Kali Yuga, The Problems and the Solution

The cycle of life on earth is divided into different Yugas (or phases). Currently we are existing in the Kali Yuga. In the lowest phase, Kali Yuga, most people are aware only of the physical aspect of existence, the predominant emphasis of living is material survival, and power is mostly in the hands of men. People's relationship with the spiritual is governed predominantly by superstition and by authority.

The age of Kali is the most condemned age due to its quarrelsome features. Kali-yuga is so saturated with vicious habits that there is a great fight at the slightest misunderstanding. Those who are engaged in the pure devotional service of the Lord, who are without any desire for self-aggrandizement and who are freed from the effects of fruitive actions and dry philosophical speculations are capable of getting out of the His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (03-10-06)

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Also, for more information on the nature of the Yuga cycles and why they occur, check out The Great Year. This explains how our Sun is, most likely, in a binary orbit around another star; an orbit which creates the repetitive cycle of the Yugas and the wax and wane of civilization.