“The Great Year”
is a documentary narrated by famous African-American actor James Earl Jones.
Not sure why, but no hard feelings! The docu, or perhaps extended presentation,
is attributed to the Binary Research Institute, a front for the Self-Realization
Fellowship (SRF), a religious group promoting the “Kriya Yoga” of Hindu guru
Paramahansa Yogananda. A member of the SRF is featured in “The Great Year”,
which also mentions Yogananda´s guru Swami Yukteshwar (whom I have mentioned before
on this blog). The concrete astrological, astronomical and “Vedic” speculations
mentioned in the documentary are apparently associated with Yukteshwar.
On one
level, “The Great Year” promotes an alternative scientific hypothesis, according
to which our sun has a companion, being part of a binary star system. The
second sun, which is very difficult to spot, causes civilizations to rise and
fall, although it´s not clear how in this particular scenario. Maybe the
explanation is purely “spiritual” in nature, since the second sun is said to
cause the precession of the equinox, which in turn affects the astrological
ages. Alternative science seamlessly transitions into the occult. The fall of
Atlantis and the Bronze Age collapse are mentioned as possible effects of these
astrological forces. And although Graham Hancock isn´t personally featured, “The
Great Year” does mention some of his investigations.
However,
the main point of “The Great Year” seems to be something else. Rather than
preaching catastrophism in the strict sense, the Binary Research Institute (and
therefore the SRF) believe we are at present in an *ascending* phase of the astrological
cycle. This is obviously the Age of Aquarius of New Age fame. One of Yukteshwar´s
innovations to the standard Puranic scheme of ever-alternating yugas was the
idea that the Kali Yuga marks the nadir of a cycle, and after it, the ages
start to gradually improve again. In the standard scenario, the Kali Yuga will
end with a gigantic apocalyptic conflagration followed immediately by a new Golden
Age. Yukteshwar apparently believed that the Kali Yuga had already ended! Note
the obvious similarities with Theosophy and Anthroposophy, and the later New
Age (already pointed out).
Apart from this
documentary, the Binary Research Institute also has its own website (link
below). The theory of the sun´s “invisible” companion is interesting, to be
sure, and seems to have tie-ins both to more serious scientific speculations
and to a whole lot of conspiracy thinking (compare Nibiru). This particular
versions seems to be the only optimistic one on offer, although I could have
missed something. Unfortunately, the more pessimistic takes seem more
realistic, since we are – after all – stuck in samsara! Yukteshwar and
Yogananda were clearly wrong about that ascending cycle…
The Kali Yuga never ended.
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