Kalki Avatar and Imam Mahdi: Narrative of a Global Religious War Gaining Ground Among Hindus and Muslims

By S. Arshad, New Age Islam 18 December 2024 Ancient Scripture Bhavishya Malika Predicts World War In The Next Few Years Main Points: 1. 2. It claims Kalki avatar has already been born. 2. It predicts that only 64 crore people wil survive in the war. 3. It predicts that Kalki avatar will conquer the world and establish Sanatan dharma. 4. 13 Islamic countries will attack India. ----- For the last few months, the narrative of a global religious war has been gaining ground among both Hindus and Muslims of the Indian sub-continent. This narrative has got a shot in the arm by the Hindi translation of a 16th century manuscript Bhavishya Malika, authored by a Vaishnava priest and seer Achyutananda Das. It contains several predictions about India and the world. A Brahman priest of Odisha Kashinath Sharma has got it translated into Hindi, English and other languages and has been popularising the predictions in India. The popularity of Bhavishya Malika has increased because of its predictions about the appearance of Kalki avatar between 2025 and 2029 and a global religious war under his leadership. Kashinath Sharma claims that Kalki avatar has already been born and is in his 20s. He will emerge as a powerful world leader with extraordinary spiritual and military power and conquer the world with his army of followers. The book predicts that the situation in India will suddenly change from 29th of March 2025 and many political upheavals, wars and natural calamities will wreak havoc across the world. An asteroid will also hit the Odisha coast and cause disastrous tsunami. It also predicts that 13 Islamic countries along with other non-Muslim countries will attack India. It even goes on to predict that the democratic system of India will come to an end after September 2025. However, the scripture predicts that Kalki avatar will destroy all the enemies of India and save India and his followers. Other astrologers including some corporate astrologers have also expressed their faith in the predictions and therefore added to the fear and anxiety among the Indians. Some astrologers have even advised Indians to be prepared for the war and take training. One woman told her viewers that those chosen by Kalki avatar for his army will get certain dreams between 1st December and 30 December of 2025. Another woman astrologer and psychic healer claimed that Kalki avatar will destroy all Malechhas and their countries and establish Sanatan dharma across the world. These predictions of Bhavishya Malika about a global religious war to begin from India and the invasion of India by 13 Islamic countries has only intensified the communal tension in India and its neighbouring countries. Until now, people would ignore communally charged statements made by religious figures but educated and intellectual class of India like the corporate astrologers and psychic healers have also used the predictions of a 16th century religious scripture to promote the narrative of a global religious war between dharma and adharma. It should be noted that dharma and adharma are relative terms. What is music to some is noise to some others. The talk of a religious war and the attack on India by 13 Islamic countries by some intellectuals and corporate astrologers has caused fear and panic among Indians though one astrologer says that he believes that only 20 per cent of Bhavishya Malika may be true. However, a majority of astrologers, psychic healers and corporate astrologers have expressed their belief in the predictions and have advised Indians to make financial and other security preparations to meet any eventualities in the years or months to come. Similar predictions of a global religious war have also been popular among the Muslims for more than a thousand years. About a dozen of hadiths (sayings of the prophet of Islam pbuh) have predicted of a global religious war under the leadership of Imam Mahdi and all the sects of Islam agree on it. According to the predictions, Imam Mahdi will lead a huge army and will defeat all the armies of the enemies of Islam and establish an Islamic caliphate across the world. However, there are some striking similarities in the predictions of hadiths and Bhavishya Malika. According to hadiths, Imam Mahdi will eliminate Dajjal (the evil power). According to Hindu scriptures, Kalki avatar will kill Kali (demon), the evil power. According to hadith, Imam Mahdi will appear in the end times and according to Bhavishya Malika, Kalki avatar will also appear in the end times (the end of Kaliyug or the age of the evil power). According to hadiths, an army will start from Khorasan and according to Bhavishya Malika, an army will start from India. In the ancient times, Khorasan was the name of the entire region of India, Afghanistan and Iran and some parts of the central Asia. Therefore, the predictions of both hadiths and Hindu scriptures do predict of a global religious war between good and evil, not between religions. A righteous religious leader will emerge in the world in the end times. The followers of truth will be with the righteous leader and all the followers of evil will be with Dajjal or Kali or anti-Christ. It will be a global war between good and evil, not between one religion and the other. According to Bhavishya Malika, after the global war, only 64 crores out of 7 billion population of the world will survive. Out of those 64 crore, 33 crores will survive in India and 31crore will survive in the whole world. These 64 crore people will be righteous and the followers of truth and all the followers of evil will perish. Today, the population of India is about 150 crores. Hindus comprise about 100 crore of the populace. Therefore, going by the predictions of Bhavishya Malika, even, not all Hindus or all Muslims of India will survive or perish. The war, if it ever happens, will not distinguish people on the basis of religion. Therefore, interpreting the predictions of Bhavishya Malika about a global religious war from a narrow communal premise is wrong and it will further aggravate the communal atmosphere of the country. So, our astrologers, intellectuals and psychic healers should avoid creating panic among the people by predicting doom. Instead, they should promote harmony, trust and positive thinking among the masses. ----- S. Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com. 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