Kaliyugans, the fortunate ones

Age of Kaliyuga is characterized by the pain that causes out of conflict of interests between all relationships, be it parents-children, brother-brother, husband-wife, teacher-student, employer-employees, friend-friend, administrators-common people. It is also characterized by attitudes of running behind pleasures forgetting the real purpose of human birth, living according to one’s own will, ignoring the dictates of religious scriptures, lack of respect for elders and teachers. In fact living according one’s own will without study of religious scriptures is the major reason for conflicts.

However, it is also the age which is conducive to the liberation (moksha), a final goal out of four important goals prescribed for human birth namely dharma (understanding the importance of human birth, the roles to be played in that birth and the expectations of those roles, essentially understanding eternal code of conduct), artha (earning remuneration by offering services to the society while adhering to eternal code of conduct, using that remuneration and the gathered influence for maintaining and raising family and helping society for maintaining harmony), kama (strive to be content and help others to be content, purify one’s own desires and convert them into a desire for moksha i.e. getting rid of moha) and finally moksha (getting liberated from desire itself which causes one to be entangled in never ending cycle of birth and death). 

Once few people approached Sage Vyasa to understand from him the characteristics and importance of kaliyuga. Anticipating their question, Sage Vyasa said “How fortunate are those who will be born in Kaliyuga, as for them it will be very easy to get liberated by mere chanting the name of God.”

For every yuga a specific method has been prescribed for liberation. In kritayuga (also known as satyayuga) method for liberation was dhyan (meditation). In tretayuga it was yaag and yadnya (offerings to the sacrificial fire). In dwaparyuga it was archana (performing puja). In kaliyuga the prescribed method for liberation is simpler than all other previous methods and that is chanting name of God or Guru and singing His glories.

Though the degree of difficulty of the methods of liberation reduces as yugas pass by, the quality of result of those methods remains same. To put it in other way the quality of the result depends on the quality of desire. To get liberated two things are necessary. First, one should understand what is meant by liberation and its importance and second, one should have a desire to get liberated. Devoid of these two things one is at risk of being dragged by delusive forces of kaliyuga.

To understand the liberation and then to develop the desire for liberation and then to actually getting liberated, the best way is to wholeheartedly surrender to Sai and to engage into reading his stories and chanting his name.

Once when His devotees assembled in front of Him, Saibaba explained them how he draws His devotees out of clutches of Kaliyuga.