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From: hughes@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (larry hughes)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: End-Of-The-World Speculations?
Message-ID: <1990Dec22.021826.27907@nas.nasa.gov>
Date: 22 Dec 90 02:18:26 GMT
References: <1990Dec20.011706.5978@nas.nasa.gov>
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In article <1990Dec20.011706.5978@nas.nasa.gov> loren@dweasel.llnl.gov (Loren Petrich) writes:
>	What is the prevailing attitude towards end-of-the-world
>speculations in Eastern religions? I hope it isn't like those who
>continually keep on predicting a date for the Second Coming of Jesus
>Christ.

My impression of these teachings (which may or may not be Vidal's
or your impression) is not a "gloom-and-doom" end-of-the-world prophecy,
but instead looking at creation as part of an endless cycle of
death and rebirth.  (If this sounds like reincarnation, remember
the saying "as below, so above"). 

I can't enumerate the system here (I certainly don't understand it,
I've only read about it) but suffice it to say that the physical
universe has life and death cycles of billions of years, with
many groups of shorter cycles within the larger ones.

The most concise work I've read on this was written by Paramahansa
Yogananda's guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar (spelling?).  Unfortunately
I cannot remember the book's title offhand, but I believe it's the 
only book authored by him that is available via the Self Realization 
Fellowship.

-Larry Hughes