(2) Special Arrangement for Kali-Yuga

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bolpur, evening, 20 January 2019, part 2
Translated from Bengali

Our time is very short. You know that there are four yugas (ages): Satya, Treta, Dvapar and Kali; four ashrams (stages of life): brahmacharya (celibacy), grihastha (householder life), vanaprastha (withdrawal from householder life) and sannyas (renunciation); and four varnas (orders of life): brahman (priest), ksatriya (warrior), vaisya (merchant) and sudra (labourer). We live at present in the Age of Kali. You must have heard from Vedas and Puranas that in Kali-yuga people will be sitting and walking under eggplant trees – people's height will gradually become very short. People's average height used be seven feet (2.13 meters), and now the average height is six feet (1.8 meters). You can see that foreign people are mostly much taller than here in India.

In Satya-yuga, the duration of human life was 100,000 years. How did people come to the Lord in that age? They practised meditation. They would sit in some place without eating or drinking anything and meditate for 60–70,000 years. It was very austere (you remember how Hiranyakasipu meditated on Lord Brahma). The mantra they meditated on was this:

narayana-para veda narayana-paraksaram
narayana-para muktar-narayana para-gatih

In Treta-yuga, people lived 10,000 years and practised fire sacrifices (asvamedha-yajna, when they sacrifices horses, rajasuya-yajna and even naramedha-yajna, when they sacrificed people). Now people sacrifice goats and some other animals or some vegetables, such as pumpkin or cucumbers. There are still some fire sacrifices going on.

In Dvapar-yuga, people lived 1,000 years. The duration of human life is slowly decreasing: in Dvapar-yuga, when Krishna appeared in this world, people lived 1,000 years, and it is said that in Kali-yuga, the duration of human life is only 120 years. There are some people who live so long now, but generally the average life expectancy is 80–90 years now. The duration of human life continues to slowly decrease. So, Lord Krishna thought, 'How can people who live for only such a short time in this age come to Me? It is very hard for them. They do not have time to practise meditation, sacrifices or Deity worship... I must make some arrangement for them.' One day in Dvapar-yuga, when Krishna was sitting and meditating under a tamarind tree in Imlitala, Vrindavan, on the bank of the Yamuna, He suddenly saw His reflection in the water of the river. He was surprised, 'Oh, I am so beautiful! Why does Radharani then cry so much chanting My Name?' This happened before Mahaprabhu's appearance.

শ্রীরাধায়াঃ প্রণয়মহিমা কীদৃশো বানয়ৈবা-
স্বাদ্যো যেনাদ্ভুতমধুরিমা কীদৃশো বা মদীয়ঃ ।
সৌখ্যঞ্চাস্যা মদনুভবতঃ কীদৃশং বেতি লোভা-
ত্তদ্ভাবাঢ্যঃ সমজনি শচীগর্ভসিন্ধৌ হরীন্দুঃ ॥

sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaivasvadyo
yenadbhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah
saukhyam chasya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat
tad-bhavadhyah samajani sachigarbha-sindhau harinduh

'"What is that great glory of Sri Radha's love? What is My extraordinary loving sweetness and charm that Sri Radha enjoys? And what is the joy Sri Radha feels by experiencing My sweetness and charm?" Yearning to taste these three sentiments, the moon—Krishna-chandra—was born from the ocean of the womb of mother Sachi.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.1.6)

This sloka comes from Bhagavatam. Vyasadev composed Bhagavatam in Dvapar-yuga, but Vyasadev was only an instrument – Bhagavatam was actually created by the Lord Himself. So, when Krishna was sitting under a tamarind (imli) tree in Vrindavan, He wondered, 'Why does Radharani cry so much chanting My Name? What kind of happiness does She feel when She serves Me? I want to taste this kind of nectar.' But you cannot understand what kind of happiness devotees feel serving the Lord unless you become a devotee, so Lord Krishna appears in Kali-yuga here in Nabadwip as Gauranga, a combined form of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. Coming in the form of Gauranga, He showed this world the pastimes of separation (vipralambha-lila): 'Where am I to go to find my Lord?' – this kind of intense, irresistible pull and deep desire is called the mood of separation. When Krishna leaves Vrindavan and goes to Mathura and Dvaraka, Vraja gopis cried and felt a much more intense feeling towards Krishna in separation from Him. Uddhav Maharaj gives a very beautiful description of their attraction and love for Krishna in Srimad Bhagavatam. So, it is to show that kind of mood that Krishna appears in this world in the form of Gauranga Mahaprabhu.

You know that Mahaprabhu showed householder pastimes during the first twenty-four years of His life. After that, He travelled to South India and other places during six years, and then He spent the last eighteen years in Puri. From those eighteen years, He showed the pastimes of separation during twelve years, especially during the last six years, when He became stark mad for Krishna and would crush His head against the wall and show many other pastimes of extreme separation.

When Krishna thought how people can be rescued in this Age of Kali, He arranged for a very special gift.

হরের্নাম হরের্নাম হরের্নামৈব কেবলম্ ।
কলৌ নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব গতিরন্যথা ॥

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

'Chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name – there is no other way, no other way, no other way.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.7.76)

'The only way how people can come to the Lord in the Age of Kali is by engaging in Harinama-sankirtan (congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord). There is no other way.' So, we can come to the Lord only through Harinama-sankirtan. You should understand and always remember this.

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