“Satyug” (Golden Age), “Tretayug“ (Silver Age), “Dwaparyug” (Copper or Brass Age) and “Kaliyug” (Steel or Iron Age) are the four “yugas” that divide the 26,000-year cycle of the procession of the equinoxes of the planet earth. “Yuga” can be translated as “age” or “period.”

The Siri Guru Granth Sahib contains a number of references to the four yugas:

Satyug

This is the period when the soul is in a Supreme State. Satyug is characterized by absolute Truth and perfection. All souls in this state are saintly. This age is formless (Nirankar) and will power is “Hukam” or Divine will.

Tretayug

When the Soul achieves Santokh (contentment), then it enters into a state of Treyta. In the Treta Yuga, the soul seeks the Shabad (sacred sound current) to link back to the Divine and all-pervading consciousness.

Dwaparyug

When the soul resides in the womb of women, then that time period is called Duwapur Yuga. Here the soul is going to take form and create its own body inside the womb. In this age the soul is in contact with the Divine, taking wisdom to create form.

Kaliyug

When the soul is away from the Divine and is in a state of duality, this state is called Kali Yuga. This is also called a”dreaming state” (Kalpana). Humanity and the earth are currently in this cyclic age of Kaliyug.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru, states that, “In this Dark Age of Kali Yuga, there is only pitch darkness” (SGGS, 210). Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, teaches that “righteousness has sprouted wings and flown away” in this dark era (SGGS, Ang 145).

The Gurus teach us that during this Dark Age, singing God’s praises through Kirtan and Shabad Guru with the Sadh Sangat (company of the holy) may experience liberation (SGGS, Ang 253).

According to Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru:

~Resources: Living Reality (1994) by Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa and “Four Yugas in Sikh Religion” (SikhiWiki).