Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Other religions, other ends

The big monotheistic religions do not have the monopoly on the apocalypse. The Native American Hopi, for example, predict a Purification Day after a time of decline and war. In Norse mythology the end of the world, Ragnarök, will be marked by an epic battle of the gods, which will be preceded by Fimbulwinter, a succession of three winters without summer and a time of war.

Some claim that even Buddhism and Hinduism have end-of-the-world myths. Buddhism predicts that his teachings would be forgotten within 500 years, and that a second Buddha would come, called Maitreya, who rediscovers Buddha's teachings and unifies the world. However, the advent of the Maitreya does not mark the end of the world, since in Buddhist cosmology time is believed to be cyclical and infinite. Hinduism has a similar view of time, where four different ages are follow each other infinitely, alternatingly in descending and ascending order. Opinions differ on whether we are currently in the age of darkness, Kali Yuga, or already in the next age, Dvapara Yuga.

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