Danda 1995 - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

Answer by Suhotra SwamiJanuary 15, 1995The geneology of the personality of Kali is found in SB 4.8.2-5.Yes, he exists and is active in other ages. That is confirmed in the story ofNala and Damayanti. Maharaja Nala was ruined by the personality of Kali,although this did not occur during the Kali Yuga.Is Kali equivalent to Satan? I suppose you could say that and get away with it,as long as it is understood that Satan can never actually challenge God'sauthority, but works within God's plan. Kali is the embodiment of sinfulness.His position is called technically "yuga-purusa". Each yuga is also a person,whose consciousness predominates over mankind during the period of timeassociated with that yuga- purusa. So one of the 4 ages is reserved by the Lordas the time for the unchecked display of sinfulness. Kali, sin incarnate, isgiven free reign to pollute humankind during that period.Question from Vraja Kishor dasJune 15, 1995You once posted a text to this conference discussing the nature of personifiedkali. I have a question in this regard:Is kali a jiva? If not, what is he?If he is a jiva, does he incur sin for his nefarious acts - or is it consideredhis dharma?Answer by Suhotra SwamiJune 16, 1995Is the personality of Kali a jiva, as opposed to ... ?is there?What other possibilityFrom the sastras I know of 4 categories of personalities who appear in thisuniverse: Visnu-tatta (the Personality of Godhead); sakti-tattva (the Lord'seternal associates who descend with Him, for example Laxmi- devi); Siva-tattva(the personality of Lord Siva, who is a tattva of his own); and jiva-tattva,including all living entities in the cycle of birth and death beginning withBrahma. I don't have a precise reference that ascribes the personality of Kalito the category of the jivas. But he is certainly not Visnu or Siva tattva, andsince there are no demons in the spiritual world, he can't be sakti-tattvaeither.The reference from which I infer that Kali is a jiva is the beginning of SBCanto 4 Chapter 8, where the genaeology of Kali is described. He is a demondescended from Brahma. His family line has the service in the universal schemeof things to be the cause of devastation. So Kali and his clan are not humancategorydemons. Therefore the duty of Kali is not understandable in terms ofhuman karma. A human being who takes it upon himself to be an agent ofdestruction will soon be punished by the laws of nature, because he violates theduty given to humanity by the Vedic acaryas, of whom Brahma is the chief. ButKali destroys as a duty given to him by Mahajana Brahma.I think it is safe to make a comparison to the Yamadutas. They are certainlyinauspicious beings. But do they generate sinful karma for what they do? Idon't see how we can speculate like that, because they are servants of MahajanaYamaraja. How one gets the chance to become a Yamaduta in his next life, I