Sharanagati

Narada said: “Presently Kali-yuga is conquering the whole world and this helps unrighteousness. There is no truthfulness, no ascetism, no purity of body and mind, no compassion and no liberality to the poor.

The people are wretched and engaged only in filling their bellies. They make false statements. They are very slow, extremely dull, of poor luck and afflicted – always effected by the things happening to them. Those who pose as saints are constantly engaged in preaching false doctrines. Those who had apparently renounce the world, are rich in worldly possessions and have become family men. Women rule the house. Brothers of one’s wife are the only counselors. Out of greed people sell their own daughters. There are frequent quarrels between husband and wife. Hermitages, places of pilgrimage and rives are controlled by foreigners and temples here has been destroyed in large numbers by those wicked people. There is no yogi, nor one who has attain perfection, no enlighten soul and no man performs righteous deeds. All spiritual disciplines stand consumed by the wild fire of Kali-yuga. In this age of Kali people take to selling food-grains. Brahmanas sell their knowledge of the Vedas and women make their living by prostitution.”

Whatever is given here is a symptom of Kali-yuga. That there is no purity, there is no asceticism; that also means there is not so much devotion. All the values are lost, or almost, half lost. This time and this place is quite difficult for spiritual enlightenment. People don’t live according to the demands of their relative position, they cannot really fulfill the duties that are expected from them and there are many quarrels, many misunderstanding – these are the natural symptoms of Kali-yuga. Don’t let the Kali-yuga enter your life! Protect yourself from these descriptions.

And something very strange here – that people take to the business, take to the profession of selling food-grains; so it’s not distributed free, it’s sold! Foodstuffs should be provided for people! Not to be sold! But humans have invented such a strange instrument like money. And they think that by this they can solve the problems and buy everything they need.

Narada adds: “This present age is the terrible age of Kali. Righteous conduct, the path of yoga – union with God – and austerities had disappeared under it’s influence. Practicing bad habits and evil deeds, people are turning to be replicas of the demons of Agha. In this age the good men are frustrated and the unrighteous are overjoyed. Year after year this earth is gradually becoming a burden for Lord Shesha. No sign of good luck is to be seen anywhere. Cruel people had come to live in holly places of pilgrimage. Therefore the value of the sacred places is gone. Even those, whose mind is agitated with passion, anger, excessive greed and thirst for pleasure, outwardly they have taken an ascetic life. Therefore the value of ascesis is gone. There is no control of mind, there is greed and hypocrisy, and therefore people take heretic doctrines. They don’t study the sacred books and do not practice meditation. The learned pundits are indulged in sexual commerce like buffaloes. They are expert in making children, but not at all clever in achieving liberation. Devotion to Lord Vishnu is nowhere to be seen. In this way the substance of all things has disappeared everywhere. Such is, however, the spirit of the times. That is why the lotus-eyes Lord Vishnu tolerates all this, although he is so close to us in our very hearts.

All glories to Vrindavan, where Bhakti dances with joy! Here in Vrindavan nobody wants Gyana and Vairagya.” In Vrindavana nobody is searching for gyana and nobody is searching for vairagya, renunciation.

Therefore we have to come to Vrindavan, where our Bhakti-capacity is nourished. Because the most important part of the human being is the emotional part. The ultimate language of the human beings is emotions. That is a reflection of Bhakti. So whatever is done here, it is revealed because it’s up there. . But this is only in space – up and down. We should expand this – not only in space, but in time also. What is behind us is in front of us also. What is the future of our past? This is the present situation. And what is the past of our future? It’s also the present time. Therefore the present time is very important – how we live. If we leave surcharged by Bhakti, then we shall have very deep life. May be not an easy life – I want to warn you – but it will be very deep. Because somehow Bhakti concerns the ultimate levels of human existence. And not only the human existence, but spiritual existence, because this is the language of the heart, the soul.

So if we come to Vrindavan, then our Bhakti will be improved. It’s very much possible that you will loose your knowledge. No problem. It’s very much possible that you will loose your renunciation. Even that is not a big loss – if you gain devotion. But without devotion nothing is complete. If you want to make somebody fly, simply show some interest on him or her. By giving your energy, you can help the other person. By serving a person, you can enhance or complete his or her life. And how can we serve a higher authority like knowledge, or renunciation, or Bhakti ultimately? By following the advice. So if we follow the advice of Bhakti Yoga, then we will help Bhakti to grow.

This is the process: inquire about how to improve, how to perfect your lives. And in this way knowledge and renunciation, as natural consequences of Bhakti – like sons – they will be also nourished. In our vision, in our conclusion Bhakti is first. If there is devotion, knowledge and renunciation will come. But simply by knowledge, simply by renunciation, you cannot really achieve perfection. Therefore inquire about the nature of devotion. Cultivate your devotional capacities. We should express our devotion to the Divine Couple. Simply this is Bhakti Yoga – the emotional connection between humans and the Supreme.

It is the DESIRE that captured Krishna. This is lobha, transcendental lobha – the desire, the deep desire, without which you cannot achieve anything! If you perform all the rituals and all the rules and regulations without this BURNING desire what will be the result? Only some formal results. The young gopies are trying themselves in the ritual, but thinking always of Krishna. The main problem is that we think of ourselves and try Krishna. Therefore we should change the mentality: think of Him and try yourself.