Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Madhya-līlā | Chapter 20: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita Madhya 20.345
SYNONYMS
krite — in Satya-yuga; yat — which; dhyāyatah — from meditation; vishnum — on Lord Vishnu; tretāyām — in Tretā-yuga; yajatah — from worshiping; makhaih — by performing sacrifices; dvāpare — in the Age of Dvāpara; paricaryāyām — by worshiping the lotus feet of Krishna; kalau — in the Age of Kali; tat — that same result (can be achieved); hari-kīrtanāt — simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra.
TRANSLATION
"'Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet can also be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra.'
PURPORT
This verse is quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.52). At the present moment in Kali-yuga there are many false meditators who concoct some imaginary form and try to meditate upon it. It has become fashionable to meditate, but people know nothing about the object of meditation. That is explained here. Yad dhyāyato vishnum. One has to meditate upon Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna. Without referring to the śāstras, so-called meditators aim at impersonal objects. Lord Krishna has condemned them in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5):
kleśo 'dhikataras teshām avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avāpyate
"For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied." Not knowing how to meditate, foolish people simply suffer, and there is no benefit derived from their spiritual activities.
The same idea expressed in this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can be found in the following verse from the Vishnu Purāna (6.2.17), Padma Purāna (Uttara-khanda 72.25) and Brihan-nāradīya Purāna (38.97).
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness