When Will Kali Arrive? The Answer lies Within

We question ‘when will Kali arrive’ but maybe the answer is closer than we think. 

“The tensions are escalating in the country with its neighbour constantly bombing the other one……The military bases are attacked killing innocent civilians in collateral damage……A terrorist attack has killed tourists in the name of religion, families grieving and asking for justice…..A 9-year-old is gangraped by the party representatives…..a woman is burned for extended dowry, in-laws taken into custody. ………a man was killed brutally by his wife, ran away with her lover…….A woman raped and tortured….A student was killed due to failure.”

The headlines are filled with news showcasing human depravity at its peak. While we are busy debating whether AI is attaining consciousness, comprehending emotions, we humans seem to be forgetting our own.

The wars and the ruthless crimes have become the norm. While wars and crimes have always existed, what makes our time truly disturbing is the growing lack of empathy for the victims and the widespread indifference to the violence unfolding around us. People are busy supporting the sides which align with their ideologies meanwhile hoping for the destruction of the opposing side. The normality of the war-torn world and the utter disregard for life has made me question our humanity. Scrolling past the brutal images of what the world has come to, liking and sharing them, all in perfect algorithmic rhythm. Just like what AI was supposed to be, emotionless, automated, and insensitive, we now see humans with the same qualities. Is this apathy, a reflection of who we are, or merely the age we live in, which we call Kaliyug?

Kaliyug, Kali, and the Story We’ve Misunderstood

Kaliyug is the final phase in the cycle of the four yugas described in Hindu cosmology. Following the completion of each yuga, the next naturally arises, perpetuating an eternal cycle of time that eventually returns to the first yuga, thus maintaining the ceaseless cosmic rhythm.

While the Bhagavat Gita does not explicitly talk about Kaliyug, texts such as Bhagavat Purana and Vishnu Purana delve deeper into the last yuga. Kaliyug is marked or discussed as the period of spiritual and moral collapse.

The massive hatred and the loathing for fellow humans have made cohabitation so difficult. While scientific advancements have surged forward, virtues like empathy, truthfulness, and morality have steadily declined, leaving humanity ethically regressive.

According to our cultural texts, like each Yuga, this one will also witness a demon named Kali. The power of Kali and its greed for decadence will ultimately ruin humanity and will take us towards depravity.

“Kali is responsible and will be responsible for everything evil, monstrous including humans killing each other, thefts, no respect of relations, prostitution, manipulation, anger, fear, jealousy, contempt, cannibalism. Kali will take the cycle of Kaliyug to its highest level of inhumaneness and destruction of everything good within and around the travellers of earth.”

While there are multiple texts which describe Kali Demon (asura) in detail, they mostly circle back to the same themes, echoing similar characters.  Kali is a being of division among us, and the ultimate symbol of the corruption of human debauchery. Despite the moral degradation, we found ourselves asking, When will Kali arrive?

Kalki- The Saviour

The highlight, however, of each yuga is not the demon. It’s the supreme power (a godly being) who would descend the earth to save the people and end the demon. The same scriptures indulging in Kali’s existence also ponder over another, 10th avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu, the protector. 

Kalki, the supreme personality of godhead, as defined in the Vishnu Puran, is set to “mount his swift horse Devdatta and, sword in hand…eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying his unequalled effulgence and riding with great speed. He will kill by the millions of those thieves who have dared dress as kings.” 

Kalki’s physical incarnation on earth, culminating in the annihilation of Kali, the demon, would signal the end of Kaliyug. It would purge humanity of its corruption and ushering in the renewed cycle of Satyug. According to the scriptures, the divine descent would occur when humanity has plunged to the deepest depths of depravity, delusion, danger, and deceit. Kalki’s disposition to restore dharma and liberate humanity from Kali’s grip is the defining promise at the heart of Kaliyug.

Yet it compels us to ask: is the evil we speak of truly a “dog-faced Asura with pointed ears and fangs, draped in red cloth and gold ornaments,” as described in the Vishnu Puran. Or is it something far closer than we imagine, perhaps lurking within ourselves?

Signs of Kaliyug Today: How the Kali Demon Thrives in Us

The past few years diminished hope further and signalled that we might be closer to the end than we realise. The constant wars, killing numerous innocents, the urge to conquer and dominate new lands would lead us to our annihilation.

When we often imagine evil, we give it the shape of a material, dark and ghastly-looking being. Our imagination makes the being external, a dark figure which can be defeated by light, or a god. But, what if the evil, Kali in our case is not external but internal? Rising quietly, from within us?

Kaliyug, as the scriptures foretell, is the age where dharma decays, truth becomes negotiable, and cruelty becomes mundane. From wars to even individual violence, the brutality, the depravity and the corrupt morals allude to a single conclusion. The Kali is not external or material, it is very much inside of us, thriving, manipulating and making us dance to its evil tunes. Then, do we really care when will Kali arrive, knowing he couldn’t damage us more than we already have?

It’s not only borders that Kali makes its presence known. It is equally residing peacefully in the hearts of monsters that roam among us. “In 2022, India saw 31,516 reported rape cases an average of86 per day, with 96.6% of victims knowing their assailants (family, friends, neighbors). The conviction rate remains low, around 27–28%”

“The NCRB recorded 6,450 dowry deaths in 2022, a slight drop from previous years (6,589 in 2021, 6,843 in 2020).”

There are instances of lynch mobs filming murders as proof of power, digital mobs destroying reputations for sport, and our scrolling thumbs pausing only briefly over images of suffering before moving on.

“If Kali thrives on cruelty, chaos, and ego, then haven’t we become his most faithful devotees?”

Kali and Kalki Within Us – The Answer to When Will Kali Arrive?

It’s easy to blame the external force for our corrupted actions but the true evil resides within us. We have surrendered to apathy, and indifference, strengthening the control of Kali inside us every passing moment. The conscience-guided humanity has been left behind which rendered us reliant on a divine saviour to come and rescue us ironically, from the very misdeeds we continue to commit.

Perhaps, then the answer to ‘when will Kali arrive’ is that it is residing inside of us. It is manipulating us to do his bidding and become his puppets. This whole discussion paves the way for an old debate of nature Vs nurture. Thomas Hobbes, a thinker argued that humans are inherently violent and naturally brutish. The proponents, however, of other thoughts such as Rousseau believed that it’s the nature or environment that makes humans corrupt.

The idea of Kali, making its home in our body and mind resonates more with the arguments of Thomas Hobbes. While the environment and trauma do shape our lives the inherent violence lurking inside us cannot be denied.

But if Kali dwells within our own hearts, how can Kalki vanquish it? Kalki is not just a saviour riding in from outside, he is the silent conscience, the part of us still capable of dharma. A part of us, untouched by the corruption, evil and depravity, looks up to the empathy, morals and sensitivity. This part is the reflection that comes in the form of Kalki.

Where Kali wants us to surrender to his ill-will, a silent whisper of our conscience prevents us from hurting others and submitting to the attractive but corrupted morals. That is what Kaliyug is all about, fighting the inner battle. “Perhaps the final battle will not be in the skies, but within each human heart.”

When Will Kali Arrive? – It’s Here in the Form Of Indifference

Chapter 2, the age of deterioration of Srimad Bhagwatam, discusses symptoms of Kaliyug. While the wars, crimes, cruelty, violence and bloodshed have been taking place since time immemorial, why do the modern times feel like that Kali might’ve overtaken us?

The chapter describes a unique quality of Kaliyug, a time when “Falsehood reigns as truth, Cruelty becomes entertainment, Ego replaces conscience, Collective moral compass erodes.”

Yes, wars and cruelty have stained every age. But Kaliyug, as the sages warned, isn’t defined by blood alone; it is marked by the collapse of conscience. Each day is marked with some horrific event, while all we portray is the indifference and apathy towards it. The shift has happened from horror to habit, from outrage to insensitivity. The demon isn’t new, what’s new is that we no longer even recognise him in the mirror. We have made ourselves immune to all the inhumane acts in the name of different ideologies, habits, our helplessness or because we are just demonic.

Conclusion

While it is true that we can never replace the divine intervention which will rescue us from the demonic puppetry, we can still hold our own by choosing empathy over ego, humanity over hate and justice over silence.

The idea of Kalki descending from the skies is surely a far-fetched one, but us willing to put our conscience to better use to stop the degeneration is a realistic one.

The final war may not be fought on some distant battlefield. It might be here between the conscience and the chaos within.

Undoubtedly, the pace that we have chosen for ourselves to move forward will bring the end closer than it appears. But, maybe the world ended long ago and we just kept moving, too numb to notice. So, instead of asking when will Kali arrive, the focus should be on ending the demon inside us. 

Perhaps the true Kali isn’t the demon we await, but the indifference we carry inside us every day.

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