Treta-yuga (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"Treta yuga" |"Treta yugas" |"Treta yugas" |"Treta" |"Treta-yuga"

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 17, 1970, Surat:

Prabhupāda: Where you are staying here? (break) ...actually inquisitive, he'll capture it. It is not the question of... Japan. (break) ...personal ambition. It is service to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wants. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ (BG 18.66). So we are canvassing.

Guest (2): (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: That word, that brahma-jijñāsā, that is the position of the whole world. Yes, that is the position. They have enough seen about this material nonsense. Now that is the position. They want to know what is this Brahman.

Guest (2): It is called Treta-yuga.

Prabhupāda: No, this is not this yuga. This is called Kali-yuga. But... Then it will come, Satya-yuga. And that is long, long after, 400,000's of years after. (laughs) Yes. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. (end)

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Indonesian Scholar -- February 27, 1973, Jakarta:

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Scholar: Only the yuga of..., Kṛta-yuga is four thousand years. And Tretā-yuga is three thousand years.

Prabhupāda: No.

Scholar: Dvāpara-yuga is two thousand years, and Kali-yuga is one thousand years.

Prabhupāda: One thousand years? (laughs) We have already passed five thousand years.

Room Conversation with Anna Conan Doyle, daughter-in-law of famous author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- August 10, 1973, Paris:

Prabhupāda: What is the purport? Read.

Śrutakīrti: "The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahmā and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas or ages, Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. A cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts one million, seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand years. In the Tretā-yuga vice is introduced and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In the Dvāpara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and the yuga lasts 864,000 years.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Śveta, śveta... Śuklas te tathā rakta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. Gargamuni, when he was deliberating on the horoscope of Kṛṣṇa, he said that "This child formerly had three other colors." Śuklas te tathā rakta. Śuklaḥ pītas tathā rakta idānīṁ kṛṣṇa. Śukla means white.

Dr. Patel: He was white in Kṛta-yuga, in Tretā, He was...

Prabhupāda: That is Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa.

Dr. Patel: That is Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: And then he was yellow in Dvāpara. And because now He's born in Kali-yuga, He's dark.

Guest (1): Not Kali-yuga. Dvāpara-yuga. Dvāpara-yuga.

Dr. Patel: Dvāpara and Kali-yuga sandhi.

Morning Walk at Marina del Rey -- July 12, 1974, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: No, no, four yugas. Do you mean to say?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Altogether.

Prabhupāda: All yugas, Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali, the total years are forty-three hundred thousands of years.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. The calculations by the biologists for the beginning of life, they say it is about four billion years.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: About four billion years ago, the small species like unicellular species like the bacteria and these started about four billions years ago. And the human life started...

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 16, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. That is from Ceylon to Brazil, subway. And Rāvaṇa's civilization, Rāmacandra's fight, some millions of years ago. That is in the Tretā-yuga. The duration of Kali-yuga is about, say, four lakhs of years. And Dvāpara-yuga, eight lakhs of years. And then Tretā-yuga, twelve lakhs of years.

Paramahaṁsa: About two millions years ago, Tretā-yuga.

Prabhupāda: Yes. No, why? Twenty lakhs, ah, two million, yes. Two millions of years ago the Rāvaṇa's civilization was there, and he was so prosperous. He had airplane. The zeplin, zeplin?

Amogha: Jet plane?

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walks -- January 22-23, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Every person was perfectly, spiritually...

Harikeśa: On the earth.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Then in Tretā-yuga one-fourth diminished. And then Dvāpara-yuga, half diminished. And in Kali-yuga, three-fourth diminished. Seventy-five per cent are all rogues, and twenty-five per cent... That is expected, but that is now diminishing. They are all rogues with the advancement of Kali-yuga. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). Therefore there is no other method to save them. Harer nāmaiva kevalam. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's gift. Incorrigible. Everyone will be incorrigible. Only hope is Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan's Journal -- June 28, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So that is not possible in this... Taking consideration of the time, circumstances, it is not possible. There are different kinds of karma-kāṇḍīya-yajña. It is expensive also and there is no expert brāhmaṇa to guide how to perform this yajña. So Kali-yuga, it is not possible to perform yajñas. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ (SB 12.3.52). In the Treta-yuga yajñas were possible. Dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt, that in this age of Kali-yuga the real yajña is hari-kīrtana. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32). Therefore those who are intelligent, having good brain substance, they take to this yajña, saṅkīrtana-yajña. And practically we are experiencing, simply by saṅkīrtana-yajña, even the lowest person in the sinful activities, he is becoming purified. So karma-kāṇḍa is, to revive them in this age is not possible. Neither jñāna-kanda. That is also not possible.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Discussion about Kumbhamela -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: But one thing about Kali-yuga is that by doing small amount of good work or doing little bhakti, it has a greater amount of benefit than you would get otherwise in Satya-yuga, Dvāpara or Treta. Is it not, sir? No...

Prabhupāda: Good work or bad work, you have to enjoy, good or bad.

Dr. Patel: But in Kali-yuga a little bhakti will do much good than a good amount of tapaḥ in Satya-yuga, thousands or millions of years.

Prabhupāda: Bhakti is different. Bhakti is transcendental. It has nothing to do with this material world. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato. That is bhakti. And karma, if you do good, you'll get good result, and if you do bad, you'll get bad result.

Room Conversation -- February 21, 1977, Mayapura:

Bhāgavata: In Satya-yuga or Tretā-yuga they would not drill for petrol to use to make electricity or to make these gas lamps, so by what means did they use to light the palaces and the kingdoms? What was the natural resource utilized for that purpose?

Prabhupāda: This oil. You produce castor seed oil. You grow castor seed by agricultural.

Bhāgavata: Grow cas...?

Prabhupāda: Castor seed.

Room Conversation -- June 18, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: When I was writing, I was praying Kṛṣṇa that "I do not actually accommodate all this knowledge. Please help me." Yes. That's all right.

Bhakti-prema: It is mentioned that all other worlds are there only in Tretā-yuga all the time. No Kali-yuga, simply Tretā and Dvāpara. Only the Tretā-yuga is all the time.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Yajato makhaiḥ.

Bhakti-prema: Yes.

Prabhupāda: They are always engaged in ritualistic sacrifices. How present life... Tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ.

Bhakti-prema: So they lived for ten thousand years.

Prabhupāda: Ten, they are...