RELAX, THE WORLD WON'T END NEXT MONTH: EXPERT

THE “END OF THE WORLD” MAYA STONE
RECOUNTS LIFE AND BATTLES OF A RULER

www.brisbanetimes.com.au - Relax doomsayers, the Maya people did not really mark their calendar for the end of the world on December 21, 2012. As tourists book hotels rooms in Mexico's Maya Riviera and Guatemalan resorts ahead of next month's fateful date, experts are busy debunking the doomsday myth. The apocalyptic prophecy that has inspired authors and filmmakers never appears in the tall T-shaped stone calendar that was carved by the Maya around the year 669 in southeastern Mexico. In reality, the stone recounts the life and battles of a ruler from that era, experts say. Plus, the last date on the calendar is actually December 23, 2012, not the 21st, and it merely marks the end of a cycle. 
So no need to build giant arks, because the terrible floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster 2012 were not prophesied by the Mayas. “The Mayas had a cyclical idea of time. They were not preoccupied with the end of the world,” Mexican archaeologist Jose Romero said. The stone, known as Monument 6, was located in El Tortuguero, an archaeological site that was discovered in 1915. 

Broken in six pieces, the different fragments are exhibited in US and Mexican museums, including Tabasco's Carlos Pellicer Camara Anthropology Museum and New York's Metropolitan Museum. “The last inscription refers to December 23, 2012, but the central theme of Monument 6 is not the date, it's not the prophecies or the end of the world. It's the story of (then ruler) Bahlam Ajaw,” Romero said. The final date represents the end of a cycle in the Mayan long count calendar that began in the year 3114 before Christ. It is the completion of 13 baak t'uunes, a unit of time equivalent to 144,000 days. 
“It is not the end of the Mayan long count calendar, which is endless. It's the beginning of a new cycle, that's all,” said Mexican historian Erick Velasquez. Though the Maya made prophecies, they looked at events in the near future and were related to day-to-day concerns like rain, droughts, or harvests. The belief that the calendar foresees the end of the world comes from Judeo-Christian interpretations, the experts said.

The first study on the stone was published by a German researcher in 1978. Since then, various archaeologists have examined its significance and agree that it refers to the December 23 date and not December 21 as stated commercially. Mexican historian Velasquez warned against giving too much weight to Monument 6, noting that it is just one of more than 5000 stones from the Mayan culture that have been studied. The earth still has a few years left, even in eyes of the ancient Maya: Some stones refer to the year 7000. Therefore, from the point of view of Science, Astronomy, Mayan Prophecy or even the ancient Hindu Astrology and Vedantic Cosmology there appears to be little reason  to be concerned that the world will end in one month.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Vedantic cosmology describes that the universe is maintained for a specific period before it is wound up. At the beginning of each cycle of creation of the universe, Lord Brahma, the first created cosmic living being is born. A day of Brahma is called a kalpa and one kalpa consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages, called Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. The same number comprises one night of Brahma and he lives one hundred such years and then dies. Satyayuga lasts 1,728,000 years; Tretayuga lasts 1,296,000 years; Dvaparayuga lasts 864,000 years; and Kaliyuga lasts 432,000 years. Thus one hundred years of Lord Brahma equal 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years. According to Vedantic cosmology, our universe starts with the birth of Lord Brahma and he is at present a little more than 50 Brahma-years old. Thus our present universe started about 155.522 trillion (155.522 x 10^12) years ago and will end in 155.518 trillion (155.518 x 10^12) years and just after that a new cycle of creation will begin again.

T.D. Singh, Ph.D. - Śrīla Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Mahārāja :
“Hinduism and Science”
“Universe - A Brief Overview of its Origin, Maintenance, and Dissolution”
Science and Scientist - Bhaktivedanta Institute Newsletter
January - March 2008 - scienceandscientist.org
http://www.krishnascience.com  -  http://www.bhaktisvarupadamodara.com/

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/