[lbo-talk] this explains a lot

[J]

'In Jain tradition, the first teacher, Rishabh, lived in the third 
period of Avasarpini, during which half of the world cycle things are 
getting worse. Since evil had appeared, a Tirthankara was needed to 
help people cope with life. In the fourth period, evil proliferated so 
much that twenty-three more Tirthankaras came into the world to teach 
people how to defeat evil and achieve moksh. The present time, part of 
the fifth period, is 'wholly evil.' Now, men live less than 125 years, 
and the sixth epoch will be even worse. 'A man's life span will be only 
sixteen to twenty years and his height will be reduced to that of a 
dwarf. . . . But then the slow upward movement of the first half of the 
upward cycle, Utsarpini, will begin. There will be steady improvement 
until, in the first era, man's needs will be fulfilled by wish 
fullfilling trees, his height will be six miles, and evil will be 
unknown.' However, eventually things will degenerate, with Avasarpini 
followed by Usarpini in a neverending cycle.'

~J