More on Kalki Avatāra

Question: In his article, Dawn of the Age of Love?, Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha criticises those who deny Kalki-avatāra’s appearance in this present Kali-yuga, but does he know that this is also the view of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura? Has he ever read Bhaktivinoda’s article, ‘Manuṣya Sambandha o Vaiṣṇava Dharma’? How can Narasiṅgha Mahārāja claim loyalty to Bhaktivinoda’s line while rejecting Bhaktivinoda’s conclusions?

Answer: Actually, there is no contradiction between the statement found in Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s article and the position of our Guru Mahārāja, Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja – provided Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is read correctly and interpreted according to his actual meaning. A contradiction only arises when Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s words are misread as a denial of Kalki-avatāra’s advent, instead of a statement concerning Kalki’s necessity in the present Kali-yuga.

Śrīla Narasiṅgha Mahārāja’s objection is directed toward a very specific misconception that has arisen among some modern-day Gauḍīyas – i.e. that because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared, Kalki-avatāra is unnecessary and will not appear at all, or that the Purāṇika descriptions of Kalki are no longer valid. Such a view is śāstra-viruddha – a violation of śāstra. It is therefore the fourth offence to the Holy Name (śruti-śāstra-nindanaṁ). Thus, this claim must be totally rejected.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura does not make this claim. Let us see at what the Ṭhākura has originally written in his article, Manuṣya Sambandha o Vaiṣṇava Dharma (‘Human Relations and Vaiṣṇava Dharma’, First Essay) from Sajjana Toṣaṇī Vol.2, Issue 7:

পুরাণ অবলম্বন পূর্ব্বক কেহ কেহ বলিয়া থাকেন যে, কলির অবসানে শ্রীশ্রীকল্কিদেব অবতীর্ণ হইয়া মরুও দেবাপি রাজাদ্বয়ের সাহায্যে বর্ণাশ্রম ধর্ম্ম পুনর্ব্বার সংস্থাপন করিলে সত্য যুগের উদয় হইবে। কিন্তু আমরা বলি যে এই কলিযুগ সাধারণ কলিযুগ নয়। ইহাকে পূৰ্ব্ব মহাত্মাগণ ধন্য কলি বলিয়া অভিহিত করিয়াছেন। সাধারণ কলি যুগেই কেবল কলি-কালের অবসানে ধর্ম্ম সংস্থাপিত হয়। ধন্য কলি যুগে আর কল্কি অবতারের অপেক্ষা নাই। যে কলিযুগে পরিপূর্ণ শক্তি, পরম কারুণিক, পরপ্রেম মূর্ত্তি শ্রীশ্রীচৈতন্যদেব অবতীর্ণ হইয়াছেন সে কলিযুগের আর কথা কি ?

Some say that, according to the Purāṇas, at the end of Kali-yuga, Śrī Śrī Kalki-Deva will descend, and with the help of Devas and kings, he will re-establish varṇāśrama-dharma, then Satya-yuga will arise. But we say that this Kali-yuga is not an ordinary Kali-yuga. The previous mahātmās have referred to this as ‘dhanya-kali’ (blessed Kali-yuga). It is only in an ordinary Kali-yuga that dharma is re-established at the end of the Kali age. In the blessed Kali-yuga, there is need to wait for Kalki-avātara. In this Kali-yuga, the fully powerful, supremely compassionate, embodiment of divine love, Śrī Śrī Caitanya-Deva, has descended – what more can be said about this Kali-yuga?

In his article, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura contrasts an ordinary Kali-yuga (sādhāraṇa kali-yuga) with what he calls the ‘blessed Kali-yuga’ (dhanya-kali), inaugurated by the advent of Lord Caitanya. In an ordinary Kali-yuga, dharma deteriorates to such an extent that at the end of that age, Kalki descends to forcibly re-establish varṇāśrama-dharma and usher in the next Satya-yuga. This description is fully accepted by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in Chapter Four of his Bhāgavatārka-marīci-mālā, and is grounded in Purāṇika, Itihāsika, and Pañcarātrika authority.

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura points out that the present Kali-yuga is not ordinary. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whom he describes as all-powerful, supremely merciful, and the very embodiment of divine love, has already descended and distributed pure prema-bhakti, the highest function of dharma has already been accomplished. Therefore, from the standpoint of a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, there is no need to wait for Kalki-avatāra in order for dharma to be restored.

This is the meaning of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s statement, dhanya kali-yuge āra kalki avatārera apekṣā nāi (‘In the blessed Kali-yuga, there is need to wait for Kalki-avātara.’) The phrase, apekṣā nāī means “there is no necessity to wait” – it does not mean “Kalki does not exist” or “Kalki will not appear.” Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is addressing the spiritual orientation and aspiration of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas – not rewriting Vedic chronology or denying the conclusions of the Purāṇas. Therefore, Kalki-avatāra remains a factual and future reality as described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and other śāstras, and to deny his appearance altogether is a deviation from Gauḍīya siddhānta.

Śrīla Narasiṅgha Mahārāja’s critique thus stands entirely intact. What Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura rejects is not the future advent of Kalki in this present age, but the notion that devotees of Śrī Caitanya must wait for a future avatāra to restore dharma, when the highest dharma – Mahāprabhu’s gift of prema-dharma – has already been made available through nāma-saṅkīrtana. In the dhanya-kali-yuga, Kalki is no longer the centre of hope for the devotee, because that hope has already been fulfilled by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

The question may be raised, “If Mahāprabhu has restored the highest dharma, then what is the actual function of Kalki at the end of this Kali-yuga?” Śrīla Prabhupāda answers this question most succinctly:

In the Kali-yuga, one-fourth pious and three-fourth’s sinful. And that will also gradually diminish. And when everyone will be sinful, then there is no more preaching. There is Kalki-avatāra – simply cutting the head! (Vṛndāvana, September 7th, 1975)

In other words, Kalki’s function is primarily to relieve the earth of the burden of adharma by eradicating wicked and impious rulers.

In conclusion, Kalki-avatāra’s future appearance is not negated – he is simply rendered unnecessary for those persons who have taken shelter of Mahāprabhu. To confuse these points is to misunderstand Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s words and to introduce a misconception that neither he nor the previous ācāryas ever endorsed.

This topic serves as a caution against a particular tendency found among devotees who fixate upon minutiae as well as isolated statements of the ācāryas, while overlooking the broader purpose that an ācārya seeks to establish. When we do not distinguish between higher and lower, relative and absolute teachings, emphasis on one truth is misread as a rejection of another, and priority is confused as exclusion.

The teachings of the ācāryas are often treated as some ‘spiritual buffet,’ with statements taken ‘à la carte’ to support our preconceived positions, instead of being understood within the entirety of Gauḍīya siddhānta. To properly understand the ācāryas, one must try to grasp the principle they are establishing, rather than dissecting their words to fit one’s prejudices.

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