An only daughter of a family, an IT professional in Bangalore got married to a man in America. Their happiness knew no bounds. She went abroad but she couldn’t take a job and she was missing her family. Her husband was busy with work. In 6 months, she went into deep depression. This is a story of a successful person who went to the land of milk and honey, but then she became a bird in a golden cage, what is the use?
In Kali-yuga, people are in different kinds of sufferings and miseries.
The root cause of all the sufferings in this world is - forgetfulness of Krishna. This is the analysis of the Bhagavatam and of the acharyas. We are forgetful of our relationship with Krishna. We are identifying ourselves to be the body.
We are a spirit soul - part and parcel of Krishna. We are not in a position of remembrance of who we are and that is why it requires spiritual life, wherein gradually our consciousness is transformed to become conscious of who we are and what is our position.
In the material world, there is only a promise of happiness, but there is no realization of happiness. Like for instance you get fever and then you are having body pain and you can’t eat, etc, the doctors give you some medicine and you feel the relief and think that is very pleasurable.
And very soon, another kind of misery comes up, it goes on like that. Only when you experience sickness and when that sickness is cured, then you experience there is pleasure. It is a kind of a perception that is created and we mistake that as happiness in this world. So this is the analysis of the acharyas.
One of the qualities of Krishna’s devotees is described as daya. Daya means compassion, to be intolerant towards others’ sufferings. Krishna sometimes Himself comes to give this message of Krishna consciousness, which is a solution for all the sufferings of the people in the material world.
As devotees, we must be convinced that ultimate happiness comes in remembering our relationship with Krishna.
Krishna’s pure devotees have this quality and we should also have that kind of a desire that I must spread Krishna consciousness to make other people happy.
This was the desire of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; this was the desire of Srila Prabhupada. So this is taken up in the form of missionary spirit, to go and tell people about Krishna and make them happy, this was there in the Vedic literatures also.
It was only later on in Kali-yuga, the brahmanas who felt threatened that their monopoly over Vedic knowledge would be lost, would not share that knowledge with anyone else.
That was actually a very corrupt practice. In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna says - now I will tell you the most confidential knowledge sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja - surrender unto Me.
When you distribute this knowledge, you will become very dear to Me. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says - yare dekho tare kaho krsna-upadesa amara ajna guru haya tara ei desa - whomever you meet go and tell them about Krishna.
Petty things will come up and eclipse our consciousness - comparing with one another, feeling envious. Krishna instructs in the Bhagavad-gita that one should be happy with whatever Krishna has given.
The mind is constantly generating thoughts, but a devotee has to be alert and analyze his thoughts. When we are chanting Hare Krishna, it is not a mindless activity. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on Krishna conscious concepts and what our own consciousness is and praying to Krishna, “please help me to come out of all these things.’’
This is the basis for our spiritual advancement in Kali-yuga. Chanting has to be done in a prayerful manner. One should chant like the helpless cry of a child for the mother. We have to take these instructions very seriously. In Kali-yuga people are always disturbed and misdirected.
Krishna says, whoever at the time of death quits his body remembering Me alone attains My nature, of this there is no doubt.
The principle is at the time of death, what is the state of consciousness you have, that decides what kind of a body you will get next.
So you have to practice. Now if you may say if I start practicing, remembering Krishna what about my duty in this world? I have to do so many things. So Krishna says a very practical thing - thinking of Me, you conduct your activities in life. Prabhupada writes Krishna does not give anything impractical. Whatever situation you are in, remember Krishna.
You cannot learn the art of remembering Krishna and do your work simultaneously, that requires practice.
If we maintain the right consciousness, then we will always be filled with that spirit - I must preach Krishna consciousness, people are sad in Kali-yuga. They think that their technology, money, position, etc, are going to make them happy, they don’t realize that all those things cannot give them ultimate happiness.
So Prabhupada creates awareness how people are filled with anxieties and suffer in Kali-yuga. It is the duty of the devotees to present this knowledge to everyone.