Dwapara Yuga & Astrological Bangles

Yogananda writes in his Autobiography of a Yogi, 1946, concerning the subtle effects of certain gems, metals and plants, as yet undiscovered by modern science:

"Why do you want me to wear an astrological bangle?" I ventured this question after a long silence, during which I had tried to assimilate Sri Yukteswar's noble exposition.

"It is only when a traveler has reached his goal that he is justified in discarding his maps. During the journey, he takes advantage of any convenient short cut. The ancient rishis discovered many ways to curtail the period of man's exile in delusion. There are certain mechanical features in the law of karma which can be skillfully adjusted by the fingers of wisdom.

"All human ills arise from some transgression of universal law. The scriptures point out that man must satisfy the laws of nature, while not discrediting the divine omnipotence. He should say: 'Lord, I trust in Thee, and know Thou canst help me, but I too will do my best to undo any wrong I have done.' By a number of means-by prayer, by will power, by yoga meditation, by consultation with saints, by use of astrological bangles-the adverse effects of past wrongs can be minimized or nullified.

"Just as a house can be fitted with a copper rod to absorb the shock of lightning, so the bodily temple can be benefited by various protective measures. Ages ago our yogis discovered that pure metals emit an astral light which is powerfully counteractive to negative pulls of the planets. Subtle electrical and magnetic radiations are constantly circulating in the universe; when a man's body is being aided, he does not know it; when it is being disintegrated, he is still in ignorance. Can he do anything about it?

"This problem received attention from our rishis; they found helpful not only a combination of metals, but also of plants and-most effective of all-faultless jewels of not less than two carats. The preventive uses of astrology have seldom been seriously studied outside of India. One little-known fact is that the proper jewels, metals, or plant preparations are valueless unless the required weight is secured, and unless these remedial agents are worn next to the skin."

"Sir, of course I shall take your advice and get a bangle. I am intrigued at the thought of outwitting a planet!"

You can obtain bangles from a number of sources:

• Astrogems
• Astrological Bangles
• Contacting Mother Center at SRF

Sri Yukteswar, Yoganandaji and all the early devotees wore bangles. It is interesting that every religion in the world has physical jewelery or plants associated with it, perhaps remnants of past higher ages when the exact effects were known. One example that jumps to mind is that of the Celts and their fascination with Holly and Mistletoe that persist in modern Christmas decorations.

In Europe, in the last centuries heading towards the pit of Kali Yuga in 500AD, the Celts were discredited as barbarians by the Romans. At the dawn of Dwapara Yuga, in 1897, a Celtic Calendar surpassing in sophistication that of the Roman occupational forces was found in France and is itself believed to be a copy of still earlier calendars. That would imply that the Roman military crushed a civilization with a more sophisticated culture and rewrote history to fit its world view. From the Roman Tacitus we have a quotation that echoes into our modern world:

"To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a desolation and call it peace."

[Update 5/2009]

Curiously Exodus 28 (2nd millennium BC), describes rather a large number gems for the breastplate associated with the Ark of the Covenant (best known in our times from the Indiana Jones Movies):

"Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It is to be square—a span [a] long and a span wide—and folded double. Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; 20 in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes."

Another piece of "Bible Technology", the Urim and Thummim, makes a re-appearance in recent times with Joseph Smith of the Mormon or LDS faith.

Dwapara Yuga - You, Thee, Y'All and Youse - T-V Distinction

The Latin "you" originally had a singular form "tu" (T) and a plural form "vos" (V), to indicate one or more than one person. This is known as the T-V distinction.

The usage degenerated from the fouth century in the Roman Empire whereby persons of higher social standing were formally addressed as "vos" and lower standing informally as "tu", i.e. the "royal we" came about just as the pit of Kali Yuga was reached. It was a symbolic division in language.

This continued into the troubled modern French with "tu" as familiar and "vous" as formal. In provoking confrontation with youths, French police use the "tu" form as a calculated insult. In the more open and evolved Candian-French, the "vous" form is seen as divisive, snobbish and archaic and is used only in very formal contexts such as in a court of law.

In English, originally "thou" was singular and "you" (or "ye" from Sanskrit) was plural. With the influence of French as a so-called courtly language "thou" became informal and "you" formal as can clearly be heard in the dialog of Shakespeare as charcters signal their distance or closeness in changing forms. French was dropped as the language of diplomacy and court life as revolution removed Kings from power and a language that could not formally distinguish between "yes" and "no" for all its nuance and double senses was seen as a menace to peace.

Different flavors of modern Spanish cover some or all bases of singular, plural, formal and informal "you", with "tu", "vosotros", "usted" and "ustedes", the more evolved countries little using the formal "usted", typically provoking the humorous question "Are you calling me old?" i.e. offering too much respect much as the over-use of "Sir" and "Ma'am" in right wing circles in the US.

From the 16th century as we move into the Sandhi for Dwapara Yuga, the "thou" form was effectively dropped in English, leaving a universal "you", unifying people once again. The "Thou" form survives in the language of Shakespeare and the King James Bible in phrases such as "Hallowed be Thy name" in the Lord's Prayer. Here "thou" does not denote formality rather the closeness of a child addressing a father, an idea much misinterpreted in modern America, for example in LDS (Mormon) circles.

With the Kali influenced divisiveness, the original sense of singlular and plural has been lost to English, although there are dialect equivalents in the US South of "y'all" and US North East of "youse" to recover the lost plural form thus expressing not ignorance but rather a more sophisticated usage than so-called Standard English.

Now we have all that clear in a tour from Rome, to Paris, to London, to Spain and back, you have a good day y'all!

Dwapara Yuga & Yogananda's Three Recipes

Spiritual Recipe

1. Read the EAST-WEST [See search button on the left side of this page] well and try to practically follow the best in it, using your own judgment.

2. Lead a balanced life. Be neither too Oriental nor too Occidental. Let not calmness develop into laziness, nor let activity convert you into a business automaton. Be calmly active, actively calm.

3. Polish your feelings. Exercise them by practical sympathy, and say to yourself, "I can only be happy by making others so."

4. Try to consciously contact God. Will to know Him, persevere in the effort to know Him, and be dissatisfied until you do know Him.

Intellectual Recipe

1. Read a few lines from Shakespeare every day.

2. Read the "Imitation of Christ," by Thomas Kempis.

3. Read "In Tune with the Infinite," by Ralph Waldo Trine.

4. Read "The Man Nobody Knows," by Bruce Barton. It is the best modern book on Jesus.

Health Recipe

Fast one day a week, or at least a half-day. If you feel unable to do that, live for one day on nothing but orange juice. This plan will give needed rest to the body-machine which overworks incessantly thru over-eating or wrong eating. Do not think that satisfied hunger means satisfied body needs. Learn the laws of rational, scientific diet, and live on simple and wholesome food.

From the East-West Magazine, May-June 1926, the height of the roaring twenties, prohibition and a time before penicillin and television.