The Coming of Kalki

The Islamic concept of Qiyamat and the Christian percept of the day of judgment coincide with the prophecies in the Hindu KaalaGnyaanam written by the Sage Sree Pothuluru Veera Brahmendra Swami of the 17th century. Swamiji gave a graphic description of the day, which upon analysis suggests a sudden reversal of the magnetic polarity of the earth resulting in a global catastrophe. Mysterious incidents are prophesized. On the dark night of Amavasya (new moon), a full moon would appear. As people get wonderstruck, cattle will look up towards the sky and start to cry. The sky will become red; the sun and the moon will appear side by side, the planets will change course, and the Sun will henceforth rise from the west.

Unbelievable changes in human and animal behavior will be noticed; the just-born will speak to their mothers and jump out of their laps, animals will talk to humans, idols in temples will come to life, extreme sensuality and incest will become the norm, wood will sink, and stones will float. Everything will become topsy-turvy.

The KaalaGnyaanam promises that at such a time the Savior Kalki will descend from the skies astride a white horse Devadutta, with a long sword in hand, followed by an army of valiant warriors. He will destroy evil and establish a new order.

While the galactic phenomena are amenable to scientific reasoning, the appearance of a messiah is a matter of individual faith. Between the two extremes lie the strange behaviors and incidents that defy logic. But science and religion are not separate, claims the author. They are the two poles of a spectrum, and the twain shall meet on the day of judgment.