Voice from the Sky/Heaven

Question: It is mentioned in our Puranas that in days of yore Akashvani was frequently heard by our ancestors who were forewarned by it of coming events. Is it credible? Or, was it only the voice of their own inner intuition? [Note: Akashvani refers to "voice from the sky/heaven].

Swami Sivananda: There is some order in the four Yugas. The consciousness of man grows grosser and grosser as time rolls by. In the previous Yugas, man’s consciousness was subtler than it is in this Yuga. In the Satya Yuga, Bhagavan used to move amidst mankind. Human consciousness was not far removed from divine consciousness. In the Treta Yuga, man’s consciousness grew grosser. Though God was not constantly moving amidst human beings, there were frequent Avataras of the Lord. In the Dvapara Yuga, man’s consciousness grew grosser still; and only the immortal Brahma-Rishis like Narada, Visvamitra, etc., used to move amongst men, and also, Akashvanis used to warn people of coming events.

Now we feel that Akashvani is a very rare and miraculous thing; in the previous Yugas it was not so. Devas themselves used to move amongst men. And Akashvani used to forewarn the people regularly. Just as we have our Government, the celestials also have their own Government. Whenever they wished to communicate with mankind, they used to do so through Akashvani. Nowadays the deity communicates with the people mainly through dreams and visions. That is practically the only form of communication with human beings that Devas have retained in this Yuga.

Source: pgs 55-56, May I Answer That? by Swami Sivananda