence that the different parts of the precessional period, in case it is considered a quaternary cycle, must exert as actual zodiacal seasons (as compared to what occurs, in a much lesser order, with the common year), it is in the very nature of things that there in due course of time must ensue a certain decadence in the vitality of any society or culture (and indeed, of any other order of manifestation), such as occurs with any living organism. This in principle would account for the fact that any cycle can be assimilated to the Hindu maha–yuga. Now why should they be four ages, and not a higher or lesser number of them? The question is not easy, but I will venture an answer. Apart from the huge gravitation of numerical symbolism (remember the four seasons of the year, the four phases of the Moon, etc), the cause would simply reside in the quaternary being a cycle which appears to be like tailor-made for any temporal phenomenon – and this because it is based on an even number and so it is divisible by its half, as is any of its multiples as well. This quality can be easily appreciated, for example, in the musical compass of four times, which is of a great fluidity and, so to speak, circular; which, by the way, is opposed to the artificial division of history in three main parts – a division for which historians seem otherwise to have a great predilection. However, there remains a big question to be answered: why should such lengths be decreasing? I have already referred to the influence that, in the case of the Zodiacal Year of 25,920 common years, must at any rate be exerted by its four seasons of 6,480 common years each; an influence whose accumulated effect, owing to a natural multiplying or “avalanche” effect (very possibly stimulated, in this particular case, by the population increases), produces ever increasing events in approximately equal periods, or (what is the same) an equal number of events in ever decreasing periods of time. Naturally, with cycles of any other lengths would occur the same process, though there would be left to be known what the “cardinal” moments are that influence their cumulative development; moreover, these moments could bear no relation at all with any cosmic cycle, plus there would remain a pending question of what it is that makes the decreasing proportion to occur within a given total length. It is therefore possible that the problem is wrongly put and that the final explanation may reside in the total length depending rather on the duration of the first period or “yuga” – that is, that the former is produced from the latter, and not vice versa – and that the length of the first period, once ended (either by a natural wearing process or else suddenly, as a consequence of some cataclysm) determines, once and for all, the length of the remaining three successive phases, and therefore that of the full cycle in question – something like is shown by nature in the shape of a certain snail whose body traces as it grows, and proportionally to the 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 scale, the so-called “spiral of four centers”, in which some people will all but see a mere curiosity; but indeed, it would be hard to find another element that may give so much strength to the point.
Figure 9 – The “spiral with four centers”
With this said, there are just a few things left that need to be examined in relation to the doctrine, some of which are important questions to which there may be no satisfactory answer. I am, for example, aware that there is a weak point within the whole structure of my calculations: namely, the starting date of the Kali–yuga in 3102 AD. Even so, I have tried to back it up with arguments that go from the astronomical and geological to the philosophical fields, as in effect, although progress in all fields has been virtually uninterrupted for the “official” history and science from that date to our days (with the only exception of the Middle Ages, otherwise most unjustly regarded), in the spiritual sense, which is the one alone that really counts, there has only been retrogression. But I have said enough about this. An objection can still be raised, that in all that has been said we have only examined the so-called “historical” times, and that it is too far-fetched to infer from it that the whole doctrine is true. Well, I still can present up to two arguments of varied sort in support of my case. In the first place, if what has been asserted about the maha–yuga is true, we may likewise turn the matter the other way round and demonstrate that the length of any period, however vast, must still follow the scale 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10; but to this end it is necessary to establish to the utmost possible precision the starting and final dates, which is not always easy. Such is the case, for example, of the geological eras and above all of the appearance of the animal species, since the dates that are available usually differ and are once and again modified by the scientists, ever apt to change their minds. Even so, we still can try and do it simply by means of a scheme, similar to the previous ones, which represents the progression of the geological eras from the earliest vertebrates onwards; yet in this case, in order to conform to the current usage, we will do it in the shape of a “biological clock”, plus we will take the liberty to introduce an additional era in order to conform it to what I believe to be closer to the historical reality of our planet. However, it must be considered to represent only its diurnal part – that is, the last 2,160 millions of years.
Fig. 10 –
Biological clock of the Earth with an
In this way, although the earliest living forms appear, according to paleontologists, some 2,700 millions of years ago (in the “biologic clock”, about 15 hours ago), it is only some 600 millions of years ago – that is, only three to four “hours” ago – that the earliest known vertebrates show up. Well now, if we break this period down into four parts that follow the scale 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10, we will obtain a length of 240 millions of years for the first era, the Paleozoic; this will end when the Mesozoic gets started, about 360 millions of years ago (or 600 – 240), as the earliest reptilians and, in the sea, the cephalopods – already advanced beings – show up; 180 millions of years later, that is an equal number of years ago (360 – 180) will be the turn of the Cenozoic era, an epoch when the earliest mammals and angiosperms show up. Finally, some 60 millions of years ago, the time arrives when, after the extinction of the dinosaurs, mammals begin to branch out and succeed on Earth. As to the human species in the broadest sense, i.e. including its most remote ancestors (presumably the earliest Australopithecus), the subject is too complex to even attempt its study, not to mention the fact that the anthropologists present a new fossil fragment, usually accompanied by a new theory and a new chronology for the intermediate species, almost daily. However, I have already summarized a bit of what is of real interest to us: namely, that the appearance of our earliest remote ancestor, the Australopitecus Ramidus, would have occurred about 4’300,000 years ago, and that of the Homo Habilis approximately one half of that time ago, with the Homo Sapiens Sapiens, as represented by the man of Cromagnon, emerging some 50,000 years ago and the Neanderthal, unjustly regarded as only Homo Sapiens, prior to that, possibly some 200,000 years ago – all dates with which we have become familiar over the course of this work. And after this long parenthesis, I will conclude my argumentation. To the end of anticipating, however, objections from the most recalcitrant skeptics, I will endeavor to extrapolate the foregoing remarks and try to imagine what the times prior to 3102 BC could be like. In the case of Egypt, for example, experts have noted that the end of the pre-dynastic period was superior in at least one significant feature: in the production of earth and stone pots as well as other vessels, a decrease is observed in the quality of the earthenware and the boldness of the shapes and decoration, while the stone pots are definitely less beautiful and no longer is the stuff always fire-proof. Still more important, as the dynastic period set in and the small communities became big states, an “urban revolution” occurred which brought about a predominance of specialization and a depersonalization of individuals. Formerly societies were small, homogeneous, self-contained and strongly traditional, founded upon deep religious and family roots. Now they are secular and, since trading activities are interdependent, they have become complex and chaotic. And this, though with little variations, is what has happened everywhere and in all times, even in our days. For the rest, if through a similar process and broadening this reality on to the spatial field, we look into an epoch when society is essentially pastoral and lives in a state of almost perfect happiness, we will be traveling back from age to age to ultimately arrive at the primordial civilization that I have located in the Hyperboreas, a civilization depository of the transcendental knowledge which, through time and space, has arrived in our days in one piece only by way of the Hindu tradition, though covered in a symbolic guise so as to preserve its confidentiality. A knowledge which has been summarily exposed in this brief work and whose ultimate origin, which vanishes back in the night of time, can only be regarded as extra human. Finally, does the doctrine of cosmic cycles offer a pessimistic view of the world and of history, as those who hear of it for the first time are apt to believe? Nothing could be farther from the truth. For if on the one hand the doctrine teaches how our civilization is to hopelessly end up in an era of such great tribulation as the world has never seen, on the other hand it also announces new times and a new earth that are to come immediately after consummation and which will be inaugurated by the saviors I have briefly alluded to in the course of this exposition, who obviously are all but different representations of the same Redeemer. Of course, how this salvation will be carried out can be represented to the reader’s predilection, as we cannot know at this moment how exactly it will be; and on the other hand, it cannot be sufficiently emphasized that we are talking about the end of a world, our world – i.e. an order of things, and not the end of “the world”. For such an end, announced by all of the world’s scriptures and traditional texts, and which embodies the expectations of thousands and millions of beings, is to be but the inevitable and necessary prelude to the restoration of order, after which the earth will know a new Golden Age where everything will be perfection and happiness as it was in the beginning, when man lived in perfect harmony with the whole universe and God.
This brief study has not pretended to be exhaustive. Nothing has been said, for example, about the sandhya, which according to the relevant texts are the three periods of equal lengths into which any yuga is divided (although, according to other versions, they are the periods intermediate between two yugas), and which therefore offer additional possibilities as to key historical dates. Nor has the information that during the present millennium the third yuga “overlapped” the second, a fact difficult to explain in its true meaning, been elaborated upon; nor has the one that 27 maha–yugas of the era of the current Manu – the seventh in his series – having elapsed, we are now in the fourth yuga of the 28th maha–yuga, which no doubt has a symbolic meaning (4 x 7 = 28). Nor has the fact been mentioned that the current mean lifetime of man is affected by the scale 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 , though it may still be noted that it is not so much affected by this scale itself as by its exact reversion, the Pythagorean Tetraktys, according to the Hermetic maxim that “as above, so is below, but in a reversed way.” As to the value of my calculations of the present Manvantara’s duration, as well as to that of my perception of the advanced stage of it in which we are now, the readers are invited to draw their own conclusions.
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