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| Devanagari | कल्कि |
- For other meanings, see Kalki (disambiguation).
In Hindu traditions, Kalki (Devanagari: कल्कि; also rendered by some as Kalkin and Kalaki) is the tenth and final Maha Avatara (great incarnation) of Vishnu the Preserver, who will come to end the Kali Yuga, (The Age of Darkness and Destruction). The name Kalki is often a metaphor for "Eternity" or "Time". The origins of the name probably lie in the word Kalka which refers to "dirt", "filth" or "foulness" and hence denotes the "Destroyer of Foulness", "Destroyer of Confusion", "Destroyer of Darkness", or "The Annihilator of Ignorance". Other similar and divergent interpretations based on varying etymological derivations from the ancient Sanskrit language, including one simply meaning "White Horse", have been made.
In the Buddhist Kalachakra tradition, some 25 rulers of the legendary Shambhala Kingdom have the title of Kalki, Kulika or Kali-king.
Maha Avatara
Hindu traditions permit numerous interpretations of what Avatars are and to what purpose they act. Avatara means "descent", and indicates a descent of the divine awareness into manifestations of the mundane form. Prominent religious leaders like Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda are considered avatars by some, but in most Hindu traditions there are only 10 Maha Avataras (Great Avatars). The Bhagavata Purana has a list of 25 Great Avatars.
All Hindu traditions declare all people to be manifestations of the divine essence, the Atman, and Avatars to be individuals who are far more acutely and extensively aware of this fact and its implications than most, and who have entered the mortal realms voluntarily to teach important truths to humanity, and who usually have extraordinary abilities to aid in these roles.
Kalki's appearance and the end of days prophecy
As with the prophecies of many traditions there is some debate within Hinduism regarding the time of the appearance of the Kalki Avatar, as well as the Divine purpose that this appearance will signify.
Popular images of the Avatar depict him riding a white horse with wings known as Devadatta (God-given). In these images, Kalki is brandishing a sword in his right hand and is intent on eradicating the corrupt destitution and debauchery of Kali Yuga. On his return, it is prophesied that he will vanquish the demon Kali, reconcile opposites, and renew the process of the Dharma (Paths of Virtue) and Creation, thus establishing the rebirth of righteousness and virtue.
According to the Kalki Purana, Kalki will be mentored by Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu. Parashurama himself performed a penance thousands of years ago for Lord Shiva, who in acknowledgement gave to him control over celestial weaponry with which to cleanse the Earth of Kshatriya corruption. Parashurama will teach Kalki how to perform similar penance to follow in his footsteps and achieve celestial abilities.
Origins of the Kalki prophecy
One of the earliest mentions of Kalki is in the Vishnu Purana, which is dated generally to be after the Gupta Empire around the 7th Century A.D. Vishnu is the Preserver, the sustainer of life in the Hindu trinity, balancing the processes of Creation and Destruction. Kalki is also mentioned in another of the 18 major Puranas, the Agni Purana. Agni is the god of Fire in the Hindu pantheon, and symbolically represents the spiritual fire of life and the processes of transformation. It is one of the earliest works declaring Gautama Buddha to have been a manifestation of Vishnu, and seems to draw upon the Vishnu Purana in its mention of Kalki. A later work, the Kalki Purana, a minor Purana, is an extensive exposition of expectations and predictions of when, where, and why it is said he will come, and what he is expected to do. It has a very militant perspective, and celebrates the defeat of traditions that are deemed heretical for not adhering closely enough to the traditions of the Vedas, such as Buddhism and Jainism. A few other minor Purana also mention him.
Followers of Tibetan Buddhism have preserved the Kalachakra Tantra, which forms a prominent part of the Tibetan traditions. In the Kalachakra Tantra Kalkin is a title of 25 rulers of the mystical realm of Shambhala. The aims and actions of some of these are prophesied in portions of the work. The 25th Kalkin as an emanation of Manjushri is said to brings about world-wide spiritual change. "At that time, all the families of men on the earth shall be fulfilled with dharma, pleasure and wealth. Grain shall grow in the wild and the trees shall bow with fruit - these things will occur."
Modern variations of the Kalki prophecy
Claims of being Kalki
In the last few decades several leaders of relatively small religious movements in India, and a few outside of it, including some women, have at times claimed to be the Kalki Avatar of Hinduism, or their followers have declared them to be Kalki.
- Some adherents of the Bahá'í Faith have interpreted the prophecies as having referred to their messenger Bahá'u'lláh as the Kalki Avatar which has played a major role in the growth of the Bahá'í Faith in India.
- A leader of the extreme right in Argentina, Alejandro Biondini (http://pnt.libreopinion.com), has proclaimed he is Kalki. Many Nazi groups of LatinAmerica follow him. Also, the Ph.D. Harrell Rhome, spokesman of several USA Aryan groups, supports that Biondini is The Kalki.
- The writer Savitri Devi Mukherji attempted to synthesise Hinduism with Nazi philosophy, and claimed that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was Kalki.
- Before the arrival of their spiritual Guru, the Aga Khan to India in the 1800s, Ismaili Khojas, a shia group from Gujarat and Sindh, believed in the 10 incarnations of Vishnu. According to their tradition Imam Ali, the son-in-law of prophet Muhamad was Kalki.
Literature and media
- The author Gore Vidal, known for his dark, witty cynicism in such works as Messiah, Live from Golgotha and other novels, wrote a nightmarish satire on modern society, human motivations, and the potential consequences of extreme complacency, indifference, delusion, deceitfulness, and jealousy entitled Kalki (1978).
- The central character in the science fiction novel Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny is directly based on the Kalki legend, including the idea of the Buddha as an avatar.
Other meanings of Kalki
- The name Kalki is also used as a relatively rare personal name that has been given to both male and female children, and recently, a rare and somewhat untamable leopard.
- Kalki was the primary pseudonym used by Tamil writer R. Krishnamurthy.
- Playa Kalki is a beach on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, also curiously known as "Alice in Wonderland".
- Kalki is the name of the female lead character played by Tulip Joshi in Indian Director Manish Jha's widely acclaimed motion picture Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women, about a society where women have become rare because of infanticide, and are treated as a commodity.
See also
External links
- Kalki Avatar, the Coming Prophet (Essay by Swami Amar Jyoti)
- Kalki in Indian Mythology 1 2
- Religious Policies of the 25 Kalki rulers
- Kalki Temple in Jaipur
- Buddha & Kalki
- Kalki, The Last Avatar
- Hindu Prophecies: Translations from the Kalki Purana
- Comments on the Kalki Purana
- Messianic Themes in traditions of Northwest India
- The History of the Kalachakra Tantra
- The Archives of Alexander Berzin - Kalachakra Section
- Perspective on Kalki
- Kalki- mission complete
References
- Kalki-Avatar
- Kalachakra history
- p. lxxii, Vishnu Purana by H.H. Wilson, 2001, Ganesha Publishing, ISBN 1-86210-016-0
- The Outer Wheel of Time; Vajrayana Buddhist cosmology in the Kalacakra tantra, by John Ronald Newman, Univ. of Wisconsin 1987
- Momen, Moojan (1990). "Hindu Prophecies". Hinduism and the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-299-6.
- The Baha'i Faith in India: A Developmental Stage Approach by William Garlington, Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies, No. 2 (June, 1997)
- The Kalki
- http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/fascism/SavitriDevi.html
- http://www.bizbrowse.com/yarehman/islam/Special/Muhammad/Muhammad-in-Hindu-scriptures.htm
- Lord of Light, Doubleday, 1967
- Kalki the Leopard
- The Tamil writer Kalki
- Stardust
- Planet Bollywood
- Countercurrents
- Imagine Asia
- Toronto Film Festival
| Avatars of Vishnu | ||
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| Dashavatara (for example) |  | |
| Other avatars | ||
| The list of the "ten avatars" varies regionally. Two substitutions involve Balarama, Krishna, and Buddha. Krishna is almost always included; in exceptions, he is considered the source of all avatars. | ||
| Hindu deities and texts | ||
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| Gods |  | |
| Goddesses | ||
| Other deities | ||
| Texts (list) | ||