Asian Prophecy

by Robert A. Nelson

O Future, how do we know Thee ? Let me count the ways: Aeromancy, alectryo-, alcuro-, alphito-,
anthraco-, arithmo-, etc. -- some 72 mancies are listed in Roget's Thesaurus (543.15, Forms of
Divination) , plus astrology, augury, dowsing, phrenology, palmistry, dreams, and more et ceteras.

As humanity slouches toward Bethlehem, Mecca, or Wherever in search of redemption, we predict the
future with every move we make. For example, it's a lucky guess when you hazards that nobody will run
the red light while your body is in the crosswalk. If you do get hit, perhaps it's because you ignored or
misread the psychic warning.

The form of guesswork known as "prophecy" usually (or at least often) has religious associations. Most
Westerners are familiar with Bible prophecy, which is ubiquitous in Europe and the Americas, and well-
known everywhere else. It obviously drives the death wish of many millions of people who otherwise
appear to be averagely "sane".

The Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastran, Baha'i and other religions of the Far East also have accumulated a
considerable corpus of communiques from the future. Most of them present an ugly prospectus with a
hopeful, miraculous positive outcome, thanks to individual and collective enlightenment and leadership,
and super-heroic saviors.

The Japanese yearn for the arrival of Miroku Bants / Rigden Japo. The Altai call him the White Burkhan
and Oirot (Messenger). Hindus anticipate the advent of the Kalki Avatar and Maitreya. Zoroastrans call
him Saohsyant. Tibetans expect Gessar Khan to save them from China.

Hindu Prophecy

Hindu cosmology claims that the universe is cyclical, passing through four Yugas (world ages), each of
which is shorter and less pleasant than the previous epoch due to the degeneration of morality.
Nowadays we are in the last, the Kala Yuga, in which dharma (correct behavior), is only one-fourth of its
beginning quality. At its end, religion will disintegrate and society will become more secular. When the
world becomes hopelessly degenerate, it will end in catastrophe and a new Mahayuga (Great Yuga) will
begin.

One thousand yugas is one day in the life of Brahma, the Hindu godhead. At the end of each day, the
universe is resorbed into Brahma for an equally long night, during which time it exists only potentially.
He reappears at dawn, and creation begins anew. The present age is the first day of the 51st year of
Brahma’s life.
Some scholars claim that the Kala Yuga began in 3012 BC and is 4.3 million years long. If so, we have a
relatively long wait ahead of us. Many people nevertheless believe that the Kalki (White Horse) Avatar,
the tenth and final incarnation of Vishnu, will arrive any millenium now. The heavens will open and he
will appear on his white horse with his sword "blazing like a comet". He will destroy the wicked and
restore purity. Entire continents will sink and rise in the process.

The Vishnu Purana (4: 24) also advises us concerning the conditions this time:

"The leaders who will rule over the earth will be violent and will seize the goods of their
subjects. The caste of servants will prevail and the outcasts will rule. Short will be their lives,
insatiable their appetites; they will hardly understand the meaning of piety. Those with
possessions will abandon agriculture and commerce and will live as servants or following various
possessions. The leaders, with excuses of fiscal need, will rob and despoil their subjects and take
away private property. Moral values and the rule of law will lessen from day to day until the
world will be completely perverted and agnosticism will gain the day among men.

"The causes of devotion will be confined to physical well-being; the only bond between the
sexes will be passion; the only road to success will be the lie. The earth will be honored for its
material treasure only. The priestly vestments will be a substitute for the quality of the priest …
Those who own and spend more money will be the bosses of men who will have only one aim,
the gaining of wealth however dishonestly. Every man will consider himself as good as a
Brahmin. Men will be terrified of death and fear scarcity; by this alone they will keep up an
outward appearance of religious feeling. Women will not obey the orders of their husbands or
their parents. They will be selfish, abject, liars, fallen and given to evil ways. Their aims in life will
be sensual satisfaction only.

"When... the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of his
own spiritual nature in the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end, and who
comprehends all things, shall descend upon the earth. He will be born as Kalki in the family of an
eminent Brahmin of Sambhala village, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. By his
irresistible might he will destroy all the barbarians and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted
to iniquity. He will then reestablish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live
at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal. The men who
are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall
give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita age, the Age of Purity."

Maitreya

The Buddhist Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) revolves in cycles like the Hindu yugas. According to the
Maitreyavyankarna (Prophecy of Maitreya), Buddha will incarnate as Lord Maitreya (The Buddha Who
Returns) at the end of the present cycle after major geological catastrophes have changed the planet so
much that he can walk from continent to continent. During his reign, humanity will attain salvation, and
even the gods will be liberated from their desires.
Krishna explained the job description to Prince Arjuna, recorded in the Bhagavad-Gita ( 4:7-8) :

"Whenever there is decay of righteousness... and there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I

Gautama Buddha told his disciple Sariputta of the signs that precede the end of this ages, recorded in
the Surangama Sutra :

"After my decease, first will occur the five disappearances. And what are the five
disappearances? The disappearance of attainments [to Nirvana], the disappearance of the
method [of doing so], the disappearance of [spiritual] learning, the disappearance of the
symbols [of Buddhism], the disappearance of the relics... Then when the Dispensation of the
perfect Buddha is 5,000 years old, the relics, not receiving reverence and honor will go to places
where they can receive them...

"Maitreya, the best of men, will then leave the Tushita heavens, and go for his last rebirth. As
soon as he is born he will walk seven steps forward, and where he puts down his feet a jewel or
a lotus will spring up. He will raise his eyes to the ten directions, and will speak these words:
'This is my last birth. There will be no rebirth after this one. Never will I come back here, but, all
pure, I shall win Nirvana."

The Buddha also said:

"At that period, brethren, there will arise in the world an Exalted One named Maitreya, Fully
Awakened, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the worlds,
unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing to be led, a teacher for gods and men, an Exalted One,
a Buddha, even as I am now. He, by himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it were face to
face, this universe, with Its worlds of the spirits, Its Brahmas and Its Maras, and Its world of
recluses and Brahmins, of princes and peoples, even as I now, by myself, thoroughly know and
see them."

"And the Blessed One said to Ananda, I am not the first Buddha, nor shall I be the last. In due
time another Buddha will arise in the world, a Holy One, a supremely enlightened one, endowed
with wisdom, auspicious, embracing the Universe, an incomparable Leader of Men, a Ruler of
Devas and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal truths, which I have taught you. He
will establish His Law, glorious in its spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim a righteous life
wholly perfect and pure, such as I now proclaim. His disciples will number many thousands while
mine number many hundreds.

"Ananda said, How shall we know Him?

"The Blessed One said, He will be known as Maitreya.”

"I am now the perfect Buddha; and there will be Maitreya too before this same auspicious aeon
runs to the end of its years. The perfect Buddha, Maitreya by name, supreme of men."

On another occasion, Sariputta asked after Maitreya again, and the Buddha answered:

"At that time, the ocean will lose much of its water, and there will be much less of it than now.
In consequence a world-ruler will have no difficulties in passing across it. India, this island of
Jambu, will be quite flat everywhere, it will measure ten thousand leagues, and all men will have
the privilege of living on it. It will have innumerable inhabitants, who will commit no crimes or
evil deeds, but will take pleasure in doing good... Human beings are then without any blemishes,
moral offenses are unknown among them, and they are full of zest and joy. Their bodies are very
large and their skin has a fine hue. Their strength is quite extraordinary. Three kinds of illness
only are known --- people must relieve their bowels, they must eat, they must get old...

"For 60,000 years Maitreya, the best of men, will preach the true Dharma, which is
compassionate towards all living beings. And when he has disciplined in his true Dharma
hundreds and hundreds of millions of living beings, then that leader will at last enter Nirvana.
And after the great sage has entered Nirvana, his true Dharma still endured for another 10,000
years..."

Many people have claimed to be Maitreya. Since the 1980s, a claimant calling himself Maitreya has
been offering himself to the world from London. He was born in 1944 in Iran, and claims to be a
descendant of the Iranian king Nader Shad. His apologists offer numerous prophetic "proofs" of his
authenticity. He forgot to walk and talk at birth, however, and apostatic lotuses neglect to sprout in his
footsteps.

Aghartha

For many centuries the Tibetans have attested to the reality of mystical Aghartha and its ruler, the King
of the World. Many people believe Aghartha to be a real place, a hidden civilization located in a series of
huge caverns under Tibet and Mongolia, with secret entrances all over the earth. It is also known as
Shamballa.

Whenever the King of the World makes prophecies, the birds and animals on the surface suddenly
become silent. Hundreds of years ago, the King of the World uttered a prophecy that pertains to the
present state of human society:

"Men will increasingly neglect their souls. The greatest corruption will reign on earth. Men will
become like bloodthirsty animals, thirsting for the blood of their brothers. The crescent [Islam]
will become obscured, and its followers will descend into lies and perpetual warfare. The crowns
of kings will fall.
 "There will be terrible war between all the earth's peoples; entire nations will die --- hunger,
crimes unknown to law, formerly unthinkable to the world. The persecuted will demand the
attention of the whole world. The ancient roads will be filled with multitudes going from one
place to another. The greatest and most beautiful cities will perish by fire. Families will be
dispersed; faith and love will disappear. The world will be emptied.

"Within 50 years there will be only three great nations. Then, within 50 years, there will be 18
years of war and cataclysms. Then the peoples of Agharti will leave their subterranean caverns
and will appear on the surface of the earth."

The related prophecy of the idyllic hidden kingdom of Shambhala states that each of its 32 kings will rule
for 100 years. While they reign, conditions in the outside world will deteriorate. Men will fight more and
more wars, seek power for its own sake, and materialism will reign. These modern barbarians will unite
under an evil king and conquer the earth. When they think that nothing is left to conquer, the mystic
mist will evaporate to reveal Shambhala. The huge army of barbarians will attack Shambhala. King Rudra
Cakrin will lead the fight against the invaders, who will be destroyed in a final great battle.

Nicholas Roerich, who traveled in Asia during the 1920s, transmitted this Tibetan prophecy of the end of
the present era:

"First will begin an unprecedented war of nations. Afterwards brother will rise against brother.
Oceans of blood shall flow. And the people shall cease to understand one another. They shall
forget the meaning of the word teacher. But just then shall the Teachers appear and in all the
corners of the world shall be heard the true teaching. To this word of truth shall the people be
drawn, but those who are filled with darkness and ignorance shall set obstacles. As a diamond
glows the light in the tower of the Lord of Shambhala. One stone on his ring is worth more than
all the world's treasure. Even those who by accident help the Teachings of Shambhala will
receive in return a hundredfold. Already many warriors of the truth are reincarnated. Only a few
years shall elapse before everyone shall hear the mighty steps of the Lord of the New Era. And
one can already perceive the unusual manifestations and encounter unusual people. Already
they open the gates of knowledge and ripened fruits are falling from the trees..."

Mahatma Ghandhi

Shortly before he was assassinated, Mahatma Mohandas Ghandhi (1869-1948) made a generic
forewarning of our imminent doom or destiny:

"Mankind is approaching hard times, because as soon as the measure of its sins will be full, it
will be called to account by the superior power above us. You may call this event as you wish:
Judgment day, final settlement, or doomsday. It will come, most likely, very soon. Whoever will
survive this settlement will see an entirely new earthly existence manifested. For a long, very
long time the world war will be crossed out from the dictionary of mankind, perhaps even for all
time. Christmas, the festival of Christianity, will be accepted by all religions as the true festival of
Peace. Blessed be, who will live to see this epoch!"
Zarathustra

The Zoroastran religion of the Persians arose circa the 7th century BC, and perhaps several centuries
earlier. Zoroaster ( AKA Zarathustra ) taught that the primary deity is Ahura-Mazda, whose opponent
Anghra Mainyu proposed the Druj (The Lie) to test believers. Though closely matched in power, Ahura
Mazda will eventually overcome Anghra Mainyu.

Zoroastrans also believe in cosmic cycles of time lasting 12,000 years and divided into 3,000-year
epochs. At this time we are in the second epoch, the "Time of Mixture", which refers to the interaction
of good and evil. Zoroastrans await the birth of a Saoshyant (savior) who is now overdue.

Believe it or not, when Zoroaster died, his sperm was miraculously preserved in Iran’s Lake Kansaoya. In
due time the sperm will impregnate a girl who is swimming there, and she will give birth to three sons.

The first will be Ukhshyat-ereta (He who makes righteousness grow); later he will be called
Hoshedarmah. One millennium later, Ukhshyat-nemah (He who makes reverence grow) will be born, to
be followed 1,000 years later by Astavat-ereta (Righteous world), who will oversee the end of time.

Chapter 3 of the Zand-i Vohuman Yasht contains very lengthy prophecies about the later days of this
era. Here are some fragments:

"And at that time, O Zartosht the Spitaman, all men will become deceivers, great friends will
become of different parties, and respect, affection, hope, and regard for the soul will depart
from the world; the affection of the father will depart from the son; and that of the brother
from his brother; the son-in-law will become a beggar from his father-in-law, and the mother
will be parted and estranged from the daughter.

"When it is the end of thy tenth hundredth winter, O Zartosht the Spitaman, the sun is more
unseen and more spotted; the year, month, and day are shorter; and the earth of Spandarmad is
more barren, and fuller of highwaymen; and the crop will not yield the seed, so that of the crop
of the corn-fields in ten cases seven will diminish and three will increase, and that which
increases does not become ripe; and vegetation, trees, and shrubs will diminish; when one shall
take a hundred, ninety will diminish and ten will increase, and that which increases gives no
pleasure and flavor.

"And men are born smaller, and their skill and strength are less; they become more deceitful
and more given to vile practices; they have no gratitude and respect for bread and salt, and they
have no affection for their country...

"And... in those last times dead matter and bodily refuse become so abundant, that one who
shall set step to step walks upon dead matter...

"The sovereignty will come from those leather-belted ones and Arabs and Rumans to them, and
they will be so misgoverning that when they kill a righteous man who is virtuous and a fly, it is all
one in their eyes…
 "And their eyes of avarice are not sated with wealth, and they form hoards of the world's
wealth, and conceal them underground; and through wickedness they commit sodomy, hold
much intercourse with menstruous women, and practice many unnatural lusts.

"And in that perplexing time the night is brighter, and the year, month, and day will diminish
one-third; the earth of Spandarmad arises, and suffering, death, and destitution become more
severe in the world...

"In that millennium of Aushedar-mah mankind become so versed in medicine, and keep and
bring physic and remedies so much in use, that when they are confessedly at the point of death
they do not thereupon die, nor when they smite and slay them with the sword and knife."

The Zoroastran text Bundahishn (Creation) states that in the millennium of the first Saoshyant
Hoshedarmah, people will stop eating meat, then milk, then vegetables, then water, until they stop
eating altogether for ten years before he manifests. During his lifetime, Ahura-Mazda will resurrect the
dead during a period of 57 years. Then the final judgment will be convened by the Sadvastaran
(Righteous Judges), who will separate the good and evil. The righteous souls will enter heaven, and the
wicked will go to hell for three days. Then a huge comet named Gochihr will strike the planet, and the
resulting heat will "melt the metal of Sharewar" ("Chosen power", a spirit with power over metals):

"In the final war between good and evil, fire and death will swirl over all, and every man will
have to pass through boiling lava. To the just and righteous men, the lava will be as warm as
milk, but to the wicked men, it will be scalding and fatal."

Then all humanity will be reunited, and all will receive an elixir that will give them immortality.
Afficionados of Bible prophecy may notice a similarity to the White Stone promised to "he who
overcomes" in the Revelation of John. And finally, Ahura-Mazda will defeat the evil Anghra Mainyu.

Chapter 9 of Jamasp Namak (The Book of Jamasp) recounts 16 signs of the times for King Vishtasp, thus:

"...When the time of Aushedar would appear, these several signs shall necessarily appear. The
first is this, that the nights will be brighter. The second is this, that Haptoiring (a star in the Bear
constellation) will leave its place and will turn in the direction of Khorasan. The third is this, that
the intercourse of persons one with another, will be great. The fourth is this, that the breach of
faith, which they will make at that time, will have quicker and greater results. The fifth is this,
that mean persons will be more powerful. The sixth is this, that wicked persons will be virtuous.
The seventh is this, that the Drujs (evil powers) will be more oppressive. The eighth is this, that
the magic and tricks which they will perform in those times, will be very bad. The ninth is this,
that the noxious creatures, like the tigers, the wolves, and four clawed animals will do great
harm. The tenth is this, that misinformed persons will commit great oppression upon the
Dasturs of religion. The eleventh is this, that the injury to the Dasturs of religion will be unlawful;
they will take their property by force and will speak evil of them. The twelfth is this, that the
blowing of the summer and winter winds shall not be useful. The thirteenth is this, that affection
for pleasure will be prevalent. The fourteenth is this, that those who arc born at that time will
 reach death more in a miserable way and in untimely way. The fifteenth is this, that respectable
persons in spite of their respectful position, will practice too much of untruthfulness, injustice,
and false evidence. Death, old age, unchecked pride, and strength will overtake all countries.
Then there will come the Dastur of the world. The apostle will cleanse the whole country. The
sixteenth is this, that the two caves which are in Seistan will be destroyed and the seas of the
cities will carry away the water and the whole of Seistan will be full of water."

Baha'i Prophecy

The Persian Baha'i faith was founded in the late 19th century by Mirza Husayn Ali of Nur, AKA
Baha'u'llah (In Arabic, "The Glory of God"). The Baha'i expect The Seventh Angel, who will appear
sometime before the year of Mustageth (2001 AD -- oops!) at the end of this age. Abdul-Baha describes
him in the book, Some Answered Questions:

"When the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which will cause the limbs
of mankind to quake. Then and only then will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the
Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody... The Seventh Angel is a man qualified with heavenly
attributes, who will arise with heavenly qualities and character... And that universal
Manifestation will subdue the world by spiritual power, not by war and combat; He will do it
with peace and tranquility, not by the sword and arms; He will promote these divine teachings
by kindness and righteousness, and not by weapons and harshness...

The contentions of races, the differences of religions, and the barriers between nations will be
completely removed, and all will attain perfect union and reconciliation under the shadow of
the Blessed Tree."

Amen.

About the Author: Robert A. Nelson is a 10th grade dropout with no credentials. He established Rex
Research ( http://www.rexresearch.com ) in 1982 to archive information about suppressed, dormant,
and emerging sciences, technologies, therapies, theories, and stuff. He persists...