Guna Nidhi vs Dosh Nidhi

2020-09-29
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.03.50-52 - Guna Nidhi vs Dosh Nidhi (download mp3)
by Purushottam Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty

SB 12.03.50
mriyamāṇair abhidhyeyo
bhagavān parameśvaraḥ
ātma-bhāvaṁ nayaty aṅga
sarvātmā sarva-saṁśrayaḥ

Translation:
My dear King, the Personality of Godhead is the ultimate controller. He is the Supreme Soul and the supreme shelter of all beings. When meditated upon by those about to die, He reveals to them their own eternal spiritual identity.

SB 12.03.51
kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet

Translation:
My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.

Purport:
After mentioning the innumerable faults of this Age of Kali, Śukadeva Gosvāmī now mentions its one brilliant aspect. Just as one powerful king can kill innumerable thieves, one brilliant spiritual quality can destroy all the contamination of this age. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, especially in this fallen age.

SB 12.03.52
kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ
tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ
kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

Translation:
Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Purport:
A similar verse is found in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.2.17), and also in the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa 72.25) and the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa (38.97):

dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajñais
tretāyāṁ dvāpare ’rcayan
yad āpnoti tad āpnoti
kalau saṅkīrtya keśavam
“Whatever is achieved by meditation in Satya-yuga, by the performance of sacrifice in Tretā-yuga, and by the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in Dvāpara-yuga is obtained in the Age of Kali simply by glorifying the name of Lord Keśava.”

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has further quoted from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa concerning the degraded condition of people in Kali-yuga:

ataḥ kalau tapo-yoga-
vidyā-yajñādikāḥ kriyāḥ
sāṅgā bhavanti na kṛtāḥ
kuśalair api dehibhiḥ
“Thus in the Age of Kali the practices of austerity, yoga meditation, Deity worship, sacrifice and so on, along with their various subsidiary functions, are not properly carried out, even by the most expert embodied souls.”

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has also cited the Cāturmāsya-māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa concerning the necessity of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in this age:

tathā caivottamaṁ loke
tapaḥ śrī-hari-kīrtanam
kalau yuge viśeṣeṇa
viṣṇu-prītyai samācaret
“In this way the most perfect penance to be executed in this world is the chanting of the name of Lord Śrī Hari. Especially in the Age of Kali, one can satisfy the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu by performing saṅkīrtana.”

In conclusion, massive propaganda should be made all over the world to induce people to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, by which human society can be rescued from the dangerous ocean of the Age of Kali.

Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Twelfth Canto, Third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Bhūmi-gītā.”

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